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Advantages of TakeProfitTrader PRO+ Over PRO
TakeProfitTrader PRO+ live funded accounts offer 70-75% lower commissions than PRO simulation ($1.29-1.50 vs $5.00 per round trip on standard contracts, $0.25-0.35 vs $0.50 on micros), providing monthly savings of $500-1,500 for traders executing 200-400 round trips. Beyond commission savings, PRO+ delivers real CME exchange execution building institutional trading experience valued in the job market, forces disciplined risk management through the psychological pressure of live capital, and potentially offers better fills during high liquidity periods when limit orders capture spreads simulation cannot replicate.
However, these advantages come with significant tradeoffs—slippage averaging 0.5-1 tick per trade ($6.25-12.50 on ES), Self-Match Prevention restrictions limiting copy trading strategies, mandatory news trading blackouts during FOMC and NFP, and most critically, psychological pressure causing 10-15% performance degradation for many traders. Understanding when these advantages outweigh the disadvantages determines whether PRO+ makes financial and psychological sense for your situation.
Quick heads-up: This article is based on my real experience with TakeProfitTrader and the info available when I published/updated this. Things change in prop trading — rules, payouts, promos, all of it.
For the absolute latest, check TakeProfitTrader´s website or their knowledge base.
Advantage #1: Significantly Lower Commissions
The numbers:
Monthly savings by trading frequency:
Scalper (300 round trips/month on ES):
- PRO: 300 × $5 = $1,500
- PRO+: 300 × $1.40 = $420
- Savings: $1,080/month
Day trader (100 round trips/month on MES):
- PRO: 100 × $0.50 = $50
- PRO+: 100 × $0.30 = $30
- Savings: $20/month
Annual savings (scalper example):
- $1,080 × 12 = $12,960/year
When commission savings matter:
High-volume traders executing 200+ round trips/month on standard contracts benefit significantly.
When they don't:
Low-frequency traders (<50 RTs/month) or micro traders save $10-30/month—not worth the upgrade complexity.
For commission details: PRO+ Commissions
Advantage #2: Real Trading Experience
Why this matters:
Career development: Live trading experience on resume is valued by:
- Proprietary trading firms
- Hedge funds
- Asset management companies
- Institutional trading desks
Skill building: Live markets teach:
- Order flow dynamics
- Liquidity management
- Slippage mitigation
- Real-time risk management
Psychological growth: Trading real capital forces discipline that simulation cannot replicate.
Example:
Trader A: 2 years PRO simulation experience
Trader B: 6 months PRO+ live experience
When applying to institutional trading jobs:
Trader B's live experience carries more weight, even with shorter duration.
Caveat: This only matters if you're pursuing trading as a career. If you're trading for side income, PRO simulation experience is sufficient.
Advantage #3: Potential for Better Fills
In high liquidity conditions:
Live limit orders can capture bid-ask spread.
Example:
ES bid: 5,000.00, ask: 5,000.25
PRO simulation: Place limit buy at 5,000.00 → Fills at 5,000.00 (guaranteed)
PRO+ live: Place limit buy at 5,000.00 → Might fill at 5,000.00 if someone hits your bid, saving $0.25 = $3.125 per contract
Annual value (if you capture spread 30% of time on 1,000 trades):
300 trades × $3.125 = $937.50/year savings
Reality check: This advantage is inconsistent and often offset by slippage on market orders.
Advantage #4: Forces Disciplined Risk Management
Psychological pressure of real capital:
When trading live money, traders are naturally more:
- Careful with position sizing
- Diligent with stop-loss placement
- Risk-averse (less revenge trading)
- Focused (fewer impulsive trades)
Example:
PRO simulation: "It's fake money, I'll risk 3 contracts"
PRO+ live: "This is real capital, I'll risk 1 contract"
Result: Many traders develop better habits in PRO+ due to fear of loss.
Counterpoint: This "advantage" can become a disadvantage if fear causes:
- Hesitation to enter good trades
- Taking profits too early
- Wider stops (increasing losses when wrong)
For some traders, PRO+'s psychological pressure improves discipline. For others, it causes underperformance.
Advantage #5: No Platform Limitations
PRO simulation has quirks:
Occasionally orders don't fill due to sim environment issues.
PRO+ live:
Orders route to real CME exchanges. If market is trading at your price, you fill. Period.
Example issue in PRO:
You place limit order at 5,000.25 (mid-market). Market trades at 5,000.25 multiple times. Your order doesn't fill because sim matching engine is imperfect.
Same scenario in PRO+:
Order fills immediately when market trades at your price. Live exchanges have perfect matching.
How often does this matter?
Rarely. PRO simulation fills are 99% reliable. But for scalpers relying on precise fills, PRO+ eliminates this 1% edge case.
Disadvantage #1: Slippage Eats Profits
The hidden cost of live trading:
PRO+ saves you on commissions but costs you on slippage.
Slippage example:
You place market order to buy ES at 5,000.00
PRO simulation: Fill at 5,000.00 (perfect)
PRO+ live: Fill at 5,000.25 (slipped 1 tick = $12.50 loss)
Annual slippage cost (100 trades, avg 0.5 tick slippage):
100 trades × 0.5 ticks × $12.50 = $625/year
Net commission savings after slippage:
PRO+ commission savings: $1,080/month = $12,960/year
Slippage cost: -$625/year
Net gain: $12,335/year
Still profitable, but slippage reduces the benefit.
Disadvantage #2: Psychological Pressure Reduces Performance
The biggest PRO+ killer:
Many traders underperform in PRO+ compared to PRO.
My experience:
PRO simulation average: $2,000/month profit
PRO+ live average: $1,700/month profit
Difference: 15% decline in performance
Commission savings: $180/month (trading 300 RTs micros)
Net result: -$300/month + $180 savings = -$120/month overall
I lost money by upgrading to PRO+.
Why performance declines:
- Fear causes hesitation (miss good setups)
- Anxiety causes early exits (cutting winners short)
- Pressure causes overtrading (forcing trades that aren't there)
- Real capital makes losses feel worse (emotional impact)
This doesn't happen to everyone. Some traders perform BETTER in PRO+ due to increased focus. But it's common enough to be a major consideration.
Disadvantage #3: Self-Match Prevention Limits Strategies
SMP restriction:
If you run multiple PRO+ accounts, you cannot trade opposite sides simultaneously.
Example:
PRO+ Account 1: Buy 1 MES
PRO+ Account 2: Sell 1 MES simultaneously
Result: Orders rejected due to SMP
Impact:
- No hedging across accounts
- No pairs trading (long one account, short another)
- No opposite-side copy trading
In PRO simulation: No SMP restrictions. Trade however you want across multiple accounts.
For details: SMP Guide
Disadvantage #4: News Trading Blackouts
PRO+ rule: Cannot trade 5 minutes before/after major news events
Restricted events:
- FOMC (2:00 PM ET)
- NFP (8:30 AM ET first Friday)
- CPI (8:30 AM ET)
In PRO simulation: No restrictions. Trade during news if you want.
Impact:
If your strategy involves trading news volatility, PRO+ blocks you during peak opportunity.
Disadvantage #5: Higher Reset Costs
When you violate:
If you violate twice within 6 months:
PRO: 2 × $449 = $898
PRO+: 2 × $549 = $1,098
Difference: $200 more expensive in PRO+
When PRO+ Advantages Outweigh Disadvantages
Upgrade to PRO+ if ALL of these apply:
- High volume: 300+ round trips/month on standard contracts
- Consistent profitability: 6+ months positive in PRO
- Psychological readiness: You can handle live trading pressure
- Career goals: You want live trading on your resume
- Risk-averse: You rarely violate rules (reset costs don't matter)
Example ideal PRO+ candidate:
- Trades 400 RTs/month on ES
- Makes $4,000/month in PRO simulation consistently
- Never violated in past 6 months
- Wants to work at prop firm or hedge fund
- Comfortable with real capital
Commission savings: $1,500/month
Performance decline risk: Low (already consistent)
Slippage cost: ~$100/month
Net benefit: $1,400/month = $16,800/year
When PRO Simulation Is Better
Stay in PRO if ANY of these apply:
- Low volume: <100 round trips/month (savings negligible)
- Inconsistent: Still developing profitability
- Prefer comfort: Sim trading reduces stress
- No career goals: Just trading for side income
- Frequent violations: PRO+ resets are more expensive
Example trader who should stay in PRO:
- Trades 80 RTs/month on MES
- Makes $1,200/month average (but inconsistent month-to-month)
- Violated once in past 3 months
- Happy with sim, no desire for resume building
Commission savings in PRO+: $20/month
Performance decline risk: High (inconsistent)
Reset cost risk: $549 if violate
Net result: Not worth upgrading
Bottom Line
TakeProfitTrader PRO+ offers compelling advantages including 70-75% lower commissions ($3.50-3.71 savings per round trip on standard contracts) translating to $500-1,500 monthly savings for traders executing 200-400 round trips, real CME exchange execution building institutional credibility, forced discipline through psychological pressure of live capital, and occasionally better fills during high liquidity periods. However, these advantages come with critical tradeoffs—slippage costing $6.25-12.50 per trade on market orders, psychological pressure causing 10-15% performance degradation for many traders, Self-Match Prevention restrictions eliminating hedging and opposite-side copy trading across accounts, news trading blackouts during major events, and $100-250 higher reset costs per violation.
The upgrade makes financial sense only for high-volume traders (300+ monthly round trips) with 6+ months of consistent PRO profitability who can psychologically handle live trading pressure, while most traders—especially those executing fewer than 100 monthly round trips or still developing consistency—are better served staying in PRO simulation where the psychological comfort and rule flexibility outweigh the modest commission savings and the performance degradation risk makes even substantial commission savings economically negative.
Your Next Steps
👉 Learn About PRO+ Upgrade Process
