Ftmo Review 2026

Expert Verdict on FTMO

✅ Verdict: In my opinion, FTMO is a leading proprietary trading firm founded in 2015 with a strong global reputation. The only challenge it provides is a two-step evaluation process focused on discipline and consistency, which is fine for me as I prefer the two-step, but it’s not necessarily what every trader wants. Traders get access to multiple asset classes via MT4, MT5, cTrader, and DXtrade with account sizes up to $200,000 and scaling options up to $2 Million.

⭐ Reputation: FTMO holds a Trustpilot rating of around 4.8/5, with tens of thousands of reviews highlighting reliability and fast payouts.

💸 Payouts: 80% profit split by default, which can scale up to 90%
Payouts after request: 14 days, processing time: 8 hours. No withdrawal fees on payouts.

📊 Trading Conditions: MetaTrader 4 (MT4), MetaTrader 5 (MT5), cTrader platforms, leverage up to 1:100 with around 70+ instruments, low spreads.

💰 Pricing: €89 for a $10K challenge and up to €1,080 for a $200K challenge.

🔑 Standout Features: Trust &Transparency, Multiple platforms (MT4, MT5, cTrader, DXtrade), Scaling Plan up to $2M.

Pros & Cons

What Trading Styles Does FTMO Support?

Prop firms often advertise “flexible trading conditions,” but I’ve noticed the fine print usually comes with important caveats. In my assessment, FTMO allows all types of legit trading styles, including day trading, swing trading, and scalping. It also permits automated strategies through Expert Advisors and Copy Trading, which is nice.

Trust

Company Stability

FTMO is a highly stable proprietary trading firm founded in 2015 and headquartered in Prague, Czech Republic, and from my research, they are one of the most reliable firms out there. It has grown steadily, serving traders worldwide with a professional team of 300+ members. The firm has over 3.5 million customers, paid $500 million in rewards, and operates in 140+ countries. FTMO also maintains a strong trader community with 100K Discord members and 400K YouTube subscribers. Overall, it demonstrates consistent performance, reliability, and long-term stability.

Trustpilot Rating

For FTMO, the Trustpilot rating is currently around 4.8 out of 5 based on thousands of reviews.

Prop Firm Match Rating

Prop Firm Match rating: A decent 4.6/5 (169 reviews, 70% five-star). They only accept firms that pass a strict review process, so you must meet their high standards for integrity and operational quality to be included.

Transparency

Most prop firms aren’t fully transparent, which makes it hard to know what the real rules are. Here’s the straightforward version without the hidden details.

Trading Rules Transparency

FTMO provides clear and well-structured trading rules, including specific profit targets, maximum daily losses, and overall drawdown limits. Traders must follow restrictions on news trading, automated strategies (EAs), and high-risk tactics, while overnight and weekend trade holding is allowed in Swing accounts, whereas in Normal accounts, overnight holding is allowed but weekend holding is restricted. All rules should be carefully reviewed before joining.

• Restricted Strategies: Prohibited strategies include arbitrage, tick exploitation, latency arbitrage, high-frequency trading (HFT), market manipulation, hedging across multiple accounts, and server-flooding EAs. All automated trading must comply with FTMO’s risk management rules.
• Consistency Rule: FTMO does not impose a formal consistency rule, but the Verification phase is designed to assess whether traders can consistently follow their strategy profitably over time. Standard and Swing accounts allow flexibility in trading style, provided that all overall risk and drawdown rules are respected.
• Minimum Trading Days: You must trade at least 4 days during each evaluation phase (Challenge and Verification) to be eligible for funding.

Payout Transparency

In my opinion, FTMO is highly transparent when it comes to payouts. The firm regularly shares verified payout proofs and trader success stories across its community channels like instagram with 513k followers, 912 posts, and discord with 105k members community, which builds confidence among members. My own experience confirms that withdrawals are processed reliably and on time, consistent with what’s shared publicly.

General Transparency

Website: FTMO’s website is professional, user-friendly, and easy to navigate, with clear access to challenges, account types, trading rules, terms, and FAQs. The platform includes an AI chatbot, search functionality, and responsive support, making it simple to find information and resolve queries.

Social Media: FTMO maintains a strong online presence across multiple platforms. It has 100K+ Discord members, 511K Instagram followers with 909 posts, and 35K LinkedIn followers, along with large communities on YouTube with 413k subscribers and 451 videos, and Twitter. Verified payouts and active community discussions on these platforms contribute to a high level of transparency, reinforcing trust in the firm.

Risk Management: FTMO’s risk management rules are there so that when you trade, even though it’s a simulation, what you do can be replicated in the real market, and they can ensure you’re following a set strategy that requires trading skills not just guesswork or luck. What this translates to is that all your trades must follow consistent position sizing patterns to prevent skewed performance during the evaluation phases. You must also make sure that your overall exposure is carefully controlled, avoiding excessive risk concentration on a single symbol or correlated instruments.

Challenges

FTMO 2-Step (Normal) Challenge Phases Comparison

FTMO 2-Step (Swing) Challenge Phases Comparison

FTMO Challenge Difficulty vs. Industry Standards

The Challenge Difficulty Metric assesses FTMO’s programs against industry standards to gauge their real trading challenge. It considers profit targets, drawdown limits, leverage, and consistency requirements. Restrictions on news trading, automated systems, copy trading, and overnight positions are also included. All factors are combined into a single difficulty rating. This helps traders realistically understand their chances of passing.

Very Low Difficulty	Low Difficulty	Moderate Difficulty	High Difficulty	Extreme Difficulty

FTMO Normal Account:

The FTMO Normal Account Challenge is considered low difficulty, with a profit-to-drawdown ratio of 0.75. It features a static maximum drawdown, while the daily drawdown resets at the end of each trading day. The account does not allow overnight (if the gap is more than 2 hours) or weekend position holding and offers leverage of up to 1:100.

FTMO Swing Account:

The Swing Account Challenge is considered low difficulty as well, following the same profit targets and drawdown rules as the Normal account. However, it allows overnight and weekend position holding as well as unrestricted news trading, while offering lower leverage of 1:30.

FTMO Challenge Phases Overview

FTMO Normal Account (2-Step Model):

Phase 1 – Challenge:
💵 Accounts: €10K (€155) → €200K (€1,080), scalable up to €2 million

🎯 Target: 10%

📉 Drawdown: 5% Daily Loss (Balance/Equity – Highest at EOD) | 10% Maximum Loss (static)

⚡ Trading: ✅ News | ✅ EAs (with limits) | ✅ Copy Trading (Own Accounts Only) | 🟢Overnight holding | 🟢 Weekend holding | 🟢Leverage 1:100

⚙️ Challenge Parameters: 🟢 Consistency Rule: None | 🔴 Minimum Trading Days: 4

Phase 2 – Verification:
🎯 Target: 5%

📉 Drawdown: 5% Daily Loss (Balance/Equity – Highest at EOD) | 10% Maximum Loss ( static)

⚡ Trading Rules:✅ News | ✅ EAs (with limits) | ✅ Copy Trading (Own Accounts Only) | 🟢Overnight holding | 🟢 Weekend holding | 🟢Leverage 1:100

⚙️ Challenge Parameters: 🟢 No Consistency Rule | 🔴 Minimum Trading Days: 4

FTMO Funded Account

💵 Capital: Same as verified account

🎯 Target: None

📉 Drawdown: 5% Daily Loss (Balance/Equity – Highest at EOD) | 10% Maximum Loss ( static)

💰 Profit Split: 80% (scales to 90%) – Bi-weekly

⚡ Trading: ❌ News | ✅ EAs (with limits) |✅ Copy Trading (Own Accounts Only)|❌ Overnight holding (if rollover more than 2 hrs) | ❌ Weekend holding |🟢Leverage 1:100

📅 Scaling Plan: Eligible to scale capital up to €2 million

⚙️ Account Rules: 🟢 No consistency score | 🟢 No minimum profitable days

FTMO Swing Account (Optional Variant)

Phase 1 – Challenge:
💵 Accounts: €10K (€155) → €200K (€1,080), scalable up to €2 million

🎯 Target: 10%

📉 Drawdown: 5% Daily Loss (Balance/Equity – Highest at EOD) | 10% Maximum Loss ( static)

⚡ Trading: ✅ News | ✅ EAs (with limits) | ✅ Copy Trading (Own Accounts Only) | 🟢Overnight holding | 🟢 Weekend holding | 🔴Leverage 1:30

⚙️ Challenge Parameters: 🟢 Consistency Rule: None | 🔴 Minimum Trading Days: 4

Phase 2 – Verification:
🎯 Target: 5%

📉 Drawdown: 5% Daily Loss (Balance/Equity – Highest at EOD) | 10% Maximum Loss ( static)

⚡ Trading Rules:✅ News | ✅ EAs (with limits) | ✅ Copy Trading (Own Accounts Only) | 🟢Overnight holding | 🟢 Weekend holding | 🔴Leverage 1:30

⚙️ Challenge Parameters: 🟢 No Consistency Rule | 🔴 Minimum Trading Days: 4

FTMO Funded Account

💵 Capital: Same as verified account

🎯 Target: None

📉 Drawdown: 5% Daily Loss (Balance/Equity – Highest at EOD) | 10% Maximum Loss ( static)

💰 Profit Split: 80% (scales to 90%) – Bi-weekly

⚡ Trading: ❌ News | ✅ EAs (with limits) |✅ Copy Trading (Own Accounts Only)| ✅Overnight holding | ✅ Weekend holding |🔴Leverage 1:30

📅 Scaling Plan: Eligible to scale capital up to €2 million

⚙️ Account Rules: 🟢 No consistency score | 🟢 No minimum profitable days

• Drawdown Rules: FTMO programs enforce a strict 5% daily loss limit, calculated based on the higher of balance or equity at the end of the previous trading day, along with a maximum overall loss limit of 10% across all phases.
• Flexibility: FTMO supports a wide range of trading styles, including day trading, swing trading, news trading, discretionary trading, copy trading, and EA-based strategies, across Forex, indices, metals, commodities, crypto CFDs, and stocks. Leverage of up to 1:100 is available on Forex instruments. Weekend holding is permitted during the Standard and Swing challenge phases; however, on funded Normal accounts, overnight, weekend, and news trading are not allowed. Automated trading is permitted, but high-frequency trading, latency arbitrage, server flooding, and other exploitative EAs are strictly prohibited.

Price

FTMO Account Prices and Cost Efficiency

How Do We Assess The Competitiveness of the Firm’s Costs?

True Capital per Euro (TCPE)

Prop firm account sizes can be misleading. While a firm may advertise a large account balance, that figure does not represent real, usable capital. What actually matters is the maximum drawdown, because that’s the true amount you can lose before the account is breached.

For example, a $100,000 account with a 10% maximum drawdown only gives you $10,000 of usable capital. The remaining $90,000 is effectively just a number on the screen.

True Capital per Dollar (TCPE) measures how much real trading capital you receive for every €1 spent on a challenge. It cuts through marketing optics and focuses on what traders genuinely pay for.

TCPE Formula

TCPE = (Account Size × Maximum Drawdown %) ÷ Challenge Price

Example Comparison

Even if a challenge appears cheaper upfront, a higher TCPE indicates better value because it provides more usable capital per dollar. This metric removes the illusion of large balances and highlights which prop firm truly offers stronger cost efficiency.

FTMO Cost Competitiveness vs. Industry Benchmark

Refund Policies

FTMO offers a clear and trader-friendly refund policy. The challenge fee is fully refundable with the first profit split payout once a trader reaches the funded stage and requests their initial withdrawal. If no trades are placed, the fee can also be refunded before trading begins, provided no rules are violated. However, if the account breaches trading rules during the Challenge or Verification phases, the fee becomes non-refundable.

Unlike some firms, FTMO does not offer account reactivation after a breach. If a funded account is lost due to rule violations, traders must purchase a new Challenge at full price to continue. While this may seem strict, it reinforces FTMO’s emphasis on disciplined risk management and aligns with its institutional-style trading framework.

Trading Conditions

FTMO Accounts

FTMO operates a commission-based account structure where most instruments have standard commissions, paired with relatively tight raw spreads. This structure favors active traders who prioritize execution quality and transparency over spread-only pricing.

Leverage

FTMO provides leverage that meets or slightly exceeds industry norms, particularly in Forex for the normal account. You can ask for the leverage to be lowered at any time if you’re more risk-conscious. For the Swing account, the leverage is lower. Leverage varies by asset class as outlined below:

Trading Fees

FTMO maintains a transparent and predictable cost structure, combining commissions with low spreads. Unlike swap-free models, overnight swap fees apply to most instruments, except on designated swap-free (Islamic) accounts.

Spreads

FTMO’s spreads are generally lower than the industry average, particularly on major Forex pairs and indices. This benefits scalpers and intraday traders who rely on tight execution.

Commissions

FTMO applies standard commissions across most asset classes, closely aligned with institutional benchmarks.

Swap Fees

FTMO applies standard overnight swap fees on most instruments. However, traders can request swap-free (Islamic) accounts, making it accessible for swing and longer-term traders who need compliance or overnight flexibility.

Overall Trading Fees

My overall assessment considers both commissions and spreads. I would say FTMO’s trading costs are competitive or even favorable compared with industry averages. The combination of tight spreads, commissions, and stable execution makes FTMO especially attractive for disciplined day traders and swing traders.

Prohibited Trading Styles

Tradable Instruments

FTMO provides access to 70+ tradable instruments across major asset classes, focusing on high-liquidity, globally traded markets. While FTMO does not attempt to inflate asset count with illiquid products, its instrument selection comfortably meets industry standards and supports diversified, professional trading strategies.

Trading Platforms and Tools

FTMO supports MetaTrader 4, MetaTrader 5, DXtrade and cTrader, delivering fast execution, institutional-grade liquidity, advanced charting, and full compatibility with discretionary and automated trading. The platform suite is stable and well-optimized, catering to both retail and professional traders.

Islamic (Swap-free) Account

FTMO offers swap-free (Islamic) accounts upon request, subject to approval. These accounts eliminate overnight interest while maintaining identical trading conditions, ensuring compliance with Islamic finance principles.

Demo Account

FTMO provides demo accounts for testing and platform familiarization.

Inactivity

FTMO enforces a minimum trading activity requirement. Traders must place at least one trade within 30 consecutive calendar days across all phases. Failure to do so may result in account suspension.

Consistency Rule

FTMO has no consistency rule in the challenge or funded phases in either of their account types which is great news.

Scaling Plan

FTMO operates on a typical scaling plan that is based on performance and on time. Traders who achieve at least 10% net profit over four months, with a minimum of two payouts, become eligible for scaling.

• Account balance increases by 25% per cycle
• Profit split increases up to 90%
• Maximum capital allocation can reach €2 million

KYC (Know Your Customer)

FTMO requires full KYC verification before the first payout. Traders must submit a valid government-issued ID and complete identity verification. The process is straightforward and typically completed within 1–2 business days.

Payouts

Profit Split

FTMO offers an 80% base profit split, scalable up to 90% through its performance-based scaling plan.

Payout Rules

Bonuses and Promotions

FTMO rarely offers discounts. Instead, it focuses on long-term value, occasionally running limited-time promotions, competitions, and affiliate rewards.

Support

Customer Support Channels

Support Test:

When i spoke with and agent through the live chat the responses typically took between 2-5 minutes and when i used their ticket system and sent an email it was around 24 hours until i received a response. Educational support and rule clarifications are especially strong.

Education

FTMO stands out for its exceptional educational ecosystem, including:

• Free trading psychology courses
• Performance coaching tools
• Equity curve analysis
• Market insights & trading statistics

This places FTMO well above most competitors in trader development resources.

The Bottom Line

In my view, FTMO represents one of the most stable and professionally structured proprietary trading firms in the industry. I wouldn’t think twice about buying a challenge here because I know that although their rules might be tough they are fair. I also know that i’m not going to be tricked or randomly banned and that if i pass i will get my payout. As for cost, they are in line with industry standards, but keep in mind that they don’t have an ultra low starting cost so only buy if you’re sure of your skills and risk management.

I would say that you also really need to like to do two step challenges because thats all they offer which puts them behind almost everyone else in the industry. Basically if you value consistency and risk management then you’ll have a good time with this firm. They have average trading conditions which reflect the real market and a wide variety of assets to trade with.

As for their education its top notch and teaches you everything you need to know about trading and prop firms the only thing i didnt like is that they say you can trade as a beginner. I know it took me around 6 months until i somewhat confident in trading and strategies,so keep that in mind.