Alpha Capital Group vs FTMO: which prop firm is better in 2026?
FTMO wins this comparison (7 against 3). Alpha Capital Group remains the cheaper way in, so the choice is not automatic.
Alpha Capital Group
Forex / CFD
Alpha Capital Group is a UK forex prop firm registered in 2021, running eight programs that span a $27 two-phase challenge through to accounts funded at purchase. The rulebook is permissive — news, weekend and overnight holding allowed, four platforms — but the tradable universe stops at forex, indices and metals, and Trustpilot has suspended the rating over fake reviews.
Criteria won : 3 / 33
FTMO
Forex / CFD · Crypto · Stocks · Trustpilot 4.8/5
Founded in Prague in 2015, FTMO reports more than $450 million paid to traders and closed its acquisition of broker OANDA in December 2025. The 2-Step challenge, static drawdown and no deadline, remains its core product, with fees fully refunded on the first payout. Price is the weak spot, and it rose again in 2026.
Criteria won : 7 / 33
Pricing at equal account size
Cheapest evaluation for a 100 K account.
Alpha Capital Group
$397
FTMO
€499
Full comparison
| Criterion | Alpha Capital Group | FTMO |
|---|---|---|
| Trust | ||
| Score | 80/100 | 88/100 ✓ |
| Trustpilot | — | 4.8/5 |
| Founded | 2021 | 2015 ✓ |
| Headquarters | GB | CZ |
| Pricing | ||
| Entry price | $27 ✓ | €79 |
| Price for a 100 K account | $397 ✓ | €499 |
| Refundable fee | — | Yes |
| Reset price | — | — |
| Account sizes | 200 K | 200 K |
| Rules | ||
| Steps | 1 | 1 |
| Profit target | 6 % ✓ | 10 % |
| Max daily loss | 3 % | 3 % |
| Max total drawdown | 4 % | 10 % ✓ |
| Drawdown type | Trailing (end of day) | Static ✓ |
| Time limit | Unlimited | Unlimited |
| Consistency rule | — | 50 |
| Min trading days | 1 | — |
| Payouts | ||
| Profit split | 80 % | 80 % |
| Max profit split | 90 % | 90 % |
| First payout | — | 14 days |
| Payout frequency | Bi-hebdomadaire ou a la demande (choisi a l'achat) ; traitement sous 2 jours ouvres | A la demande a partir du 14e jour suivant le premier trade, puis tous les 14 jours |
| Payout methods | rise and wise | — |
| Scaling plan | Yes | Yes |
| Max allocation | 400 K | 2 M ✓ |
| Trading | ||
| Platforms and instruments | mt5, ctrader, dxtrade, tradelocker | mt4, mt5, ctrader, dxtrade, tradingview ✓ |
| Instruments | fx, indices, metals, energy | fx, indices, metals, energy, crypto, stocks ✓ |
| Leverage | Jusqu'a 1:30 sur Alpha One (FX), 1:9 metaux, 1:10 indices et petrole | 1:100 (forex) |
| News trading | Yes | Yes |
| Weekend holding | Yes | Yes |
| Expert Advisors | — | Yes |
| Copy trading | Restricted | Restricted |
| Scalping | — | Yes |
| Hedging | — | Yes |
Choose Alpha Capital Group if…
- You need a platform FTMO does not offer: tradelocker.
- Your budget is the binding constraint: the entry ticket starts at $27, below FTMO.
Choose FTMO if…
- You want a drawdown you can compute in your head: the limit is fixed on the starting balance and never moves as the account grows.
- You need a platform Alpha Capital Group does not offer: mt4, tradingview.
- You are aiming for size: allocation scales up to 2 M.
Our analysis
Payout terms compared
Alpha Capital Group keeps 90 % of profits, then pays Bi-hebdomadaire ou a la demande (choisi a l'achat) ; traitement sous 2 jours ouvres. FTMO keeps 90 % of profits, allows a first withdrawal after 14 days, then pays A la demande a partir du 14e jour suivant le premier trade, puis tous les 14 jours. Payout frequency deserves as much attention as the split itself: a slightly lower share paid every two weeks compounds faster than a headline percentage locked behind a monthly cycle and a long first-withdrawal delay.
Platforms and instruments
Alpha Capital Group is the only one of the two to offer tradelocker. FTMO covers mt4, tradingview, which its rival does not. Platform choice is not cosmetic: order execution, available order types and the reliability of your automation all depend on it, and switching mid-evaluation is rarely possible.
Trust and longevity
FTMO has been running since 2015, 6 years longer than Alpha Capital Group. Our trust pillar scores them 74/100 and 97/100, which weighs age, corporate transparency and public payout evidence. In an industry with no financial regulator overseeing these evaluations, longevity and a verifiable payout history are the closest thing to a guarantee.
Entry cost
Alpha Capital Group opens at $27 against €79 for FTMO, a substantial gap on the smallest account. At the reference size of 100 K the comparison is $397 for Alpha Capital Group against €499 for FTMO. The headline fee is rarely the real cost, though: what matters is the price of a reset after a failed attempt, whether the fee comes back on the first payout, and whether an activation fee appears when you move to a funded account. Compare those three lines in the table above before deciding on price alone.
Risk rules side by side
Alpha Capital Group applies a trailing (end of day) drawdown capped at 4 %, with a 3 % daily limit. FTMO applies a static drawdown capped at 10 %, with a 3 % daily limit. This is the single most consequential difference between the two. A static drawdown is measured once, from the starting balance, and never moves; a trailing drawdown follows your equity upward, so a winning streak raises the floor you can no longer fall below. Intraday trailing is stricter still, because it tracks unrealised peaks reached inside the session — profit you never actually banked can permanently raise your loss threshold.