Head to head · 33 criteria compared FTMO wins this comparison (7 against 3). Alpha Capital Group remains the cheaper way in, so the choice is not automatic.
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
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
Cheapest evaluation for a 100 K account.
Alpha Capital Group
$397
FTMO
€499
| Full comparison | 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-weekly or on demand (chosen at purchase); processed within 2 business days | On demand from the 14th day after the first trade, then every 14 days |
| 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 | Up to 1:30 on Alpha One (FX), 1:9 metals, 1:10 indices and oil | 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… Choose FTMO if… Alpha Capital Group keeps 90 % of profits, then pays Bi-weekly or on demand (chosen at purchase); processed within 2 business days. FTMO keeps 90 % of profits, allows a first withdrawal after 14 days, then pays On demand from the 14th day after the first trade, then every 14 days. 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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
No discount code is published without being checked on the firm’s own website. An unverified deal does not appear here.
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