Head to head · 33 criteria compared On the 33 criteria we compare, FTMO comes out ahead (9 against 6). BrightFunded remains the cheaper way in and it pays out a larger share of profits, so the choice is not automatic.
Set up in 2023 by a Dutch team and operated out of Dubai, BrightFunded keeps its rulebook short: no consistency rule, no time limit, static drawdown on both 2-Step plans. The model leans instead on paid add-ons — fee refund, 90% split, waived minimum days — and the first payout only lands 30 days after the first trade.
Criteria won: 6 / 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: 9 / 33
Cheapest evaluation for a 100 K account.
BrightFunded
€477
FTMO
€499
| Full comparison | BrightFunded | FTMO |
|---|---|---|
| Trust | ||
| Score | 76/100 | 88/100 ✓ |
| Trustpilot | — | 4.8/5 |
| Founded | 2023 | 2015 ✓ |
| Headquarters | AE | CZ |
| Pricing | ||
| Entry price | €47 ✓ | €79 |
| Price for a 100 K account | €477 ✓ | €499 |
| Refundable fee | No | Yes ✓ |
| Reset price | — | — |
| Account sizes | 200 K | 200 K |
| Rules | ||
| Steps | 2 | 1 ✓ |
| Profit target | 8 % ✓ | 10 % |
| Max daily loss | 4 % ✓ | 3 % |
| Max total drawdown | 8 % | 10 % ✓ |
| Drawdown type | Static | Static |
| Time limit | Unlimited | Unlimited |
| Consistency rule | No ✓ | 50 |
| Min trading days | 5 | — |
| Payouts | ||
| Profit split | 80 % | 80 % |
| Max profit split | 100 % ✓ | 90 % |
| First payout | 30 days | 14 days ✓ |
| Payout frequency | First payment 30 days after the first trade, then every 2 weeks; weekly and bi-weekly add-ons available | On demand from the 14th day after the first trade, then every 14 days |
| Payout methods | — | — |
| Scaling plan | Yes | Yes |
| Max allocation | 400 K | 2 M ✓ |
| Trading | ||
| Platforms and instruments | mt5, ctrader, dxtrade | mt4, mt5, ctrader, dxtrade, tradingview ✓ |
| Instruments | fx, indices, metals, energy, crypto | fx, indices, metals, energy, crypto, stocks ✓ |
| Leverage | Forex 1:100, gold and commodities 1:40, indices 1:20, crypto 1:5 (identical on evaluation and funded accounts) | 1:100 (forex) |
| News trading | Yes | Yes |
| Weekend holding | — | Yes |
| Expert Advisors | — | Yes |
| Copy trading | Restricted | Restricted |
| Scalping | — | Yes |
| Hedging | — | Yes |
Choose BrightFunded if… Choose FTMO if… BrightFunded applies a static drawdown capped at 8 %, with a 4 % daily limit. FTMO applies a static drawdown capped at 10 %, with a 3 % daily limit. Both use the same model, so the difference plays out on the percentages rather than on the mechanism.
BrightFunded keeps 100 % of profits, allows a first withdrawal after 30 days, then pays First payment 30 days after the first trade, then every 2 weeks; weekly and bi-weekly add-ons available. 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.
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, 8 years longer than BrightFunded. Our trust pillar scores them 66/100 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.
BrightFunded opens at €47 against €79 for FTMO, a substantial gap on the smallest account. At the reference size of 100 K the comparison is €477 for BrightFunded 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.
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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