Elite Trader Funding vs FTMO: which prop firm is better in 2026?

Where you actually trade

Elite Trader Funding is the only one of the two to offer ninjatrader, rithmic, tradovate. FTMO covers mt4, mt5, ctrader, dxtrade, 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.

Track record

FTMO has been running since 2015, 7 years longer than Elite Trader Funding. On Trustpilot they sit at 3.8/5 and 4.8/5 respectively. Our trust pillar scores them 67/100 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.

What you pay to start

FTMO opens at €79 against $99 for Elite Trader Funding, a moderate gap on the smallest account. At the reference size of 100 K the comparison is $205 for Elite Trader Funding 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.

Drawdown: the rule that decides

Elite Trader Funding applies a trailing intraday drawdown. 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.

What reaches your account

Elite Trader Funding keeps 100 % of profits, allows a first withdrawal after 8 days, then pays On demand, approved the same day. 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.