FTMO review

FTMO sits first in our ranking, and the gap is not built on commercial terms: several competitors advertise lower prices and higher profit splits. It is built on the two most heavily weighted pillars of our methodology — trust and rule fairness — where the firm scores 97 and 96 out of 100 respectively.

What eleven years of trading history means in this industry

FTMO was founded in Prague in 2015 by Otakar Šuffner, out of a Czech educational project launched the year before. In an industry where the median lifespan of a firm is measured in months, that continuity is itself a data point.

The acquisition of the broker OANDA, completed in December 2025, changes the nature of the company. A prop firm that buys a regulated broker operating since the 1990s no longer belongs to the same business model as the players who live purely off evaluation fees. That deal implies a financial structure and an investment capacity most competitors do not have — and it makes an abrupt disappearance markedly less likely.

That is what our trust pillar measures, and it is also what should weigh most in a purchase decision. The question that matters is not which firm offers the best terms this year, but which one will still be around to pay you in two years.

Two FTMO formats that do not target the same trader

FTMO offers two routes whose difference goes well beyond the number of phases.

The 2-Step Challenge is the original format. It asks for 10% profit in the first phase then 5% in the second, with a daily loss capped at 5% and a total drawdown of 10% calculated on a static basis. Four minimum trading days, no time limit, no consistency rule.

That combination is rare, and it is what explains the 96 score on rule fairness. A static drawdown means your floor is set at the start and never rises: taking the account to $115,000 and then back down to $91,000 does not eliminate you. The absence of a time limit allows a selective approach. The absence of a consistency rule lets you make most of your gain across a handful of good sessions.

The 1-Step Challenge looks simpler — one phase, a 10% target — and it is cheaper. But three parameters tighten: the daily loss drops to 3%, the drawdown switches to end-of-day trailing, and a 50% consistency rule appears.

The shift from static to trailing is the point to understand. On the 1-Step, every day that closes at a new high lifts your floor. A trader who progresses steadily ends up with a margin for error that shrinks as they win — exactly the opposite of the 2-Step.

The cheaper format is therefore not the more accessible one. For a first challenge, the 2-Step remains the better choice despite its higher price.

Trading conditions at FTMO

This is the second strong point, scored 95. Five platforms are offered — MT4, MT5, cTrader, DXtrade and TradingView — where most competitors offer one or two.

The tradable universe covers six instrument classes: forex, indices, metals, energies, crypto and equities. Few firms offer that breadth, and it matters for a trader whose strategy reaches beyond the currency market alone.

On permissions, the essentials are allowed: trading through economic releases, holding positions overnight and over the weekend, Expert Advisors. Only copy trading is restricted. That permissiveness is a deliberate choice, and it is consistent with a rulebook designed to let the trader work rather than to multiply grounds for elimination.

Where FTMO’s score drops

Two pillars pull the score down, and they deserve an honest look.

Price, scored 62, is the clearest weakness. FTMO charges well above the median of our database at equivalent account size. Fees are refunded in full on the first payout, which brings the net cost of a successful run to zero — but only if you pass. Resets are not refunded, and a trader who fails twice pays full price on each attempt.

On a tight budget, that gap is real. Several competitors offer entry at a third of the price, with less favourable rules — the trade-off depends on how confident you are that you will pass.

Payouts, scored 82, are not poor but sit behind what the segment now offers. The first withdrawal comes on the fourteenth day after the first trade, then every fourteen days. Against competitors paying out every 24 hours or on demand, the cycle looks long. The profit split starts at 80% and reaches 90% through the scaling plan, whereas several newer players start at 90% outright.

The FTMO scaling plan and the ceiling

Maximum allocation reaches two million dollars, one of the highest in our database. Progression happens in steps, with a capital increase every four months of performance, paired with an improved split.

That is the figure that sets FTMO apart over the long run. A consistent trader has a growth path there that most futures firms, capped at $150,000, cannot offer.

What to check at FTMO before paying

The excluded-country list runs to around fifty entries and is not exhaustive in our data. It mainly targets sanctioned jurisdictions, and France is not among them.

One point deserves attention for US residents: FTMO suspended onboarding of new American clients in 2024, in the context of the MetaQuotes campaign against prop firms. Affected US traders go through DXtrade. Check this on the official site if it applies to you.

Also check how the drawdown is calculated on the format you are buying: it is the single piece of information that genuinely changes the difficulty of the run between the two challenges, and it is not obvious at a glance on the sales page.

FTMO: who it suits

FTMO suits the trader who values the solidity of the counterparty over the entry price, and who needs a broad rulebook — several platforms, several asset classes, freedom on news and on held positions. It suits the trader aiming at multi-year progression particularly well, thanks to the allocation ceiling.

It suits less the trader starting out on a constrained budget who expects several attempts: on that basis, a firm with a cheaper reset costs less overall. And it suits less anyone who needs to cash out quickly and frequently, where the fourteen-day cycle weighs against the daily payouts now common on the futures segment.