The original modern prop firm (since 2015), $500M+ paid out. Famously lenient — news trading, weekend holding and EAs are all allowed. The traps are the 1-Step's trailing max-loss and its Best-Day consistency rule, plus a daily limit that resets at midnight Central European Time, not yours.
The gold standard. Operating since 2015 with $500M+ paid out, famously lenient on news, weekend holding and EAs. The 1-Step's trailing max-loss and Best-Day rule are the only real traps.
Pros
10+ year track record, $500M+ paid out to traders
News trading, weekend holding and EAs all allowed
Profit split up to 90% via the Scaling Plan
On-demand payouts once funded
Watch out
1-Step uses a trailing max-loss plus a Best-Day consistency rule
Daily limit resets at 00:00 CET — not your timezone
Premium pricing vs newer firms
Best for: Serious traders who want the most proven payout record and the freedom to trade news and hold over weekends.
Bottom line: If payout reliability is your #1 concern, FTMO is the benchmark — just take the 2-Step to dodge the 1-Step's traps.
Your account fails if total loss reaches 10% of the initial balance. On the 2-Step this is a STATIC floor measured from your starting balance. On the 1-Step it's an end-of-day TRAILING limit: it moves up as your balance grows and never moves back down, locking once it reaches your initial balance.
Gotcha: On the 1-Step, banking profit raises your stop-out level — a drawdown that was safe on day one can breach you after a green day. On the 2-Step the floor is fixed, so floating losses you don't close won't trip it (but the daily limit still can).
You can't lose more than 5% (2-Step) or 3% (1-Step) of the initial balance in a single day. It recalculates daily at 00:00 CE(S)T based on the day's opening balance/equity.
Gotcha: The reset is 00:00 Central European Time — not your local midnight. A late-night session can straddle two FTMO 'days' (or count as one), which traders routinely misjudge and breach.
On the 1-Step program only, your single best day must not represent more than 50% of your total positive-days profit. The 2-Step program has NO consistency rule.
Gotcha: One outsized day on the 1-Step can disqualify you even after you hit the 10% target — spread your profit across days. Want to swing for big days? Take the 2-Step, which has no consistency rule.
The 2-Step requires at least 4 trading days in each phase (a trading day = any day, 00:00–23:59 CE(S)T, with at least one position opened). The 1-Step has no minimum-days requirement — the Best Day rule governs instead.
FTMO allows news trading across the Challenge, Verification and the funded FTMO Account — one of the few firms that lets you trade and hold straight through high-impact releases.
Gotcha: It's permitted, but a single news spike can still blow the daily or max-loss limit in seconds. Freedom to trade news isn't a free pass on risk.
Expert Advisors and algorithmic strategies are allowed for your own trading. What's prohibited is using EAs that exploit the platform (latency/feed arbitrage, tick-scalping the feed) or sharing/managing other people's accounts.
Gotcha: A profitable EA is fine; an EA whose edge is the firm's price feed or simulation lag gets the account voided as gaming the system.
Latency/feed arbitrage, tick-scalping that exploits the data feed, reverse/group hedging across accounts or people, and pure 'gambling' all-in trading are forbidden and void the account.
Gotcha: These are the 'too good to be true' edges — they get caught on review and the account is closed with no payout, even if the balance looks great.
The funded FTMO Account pays an 80% profit split, rising up to 90% via the Scaling Plan. Payouts are available on demand, with the first profit split requestable after the first ~14-day period; you can set your own payout cadence after that. Funded capital reaches $200k and scales further over time.
Gotcha: The 90% split isn't day-one — you reach it through the Scaling Plan after consistent funded performance. Budget for 80% at the start.
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Informational and comparison content only — not financial advice and not affiliated with FTMO. Rules change often; verify against FTMO's official terms before relying on any detail. Last reviewed Jun 4, 2026.
