FTMO - Prop Firm Review

Firm Overview

FTMO is the sector’s most established simulated-funding firm, operating from Prague through FTMO s.r.o. (Business ID 031 36 752) alongside FTMO Evaluation Global s.r.o. and FTMO Trading Global s.r.o.

It is not regulated, and it does not pretend to be. Its own site states that FTMO “only provides services of simulated trading… FTMO companies do not act as a broker and do not accept any deposits.” We looked for a false or implied regulatory claim and found none — which, in this industry, is worth saying out loud.

There are two products: the long-standing 2-Step Challenge and a newer 1-Step Challenge. They look like two prices for the same thing. They are not. The differences are substantial, they all run in the same direction, and the cheaper one is the worse deal.

June 2026 Payout Report New

On these figures: payout data is self-reported by FTMO and is not independently audited. FTMO does, however, have the longest and most consistent public reporting record in the sector, publishing monthly totals with country-level detail rather than occasional milestone announcements. A firm that reports every month builds a series that can be checked against itself.

The Fee Refund — and Why the 1-Step Actually Costs More

This is the most important fact on this page, and most reviews get it backwards.

FTMO’s own FAQ is unambiguous: “FTMO Challenge: 1-Step — The entry fee is not refunded. FTMO Challenge: 2-Step — The entry fee may be refunded with the first Reward withdrawal.” Their pricing table even labels the two columns differently — “One-time refundable fee” against “One-time fee (non-refundable)”.

So the 1-Step’s lower sticker price is an illusion. On a 100,000 USD account:

At every level of failure, the “cheaper” 1-Step is the more expensive product. Pass first time and the 2-Step is, in net terms, free.

And note there is no reset product. Fail and you repurchase at full price: “Each FTMO Challenge must be traded from the beginning, regardless of whether you have successfully completed one in the past.” Most competitors sell a discounted reset. FTMO does not, so every attempt is a fresh full-price purchase — which is exactly why the refund matters so much.

The Two Challenges Compared

Both drawdowns are measured on equity — balance plus open profit and loss, adjusted for swaps and commissions — and recalculated at midnight CE(S)T. The 2-Step’s static 10% floor is one of the more trader-friendly structures available anywhere.

Consistency rules: there are none on the 2-Step. FTMO: “Provided you maintain sustainable risk management practices, there are no additional consistency requirements.” In a sector where consistency rules routinely gate payouts at 15–40%, that absence is a genuine competitive advantage and is rarely credited.

The 1-Step’s Best Day Rule — the Trap Nothing Warns You About

The 1-Step carries a rule the 2-Step does not: your best single day must not exceed 50% of your total profit from profitable days. (Positive Days’ Profit means the sum of closed profit on winning days only — losing days are not netted off.)

Crucially, it is not a breach. Nothing fails and nothing is flagged. It simply blocks your pass or your payout until you have ground out more profit. FTMO’s own worked example: a 10,000 USD best day against 16,000 USD of positive-day profit is 62.5% — over the limit. To clear it, you must lift your positive-day profit to 20,000 USD.

Now combine that with the fact that the 1-Step has no minimum trading days. A trader can hit the 10% target in two sessions, believe they have passed, and then discover they are stranded — forced to keep trading purely to dilute their own best day. It is the most common way people get stuck on this product, and it is the direct consequence of two features that are each individually marketed as advantages.

The 1-Step Payout Trap

One more, and it is severe. On the 1-Step, withdrawing a reward fully resets your trailing Maximum Loss Limit back to 90% of initial capital.

Every unit of buffer you built through weeks of disciplined trading is wiped the moment you take money out. You are handed back a fresh account with a fresh 10% floor beneath you. On the 2-Step, with its static drawdown, this does not happen at all.

Note also that on the 1-Step, rewards cannot be left on the account to compound — you cannot choose to roll profit into a bigger balance. On the 2-Step you can, with a 20 USD minimum.

Profit Split and the Scaling Plan

• 1-Step: a flat 90% from day one. It is not a paid add-on and nothing needs to be bought.
• 2-Step: 80% base, rising to 90% once Scaling Plan or Premium Programme conditions are met. Performance-gated and free — never a paid upgrade.

This is worth pausing on, because it is where FTMO differs from most of the field. Across the firms we audit, the advertised maximum split is very often something you buy at checkout. At FTMO it is something you earn, and it costs nothing.

The Scaling Plan is 2-Step only: +25% of account balance every 4 months, up to 2,000,000 USD. To qualify you need at least 4 months as an FTMO trader, 10% total net profit on your initial or scaled capital, at least two processed rewards, and a positive balance at the scale-up date. Scale-ups are requested during the withdrawal process, not granted automatically.

Maximum allocation is 400,000 USD per trader or strategy, counted across 1-Step and 2-Step combined, before any scaling. Running both products does not double your ceiling.

Payouts

• First payout: request on the 14th day (or any day after) following your first placed trade, with all positions closed. From then on it is on-demand — there is no fixed calendar cycle.
• Minimum: 20 USD closed profit by bank wire, 50 USD by crypto.
• No withdrawal commission whatsoever. FTMO: “FTMO does not charge any additional commissions for Reward withdrawals.” Set against firms that take 3.5% off every payout, this compounds into real money over a year.
• Methods: bank wire, Visa Direct / Mastercard Send (up to 20,000 USD), Skrill (up to 3,000 USD), and crypto.
• Speed: 1–2 business days to review the invoice, then typically 1–2 business days to pay.

Payouts are blocked to sanctioned regions and entities — including by crypto. If that could affect you, confirm before purchasing rather than after.

Trading Conditions and Restrictions

• Platforms: MT4, MT5 and cTrader. MT4/MT5 server time is GMT+2 with daylight saving.
• Instruments: forex, indices, commodities, stocks and crypto.
• Leverage: up to 1:100 on Standard accounts (it cannot be raised); 1:30 on Swing.
• Platform caps: 200 orders open at any one time, and a maximum of 2,000 positions per day.
• Commissions: FTMO markets “very low commissions” but does not publish a per-lot table, directing traders to the platform’s contract specification instead. We are not going to invent a number — check the spec in your terminal before you size up.

Standard vs Swing — the choice most people get wrong

News restrictions and overnight/weekend holding restrictions apply to Standard accounts only, and only once you are funded — not during the evaluation. This catches people out: they pass on a Standard account holding through news, then find they cannot do it on the funded account.

Swing accounts have neither restriction. If you hold through news events or over weekends, take Swing, accept 1:30 leverage instead of 1:100, and save yourself the problem. Swing is not available on the 1-Step — another quiet reason the 1-Step suits fewer people than it appears to.

How FTMO Compares

The honest read: on the numbers, the FTMO 2-Step is one of the strongest products in the sector — a full fee refund, a static drawdown, no consistency rule, no withdrawal commission, and a real scaling plan to 2 million. Its one genuine weakness is that failure is expensive, because there is no reset. The 1-Step is the mirror image: easier to enter, harder to keep, and it never returns your money.

Who FTMO Suits — and Who Should Avoid It

Take the 2-Step if you can. It is the better product on almost every axis that matters: static drawdown, full refund, scaling to 2 million, no consistency rule, and a Swing variant with no news or weekend restrictions. Pass first time and it costs you nothing at all.

Only take the 1-Step if 90% from day one genuinely matters more to you than everything else, and you are confident of passing quickly. Go in knowing the fee is gone forever, the drawdown trails, the Best Day Rule can strand you at the finish line, and every payout wipes your buffer.

Avoid FTMO if you expect to fail a few times cheaply. There is no reset product, so every attempt is a full-price purchase. If you want a firm that lets you retry at a discount, look elsewhere — and if you are a scalper who books one enormous day a month, the 1-Step’s Best Day Rule will hold your money for a long time.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is the FTMO fee refunded?

On the 2-Step, yes — 100%, with your first reward withdrawal, returned via your original payment method. On the 1-Step, no, never. This is the opposite of what the lower 1-Step price implies.

Is the FTMO drawdown static or trailing?

The 2-Step is static — a 10% floor that never moves. The 1-Step trails on end-of-day balance and resets back to 90% of initial capital every time you take a payout.

What is the Best Day Rule?

A 1-Step-only rule: your best day must not exceed 50% of your profitable-day profit. It does not fail you; it blocks your pass or payout until you trade more. Because the 1-Step has no minimum trading days, traders regularly hit the target and then find themselves stuck.

Does FTMO have a consistency rule?

Not on the 2-Step. FTMO states there are no additional consistency requirements beyond the trading objectives. The 1-Step has the Best Day Rule.

Does FTMO charge to withdraw?

No, there is no withdrawal commission of any kind. The minimum is 20 USD by bank wire or 50 USD by crypto.

Can I reset a failed challenge?

No. There is no reset product — you buy a new challenge at full price and start from the beginning.

Should I choose Standard or Swing?

Swing, if you hold through news or over weekends — it has neither restriction, at the cost of lower leverage (1:30 vs 1:100). Note Swing is not offered on the 1-Step.

How large can my account get?

The allocation cap is 400,000 USD across both products combined. Beyond that, the 2-Step Scaling Plan grows the account by 25% every four months, up to 2,000,000 USD.