FTMO

What FTMO is

FTMO is a Prague-based proprietary trading firm operating continuously since 2015. In an industry where most current names date from 2020 or later, that operating record is the single most important fact about the firm. It is, by a clear margin, the longest-running mainstream prop firm in its class.

The business model is the one most other firms now copy. Traders pay an evaluation fee, complete a two-phase challenge (Challenge then Verification), and on passing they receive a simulated funded account. A share of the profit — the “profit split” — is paid out to the trader, with FTMO retaining the rest.

What sets FTMO apart in practice is the public payout-proof flow. The firm publishes cumulative payout figures, and the wider trader community has been able to verify those numbers over multiple market cycles. That kind of third-party-corroborated transparency is uncommon in the segment.

How we scored it (reassessed 1 August 2026)

FTMO’s Trustpilot score is 4.8 out of 5 across 47,387 reviews — 92% five-star, 3% one-star, with no guideline-breach or removed-review notice (read 2026-07-31).

On 1 August 2026 we re-ran FTMO through the same procedure we apply to every firm on this site. FTMO is a partner we earn affiliate commission from, so we are showing the arithmetic rather than asking you to take the label on trust. The weights come from our methodology.

(4.9×30 + 4.7×25 + 4.7×20 + 4.0×15 + 4.8×10) ÷ 100 = 4.67, so the star rating is 4.7.

Trust level stays High. Our methodology reserves High for firms meeting all three of: five-plus years operating (FTMO has 11), a continuously published payout record, and no regulatory enforcement history. FTMO meets all three, and nothing moved in this reassessment.

Evaluation steps

These are the 2-Step figures from FTMO’s own Trading Objectives page, checked 2026-07-31. There is no time limit on either phase.

1. Challenge: +10% profit target. Max total loss 10% of initial capital (static), max daily loss 5%, at least 4 trading days.
2. Verification: +5% profit target. Same loss limits, same 4-day minimum.
3. FTMO Account: on passing both phases the trader moves to a simulated funded account with an 80% profit split, rising to 90% through the Scaling Plan or the Premium Programme.

The 1-Step product is a different rule set, and it is worth knowing which one you are buying: 10% profit target, 3% max daily loss, 10% max loss with an end-of-day trailing mechanism, a 50% Best Day Rule, no minimum trading days, a flat 90% split — and no fee refund.

Leverage is up to 1:100 on Standard accounts and 1:30 on Swing accounts. Always confirm current numbers on the official Trading Objectives page — published thresholds can shift.

Payouts

Per FTMO’s own FAQ, a Reward can be requested on the 14th day after your first placed trade and every 14 days after that. FTMO reviews the request within 1–2 business days, then sends the money within 1–2 business days of approving the invoice. Minimums are $20 for bank wire and $50 for crypto. Methods are bank wire, Visa Direct / Mastercard Send (capped at $20,000), Skrill (capped at $3,000), and crypto. FTMO states it charges no commission on Reward withdrawals, though the payment rails themselves carry costs.

Who FTMO fits

FTMO is a strong fit for:

• Traders who prioritise operating-record trust over absolute lowest cost.
• Anyone who wants payout proofs they can verify against a long historical record.
• International traders who need multilingual support, including Japanese.

In practice, FTMO is the reference point everyone else in the segment is measured against. If you do not have a specific reason to pick a smaller firm, the default rational choice is FTMO.

Who FTMO does not fit

FTMO is not the cheapest option in the market. FTMO prices in euros, and the floor is €79 for a 1-Step $10,000 account or €89 for the 2-Step equivalent. Newer entrants like FundingPips advertise entry fees well below that, and the UAE-2022 generation generally undercuts FTMO on price. There is no published USD price, so read the amount on the checkout screen. If you are optimising purely on evaluation cost, FTMO is not the answer.

The detailed rule set also takes time to internalise. Max lot sizing, the 1-Step Best Day Rule, news-trading restrictions, and EA (expert advisor) restrictions all interact in ways that catch out first-time users. Budget for a careful read of the terms before the first challenge.

What to watch

• Best Day Rule (1-Step): FTMO’s Trading Objectives page states that your best day must not represent more than 50% of your positive days’ profit. It is not a hard breach — you keep trading until the condition is met. The 2-Step objectives do not list this rule; how it is applied on a funded account is worth confirming with FTMO directly.
• EA and news-trading restrictions: some automated strategies and trades placed around scheduled news releases are restricted. Confirm before deploying anything algorithmic.
• Legal positioning: FTMO publicly states that trading is conducted in a simulated environment, with no real orders sent to the underlying market. Tax treatment in your jurisdiction varies — consult a local tax professional. For Japan-resident traders, see our Japan tax guide for context.

How FTMO compares

Against The5%ers, FTMO has a similar operating-record advantage but more standardised programs. Against FundingPips and the broader 2022-generation entrants, FTMO is more expensive but materially more proven. Against Topstep, the comparison is structural — FTMO is the FX/CFD reference point, Topstep is the futures reference point. They are not really competing for the same trader.

Our take

For long operating record, payout transparency, and overall trust signals, FTMO sits at the top of the industry. Evaluation fees are not cheap, however, so we recommend starting with a smaller account size to learn the rule set end-to-end before scaling up. If you can clear an FTMO Challenge once, the long-term economics generally beat what you will get at a budget alternative.