FTMO review 2026: rules, prices, payouts and traps to avoid
FTMO is the best-known prop firm in the world. Founded in Prague in 2014, it acquired the broker OANDA in a deal completed at the end of 2025. Here is what its challenges are really worth, rule by rule.
Our verdict: the safest choice for a first challenge, and the best for trading with a bot on cTrader. It is not the cheapest, but it is the most established firm in the industry.
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Strengths
- The oldest and most established firm in the industry
- No time limit on the two-step challenge
- Fee refunded with the first profit split (2-Step)
- MT4, MT5 and cTrader, bots allowed
- Profit split of up to 90%
Weaknesses
- Higher prices than some competitors
- Demanding 1-Step: 3% daily loss, trailing maximum loss
- Consistency rule on the 1-Step since October 2026
- Limit of 2,000 server requests per day for bots
FTMO's offers
Checked on 31 October 2026 on ftmo.com.
2-Step Challenge
The classic format: 10% profit in phase 1, then 5% in phase 2, without ever losing more than 5% in a day or 10% overall. The maximum loss is fixed, calculated on the starting balance. You need at least 4 trading days per phase, with no time limit. This is the format we recommend for beginners.
1-Step Challenge
A single phase with a 10% target, but tighter rules: 3% daily loss and a 10% maximum loss that trails your highest end-of-day balance. For accounts ordered since 12 October 2026, your best day must not account for more than 50% of the total profit.
Instant Account
A funded account with no evaluation, more expensive, with a 3% daily loss, a 10% trailing maximum loss and a 30% consistency rule.
Prices
Challenges start at €89 for the 2-Step, €79 for the 1-Step and €169 for the Instant Account, on the smallest accounts. Prices rise with account size, up to 200,000. The exact price is shown when you place your order.
Bots and cTrader
FTMO allows bots on MT4, MT5 and cTrader. The following are prohibited: exploiting latency or pricing errors, coordinated opposing positions across several accounts, trading by a third party and more than 2,000 server requests per day. A bot that modifies its orders on every tick can reach this limit. See our guide to cTrader-compatible prop firms.
The traps that make traders fail
- Confusing daily loss and maximum overall loss: the daily limit includes positions that are still open.
- Choosing the 1-Step to go faster: a single phase, but a much smaller margin for error.
- Making the whole target in one day on the 1-Step: the consistency rule now prohibits it.
To go further: how to pass a prop firm challenge, our FTMO or FundedNext comparison and the list of prop firms that accept bots.
See FTMO challengesChallenges are paid evaluations and most participants fail. Only buy a challenge with money you can afford to lose. Read the risk warning