FTMO is the largest single prop firm in the retail-facing sector by number of funded traders and by cumulative payouts. Since 2015 the Czech-based firm has run the same core evaluation program — a two-step challenge scaling from $10,000 to $200,000 funded-equivalent accounts — with the strongest documented payout track record in the sector. When traders say "the FTMO Challenge," they're referring to a specific product with a specific rulebook that has become the benchmark against which other prop firm programs are measured.
This piece covers the FTMO Challenge structure end-to-end: account sizes, evaluation rules, funded-account terms, payout mechanics, and the practical decision framework for picking the right FTMO tier.
What the FTMO Challenge actually is
The FTMO Challenge is a two-step evaluation:
- Phase 1 (Challenge) — hit a 10% profit target within 30 days on a demo account of chosen size, respecting maximum drawdown limits and daily loss rules.
- Phase 2 (Verification) — hit a 5% profit target within 60 days on a separate demo account of the same size, respecting the same drawdown rules.
Pass both phases → issued a FTMO Account — a funded demo account backed by FTMO's own capital. Profitable trading on the FTMO Account earns you a share of the simulated profits, paid monthly, with an 80% profit split to you.
The evaluation fee is refundable — pay it upfront, and when you receive your first payout as a funded trader, FTMO refunds 100% of the original evaluation fee alongside the payout.
Account sizes and evaluation fees
FTMO's current lineup covers five account sizes across two variants (regular and Swing, the latter allowing overnight/weekend holding):
Regular Challenge:
- $10,000 — €155 fee (~$165 USD)
- $25,000 — €250 fee (~$270 USD)
- $50,000 — €345 fee (~$370 USD)
- $100,000 — €540 fee (~$580 USD)
- $200,000 — €1,080 fee (~$1,155 USD)
Swing Challenge (slightly higher fees, allows overnight/weekend holding without restrictions):
- Adds roughly 10-15% to each fee tier
- Same rulebook otherwise
Fees are refunded 100% on first funded-account payout, so effectively the evaluation is free for traders who pass and become profitable funded traders.
The rulebook — what you actually need to do
Four constraints define both Phase 1 and Phase 2:
1. Profit target. Phase 1 = 10% of starting balance. Phase 2 = 5% of starting balance. On a $100K account: Phase 1 target = $10,000 profit. Phase 2 target = $5,000 profit.
2. Maximum daily loss. 5% of starting balance. On $100K: never let account drop more than $5,000 below the previous day's start-of-day balance. Breach this → challenge immediately failed regardless of prior profit.
3. Maximum overall loss. 10% of starting balance. On $100K: never let account balance drop more than $10,000 below the initial $100K starting balance at any point. Breach this → challenge immediately failed.
4. Minimum trading days. 4 days per phase. Must place at least one trade on 4 separate calendar days within the phase window. Anti-gambling rule — FTMO wants to see sustained execution, not one lucky trade.
There's no consistency rule capping single-day profits. There's no restriction on trading style — scalping, swing, day trading, position trading, EAs, and copy trading are all permitted (with EA and copy trading having some restrictions on the funded account side).
What you're actually testing
The two-phase structure is FTMO's answer to the noise-vs-signal problem. Phase 1 alone doesn't distinguish a trader with real edge from one who got lucky in a favorable market week. Phase 2 provides a second observation window.
The specific pattern that passes:
- Steady progress toward target, not aggressive front-loading. Traders who hit 8-9% in the first two weeks and then coast to 10% at day 25-30 pass more consistently than traders who nail 12% in week one and then oscillate around the target for the rest of the window.
- Conservative position sizing — max risk 1-2% of account per trade. Aggressive sizing accelerates target-hitting but also accelerates daily-loss risk on drawdown days.
- Respecting the daily loss limit — the daily loss is the single most common reason for FTMO Challenge failure. Traders who set explicit daily-loss stop rules (stop trading if down 3% today, well before the 5% breach) pass at meaningfully higher rates.
The funded account — what happens after you pass
Pass Phase 1 and Phase 2 → FTMO issues an FTMO Account in the same size as the challenge you completed. Pass a $100K Challenge → get a $100K funded FTMO Account.
Profit split: 80% to you, 20% to FTMO. Payouts monthly. Some tiers (Aggressive, higher balances) offer 90% split.
Scaling plan: FTMO Accounts can scale to $2,000,000 balance with continued profitability. Every 4-month period of profitable trading (>10% cumulative profit) triggers a potential account size increase.
Loss rules on funded account: same 5% daily loss and 10% overall loss rules apply. Breach either → funded account terminated (though FTMO offers "reset" options for a fee).
Payout mechanics: automated after first month of profitable trading on the funded account. First payout is where the evaluation fee refund is applied. Traders receive payouts via bank wire, crypto (BTC, ETH, USDT), Skrill, or PayPal.
Trading style constraints on funded account: No holding through news events with high-impact fundamental releases (for regular accounts; Swing accounts remove this restriction). Copy trading and EA use permitted with disclosure to FTMO.
Regular vs Swing — which to pick
FTMO offers two variants: Regular and Swing.
Regular FTMO Challenge:
- Fee 10-15% lower than Swing
- Restrictions: no holding positions over weekend, no holding through high-impact news
- Best for: intraday and short-swing traders who close positions same day
Swing FTMO Challenge:
- Fee 10-15% higher than Regular
- Allows: holding positions over weekend, holding through news
- Best for: swing traders, position traders, trend-followers who hold multi-day
The choice is strategy-driven, not preference-driven. A swing trader in a Regular Challenge will fail because they can't hold their positions overnight. A day trader in a Swing Challenge is overpaying for flexibility they won't use.
What the FTMO credential means
An FTMO funded status is one of the strongest single credentials in the retail prop trading world in 2026. Three reasons:
Payout track record. FTMO has paid out cumulatively hundreds of millions to funded traders since 2015. Trader forums, Trustpilot reviews, third-party trackers (myfxbook, trader interviews) all confirm consistent payouts across the multi-year window.
Scale. FTMO's user base is measured in hundreds of thousands. When a challenge is designed at this scale, the rulebook has been battle-tested across many trading styles and market regimes.
Independence. Unlike some prop firms that have flipped ownership or corporate structure multiple times, FTMO has remained under consistent leadership and operational structure since founding. Long-run stability matters when you're staking a career on being funded.
Traders regularly cite FTMO funded status on public trading profiles the same way athletes cite Olympic qualification — as a verified competency signal.
How to actually pass the FTMO Challenge
Four rules that summarize what actually works:
1. Trade at 1-2% risk per position, no more. Aggressive sizing is the #1 cause of daily-loss breach failure. A $100K account with 2% risk per trade = $2,000 per trade. Ten losing trades in a row = -$20,000 = 20% drawdown = double-failure of both daily and overall loss limits. Two-percent sizing means it takes ~15 straight losses to breach daily limit, which almost never happens if your strategy has any edge.
2. Set explicit daily stops. If you're down 2-3% on the day, stop trading. Don't try to recover. The daily loss breach happens because traders try to recover during a bad day and blow through the 5% limit chasing.
3. Focus on the target, not the timing. 10% in 30 days averages 0.33% per day. Not aggressive. If you hit 6-7% by day 20, coast to target — don't try to accelerate.
4. Trade less on Phase 2, not more. Phase 2 target is half of Phase 1 (5% vs 10%) but the same drawdown limits. This means Phase 2 rewards restraint. Traders who over-trade Phase 2 because "it's easier" fail more often than traders who treat Phase 2 as a slower, more careful version of Phase 1.
Related surfaces
- /exchanges/ftmo — live FTMO product listings on trading-tournaments.com
- /tournaments/challenges — all currently-live prop firm challenges
- Prop firm challenge — the complete 2026 guide — cornerstone explainer
- One-step vs two-step prop firm challenges — FTMO is the reference two-step
- Free prop firm challenges 2026 — FTMO refunds fee on first payout
- Cheapest prop firm challenges 2026 — FTMO tiers by fee
- No time limit prop firms — FTMO is time-limited; alternatives if you need flexibility
- Top prop firms by payout track record — FTMO leads
- Drawdown rules explained — critical for FTMO's 5%/10% rules
- Profit split prop firm explained — FTMO 80/20 split mechanics
- What is a prop firm evaluation — the deeper explainer
The FTMO Challenge is the industry benchmark. It's not the cheapest, not the fastest, not the easiest. It is the most-proven — the strongest single credential and payout track record in the retail prop firm sector. For a serious funded-trader career, FTMO is the reference point every other firm is measured against.