FTMO Review

This FTMO review looks at the firm that more or less wrote the template every other prop shop now copies. Started in Prague in 2015, FTMO turned the idea of paying a fee to prove you can trade a simulated account into a mainstream product. A decade later it still tops most rankings, so the useful question isn’t whether it’s legitimate. It’s whether the strict rulebook and premium pricing suit the way you trade.

From Prague Start-up to Broker Owner

FTMO was founded by Czech traders and still runs from its Prague headquarters with a staff of several hundred. Its chief executive said in September 2025 that the firm had paid out more than $450 million since launch, and it serves clients in more than 140 countries. In 2025 it agreed to buy OANDA, a regulated retail broker, and reports say the deal closed in December 2025. That gives the group a regulated brokerage arm. FTMO itself is still an evaluation and education business, though, not a licensed broker, so no financial regulator covers your challenge fee or your rewards.

How the Evaluations Work

There are two formats, and they suit different personalities.

2-Step Challenge

The classic route has a 10% profit target in the Challenge phase and 5% in the Verification phase. The daily loss limit is 5% and the maximum loss is 10%. Both limits are static, measured from the starting balance. You need at least four trading days per phase, and there’s no deadline. Pass both stages and the fee comes back with your first reward.

1-Step Challenge

The single-phase option needs one 10% target, with no minimum days. The trade-offs are a tighter 3% daily limit, a 10% maximum loss that trails at the end of each day, and a best-day rule. Under that rule, no single day can make up more than half of your profit. The fee is not refunded, but funded traders start at a 90% split.

Sizes run from $10,000 to $200,000 in both formats. Recent independent reviews quote around EUR 250 for $25K, EUR 345 for $50K, EUR 540 for $100K and EUR 1,080 for $200K on the 2-Step. The $10K price has been listed at both EUR 155 and lower in different 2026 reviews, so check the checkout page.

Funded Account Realities

Once you’re funded, the details matter. A Standard account allows 1:100 leverage on forex but restricts trading around major news and holding positions over the weekend. A Swing account removes both restrictions, cuts forex leverage to 1:30 and is offered only through the 2-Step route. Expert advisors are allowed, but latency arbitrage, tick scalping and copying third-party signals are not.

Rewards can be requested 14 days after your first funded trade. After that the default cycle is bi-weekly, and processing typically takes under a day. The 2-Step split starts at 80%. The scaling plan adds 25% to the balance after four months with at least 10% net profit and two payouts, and lifts the split to 90%. Repeated upgrades can take one account to $2 million.

Platforms and Markets

FTMO supports MetaTrader 4, MetaTrader 5 and cTrader, and 2026 reviews report a direct TradingView connection. Instruments include major and minor forex pairs, indices, gold and other metals, energies, crypto CFDs and individual stock CFDs. US residents are routed to a separate FTMO US offer run with OANDA, which has its own pricing and excludes several states.

Criticisms Worth Weighing

The complaints are fairly consistent: prices above the newer discount firms, wider gold spreads during busy sessions, and a minority of funded accounts closed for ‘non-genuine’ trading with little explanation. Reviews also flag a 0.7% adjustment on realised profit from trades quoted in a currency other than the account currency, which took effect in mid-2026. None of this amounts to a payout crisis. FTMO came through the 2023 MyForexFunds shutdown and the 2024 platform shake-up without freezing withdrawals.

Verdict

FTMO suits disciplined traders who would rather pay more for a predictable rulebook, a long payout record and a refundable 2-Step fee. Aggressive news traders, and anyone hunting the cheapest entry ticket, will find better-tailored options elsewhere. The firm’s reliability is still the benchmark others get measured against.

Most challenge buyers never reach a payout, so only spend money on evaluations that you can afford to lose entirely.

FTMO FAQ

Risk warning: Trading forex and CFDs on margin carries a high level of risk. Bonus terms are set by each broker and may change; always check the broker's official terms before claiming.