FTMO Review
FTMO is a renowned Czech-based proprietary trading firm founded in 2015. The company operates under the leadership of CEO Otakar Suffner, offering traders the opportunity to manage significant capital through their innovative two-step evaluation process. This evaluation consists of the FTMO Challenge and the Verification phase, designed to assess a trader’s consistency and risk management skills. FTMO provides access to a variety of trading platforms and brokers, ensuring flexibility and a wide range of assets for both forex and futures traders.
Written by: Adam Niven
Creator } Propfirmforex
Fact-checked: January 2026
Enter promo code PFFX at signup and get 10% off fees on all challenge types
Snapshot (TL;DR)
FTMO has a strong reputation in the prop firm space. They lay out their rules clearly, and are known for paying out on time. Most trader feedback is positive, especially from those who like stricter risk limits and regular payouts. Overall, trust is solid compared with most peers.
Best for:
Experienced, rules-driven day and swing traders who can respect a 5% Max Daily Loss and 10% Max Loss, prefer unlimited time to pass evaluations, and want mature infrastructure on MT4/MT5/cTrader/DXtrade.
Not for:
Traders who must hold through macro news/weekends on a high-leverage account (use Swing, but leverage is 1:30), or who expect copy-everything “gaming” strategies to be tolerated.
PROS:
No time limit to pass – Challenge/Verification requires only 4 minimum trading days each step.
Bi-weekly rewards – First claim from day 14, processed typically 1-2 business days.
Scaling Plan – 90% split and up to 2,000,000 initial balance
CONS:
News & weekend restrictions – on the Normal (1:100) account type. Swing removes them but with 1:30 leverage.
Commissions recently revised – (e.g., FX 2.50 per side per lot) and crypto commissions (0.0325% per side)—costs matter for scalpers.
Public fee table isn’t always visible – Budget with a buffer and confirm at checkout (fee is refunded on first reward if you pass).
Key Features
Flexible Platform Choice
Choose MT4, MT5, cTrader, or DXtrade in the Challenge configurator and keep that stack across stages.
Scaling Program
Up to $2,000,000 account allocation and 90% profit split is offered to those who can meet the plan conditions.
Challenges and Accounts
FTMO runs a two-step evaluation known as the FTMO Challenge. This consists of a Challenge and Verification phase. There’s no maximum time to complete either, but you must trade at least 4 days in each step. After Verification review, you sign the FTMO Account Agreement (after KYC/KYB) and begin on the funded demo with real rewards.
Trading objectives:
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Maximum Daily Loss: 5% static of the initial balance. On 100,000, your daily equity must never drop below 95,000 considering both closed and open P/L. Example: lose 8,000 intraday on a 200,000 account; the remaining room that day is 2,000.
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Maximum Loss: 10% (equity-based). On 100,000, your equity must never go below 90,000, open P/L included.
Profit targets:
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Challenge: +10% (e.g., 100,000 → 110,000).
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Verification: +5%, all other rules same as Challenge.
Min trading days. 4 in each step; days need not be consecutive. A trading day counts when at least one position is opened.
Time limits. FTMO removed the old 30/60-day caps in 2023; today the Trading Period is indefinite (subject to inactivity clauses in T&Cs). This change eliminated the need for free repeats/extensions.
Trading Platforms
FTMO supports MetaTrader 4, MetaTrader 5, cTrader, and DXtrade across evaluation and funded stages. They maintain platform guides and blog content to help with setup, logins, and choosing the best platform for your trading style.
Scaling Plan Overview
Qualifying traders receive a 25% balance increase at defined checkpoints, and the profit split may step up to 90%. FTMO says accounts can reach a maximum initial balance of 2,000,000 through scaling. Requirements are detailed on the plan page.
Here’s an example from FTMO’s official Scaling Plan page, illustrating how an account’s balance and risk limits can progress once a trader passes the Evaluation, reaches a combined FTMO Account allocation of 400,000 (e.g., by merging two 200,000 accounts), and meets the scaling conditions.
| Elapsed Time | Initial Simulated Balance | Maximum Daily Loss | Maximum Loss |
|---|---|---|---|
| 0 months | $400,000 | $20,000 | $40,000 |
| 4 months | $500,000 | $25,000 | $50,000 |
| 8 months | $600,000 | $30,000 | $60,000 |
| 12 months | $700,000 | $35,000 | $70,000 |
| 16 months | $800,000 | $40,000 | $80,000 |
Trading Rules
There are a few trading activities that are prohibited on the FTMO platform. See full details on their website.
- Overleveraging: A common mistake where traders take on larger positions, hoping for quick profits, but it often leads to increased stress and more errors. For FTMO traders, this approach risks exceeding the Maximum Daily Loss limit, restricting their ability to adjust Stop Losses or capitalize on profitable opportunities.
- One-sided bets: Gambling in trading can take the form of opening a single large position on one instrument or adding to existing positions, whether they’re in profit or, worse, in loss. If the initial position already surpasses reasonable risk management limits, adding more positions may be seen as outright gambling.
- Account rolling: Account rolling is a form of gambling where traders buy multiple evaluation courses, complete them, but face limitations on trading all accounts simultaneously due to prop firm restrictions. As a result, they take overly risky trades on the first account, knowing they can quickly switch to another if they breach it.
- HFT (High-Frequency Trading) Algorithms: Using algorithms that exploit ultra-short-term price movements is not allowed.
- Arbitrage Trading: Taking advantage of price discrepancies between brokers or platforms is prohibited.
- Copy Trading/Mirror Trading: Replicating trades from other accounts or traders is not permitted.
- News Trading: Trading purely around high-impact news events with the intention of exploiting rapid price changes is restricted.
- Hedging Between Accounts: Simultaneously holding opposing positions across different accounts to avoid losses is forbidden.
Commission Fees
FTMO lists their trading commissions are as follows::
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Forex (majors/minors/exotics): $2.50 per lot per side (i.e., $5 round-turn). FTMO announced this in a commission-structure update.
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Crypto: 0.0325% per side on the notional trade value; converted to your account’s base currency.
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Indices: Zero commission on all index symbols (spreads still apply).
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Metals & certain commodity CFDs: 0.0007% per side on trade volume (e.g., metals CFDs, NATGAS.cash, HEATOIL).
Payment Methods for Challenge Fees
Fees are one-time at checkout, with the fee refunded along with your first reward after you pass and complete compliance checks. Exact amounts vary by currency/region and promotions
Payout Policy and Withdrawals
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First eligible claim: After 14 days from your first trade on the demo FTMO Account.
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Processing: After you request in Account MetriX, FTMO emails next steps typically within 1–2 business days.
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Cadence: You can continue to request on a bi-weekly schedule. (FTMO articles and trader case studies commonly reference the 14-day split cycle.)
Community and Trust
FTMO’s community is pretty active and, overall, positive. Traders often highlight clear rules, responsive support, and payouts that arrive when expected, which goes a long way for trust. You’ll still see the occasional debate about strict enforcement around news or weekend rules, but that’s mostly about fit rather than credibility. Taken together, FTMO comes across as a well established operator that communicates frequently and treats the payout process seriously.
FTMO Leadership
Otakar Suffner was born and raised in Prague. He has a master’s degree in Economics, which he obtained from Prague University. At that time, he also studied in South Korea at Seoul National University.
Coming from a sports family, Otakar played tennis in school but never pursued professional athletics. He now enjoys fitness activities several times a week, including calisthenics and kickboxing, to maintain high energy levels for work.
Otakar began trading Contracts for Difference about ten years ago after starting with Futures, then moved to Forex for greater flexibility. Initially a small account operator, he is now a data-driven trader who bases his decisions on global data while remaining calm. He utilizes a unique probability method for his trading strategies.
How FTMO Compares With Other Firms
FTMO is known for mature operations and clear rules. DNA Funded often attracts cost-conscious traders thanks to lower fees and fast evaluations. If price is your top concern, DNA can be appealing. If you want depth of resources and a long history of payouts, FTMO is the safer bet.
FundedNext pushes flexible models and frequent promotions. FTMO focuses on consistent rules and steady biweekly payouts. Go with FundedNext if you want variety in program types. Go with FTMO if you want a stable two step path that many traders already understand.
FTMO is the bigger name with a long track record and a very active community. Blueberry leans on its broker roots, which helps with execution quality and transparency. Choose FTMO if you want a proven system and lots of user proof. Pick Blueberry if tight fills and a broker-backed setup matter most to you.
ThinkCapital experiments with newer funding structures and competitive splits. FTMO wins on documentation, community size, and years in the market. Pick ThinkCapital if you like fresh ideas. Pick FTMO if predictability and a large knowledge base are more important.
The 5ers leans conservative and rewards slow, steady growth. FTMO offers higher leverage and a quicker scaling rhythm. Choose The 5ers if you prefer a measured pace. Choose FTMO if you want faster movement within clear risk limits.
Funded Trading Plus offers a wide menu of programs and trader friendly rules. FTMO delivers well defined objectives and a refined payout process. If you want lots of choice, FTP is attractive. If you want a widely tested setup with strong support content, FTMO stands out.
Final Thoughts on FTMO
If you want a rules first, well documented program with clear drawdown rails (5% and 10%), a 14 day payout rhythm, and a path to a 90% split, FTMO is a strong choice. Decide early between Normal and Swing based on whether you need to trade around news and weekends or prefer higher leverage. Model your costs with the symbol specs in your platform before you commit. Scalpers should double-check commissions and any notional based fees on non FX markets.