FTMO Review: Pros and Cons of the Prop Firm
- There’s no trading time limit for the prop accounts. You can buy one and keep it perpetually.
- You get your money back after passing the three stages of the evaluation.
- FTMO has guaranteed payouts. You’ll surely get your profit share if you uphold the rules.
- The two-step challenges are relatively easy to pass. Good traders with excellent risk management skills have great chances of profitability and success.
- You can trade many instruments and symbols, including Forex, CFDs, Cryptocurrency, and Indices.
- You can fund your account with different currencies, including USD, GBP, EUR, CZK, CAD, AUD, and CHF.
- FTMO offers an economic calendar.
- You cannot use FTMO if you live in the United States of America, The Russian Federation, India, North Korea, Cuba, Iran, South Sudan, and Sudan, to name a few.
- FTMO accounts are costlier than other alternatives.
Any new trader looking for a reliable proprietary trading firm in the industry can consider FTMO because it is a great option. We’ve explored our trading strategies on FTMO, passed the challenges, and received 80% of the profit from our successful trades.
In this article, we’ve reviewed FTMO pros and cons, how it works, account types, and other helpful information to get you started.
Summary From Our Expert:
5 FTMO Customer Reviews And Ratings
What is FTMO?
FTMO, “Funded Trading MetaTrader Operator,” supports new and experienced traders with capital to trade, protecting them from the risks of investing their funds. Founded in 2015 by expert traders and business professionals, FTMO supplies traders with funded trading accounts to earn maximally. With over 10,000 traders, it is the world’s most popular proprietary trading firm, with a record of timely payouts and great profit shares.
However, before receiving the FTMO funding, traders must pass a challenge that evaluates their skills and risk management abilities under real market conditions. The best-skilled traders access the FTMO trading platform after the challenge.
Is FTMO Legal?
Yes, FTMO is legal. Our research reveals that FTMO is a reputable company with a long history in the industry. It has been in operation since 2015 and has provided many clients with their FTMO funding accounts, paying out over $160 million.
Since the government hasn’t put any regulations in place for proprietary firm trading, we discovered that the best way for you to choose a prop firm is to check its reviews for reputation analysis. So, in addition to the positive reviews on its website, we’ve done our due diligence by assessing reviews on other renowned sites like Trustpilot. These sites contain positive reviews from traders rating FTMO as an excellent prop firm. There are also tons of positive reviews from expert traders on YouTube.
Traders believe it’s safe, reliable, and profitable. You can get the most out of the platform by adopting adequate risk management strategies over time. In addition, many traders noted that besides the safety FTMO offers, it also comes with an excellent customer experience, including a responsive support service.
Prop Trading Account Types With FTMO
| Account Size | Cost | Minimum Number of Trading Days | Profit Target | Maximum Daily Loss |
| $10,000 | €155 | 4 | $1,000 | $500 |
| $25,000 | €250 | 4 | $2,500 | $1,250 |
| $50,000 | €345 | 4 | $5,000 | $2,500 |
| $100,000 | €540 | 4 | $10,000 | $5,000 |
| $200,000 | €1,080 | 4 | $20,000 | $10,000 |
FTMO offers different types of accounts, each with unique rules and requirements. Below is a list of prop trading account types offered by FTMO:
FTMO Normal Account
There are different sizes of the Normal Account, but typically, it allows traders to access up to $100,000 in capital. FTMO gets 20% of whatever profit you make while you keep 80%.
We discovered that this account’s maximum drawdown is 10%. The general rule is to complete at least 10 trading days within 60 calendar days to pass the challenge and finally become an FTMO-funded trader.
Some of the specifications for a normal account include:
- Instruments: Forex, cryptos, global stocks, commodities, indices, etc
- Trade duration: At least 2 minutes between trades
- Account leverage: Up to 1:100 leverage, based on the instrument
- Trade Timeframe: At least 15 minutes of charts
FTMO Swing Account
There are some differences between this account and a normal account. We chose this account type for our long-term trades, as FTMO recommended. The first thing we observed is that you can hold your trades over the weekend if you use the swing account. This is not allowed with the normal trading account. Secondly, the normal account allows a leverage of up to 1:100, while the swing account’s maximum leverage is 30.
Lastly, news trading is not allowed for normal accounts while it’s permitted for the swing traders. You can choose the Swing account specifically while applying for a funded account. Depending on the account size, you get a minimum of five trading days, with an allowable daily loss of $1,000 and a total loss of $3,000 or no more than 10% of the account.
More specifications include:
- Instruments: We traded crypto, stocks, commodities, indices, and forex
- Trade duration: We used this account to trade over the weekend
- Account leverage: Our maximum leverage was 1:30
- Trade timeframe: Since this is for long-term trading, our timeframes were the weekly and daily candles
The Challenge and Costs of FTMO Explained
There are different accounts for different budgets. The rules are fundamental – trade for a specific number of days, prove your risk management and trading strategies and take home 80 to 90% of your profits. These are all the accounts we tested on FTMO:
$10,000 Trading Account
The $10k FTMO account costs €155. You can use it for as long as you want if you keep within the maximum daily loss of $500.
We had to trade for at least 4 days and hit a profit target to keep this account. The $10,000 FTMO account has a three-step challenge, and it goes like this:
Step 1: FTMO Challenge
This is where we proved our dexterity as traders. Managing our risk and showcasing our excellent trading skills and experience helped us keep our heads in the game.
In step 1, we traded for four days as required and kept within the maximum daily loss of $500. This challenge had a trading target of $1,000, which is easy to hit if you know what you’re doing.
When you pass this stage, you get a €155 refundable fee and $900. As FTMO promised, we got 80% of the profit at this stage of the challenge.
Step 2: Verification
There’s also an unlimited trading timeframe for this stage. We observed that you can only lose $500 daily and $1,000 with this account.
The profit target is $500, and you must trade for at least 4 days before passing this step of the challenge.
Step 3: FTMO Trader
This is where we officially became FTMO traders.
All the other funded accounts follow similar processes with almost the same set of rules. In some cases, the minimum number of trading days, daily drawdown, and profit target may differ, but the challenges have the same requirements.
$25,000 Trading Account
This account costs €250 and allows up to $25,000 in trading funding. Similar to the $10,000 trading account, users need to follow the same steps — the FTMO Challenge, Verification, and FTMO Trader.
Requirements for $25,000 Trading Account
- Number of trading days: 4
- Daily drawdown: $1,250
- Maximum overall loss: $2,500
- Profit target for FTMO Challenge: $2,500
- Profit target for FTMO Verification: $1,250
$50,000 Trading Account
This account is €345 for a $50k funding. As with all other FTMO accounts, there are three stages before you can call yourself a funded trader. They include:
Requirements for $50,000 Trading Account
- Number of trading days: 4
- Maximum daily loss: $2,500
- Total loss: $5,000
- Profit target: 10%
- Refundable fee: $345
$100,000 Trading Account
When it’s time to scale up your position sizes, then this is what you should go for. This account is available for €540, a refundable fee you’ll get back if you pass all three stages.
Requirements for $100,000 Trading Account
- Minimum trading days: 4 trades on four different days
- Maximum daily drawdown: $5,000 daily
- Maximum drawdown: $10,000
- Profit target: $10,000
- Refundable fee: $540
- Profit split: 80%
$200,000 Trading Account
The $200,000 account costs €1,080. Like all the other accounts, it has three verification steps:
Requirements for $200,000 Trading Account
- Minimum trading days: 4
- Maximum daily drawdown: $10,000 daily
- Overall drawdown: $20,000
Promo Codes For Rebates
You can access the FTMO discount coupon through its premium program. Joining the program lets you participate in the challenges at a lower price and save more money. We also discovered that FTMO will refund the amount you have paid when you pass the evaluation process.
Payouts on FTMO
| Payout Processing Time | Percentage | Payout Method |
| 1 to 2 days | 80% to 90% | Wire Transfer, eWallet, or Cryptocurrency |
One thing we appreciate about all the FTMO account types is the consistency of the payouts. For starters, when you stick with the rules of this prop firm, you’re assured of your profits. The first profit day comes when you pass the step 1 challenge. Here, you receive 80% of the profit from the evaluation, whether it’s the FTMO target or you make more than the minimum profit.
FTMO technically pays every month, but you can put in a request for your share every two weeks (14 calendar days after your first trade). We also found that modifying your payouts to extend to as long as two months is possible. In other words, you can get paid every two weeks, monthly, or every 60 days.
Now, here’s the sweetener – there’s an incentivized scaling plan. This increment strategy allows you to increase your positions without increasing risk. You’d qualify if you can meet your profit target of 2.5% for four consecutive months.
Trading Platforms of FTMO
We discovered that FTMO has three trading platforms, which include:
- MT4
- MT5
- cTrader
- DXtrade
MT4
MT4 is one of the most popular trading platforms because it has been around for a long time. Since 2005, it has been a reliable source of charting information and trade execution. The interface is simple; it provides indicators, many trading symbols, and spreads.
MT5
MT5 is a step up from MT4. It has all the features of MT4 and more sophisticated technology. For instance, you can set your stop loss and take profit while looking at the charts, set up 6 different types of pending orders, and take more control over your trading.
cTrader
cTrader has many advantages you won’t find on MT4 and MT5. One of them is that you can access up to 26 different trading timeframes, which is more than you’ll find on other trading platforms.
It also makes trade execution easier, more interesting, and more sophisticated.
DXtrade
DXtrade is great for crypto and forex traders. Unlike MT4 and MT5, you can check and trade different cryptocurrencies on DXtrade. This works excellently for traders who like to analyze crypto, forex, and CFD charts without choosing favorites. You can connect your prop account to any of these channels and trade live with it.
For traders who prefer MT5 because of its upgraded interface, you only have to collect your login details from FTMO and add them to this trading platform. The same applies to other trading platforms like MT4 and cTrader.
While evaluating FTMO’s unique offers, we discovered that you can modify your trading platform if you are unsatisfied with the current one. You’re not stuck with the one you choose at the beginning of your evaluation.
Traders who do not like MT4’s interface and want to enjoy more charting benefits, you can upgrade to MT5 after passing whatever phase of the evaluation you’re on.
Which Broker is Used by FTMO?
We discovered that you won’t need a broker while working with FTMO because the prop firm has partnered with a tier-1 liquidity provider with the best real market simulations. For the challenges and actual trading, you can do away with the typical broker relationship and focus on showcasing your trading and risk management skills.
Taxes on FTMO
There’s a common misconception about taxes and trading. Many traders believe that the profit they make from prop trading counts as capital gains tax. On the contrary, prop trading is treated as a business. That’s why you become an FTMO entrepreneur when you pass your funded challenges.
The money you make as a trader is business money and should be accounted for as such while doing your taxes. It’s taxed according to the applicable rate for your country, and the rules of registering and taxing businesses in your country apply.
Support and Education
Contact FTMO via +44 20 3322 2983. Send a WhatsApp text or call if you have any inquiries. Alternatively, you can send an email to support@ftmo.com.
Alternatives to FTMO
Are you thinking about trying another prop firm? Then you might want to consider:
- The Trading Pit: The Trading Pit is a trustworthy prop firm that provides capital for futures and CFD traders. You don’t have to jump through hoops to get funded and get your profit share. There are also lots of funding options and advantages like low latency, zero hidden fees, and diverse payment methods.
- Apex Trader Funding: You could consider Apex Trader Funding if you want other options. With this prop firm, you may enjoy discounts on trading accounts, impressive profit split percentages, and daily drawdown leniency compared to other prop firms.
- 5%er: This prop trading firm is a steal if you’re looking for cheap but credible choices. Accounts go for as low as $39 and you get all the perks of the ideal trading community. 5%er is available to prop traders in the US, and there are 12,000+ stocks and ETFs on the menu.
- Leeloo: Leeloo is also available to prop traders in the US. It has a great reputation, offers different account sizes for various budgets, and will let you trade crypto, currencies, stocks, and a range of other markets.
Conclusion
FTMO should be every aspiring funded trader’s first choice because of its 100% payout assurance. There’s no shady business, and every user is treated equally according to all the research we conducted while reviewing this prop firm. When trading with FTMO, focus on mastering your risk management capabilities to get through the challenges and start making a profit.
Frequently Asked Questions on FTMO:
What are the payment methods on FTMO?
You can buy a funded account with a bank transfer, Visa card, Skrill, MasterCard, Maestro, or Discover card.
Is there a free trial?
Yes, FTMO has a free trial for traders not ready to take the funded challenges. You don’t have to pay to test your skills, but you won’t be able to ask for a payout with the free trial.
Is there a discount or promo for FTMO?
Yes, FTMO offers promos and discounts from time to time. Subscribe to the prop firm’s official email list, and you’ll get firsthand information about every ongoing promo.
