FTMO Review (2026): Is This Prop Firm Worth It or a Waste of Money?

FTMO is probably the most famous prop trading firm on the planet. Founded in 2015 in Prague, Czech Republic, it’s built a reputation as the gold standard for funded trading — with 38,000+ Trustpilot reviews, a 4.8-star rating, over $500 million paid out in rewards, and features in Forbes three years running.

The pitch is appealing: pass a two-step evaluation trading on a demo account, prove you can manage risk and hit profit targets, and FTMO will fund you with up to $200,000 in simulated capital. You keep up to 90% of the profits. If you fail, you only lose the challenge fee. If you pass and get your first payout, the fee gets refunded.

Sounds like the perfect opportunity for skilled traders who don’t have capital, right?

It can be. But there’s a reason 92% of traders fail the FTMO challenge. And there are some important details about how this business model actually works that most reviews conveniently skip.

After 15+ years reviewing online business models and income opportunities, I want to give you the full picture — what FTMO gets right, what it gets wrong, and whether prop trading is really the path to financial freedom that YouTube makes it look like.

Before We Go Further

Hey, my name is Mark.

I’ve spent 15+ years testing every way to make money online.

Prop trading is one path — but it’s high-skill, high-stress, and most people lose money before they ever get funded.

Instead of trading I build simple 2 page sites. These bring in $500 to $1200 a pop like clockwork every month.

Go here to see the exact system I use to do this

What Is FTMO?

FTMO (Funded Trader Management Organization) is a proprietary trading firm that provides simulated funded accounts to traders who pass their evaluation process. It was founded in 2015 and is headquartered in Prague, Czech Republic.

The company serves traders in 140+ countries, has over 3.5 million customers, employs 300+ staff, and maintains an active community of 100K+ Discord members and 400K+ YouTube subscribers.

FTMO offers trading across forex pairs, indices, commodities, stocks, and select cryptocurrencies — all through CFD (Contract for Difference) platforms including MetaTrader 4, MetaTrader 5, cTrader, and DXtrade.

Important clarification: All FTMO accounts are demo accounts with simulated capital. You’re not trading with real money in real markets. However, the profits you generate on your FTMO Account are paid out to you as real money (called “rewards”). This is a critical distinction that many reviews gloss over.

How the FTMO Challenge Works

FTMO uses a two-step evaluation process:

Step 1: The FTMO Challenge

You choose an account size ($10,000 to $200,000) and pay a one-time fee. Then you trade on a demo account and must hit a 10% profit target while respecting risk limits: a 5% maximum daily loss and a 10% maximum overall loss. There’s no time limit, but you must trade a minimum of 4 days.

Step 2: Verification

Same rules, same account size, but the profit target drops to 5%. This phase confirms your consistency. Minimum 4 trading days, no time limit.

Step 3: FTMO Account

Pass both steps and you become an FTMO Trader. You receive a funded demo account and earn up to 80-90% of your simulated profits as real-money rewards. The challenge fee is refunded with your first reward withdrawal.

FTMO Challenge Fees (2026)

Account Size	Standard Fee	Aggressive Fee
$10,000	~€155 (~$183)	~€250 (~$295)
$25,000	~€250 (~$295)	~€345 (~$407)
$50,000	~€345 (~$407)	~€540 (~$637)
$100,000	~€540 (~$637)	~€1,080 (~$1,274)
$200,000	~€1,080 (~$1,274)	N/A

Fees are one-time (not recurring) and refundable after your first successful payout on the 2-Step challenge. The newer 1-Step challenge option has a non-refundable fee.

Trading Platforms and Conditions

FTMO supports four trading platforms, giving you more flexibility than most prop firms:

MetaTrader 4 (MT4): The industry workhorse. If you’ve been trading forex for any length of time, you’ve probably used MT4. Reliable, widely supported, and compatible with thousands of Expert Advisors and custom indicators. The downside: it’s dated. The interface feels like 2010, and the charting tools are limited compared to newer platforms.

MetaTrader 5 (MT5): MT4’s successor with better charting, more timeframes, a built-in economic calendar, and support for more asset classes. If you trade indices, commodities, or stocks alongside forex, MT5 is the better choice. Most new FTMO traders should default to MT5 unless they have MT4-specific EAs they can’t migrate.

cTrader: Increasingly popular for its clean interface, advanced charting, and superior order execution. cTrader offers depth-of-market (DOM) functionality and Level II pricing that MT4/MT5 lack. It’s the preferred platform for scalpers and traders who prioritize execution speed.

DXtrade: FTMO’s newer platform addition, built specifically for prop trading environments. It’s web-based (no download required), works on any device, and offers clean charting. The trade-off: it has fewer features than MT5 or cTrader and a smaller user community.

Important note for US traders: Due to regulatory restrictions, US-based clients cannot use MetaTrader or cTrader platforms and must use DXtrade through the OANDA partnership.

Leverage and Spreads

FTMO offers leverage up to 1:100 on Standard accounts and 1:30 on Swing accounts. Spreads are competitive — FTMO uses institutional-grade pricing feeds, and most major forex pairs trade with tight spreads comparable to top-tier brokers.

Commission structure: $3 per standard lot for forex, 0.0040% for equities, and 0.0010% for metals. These are reasonable by industry standards.

Tradable Instruments

FTMO provides access to 70+ instruments across multiple asset classes:

Asset Class	Examples
Forex	EUR/USD, GBP/USD, USD/JPY, and 40+ pairs
Indices	S&P 500, NASDAQ, DAX, FTSE 100
Commodities	Gold, Silver, Oil, Natural Gas
Stocks	Select US and EU equities
Cryptocurrencies	Bitcoin, Ethereum, Litecoin, Dash

This breadth is a genuine advantage over futures-only firms like Apex Trader Funding and Topstep, which are limited to CME Group products.

FTMO Academy and Trader Development

One area where FTMO genuinely outperforms most competitors is education and trader development. This isn’t just a challenge factory — there are real resources designed to help you improve.

FTMO Academy: A structured online learning system divided into four sections — Basics (markets, forex, terminology), Trading Analysis (technical, fundamental, sentiment analysis), Advanced (strategy development, platform mastery), and Evaluation Process (rules and requirements for passing). The content mixes text, video, and interactive quizzes.

Performance Coaching: FTMO offers access to a performance coach (essentially a trading psychologist) who helps with the mental side of trading — dealing with losses, managing emotions, maintaining discipline. This is genuinely unusual for a prop firm and addresses the #1 reason traders fail: psychology, not strategy.

Account MetriX: A comprehensive analytics dashboard that tracks your net profit, profit factor, win rate, drawdown, daily performance, and more. This gives you data-driven insights into what’s working and what isn’t.

Mentor App: Helps traders set risk limits and monitor trading objectives in real-time — essentially a guardrail system that prevents you from accidentally breaching rules.

Statistical App: Analyses your trading data to identify patterns and optimization opportunities. Useful for traders who want to refine their approach based on historical performance.

These tools don’t guarantee success, but they represent a genuine investment in trader development that most competitors don’t match.

FTMO’s Scaling Plan

One of FTMO’s strongest features is the scaling plan. If you achieve at least 10% net profit over four months (with a minimum of two payouts), your account balance increases by 25% and your profit split can rise to 90%.

The maximum combined capital allocation is $400,000 per trader on Standard accounts ($200,000 on Aggressive). Through the Premium Programme and Quantlane pathway, top traders can potentially scale to $2,000,000 and even transition to trading real capital.

Standard vs. Swing Accounts

FTMO offers two account types with important differences:

Feature	Standard Account	Swing Account
Leverage	Up to 1:100	Up to 1:30
Overnight holding	Allowed (Challenge & Verification)	Allowed always
Weekend holding	Not allowed (Funded stage)	Allowed always
News trading	Restricted during Funded stage (2 min before/after high-impact news)	No restrictions
Best for	Day traders, scalpers	Swing traders, position traders, news traders

The Standard account suits traders who open and close positions within a day. The Swing account is better for anyone who holds positions overnight, through weekends, or trades news events — but comes with lower leverage (1:30 vs. 1:100).

Choose based on your strategy, not on which sounds more appealing. If you trade the 4-hour or daily charts and hold positions for days, the Swing account is the obvious choice even with reduced leverage.

Supported Trading Styles

FTMO allows most legitimate trading approaches:

Scalping: Permitted. Open and close positions within seconds or minutes. However, strategies involving tick exploitation, HFT, latency arbitrage, or market manipulation are strictly prohibited.

Day Trading: Fully supported with fast execution, up to 1:100 leverage, and low spreads.

Swing Trading: Allowed on Swing accounts and during Challenge/Verification on Standard accounts. Standard funded accounts require closing positions before weekends.

News Trading: Freely allowed on Swing accounts. Standard funded accounts restrict opening/closing trades 2 minutes before and after high-impact news releases.

Automated Trading (EAs): Permitted, provided your EA is not a third-party signal service, complies with all risk rules, and doesn’t employ manipulative strategies.

Copy Trading: Allowed, but third-party signals are prohibited. You must be fully responsible for all trades and comply with risk rules.

Prohibited strategies: Arbitrage, tick exploitation, latency arbitrage, high-frequency trading (HFT), hedging across multiple accounts, and any form of market manipulation.

What FTMO Gets Right

Industry-leading reputation. With 38,000+ Trustpilot reviews at 4.8 stars, FTMO has the strongest verified track record of any prop firm. Over $500 million in rewards paid out since inception. This isn’t a fly-by-night operation.

Clear, transparent rules. FTMO’s trading objectives are published openly. There are no hidden rules, no surprise disqualifications, and no moving goalposts. The calendar clearly shows restricted news events. Multiple reviews praise this transparency compared to competitors.

Fast, reliable payouts. FTMO processes reward requests with an average turnaround of 8 hours. Multiple Trustpilot reviews confirm payouts landing within 1-3 days. FTMO also covers transaction fees on the trader’s side.

Free retry on failed challenges. If you fail to hit the profit target but don’t breach any risk limits, FTMO offers a free retry — a genuinely trader-friendly policy that competitors rarely match.

Platform flexibility. Support for MetaTrader 4, MetaTrader 5, cTrader, and DXtrade means you can use the platform that fits your strategy. Expert Advisors (EAs) and algorithmic trading are permitted.

Comprehensive trader tools. FTMO provides a Statistical Application, Mentor App, Trading Journal, Account MetriX, equity simulator, and performance coaching. These aren’t marketing fluff — they’re genuinely useful for development.

What FTMO Gets Wrong

The 92% Failure Rate

This is the elephant in every FTMO review. According to multiple independent analyses, approximately 92% of traders fail the FTMO challenge. That means for every 100 traders who pay the challenge fee, only about 8 ever get funded.

FTMO doesn’t hide this — and to their credit, the challenge is genuinely testing real trading ability. But the marketing presentations from YouTube influencers rarely mention this statistic. They show the winners, not the 92% who lost their fee.

It’s All Simulated Trading

This is the part most beginners miss entirely. Every FTMO account — Challenge, Verification, and Funded — is a demo account with simulated capital. You are never trading in live markets with real money.

FTMO’s model is: you trade on a demo, they pay you real money based on your simulated results, and they may use data from your simulated trades when making their own real-market decisions. This is legal and transparent, but it means FTMO is fundamentally a different business than a traditional prop firm that gives you actual capital to trade.

Strict Rules That Catch Experienced Traders

The 5% daily loss limit is where most funded traders eventually get eliminated. One bad day — a flash crash, a news spike, a moment of emotional trading — and your account is terminated. No warnings, no second chances. You’d need to purchase a new challenge to start over.

The new 0.5-1% risk-per-trade guideline (introduced for funded accounts) has also drawn criticism from traders who feel it’s overly restrictive for certain strategies.

Not Directly Available for US Clients (With Caveats)

FTMO’s availability for US traders has been complicated. As of 2026, US clients can access FTMO through a partnership with OANDA, but this adds another layer to the process. If you’re US-based, verify the current access path before committing.

The Business Model Incentive Question

FTMO makes money primarily from challenge fees. With a 92% failure rate, the vast majority of revenue comes from traders who pay fees and never receive funded accounts. This creates a structural tension: the company profits most when traders fail.

To be fair, FTMO also benefits from successful traders (they use performance data for their own trading), and their trader-development tools suggest genuine investment in trader success. But the incentive structure is worth understanding.

FTMO vs. Other Prop Firms

Feature	FTMO	Apex Trader Funding	Topstep
Founded	2015	2021	2012
Markets	Forex, indices, crypto, commodities, stocks	Futures only	Futures only
Evaluation	2-step (or 1-step)	1-step	1-step (Trading Combine)
Account sizes	$10K–$200K	$25K–$300K	$50K–$150K
Challenge fee	€155–€1,080 (refundable on 2-step)	$137–$657/month (non-refundable)	$49–$149/month (non-refundable)
Fee structure	One-time	Monthly subscription	Monthly subscription
Profit split	Up to 80-90%	100% first $25K, then 90%	100% first $10K, then 90%
Max scaling	$400K–$2M	$300K (20 accounts)	$150K per account
Trustpilot	4.8★ (38,000+ reviews)	4.4★ (17,000+ reviews)	4.3★ (13,600+ reviews)
Platforms	MT4, MT5, cTrader, DXtrade	Rithmic, Tradovate, NinjaTrader	TopstepX, NinjaTrader, Quantower

FTMO’s edge: Broadest market access (not limited to futures), one-time fee structure (vs. monthly), highest Trustpilot rating, longest track record, strongest scaling potential.

FTMO’s weakness: Higher upfront fees for larger accounts, stricter daily loss rules, complicated US access, and the simulated-only environment may bother traders who want to trade real capital.

For a detailed look at the alternatives, see my reviews of Apex Trader Funding and Topstep.

The Premium Programme and Quantlane Pathway

This is where FTMO separates itself from every other prop firm — there’s a genuine career pathway for top traders.

Prime Status

After demonstrating consistent profitability, traders can qualify for Prime Status within the Premium Programme. Benefits include a permanent increase to 90% profit split (from the default 80%), priority customer support, and enhanced account management tools.

Supreme Status

The highest level within the Premium Programme. Traders who merge four $100K FTMO Accounts into a single $400K account can apply for Supreme Status, which provides additional benefits and recognition.

Quantlane: Real Capital, Real Career

The ultimate destination for FTMO’s best traders. Quantlane is FTMO’s affiliated company focused on quantitative trading strategies. Top FTMO traders can transition to Quantlane, where they trade with real capital (not simulated), receive a fixed salary under contract, access a Performance & Mindset coach, and use professional-grade trading infrastructure.

This matters because it addresses the biggest criticism of prop firms: that you’re only ever trading on a demo account. For the elite few who reach Quantlane, FTMO becomes a genuine career launchpad — not just a challenge factory.

How many traders actually make it to Quantlane? FTMO doesn’t publish exact numbers, and it’s safe to assume it’s a tiny fraction of total traders. But the pathway exists, which is more than any competitor offers.

Countries and Restrictions

FTMO serves 140+ countries, but there are restrictions worth noting:

US traders: Can access FTMO through the OANDA partnership (launched August 2025). Must use DXtrade platform only (no MetaTrader or cTrader). Requires a US Tax Identification Number and IRS Form W-9. Some states may have additional restrictions — historically South Carolina, Arkansas, Montana, Louisiana, and Delaware have been flagged.

Fully banned countries: Iran, Syria, North Korea, and individuals on international sanction lists.

Previously restricted: India was restricted for nearly 2 years but FTMO relaunched services there in December 2025, marking a significant expansion.

If you’re outside the US, the process is simpler — just sign up, choose your challenge, and start. US traders should verify the current access requirements through the official FTMO website before committing.

What Real Users Are Saying

Trustpilot (38,000+ Reviews, 4.8 Stars)

The overwhelming majority of FTMO reviews are positive. Funded traders consistently praise fast payouts (often within 48 hours), clear rules with no hidden catches, professional customer support, and the quality of trading tools and analytics.

The negative reviews cluster around a few themes: traders who breached risk rules and felt the termination was unfair (most acknowledge they broke the rules but felt the limits were too tight), traders frustrated by the difficulty of passing the challenge, and occasional complaints about the new 0.5-1% risk-per-trade guideline on funded accounts being too restrictive for certain strategies.

One pattern worth noting: almost no funded traders who followed the rules complain about payout issues. The payout complaints come almost exclusively from traders who breached risk limits and lost their accounts. This actually speaks well of FTMO’s consistency.

Forex Peace Army

Reviews here are more mixed. Some funded traders report excellent experiences with multiple payouts. Others describe having profitable accounts terminated for “over risk exposure” despite believing they followed the rules. The discretion FTMO has in evaluating trading behaviour creates uncertainty for some traders.

Reddit and Trading Forums

The r/FundedTrading and r/Forex communities are generally positive about FTMO relative to competitors. Common advice: start with a smaller account size to learn the rules, don’t use the full risk allocation, and treat the challenge like a business expense you may need to pay multiple times.

The Prop Trading Industry: What Nobody Tells Beginners

Here’s the context that FTMO (and every prop firm) markets around.

The 90/90/90 rule in trading: 90% of traders lose 90% of their money within the first 90 days. This isn’t FTMO-specific — it’s the reality of trading generally. Prop firms don’t change this equation; they just change who loses money (you lose the fee instead of your capital).

Challenge fees are the real business model. FTMO processes millions of challenge purchases. At a 92% failure rate, the vast majority of revenue comes from fees paid by traders who never get funded. A $100K challenge at ~$637, multiplied by thousands of traders per month, is a massive revenue stream regardless of whether anyone passes.

YouTube creates survivorship bias. The traders who get funded and earn payouts make YouTube videos. The 92% who fail don’t. This creates the illusion that passing FTMO is achievable for most people when the data says the opposite.

Prop trading is not passive income. Even after getting funded, you’re actively trading every day under strict rules. One bad day can terminate your account. There’s no “set and forget” — it requires constant attention, emotional control, and skill maintenance.

Who Should Actually Consider FTMO?

FTMO makes sense for: Experienced traders with a proven, backtested strategy who need capital. Forex traders specifically (FTMO’s strongest suit vs. futures-only competitors). Disciplined risk managers who can consistently stay within 5% daily and 10% overall loss limits. Traders comfortable with the idea that they may fail 2-5 times before passing.

FTMO does NOT make sense for: Complete beginners who are still learning to trade — the challenge fee becomes tuition for an expensive lesson. Emotional or revenge traders who can’t handle strict daily loss limits. Anyone who thinks prop trading is “easy money” or “passive income.” Traders who can’t afford to lose the challenge fee multiple times.

The Real Economics of Prop Trading

Let’s do the math most FTMO reviews avoid.

Scenario: Attempting the $100,000 account

Cost	Amount
Challenge fee (first attempt)	~$637
Average attempts to pass (industry data)	3-5
Total fees before funded	$637–$3,185
Monthly profit if successful (2-3% return)	$2,000–$3,000
Your share (80-90%)	$1,600–$2,700
Time to recoup fees	1-2 months if funded

The economics work if you pass. The problem is most people don’t. And the time, stress, and emotional toll of repeated failures isn’t captured in a spreadsheet.

Compare this to building a digital asset that generates $500-$1,200/month in recurring income with no market risk, no daily loss limits, and no evaluation fees. Different paths, very different risk profiles.

The Bigger Question: Is Prop Trading the Right Path?

Prop trading through firms like FTMO can work for skilled, disciplined traders. But it shares a fundamental characteristic with most “make money online” opportunities: the marketing makes it look far easier and more accessible than it actually is.

The 92% failure rate isn’t a bug — it’s the core reality. Most people who attempt prop trading lose money. The ones who succeed typically have years of trading experience, a well-tested strategy, strong emotional discipline, and the financial cushion to absorb multiple failed attempts.

If that describes you, FTMO is one of the best prop firms available. If it doesn’t, you’re likely paying expensive tuition fees for lessons you could learn on a free demo account.

For everyone else — the majority of people reading this — there are more reliable paths to building online income. Paths that don’t require market expertise, don’t carry the stress of daily loss limits, and build assets that generate recurring revenue rather than requiring constant active trading.

If you want a deeper comparison of different online business models, my how to make money online guide breaks down what actually works.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is FTMO legit? Yes. FTMO is one of the most established and reputable prop firms in the world, with 38,000+ Trustpilot reviews at 4.8 stars and over $500 million in rewards paid out since 2015.

Is FTMO a scam? No. FTMO operates transparently, pays rewards reliably, and has a decade-long track record. The high failure rate (92%) isn’t a scam — it reflects the genuine difficulty of consistent profitable trading.

How much does the FTMO challenge cost? Fees range from ~€155 ($183) for a $10,000 account to ~€1,080 ($1,274) for a $200,000 account. Fees are refundable with your first reward on the 2-Step challenge.

What percentage of traders pass FTMO? Approximately 8% based on independent analyses. Most traders fail due to breaching the 5% daily loss limit or the 10% overall loss limit.

Can US traders use FTMO? As of 2026, US traders can access FTMO through a partnership with OANDA. Verify current access requirements before signing up.

Is FTMO trading real money? No. All FTMO accounts use simulated capital on demo accounts. However, the rewards (profits) paid to traders are real money.

How long does it take to get paid by FTMO? Reward requests are processed with an average 8-hour turnaround. Most traders report receiving funds within 1-3 business days.

Final Verdict

FTMO is the most reputable prop trading firm in the industry. The platform is legitimate, the rewards are real, the rules are transparent, and the scaling potential is genuine. If you’re an experienced trader with a proven strategy and strong risk management, FTMO offers one of the best paths to trading with meaningful capital.

But prop trading itself is not for everyone — and it’s certainly not the “easy path to financial freedom” that social media makes it appear. The 92% failure rate is the reality. Most people who attempt FTMO will lose their challenge fee and never get funded.

If you’re a skilled trader, FTMO is worth considering. If you’re a beginner looking for reliable online income, there are better paths.

Go here to see the exact system I use to build recurring online income