PROP FIRM RULES
FTMO RULES & LIMITS
FTMO offers funded trading accounts up to $200,000. Traders must pass a two-phase evaluation (Challenge + Verification) before receiving a funded account with 80–90% profit split. Based in Prague, FTMO is the most recognized prop firm globally and the benchmark most other firms are measured against.
Strategy guide
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KEY RULES
Daily Drawdown
5%
Max Loss
10%
Profit Target
10% (Phase 1) / 5% (Phase 2)
Min Trading Days
4 days
Max Duration
Unlimited
Leverage
Up to 1:100
EVALUATION PHASES
Challenge
Verification
Funded
RULE EXPLANATIONS
5% Daily Drawdown — How It Is Calculated
The daily drawdown is calculated from your account balance at the start of each trading day (midnight CET). If your $100,000 account starts a day at $100,000, you cannot lose more than $5,000 that day — regardless of your open positions at close. This is a hard limit: hitting it immediately fails the challenge. Many traders are surprised to learn that open floating losses count toward the daily drawdown, not just closed trades.
Edge case: If you close a day at $103,000 after a profitable week, your next day's drawdown limit is calculated from $103,000, not the original $100,000. The daily limit always resets from the previous day's closing balance.
10% Maximum Loss — Total Account Drawdown
The 10% maximum loss (also called total drawdown) is calculated from your initial account balance — not your peak balance. On a $100,000 account, your account equity can never fall below $90,000 at any point during the challenge. Unlike some other firms, FTMO uses a static maximum loss, not a trailing drawdown. This means a great week followed by a bad week cannot push you below the absolute floor of $90,000.
Edge case: Floating losses on open positions count toward the maximum loss calculation in real time. If you are up $8,000 on closed trades but have a $10,000 floating loss on an open position, you have effectively breached the rule — even if you never close that losing trade.
4-Day Minimum Trading Requirement
FTMO requires a minimum of 4 trading days in each phase. A trading day counts when you execute at least one trade that day. This rule is designed to prevent traders from getting lucky in 1–2 trades and calling it a pass. The minimum days requirement has no time pressure attached — FTMO challenges have no expiry date — but failing to reach 4 days means you cannot request evaluation even if your profit target is met.
Edge case: A "trading day" is a calendar day on which at least one trade is opened or closed, not a day on which you are profitable. A day with 3 losing trades still counts as a trading day.
Profit Split — 80% Base, Up to 90%
FTMO funded traders keep 80% of profits by default. After demonstrating consistent performance over multiple payouts, traders can apply for the 90% split through the Experienced Trader program. Payouts are processed on request once the account has been funded for at least 14 days, with a minimum payout threshold of $100.
Edge case: The profit split applies to net profits only. If you withdrew $5,000 last month and lost $2,000 this month, there is nothing to split until the $2,000 drawdown is recovered.
ACCOUNT SIZES & PRICING
| Account | Size | Price |
|---|---|---|
| $10K | $10,000 | €155 |
| $25K | $25,000 | €250 |
| $50K | $50,000 | €345 |
| $100K | $100,000 | €540 |
| $200K | $200,000 | €1,080 |
TIPS TO PASS FTMO
Focus on consistency over single big wins. FTMO's evaluation algorithm rewards steady equity curves — a 10% gain spread across 15 trading days is far more likely to be approved than a 10% gain made in 2 days. Reviewers look at maximum daily gain as well as maximum daily loss.
Use the FTMO free trial before paying for the challenge. The free trial gives you 14 days on a simulated $10K account with identical rules. Use it to verify your strategy is compliant, not to test profitability — if your strategy is not yet proven, the trial will only delay an inevitable loss.
Track your daily drawdown in real time, not just at session close. The 5% limit includes floating losses on open positions. Many traders breach it mid-session while still in a trade, not realizing their equity has already crossed the threshold. Set an intraday alert at 3% loss to give yourself a buffer.
Reach 4 trading days before targeting the profit. The minimum day requirement catches traders who try to front-load all their trades into 2–3 aggressive sessions. Even if you hit 10% profit in day 2, you still need to trade on 2 more days — which creates unnecessary risk. Spread your trading.
Do not trade the last hour of major news events without understanding the rules. FTMO allows news trading, but major data releases (NFP, CPI, FOMC) create spread spikes that can trigger stop losses at unexpected prices. Many challenge failures happen not from bad trades but from spreads 3x wider than normal during news.
WHY TRADERS FAIL FTMO
Revenge trading after a losing day and breaching the 5% daily limit. This is the single most common failure mode — a trader has a bad morning, loses 3% by noon, tries to recover in the afternoon, and ends the day at -6%. The daily limit is not recoverable: once breached, the challenge ends regardless of what happens next. The fix is a hard rule: if you are down 3% in a day, stop trading until the next day.
Oversizing positions to reach the 10% profit target faster. A $100,000 account needs $10,000 in profit, which feels large. Traders increase their position size to accelerate the timeline, but this also increases daily loss exposure. A single oversized losing trade can consume the entire daily drawdown budget. The correct approach is to trade your normal risk percentage and let the 10% accumulate over time.
Ignoring the daily drawdown while tracking only total P&L. Many traders who fail FTMO were actually profitable overall — they just had one bad day that exceeded 5%. Total P&L and daily drawdown are two completely separate metrics. Being up 7% overall does not protect you from a single day that loses 5.5%.
Trading without a journal and repeating identical behavioral mistakes across challenge attempts. FTMO publishes statistics showing the average trader fails the challenge multiple times before passing. Each failure is usually caused by the same pattern — revenge trading after losses, overtrading on volatile sessions — that was also present in the previous attempt. Without reviewing trade data between attempts, there is no mechanism for improvement.
FAQ — FTMO
Can I trade news events during the FTMO challenge?
Yes — FTMO allows news trading with no restrictions. However, be aware that spreads widen significantly during major releases (NFP, CPI, FOMC decisions). A trade with a 10-pip stop loss can be executed at 25 pips slippage during peak news volatility, which may push your daily drawdown higher than intended.
Does the FTMO challenge expire?
No. As of 2024, FTMO removed the time limit on all challenges. You have unlimited time to reach the profit target as long as you do not breach the drawdown limits. The minimum 4-day trading requirement still applies.
What happens if I breach the daily drawdown on the last day of the challenge?
The challenge fails immediately. There is no grace period. The breach is registered in real time based on equity, not at market close. You would need to purchase a new challenge to try again — FTMO does offer a 10% refund on the new challenge fee if you retake within a certain period.
How long does FTMO take to verify and fund accounts after passing?
Typically 1–2 business days after passing the Verification phase. FTMO reviews the account manually before activating it. The first payout can be requested after 14 days of trading on the funded account, with a minimum of $100 in profit.
Can I trade the same account on multiple devices?
Yes. FTMO uses MetaTrader 4 or 5, which allows login from multiple devices simultaneously. The rules apply to the account, not the device.
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