FTMO
FTMO Challenge: 2-Step, $100,000 (Standard or Swing account type)
- Product compared
- FTMO Challenge: 2-Step. FTMO also sells a 1-Step product with different rules (a trailing loss limit and a Best Day rule); nothing on this card applies to it.
- Fee
- €540 one-time fee (the page showed €439 on the day we read it). The entry fee may be refunded with the first Reward withdrawal.
- Targets
- Phase 1 (Challenge) 10%, phase 2 (Verification) 5%. No time limit. At least 4 trading days in each phase.
- Loss limits
- Maximum loss 10% of the initial capital, a static limit that never moves. Maximum daily loss 5%, recalculated every day at 00:00 Central European time from that day's starting balance. Both are measured on equity, so floating losses count.
- Consistency and profit caps
- The 2-Step trading objectives list no consistency rule and no best-day rule.
- Robots (EAs)
Allowed. FTMO's FAQ says it sees no reason to limit your strategy, with algorithmic trading, EAs and discretionary trading all named, as long as the trading is legitimate and not a forbidden practice. A stop loss is not required.
One caution from FTMO: with a third-party EA, other traders may run the same strategy, and you risk being denied the FTMO Account if you exceed the maximum capital allocation rule.
- Account types
- Standard: on a funded account, positions must be closed shortly before the weekend or when the daily market break lasts longer than 2 hours. Swing: no restriction on holding positions overnight or over the weekend, and none on news trading; it is offered only with the 2-Step and is chosen when you order. In the challenge phases neither type has the restriction.
- Payout
- On the 2-Step you receive 80% of the profit (90% with FTMO's Scaling Plan or Premium Programme). A Reward request is possible from the 14th day after the first trade; FTMO says it answers within 1-2 business days and typically sends the money 1-2 business days after the invoice is approved. Bank wire, Visa Direct / Mastercard Send (up to $20,000), Skrill (up to $3,000) and crypto are offered.
- Countries
- FTMO publishes the list of countries it does not serve: Who can join FTMO? Mongolia was not on it when we read it.
Our reading. In these rules a robot meets no consistency or best-day rule, and EAs are named as allowed. Check three things before you pay: the third-party-EA caution above; the Swing type if the robot holds trades over a weekend; and that the fee comes back only through a first reward, so treat it as money you may lose.
Read on 2026-10-04 from the firm's own pages: