FTMO Rules 2026: Challenge, Drawdown, Payouts

FTMO is one of the longest-running prop firms. It has been evaluating traders since 2015 and has three CFD paths: the classic 2-Step Challenge, a 1-Step Challenge and an Instant account with no evaluation. It also launched FTMO Futures in 2026. This guide covers the rules for each path, what changed in October 2026, and how to track a challenge so you don't break a rule by accident.

Rules and prices below come from FTMO's official website as of October 13, 2026. FTMO updates its rules regularly, so always confirm on ftmo.com before you buy.

FTMO Rules at a Glance

FTMO lists its CFD challenge fees in euros. For example, a $100K 2-Step Challenge is listed at €540, and the 1-Step at €499. Check the pricing section for current fees and promotions.

How the FTMO Drawdown Rules Work

Max daily loss. It resets every day at midnight Central European Time, based on your balance at that moment. On a $100K 2-Step account, if you finish the day at $102,000, the next day's limit is $97,000 (balance minus 5% of the starting capital). The limit is checked against equity, so open losing trades count.

Max loss. This is where the three paths differ most:

• 2-Step: static. On a $100K account, your equity can never fall below $90,000, no matter how much you've made.

• 1-Step: trails your highest end-of-day balance. If you close a day at $104,000, your floor moves up to $94,000 and never comes back down.

• Instant: trails in real time every time you close a trade at a new balance high. On Instant accounts, withdrawing a reward does not reset this limit.

What Changed in October 2026: Consistency Replaces the Best Day Rule

From October 12, 2026, new 1-Step orders use a Consistency rule instead of the old Best Day Rule. Your most profitable day can't be more than 50% of your total profit. Total profit counts losing days too, which makes the rule stricter than the old one, where only positive days counted.

Breaking it doesn't fail your account. You just have to keep trading until your best day falls back under the limit. Example from FTMO: if your best day is $6,000 and your total profit is $10,000 (60%), you need total profit of at least $12,000 before you can pass or withdraw. Accounts ordered before October 12 keep the Best Day Rule.

FTMO Payout Rules

• First reward: you can request your first reward 14 days after your first trade on the FTMO Account.

• Processing: FTMO reviews requests in 1–2 business days, and payment usually goes out 1–2 business days after the invoice is approved.

• Split: 80% on the 2-Step by default, rising to 90% through scaling or the Premium Programme. The 1-Step and Instant pay 90%.

• Consistency gate: on 1-Step and Instant accounts, you can't withdraw a reward until your best day is within the Consistency limit (50% or 30%).

• Instant accounts: withdrawing a reward does not reset the Maximum Loss Limit, so a withdrawal can't take your balance below the limit you've already reached.

• Methods and minimums:

  • bank wire or card transfer, $20 minimum

  • Skrill

  • crypto, $50 minimum

• 2-Step fee refund: the 2-Step fee is refunded with your first reward.

Other FTMO Rules to Know

• Platforms: MT4, MT5, cTrader and TradingView.

• Markets: forex, indices, commodities, stocks and crypto CFDs.

• News and weekends: on funded Standard accounts, you can't open or close trades from 2 minutes before to 2 minutes after selected news releases. You also have to close positions before market breaks longer than 2 hours. Neither restriction applies during the Challenge, the Verification or on Swing accounts.

• Scaling: every 4 months, if you're up at least 10% and have had 2 rewards processed, your account can grow by 25%, up to $2M.

• Free trial: 14 days, with a 5% profit target, and you can repeat it as often as you like.

• Forbidden practices: exploiting price or latency errors, hedging across accounts, gap trading, and splitting profits across days to get around the Consistency rule. See FTMO's full list.

How to Track Your FTMO Challenge in a Trading Journal

FTMO's Account MetriX dashboard is the official record of whether you've passed or failed. A journal answers a different question: why you're up or down, and whether your process will survive the rules. Here's a routine that works:

1. Give the challenge its own account. In StonkJournal, create a separate account for each challenge, so your FTMO stats never mix with your personal or paper trading. See the multi-account trading journal.

2. Set your rules to match FTMO's limits. Use risk management rules for max daily loss, max loss and position size, ideally tighter than FTMO's. A personal daily stop at 2.5% leaves a buffer before FTMO's 3% or 5% limit.

3. Watch your best day. On the 1-Step and Instant accounts, a single big day can delay passing. The calendar heatmap shows your daily P&L at a glance, so you can see when one day is carrying the account.

4. Check compliance before every trade. StonkJournal flags a trade that breaks one of your rules while you're entering it, and scores every trade for compliance.

5. Review weekly. Look at win rate, profit factor and average loss by setup. On Pro, the AI Coach highlights patterns such as revenge sizing after a loss, a classic way challenges end.

For the full routine, read How to Pass a Prop Firm Challenge, and see the prop firm trading journal page.

Other Prop Firm Guides

• Topstep rules and payouts: futures Trading Combine rules

• Apex Trader Funding rules and payouts: EOD and intraday futures evaluations

• FundedNext review: Stellar CFD challenges and futures

More guides are on the StonkJournal blog.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the FTMO max daily loss?
5% of starting capital on the 2-Step, and 3% on the 1-Step and Instant accounts. It's recalculated every day at midnight CE(S)T from your balance at that moment.

Is FTMO's max loss trailing?
On the 2-Step it's static, at 10% below the starting capital. On the 1-Step it trails your highest end-of-day balance. On Instant accounts it trails in real time from your highest closed-trade balance.

Does FTMO have a time limit?
No. None of the current challenges have a time limit.

What are the FTMO challenge rules?
The 2-Step Challenge has a 10% profit target, then a 5% target in Verification. Both phases have a 5% max daily loss, a 10% static max loss and at least 4 trading days, with no time limit. The 1-Step has a single 10% target, a 3% daily loss limit, a 10% trailing max loss and a 50% Consistency rule.

Does FTMO have a consistency rule?
Yes, on the 1-Step and Instant accounts, but not the 2-Step. From October 12, 2026, new 1-Step orders use a Consistency rule: your best day can't be more than 50% of your total profit. On Instant accounts the limit is 30%. Breaking it doesn't fail the account; you keep trading until you meet it.

What are the FTMO payout rules?
You can request your first reward 14 days after your first trade. FTMO reviews it in 1–2 business days, and payment usually follows 1–2 business days after that. The split is 80–90%, depending on the account.

Is the FTMO fee refundable?
Only the 2-Step fee, which is refunded with your first reward. The 1-Step and Instant fees are not refunded.

Track Your Challenge Free

StonkJournal is free, with unlimited trades and accounts, risk rules and the calendar heatmap. No trial, no credit card. Start journaling free →

StonkJournal isn't affiliated with FTMO. This page is for information only and isn't financial advice.