FTMO challenge fees range from €79 on the $10K 1-Step to €1,080 on the $200K 2-Step. The fee is 100% refunded with your first funded payout, which means the effective cost to a trader who passes on the first attempt is zero. The catch: most traders do not pass on the first attempt, and the ones who fail twice pay 2-3x the entry fee before they see a refund.
This page breaks down every fee, every refund, the multi-attempt math, and the capital-per-euro ratio so you can see what FTMO actually costs at every account size before you buy.
One structural point before the numbers: FTMO is not the cheapest prop firm on the market. It is the most trusted. The fee premium buys you $500M+ in verified payouts, a 4.8/5 Trustpilot rating, and an OANDA parent company. Whether that premium is worth it depends on how much you weight trust versus cost. This page gives you the cost data. The trust case is in the full FTMO review.
Key Takeaways
- FTMO fees range from €79 ($10K 1-Step) to €1,080 ($200K 2-Step). Every fee is 100% refunded with your first funded payout.
- The 1-Step is cheaper at four of five tiers. The 2-Step is cheaper at $100K (€439 vs €499). The 2-Step Standard and Swing are priced identically.
- If you pass on the first attempt, the net cost is zero. If you fail twice and pass on the third, the net cost is 2x the entry fee. Plan for at least two attempts.
- The $200K account is the best value per dollar of capital (€5.00-€5.40 per $1K), but carries the highest absolute dollar risk ($6,000 daily loss on the 1-Step).
- FTMO’s fees are 2-3x cheaper firms, but the 100% refund and the trust track record make the effective cost competitive for traders who pass.
On This Page
Every FTMO fee is 100% refunded on your first funded payout. So the headline number looks big, but the effective cost to a passed trader is zero. Keep that in mind as you read the tables below.
FTMO 1-Step Pricing
The 1-Step Challenge is a single-phase evaluation with a 10% profit target, a 3% daily loss limit, a 10% trailing max drawdown, and a 90% profit split from day one.
| Account Size | Challenge Fee | Daily Loss Limit (3%) | Max Drawdown (10% trailing) | Profit Target (10%) | Profit Split |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| $10,000 | €79 | $300 | $1,000 | $1,000 | 90% |
| $25,000 | €199 | $750 | $2,500 | $2,500 | 90% |
| $50,000 | €319 | $1,500 | $5,000 | $5,000 | 90% |
| $100,000 | €499 | $3,000 | $10,000 | $10,000 | 90% |
| $200,000 | €999 | $6,000 | $20,000 | $20,000 | 90% |
The 1-Step is the cheaper option at every tier except $100K, where the 2-Step costs €60 less. If you are choosing a $100K account and cost is the tiebreaker, the 2-Step is cheaper at entry and has wider rules. That is worth knowing.
The 1-Step also includes the Best Day Rule, which restricts your single best day to 50% of total positive days’ profit. This is not a fee issue, but it is a cost issue: the Best Day Rule can force you to extend the challenge by days or weeks to build up enough balanced profit to clear the rule. More trading days means more risk exposure, which means a higher probability of a daily loss breach. For the full rule breakdown, read the FTMO Challenge guide.
FTMO 2-Step Pricing
The 2-Step Challenge is a two-phase evaluation with a 10% then 5% profit target, a 5% daily loss limit, a 10% static max drawdown, and an 80% base profit split scaling to 90%.
| Account Size | Challenge Fee | Daily Loss Limit (5%) | Max Drawdown (10% static) | Phase 1 Target (10%) | Phase 2 Target (5%) | Profit Split |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| $10,000 | €89 | $500 | $1,000 | $1,000 | $500 | 80% |
| $25,000 | €250 | $1,250 | $2,500 | $2,500 | $1,250 | 80% |
| $50,000 | €345 | $2,500 | $5,000 | $5,000 | $2,500 | 80% |
| $100,000 | €439 | $5,000 | $10,000 | $10,000 | $5,000 | 80% |
| $200,000 | €1,080 | $10,000 | $20,000 | $20,000 | $10,000 | 80% |
The 2-Step Standard and 2-Step Swing are priced identically. The Swing variant adds news trading and weekend holds at no extra fee. If you are choosing the 2-Step, the Swing variant is the better product at the same price unless your broker does not support it.
Two price anomalies worth flagging:
- $100K is cheaper on the 2-Step. The 2-Step costs €439 vs €499 on the 1-Step. This is the only tier where the 2-Step is cheaper, and it happens at the most popular account size. If you are price-sensitive and choosing a $100K account, the 2-Step is the better deal in both fee and rules.
- $200K 2-Step has the highest absolute fee. At €1,080, it is the most expensive single challenge FTMO offers. The 1-Step $200K is €999, which is €81 less for tighter rules. The fee difference is small relative to the capital, but the rule difference (3% vs 5% daily loss, trailing vs static drawdown) is significant.
The Fee Refund: How It Works
FTMO refunds 100% of the challenge fee with your first funded payout. No pro-rating. No minimums. The entire fee comes back.
On a $100K 2-Step challenge (€439), the refund adds approximately $475 (at current EUR/USD rates) to your first payout. If you earn $2,000 in your first payout period, you receive approximately $2,475.
On a $10K 1-Step challenge (€79), the refund adds approximately $85 to your first payout. If you earn $500 in your first payout period, you receive approximately $585.
The refund is the reason FTMO’s higher entry fees are defensible. A firm that charges €50 but does not refund has a net cost of €50 per passed trader. FTMO’s net cost per passed trader is €0.
The refund triggers automatically with your first payout. You do not need to request it separately. FTMO adds the fee amount to your first payout withdrawal.
The refund only applies to the most recent challenge fee. If you failed a previous challenge and bought a new one, only the fee from the successful challenge is refunded. The failed challenge fees are not recoverable.
There is no time limit on the refund. If it takes you 3 months to reach your first payout, the refund still applies. The trigger is the first payout, not a deadline.
What You Actually Pay: The Multi-Attempt Reality
The fee is €79-€1,080 per attempt. The refund returns one fee. The math is straightforward but the impact is not.
| Account Size | 1-Step Fee | Cost at 1 Attempt (pass) | Cost at 2 Attempts (1 fail, 1 pass) | Cost at 3 Attempts (2 fail, 1 pass) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| $10,000 | €79 | €0 (refunded) | €79 | €158 |
| $25,000 | €199 | €0 (refunded) | €199 | €398 |
| $50,000 | €319 | €0 (refunded) | €319 | €638 |
| $100,000 | €499 | €0 (refunded) | €499 | €998 |
| $200,000 | €999 | €0 (refunded) | €999 | €1,998 |
| Account Size | 2-Step Fee | Cost at 1 Attempt (pass) | Cost at 2 Attempts (1 fail, 1 pass) | Cost at 3 Attempts (2 fail, 1 pass) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| $10,000 | €89 | €0 (refunded) | €89 | €178 |
| $25,000 | €250 | €0 (refunded) | €250 | €500 |
| $50,000 | €345 | €0 (refunded) | €345 | €690 |
| $100,000 | €439 | €0 (refunded) | €439 | €878 |
| $200,000 | €1,080 | €0 (refunded) | €1,080 | €2,160 |
The numbers are honest. If you pass on the first attempt, the cost is zero. If you fail once and pass on the second, the cost is 1x the fee. If you fail twice and pass on the third, the cost is 2x the fee.
The traders who get into trouble are the ones who budget for 1 attempt and then fail 3 times. On the $200K 2-Step, three failed attempts cost €3,240 with no refund. That is real money.
Community data and trader reports consistently show that most FTMO candidates fail at least once before passing. The pass rate per attempt is estimated at 10-12% across both phases.
Plan your budget for at least two attempts. If you pass on the first, you have surplus budget. If you fail on the first, you are not financially stressed on the second. Financial stress on the second attempt is the fastest path to a third failure.
If you cannot afford two attempts at your chosen account size without financial strain, pick a smaller size. A $50K account you can afford to fail twice is better than a $200K account you cannot afford to fail once.
Before you commit to any account size, run the 14-day free trial with your actual strategy. If you breach the daily loss on the trial, you just saved yourself the entry fee. The trial is free, unlimited, and uses the same rules as the paid challenge.
Capital Per Euro: Which Size Is Best Value
The fee-to-capital ratio is the metric most traders skip. Here it is.
| Account Size | 1-Step Fee | € per $1K (1-Step) | 2-Step Fee | € per $1K (2-Step) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| $10,000 | €79 | €7.90 | €89 | €8.90 |
| $25,000 | €199 | €7.96 | €250 | €10.00 |
| $50,000 | €319 | €6.38 | €345 | €6.90 |
| $100,000 | €499 | €4.99 | €439 | €4.39 |
| $200,000 | €999 | €5.00 | €1,080 | €5.40 |
The best value on the 1-Step is the $200K at €5.00 per $1K, closely followed by the $100K at €4.99 per $1K. On the 2-Step, the $100K is the best value at €4.39 per $1K.
The $10K and $25K accounts have the worst fee-to-capital ratios. On the 2-Step $25K, you pay €10.00 per $1K of capital. That is more than double the $100K rate.
The implication: if you can manage a larger account and can afford the fee, the bigger accounts are meaningfully better value per dollar of capital deployed. The caveat, which I cannot stress enough, is that bigger accounts have bigger absolute dollar drawdowns. A 3% daily loss on $200K is $6,000. That is not a hypothetical number. That is the amount of money you can lose in a single day before your account closes.
Size to your risk management, not to the fee ratio. The fee ratio is a secondary consideration.
FTMO fees range from €79 to €1,080 depending on account size and challenge type. Every euro is refunded on your first funded payout. See the current pricing page for your target account size.
FTMO vs Cheaper Firms: Is the Premium Worth It?
FTMO is not the cheapest prop firm. Multiple competitors charge 40-60% less for similar account sizes. The question is whether the premium is worth it.
The argument for FTMO’s pricing:
- 100% fee refund on first payout. Most cheaper firms do not refund the fee. The effective cost for a passed trader is €0 at FTMO. At a cheaper firm with no refund, the effective cost is the fee itself.
- $500M+ in verified payouts since 2015. The fee premium buys a decade-long payout track record. Cheaper firms with shorter histories carry more counterparty risk.
- OANDA parent company. FTMO was acquired by OANDA Global Corporation in December 2025. The regulatory backing of a major forex broker is not available at newer, cheaper firms.
- 4.8/5 Trustpilot across 16,000+ reviews. The review volume is statistically meaningful. Cheaper firms with fewer reviews have less reliable trust signals.
The argument against FTMO’s pricing:
- The entry fee is 2-3x competitors. If you fail three times before passing, you have paid 3x the FTMO fee and received 1x back. The refund only helps traders who pass.
- Cheaper firms let you take more attempts for the same total spend. If you expect to fail multiple times, the total cost at a cheaper firm can be lower even without a refund.
- Some cheaper firms offer similar rules with similar payouts. FundedNext and The 5%ers have comparable daily loss and drawdown structures at lower entry prices.
FTMO is worth the premium if: you pass on the first or second attempt (net cost is €0-€500), you value payout reliability above all else, and you are planning to scale long-term with the firm.
FTMO is not worth the premium if: you expect to fail 3+ times before passing, you are testing prop firm trading for the first time, or you are optimizing purely on cost per attempt.
The honest answer: if you are a first-time trader, start cheaper. Learn the rules. Fail cheaply. Then move to FTMO when you are confident you can pass. FTMO rewards experienced traders who pass quickly. It punishes inexperienced traders who fail repeatedly.
Discounts and Promo Codes
FTMO occasionally runs promotional discounts on challenge fees. These are typically percentage-based reductions (5-15% off) that apply at checkout. The discounts are usually announced via email, social media, or affiliate partners.
Some affiliate partners, including PassPropTradingFirms, have negotiated discount codes that are available year-round. These codes apply to all account sizes and both challenge types.
At Prime Status in the Premium Programme, you receive a permanent 10% discount on all new FTMO Challenges. This is a structural discount that compounds over time: every challenge you buy after reaching Prime is 10% cheaper.
The 14-day Free Trial is not a discount. It is a separate, free product. But it serves the same purpose as a discount: it reduces your effective cost by showing you whether your strategy fits the rules before you pay. Use the trial before every first attempt at a new account size. It is the cheapest risk management available.
For current discount codes and promotions, check the FTMO discount page.
The bottom line on FTMO pricing: the fees are higher than the competition, but the refund structure and the trust track record make the effective cost competitive for traders who pass. If you pass on the first attempt, FTMO is free. If you fail three times, it is expensive. The Free Trial and proper preparation are the best ways to make sure you are in the first group.
