The FTMO Challenge is the evaluation gate between you and a funded trading account. FTMO offers two paths to get through it: the 1-Step Challenge, which is faster but has tighter rules, and the 2-Step Challenge, which is more forgiving but takes two phases to clear. Both paths cost real money upfront. Both refund 100% of the fee when you get your first payout as a funded trader.
Most traders pick the wrong path on their first attempt. They see “1-Step” and assume faster means easier. It does not. The 1-Step has a 3% daily loss limit and a trailing 10% max drawdown that will end your challenge faster than the 2-Step if you are not a consistent compounder. The 2-Step gives you 5% daily loss room and a static drawdown, but you have to pass two phases.
This page breaks down every rule, every fee, and every trap across both challenge paths so you can pick the one that fits how you actually trade.
Key Takeaways
- FTMO offers two challenge paths: the 1-Step (faster, tighter rules, 90% split from day one) and the 2-Step (two phases, wider rules, 80% base split). Pick based on your trading style, not on which sounds easier.
- The 1-Step has a 3% daily loss limit and a 10% trailing max drawdown plus the Best Day Rule. The 2-Step has a 5% daily loss and a static 10% max drawdown with no consistency rule. Swing traders should use the 2-Step.
- Challenge fees range from €79 to €999 on the 1-Step and €89 to €1,080 on the 2-Step. The fee is 100% refunded with your first funded payout.
- About 60% of failed challenges are killed by the daily loss limit, not by missing the profit target. The rules are the real challenge, not the target.
- The 14-day Free Trial lets you test your strategy against the actual challenge rules before you pay. It is the single most underused feature in the FTMO ecosystem and the cheapest way to find out if you are ready.
On This Page
What Is the FTMO Challenge?
The FTMO Challenge is FTMO’s evaluation process for funded trading accounts. You pay an entry fee, trade a simulated account under FTMO’s rules, and if you hit the profit target without breaching any risk limits, you get access to a funded account where you trade with the firm’s capital and keep 80-90% of the profits.
The key word is simulated. FTMO does not hand you a live brokerage account during the challenge. You trade on demo pricing that mirrors live market conditions. The spreads, the execution, and the platform are real. The money is not. But the rules are enforced as if it were real, and the funded account you earn at the end pays real money.
FTMO has operated this model since 2015. The firm has paid out $500M+ to funded traders since then, holds a 4.8/5 Trustpilot rating across 16,000+ reviews, and was acquired by OANDA Global Corporation in December 2025. The evaluation model is not new, and the payouts are not theoretical.
There is no time limit on either challenge path. You can take as many trading days as you need to reach the profit target, as long as you do not breach the daily loss limit or the max drawdown. This is a structural advantage over firms that impose 30-day or 60-day deadlines. It means you can trade your normal pace without rushing.
The challenge exists because FTMO needs to filter out traders who will lose the firm’s money. The profit target proves you can generate returns. The daily loss and max drawdown rules prove you can manage risk. Both are non-negotiable.
FTMO 1-Step vs 2-Step at a Glance
Here is the side-by-side comparison of both challenge paths. Every rule, every metric, one table.
| Metric | 1-Step Challenge | 2-Step Challenge |
|---|---|---|
| Phases | 1 | 2 (Phase 1 + Phase 2) |
| Profit target | 10% | Phase 1: 10% / Phase 2: 5% |
| Daily loss limit | 3% | 5% |
| Max drawdown | 10% trailing | 10% static |
| Profit split | 90% from day one | 80% base, scales to 90% |
| Best Day Rule | Yes (50% cap) | No |
| Consistency rule | No (but Best Day Rule applies) | No |
| News trading | Restricted (Standard only) | Restricted (Standard), Allowed (Swing) |
| Weekend holds | No (Standard), Yes (Swing) | No (Standard), Yes (Swing) |
| Time limit | None | None |
| Fee refund | 100% on first payout | 100% on first payout |
| Min fee ($10K) | €79 | €89 |
| Max fee ($200K) | €999 | €1,080 |
The headline difference: the 1-Step is a single-phase evaluation with a tighter risk envelope but a higher profit split. The 2-Step is a two-phase evaluation with more room for error but a lower starting split.
Neither is “easier.” The 1-Step compensates for having one phase by making the rules tighter. The 2-Step compensates for wider rules by making you do it twice. The pass rate per attempt is roughly similar for both paths when you account for the different failure modes.
If this page answered your questions, the next step is checking current pricing for your target account size. FTMO's fee is 100% refundable on your first funded payout.
FTMO Challenge Fees by Account Size
Here is the full fee schedule for both challenge paths across all five account sizes.
| Account Size | 1-Step Fee | 2-Step Fee | Fee Refund |
|---|---|---|---|
| $10,000 | €79 | €89 | 100% with first payout |
| $25,000 | €199 | €250 | 100% with first payout |
| $50,000 | €319 | €345 | 100% with first payout |
| $100,000 | €499 | €439 | 100% with first payout |
| $200,000 | €999 | €1,080 | 100% with first payout |
Three things worth noticing.
First, the 1-Step is cheaper at four of five tiers. The exception is $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 a hard combination to beat.
Second, 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 picking the 2-Step, there is almost no reason to pick Standard over Swing unless your broker does not support it.
Third, the fee is 100% refunded with your first funded payout. That makes the effective cost zero for a trader who passes on the first attempt. It does not make the cost zero for a trader who fails three times. Plan for at least two attempts when you budget.
On the 1-Step, the $200K account costs €999, which is €5.00 per $1K of capital. The $10K account costs €79, which is €7.90 per $1K. The bigger account is meaningfully better value per dollar of capital deployed.
On the 2-Step, the $200K account costs €1,080, which is €5.40 per $1K. The $10K costs €89, which is €8.90 per $1K. Same pattern.
The caveat: bigger accounts have bigger dollar-value drawdowns. A 3% daily loss on $200K is $6,000. A 3% daily loss on $10K is $300. The ratio is better but the absolute dollar risk is higher. Size to your risk management, not to the fee ratio.
1-Step Challenge Rules Breakdown
The 1-Step Challenge is a single-phase evaluation. Hit the 10% profit target without breaching the daily loss limit or the trailing max drawdown, and you get a funded account. No second phase. No verification period.
That sounds clean. The rules that make it work are tighter than the 2-Step in every dimension that matters.
Profit Target: 10%
You need to generate 10% profit on the starting balance. On a $100K account, that is $10,000. On a $10K account, that is $1,000. There is no time limit, so you can take as many trading days as you need.
The trap: 10% in a single phase sounds achievable, and it is for traders who compound 1-2% per day. It is a trap for traders who try to hit it in three big trades, because the 3% daily loss limit does not give you enough room for three large losing trades before the challenge ends.
Daily Loss Limit: 3%
Your daily loss cannot exceed 3% of the starting balance for that day. On a $100K account, that is $3,000. On a $10K account, that is $300.
The daily loss is calculated from the start of the trading day at midnight CET (6:00 PM EST). This is the rule that ends about 60% of all failed FTMO challenges. It is not the max drawdown. It is not the profit target. It is this one number.
The reset happens at midnight CET. If you are a US-based trader, that is 6:00 PM Eastern. You cannot trade into the close thinking the next session starts a fresh daily limit. The “next day” you think you are in is still the previous FTMO day until midnight CET.
FTMO’s daily loss limit resets at midnight Central European Time, which is 6:00 PM EST for US-based traders. The reset fires one hour after the New York close.
This means you cannot trade into the close thinking the next session starts a fresh daily limit. Multiple Trustpilot reviews from 2025-2026 mention accounts being closed for daily loss breaches that crossed the reset boundary the trader did not realize was still in effect.
Check the Account MetriX dashboard. It shows a countdown to the next daily reset. Use it.
Max Drawdown: 10% Trailing
Your max drawdown cannot exceed 10%. On the 1-Step, this is a trailing drawdown. That means the drawdown floor rises as your balance grows.
Example on a $100K account: your starting balance is $100,000. Your max drawdown floor starts at $90,000 (10% below). If you grow the account to $108,000, the floor trails up to $97,200 (10% below the peak). You now have $10,800 of room from the current balance, not the original $10,000.
The trailing drawdown is the reason the 1-Step is harder than it looks for swing traders. A profitable trade that pushes the balance up also pushes the drawdown floor up. If the market reverses and you give back some of those gains, the floor does not drop back down. You can be in profit overall and still breach the trailing drawdown.
Compare this to the 2-Step, where the max drawdown is static. The floor stays at $90,000 regardless of how high the balance goes. That is a structural advantage for strategies with wider equity swings.
Best Day Rule: 50% Cap
This is the rule that catches profitable traders on the 1-Step. Your single best trading day cannot exceed 50% of your total positive days’ profit.
If your best day is 6%, you need at least 12% across all positive days combined to clear the rule. If your best day is 5%, you need 10% across all positive days.
Scenario: $100K 1-Step account. 10% profit target.
Day 1: +3%. Day 2: -1%. Day 3: +7%. Day 4: +1%.
Total positive days: +3% + +7% + +1% = +11%. Best day: +7%. Best day as share of total positive: 7/11 = 63.6%.
The 50% cap is breached. The 10% target is met. The challenge is failed.
The fix: take partial profits on the big day. If Day 3 had been +5% instead of +7%, the ratio drops to 5/9 = 55.6%. Still over 50%. Cap it at 4% and the ratio is 4/8 = 50%. Right on the line.
The takeaway: the Best Day Rule punishes traders who catch one big move and grind. If that is your style, use the 2-Step instead. It has no Best Day Rule.
FTMO fees range from €79 to €1,080 depending on account size. The fee is 100% refunded on your first funded payout. Check current pricing for the size that matches your budget.
2-Step Challenge Rules Breakdown
The 2-Step Challenge is a two-phase evaluation. Phase 1 has a 10% profit target. Phase 2 has a 5% profit target. Both phases have the same daily loss and max drawdown rules.
The wider rules and the absence of the Best Day Rule make the 2-Step the more forgiving path for most traders. The trade-off is that you have to pass two phases instead of one, and the base profit split starts at 80% instead of 90%.
Phase 1: 10% Profit Target
The first phase is identical to the 1-Step’s target. Generate 10% profit on the starting balance without breaching the daily loss or max drawdown. The difference is that the daily loss limit is 5% (not 3%) and the max drawdown is static (not trailing).
On a $100K account: Phase 1 target is $10,000 in profit. Daily loss limit is $5,000. Max drawdown floor is $90,000 and stays there.
Phase 2: 5% Profit Target
After passing Phase 1, you move to Phase 2 (also called Verification). The profit target drops to 5%. The daily loss and max drawdown rules stay the same.
On a $100K account: Phase 2 target is $5,000. Same $5,000 daily loss. Same $90,000 floor.
The reduced target in Phase 2 is designed to confirm you can trade consistently without the pressure of a full 10% target. In practice, most traders who pass Phase 1 also pass Phase 2. The failure mode between phases is usually overconfidence: traders size up in Phase 2 because the target is smaller, then breach the daily loss on a bad trade.
Daily Loss Limit: 5%
Your daily loss cannot exceed 5% of the starting balance. On a $100K account, that is $5,000. On a $10K account, that is $500.
The extra 2% of daily loss room compared to the 1-Step sounds small. It is not. It is the difference between a single bad trade ending your challenge and having room to absorb it. On a $100K account, 2% is $2,000. That is enough to survive a bad London session and still be in the game the next day.
Max Drawdown: 10% Static
The max drawdown is 10% of the starting balance, and it is static. The floor does not move when your balance grows.
On a $100K account, the floor is $90,000. If you grow the account to $115,000, the floor is still $90,000. You have $25,000 of room from the current balance instead of $10,000 on the trailing drawdown.
This is the single biggest structural advantage of the 2-Step over the 1-Step for swing traders and any strategy with wider equity swings. The static drawdown means a profitable trade that pushes the balance up does not simultaneously tighten your risk envelope.
No Best Day Rule, No Consistency Rule
The 2-Step has no Best Day Rule and no consistency rule. You can hit the entire profit target on a single trade. You can have one massive day and zero on every other day. The rule does not care how you distribute the profit, only that you hit the target without breaching the risk limits.
This is why the 2-Step is the better fit for swing traders, news traders (on the Swing variant), and any trader whose edge comes from catching one or two big moves rather than compounding small daily gains.
The 2-Step Swing Variant
The 2-Step Swing is identical to the 2-Step Standard in every rule and every price, with two additions: you can trade during high-impact news events and you can hold positions over the weekend.
For traders whose strategies depend on news catalysts or multi-day holds, the Swing variant is the only mainstream FTMO path that allows it. The Standard variant restricts trading within 2 minutes before and after high-impact news events and prohibits weekend holds.
There is no price premium for the Swing variant. It costs the same as the Standard. If you are picking the 2-Step, the Swing is the default choice unless you specifically do not want news or weekend exposure.
How the Free Trial Helps You Prepare
FTMO offers a 14-day Free Trial that puts you on a demo account with the actual challenge rules baked in. You get the Account MetriX dashboard, you get the daily loss counter, and you get a feel for the execution environment.
It is free. It is unlimited. You can take as many Free Trials as you want. No credit card required.
The Free Trial is the single most underused feature in the FTMO ecosystem. The traders who pass on the first paid attempt almost always ran the trial first. The traders who skip it and go straight to the paid challenge are the ones who fail on daily loss breaches they did not see coming.
Here is what the trial gives you: 14 days of trading under the exact rules you will face in the paid challenge. If your strategy blows through the 3% daily loss on the trial, it will blow through it on the paid challenge too. The difference is that the trial cost you nothing and the paid challenge cost you €79-€1,080.
Step 1: Pick the account size and challenge type you plan to buy. Set your starting balance to match.
Step 2: Trade your normal strategy at your normal position sizes. Do not trade conservatively just because it is a trial.
Step 3: Track your daily loss in the Account MetriX dashboard every session. If you are hitting 2%+ on a regular basis, you are too close to the 3% limit on the 1-Step.
Step 4: Check your equity curve at the end of 14 days. Is it trending toward the profit target? Is it flat? Is it negative? Be honest with yourself.
Step 5: If the trial shows you can stay inside the rules and trend toward the target, buy the challenge. If it does not, fix the strategy first. The trial just saved you €89-€1,080.
For the full breakdown of what the Free Trial includes, how to set it up, and why most traders skip it, read our FTMO Free Trial guide.
What Happens After You Pass
After you pass either challenge, FTMO sets up your funded account. You trade with the firm’s capital under the same daily loss and max drawdown rules. The profit target goes away. You earn a profit split on every dollar you generate.
On the 1-Step, the split is 90% from day one. On the 2-Step, the split starts at 80% and scales to 90% through the Scaling Plan.
Payouts process every 14 days with 1-2 business day turnaround. The challenge fee is refunded in full with your first payout.
The funded account is not a free-for-all. The daily loss and max drawdown rules still apply. After your first payout, a 1% risk-per-trade-idea rule kicks in. Breach it and you can lose the account just like you failed the challenge.
For the complete breakdown of funded account rules, profit splits, payout methods, the Scaling Plan, and common mistakes that lose funded accounts, read our FTMO Funded Account guide.
Is the FTMO Challenge Worth It?
Yes, conditionally.
FTMO is the trust default in retail prop trading. $500M+ in verified payouts since 2015, a 4.8/5 Trustpilot rating across 16,000+ reviews, and an OANDA parent company that adds regulatory credibility. When you pass the challenge and earn a payout, the money arrives. That is not true of every firm in this industry.
The fee is real and it is higher than newer competitors. But it is 100% refundable on first payout, which means the effective cost to a passed trader is zero. The fee is a gate, not a sunk cost.
The rules are strict, especially on the 1-Step. The 3% daily loss limit and the trailing drawdown will end more challenges than the profit target. But strict rules that are enforced consistently are better than loose rules that change when you ask for a payout. FTMO enforces consistently.
The question is not whether the challenge is worth it. The question is whether your strategy fits the rules. Run the Free Trial first. If it fits, buy the challenge. If it does not, fix the strategy or find a different firm.
Check current FTMO challenge price Start the 14-day Free Trial
