The FTMO Challenge is a paid evaluation on simulated CFD accounts with no time limit. The 2-Step asks for 10% profit and then 5% in a Verification, without losing 5% of the initial capital in a day or 10% overall, and refunds the fee with your first reward. The 1-Step asks for 10% with a 3% daily limit, a 10% end-of-day trailing limit and a 50% best day rule. Nothing guarantees a pass. What you control is knowing how the limits are measured, risking a small fraction of the daily limit per trade, stopping well before it, and trading only a strategy you have tested. FTMO itself recommends risking no more than 1% to 1.5% of the initial balance on one position.
Rules and prices checked on ftmo.com on October 1, 2026. This rewrite removes invented pass-rate statistics, three fictional trader case studies with win rates, futures examples that do not apply to FTMO's CFD Challenge, a retake discount we could not verify, a “5,000+ traders” claim and several outdated rules, including 30- and 60-day time limits.
FTMO Challenge Rules in 2026
FTMO sells two versions of its Challenge. Both are one-time purchases on simulated CFD accounts from $10,000 to $200,000, and neither has a time limit.
| Rule | 2-Step | 1-Step |
|---|---|---|
| Phases | FTMO Challenge, then Verification | One |
| Profit target | 10%, then 5% | 10% |
| Maximum daily loss | 5% of initial capital | 3% of initial capital |
| Maximum loss | 10% of initial capital, static | 10%, end-of-day trailing |
| Minimum trading days | 4 in each phase | None |
| Best day rule | None | Best day at most 50% of positive days' profit |
| Trading period | Unlimited | Unlimited |
| Reward share on the FTMO Account | 80%, or 90% through the Scaling Plan or Premium Programme | 90% |
| Fee refund | With your first reward | None |
| Account types | Standard or Swing | Standard |
Sources: FTMO's comparison table, trading objectives, reward FAQ and fee FAQ.
What the Challenge costs
| Account | 2-Step fee | 1-Step fee |
|---|---|---|
| $10,000 | €89 | €79 |
| $25,000 | €250 | €199 |
| $50,000 | €345 | €319 |
| $100,000 | €540 (€439 on promotion) | €499 (€399 on promotion) |
| $200,000 | €1,080 | €999 |
Prices as shown on ftmo.com on October 1, 2026, in euros; FTMO also sells in other currencies, and promotions change often. US residents are served by a separate entity, FTMO US, so check its terms if you live in the US.
How FTMO Measures the Loss Limits
These two rules are worth knowing exactly, because both are measured on equity: your balance plus the profit or loss on open positions, minus commissions, plus or minus swaps. A losing open trade counts even if it later recovers.
- Maximum daily loss: at 00:00 CE(S)T, Prague time, FTMO takes your balance and subtracts 5% of the initial capital (2-Step) or 3% (1-Step). That level holds until the next midnight. On a $100,000 2-Step, day 1's limit is $95,000; if you close day 1 at $102,000, day 2's limit is $97,000.
- Maximum loss, 2-Step: a fixed line at 90% of the initial capital, $90,000 on a $100,000 account.
- Maximum loss, 1-Step: 10% of the initial capital below your highest midnight balance so far. FTMO's example: after a $104,000 close on a $100,000 account, the limit rises from $90,000 to $94,000 and never moves back down.
Two traps catch people. First, the reset follows Prague time, not your clock or the platform's server time, so a loss you think is on a new day may count against the old one. Second, commissions and swaps count: a stop placed exactly at the remaining daily allowance breaches the rule once costs are added. FTMO's own tips article suggests stopping at a 4% daily loss when the limit is 5%.
The other objectives
- Profit target: met when your balance exceeds the starting capital by the target with all positions closed.
- Minimum trading days (2-Step): a trading day counts only if you open at least one position between 00:00:00 and 23:59:59 CE(S)T.
- Best day rule (1-Step): your most profitable day must be no more than 50% of the total profit from all profitable days. Breaking it is not a breach; you keep trading until the share falls. A $4,000 best day, for example, needs at least $8,000 of profit from profitable days.
1-Step or 2-Step?
- Pick the 2-Step if you want more room: a 5% daily limit and a static 10% floor that never tightens, a refund of the fee with your first reward, and the option of a Swing account. The cost is a second phase and 4 trading days per phase.
- Pick the 1-Step if you want one phase and a 90% reward share from the start, and you can live with a 3% daily limit, a trailing floor that follows your best midnight balance, the best day rule and no refund.
If your normal losing streak would come close to 3% in a day, the 1-Step's tighter limit is the bigger risk. Check your own trade history before choosing.
A Risk Plan Built Around the Limits
FTMO says the maximum recommended risk on one position is 1% to 1.5% of the initial balance, and that traders who risk more may fall under its high-risk monitoring (FTMO on risk per trade). Here is what different risk sizes mean against the limits, before commissions, swaps and slippage:
| Risk per trade | Full losses to reach 5% daily (2-Step) | Full losses to reach 3% daily (1-Step) | Full losses to reach 10% maximum |
|---|---|---|---|
| 0.5% | 10 | 6 | 20 |
| 1% | 5 | 3 | 10 |
| 2% | 2.5 | 1.5 | 5 |
Losing streaks happen to profitable strategies too, so the smaller the risk per trade, the more ordinary bad luck the account can absorb. A simple plan:
- Fix risk per trade as a percentage of the initial capital, and do not raise it to finish faster.
- Set a personal daily stop below the firm's limit, such as 4% on the 2-Step or 2% on the 1-Step, and stop trading for the day when you reach it.
- Size from the stop. On a standard 100,000-unit EUR/USD lot, one pip (0.0001) is worth $10. To risk $500 with a 25-pip stop: $500 ÷ (25 × $10) = 2 lots. Check each symbol's contract size, commission and leverage in FTMO's symbol specifications; forex pairs show a 100,000 contract size and 1:100 leverage, or 1:30 on Swing accounts.
- Know your calendar. News trading is allowed during the evaluation, but spreads and slippage around major releases can turn a planned loss into a breach.
- Test first. FTMO offers as many free trials as you want, a simplified practice version of the Challenge; use them until you can trade your full rule set without a breach.
Mistakes That End Challenges
- Watching balance instead of equity, and letting an open loss cross the daily limit.
- Misjudging the Prague midnight reset, especially while traveling.
- Raising position size after a loss, or near the target to finish quickly.
- On the 1-Step, forgetting that a good day raises the trailing floor.
- Rushing the 2-Step's 4 trading days with tiny trades, then sizing up far beyond your usual positions.
- Using practices on FTMO's forbidden list, which includes exploiting price errors or delays, opposite positions across linked accounts, hedging to get around the rules, hyperactive automated trading, letting someone else trade your account and position sizes far out of line with your usual trading.
What Happens After You Pass
- The FTMO Account is still simulated. FTMO describes all its accounts as demo accounts with fictitious funds; rewards are paid on your simulated profit at 80% or 90%.
- New restrictions on Standard accounts: no opening or closing trades on affected instruments from 2 minutes before to 2 minutes after selected news releases (news FAQ), plus limits on holding positions overnight and over the weekend. Swing accounts have neither.
- Scaling Plan: after at least 4 months, 10% net profit over those months, 2 processed rewards and a positive balance, the account grows by 25%, up to $2,000,000, and 2-Step traders move to a 90% share (Scaling Plan).
Futures Trading course
Build the risk habits before you pay for an evaluation
IImagined's Futures Trading course covers contract mechanics and risk management. It is included with All-Access, alongside the four premium programs.
See the courses →If You Trade Futures: FTMO Futures Is a Different Program
The Challenge above uses CFDs. FTMO Futures runs on CME futures such as ES and MES, bills monthly ($119 or $139 for 50K on October 1, 2026), closes positions at 4:10 p.m. ET and uses dollar-based drawdown and consistency rules. Our FTMO vs Topstep comparison and prop firm comparison cover it, and the ES futures strategy guide covers sizing futures trades.
A Challenge fee is money at risk, passing does not guarantee a reward, and results in a simulated account do not predict live trading.
FTMO Challenge FAQ
Can you pass the FTMO Challenge on the first attempt?
Some traders do, but no strategy or guide can guarantee it. What you control is knowing the rules exactly, sizing trades so that several losses in a row cannot breach the daily limit, and trading only a strategy you have already tested, for example in FTMO's free trial.
How much does the FTMO Challenge cost in 2026?
On October 1, 2026, ftmo.com listed the 2-Step at €89, €250, €345, €540 and €1,080 for $10,000 to $200,000 accounts, and the 1-Step at €79, €199, €319, €499 and €999. The $100,000 accounts were discounted to €439 and €399 that day. Other currencies are available.
What is the difference between the 1-Step and 2-Step FTMO Challenge?
The 2-Step has two phases (10% then 5% profit), a 5% daily loss limit, a static 10% maximum loss, a 4-day minimum per phase and a fee refund with your first reward. The 1-Step has one 10% target, a 3% daily loss limit, a 10% end-of-day trailing maximum loss, a 50% best day rule, a 90% reward share and no refund.
Is there a time limit on the FTMO Challenge?
No. FTMO lists the trading period as unlimited for both the 1-Step and the 2-Step Challenge.
How does FTMO calculate the maximum daily loss?
Each day at midnight Prague time (CE(S)T), FTMO takes the account balance and subtracts 5% of the initial capital on the 2-Step or 3% on the 1-Step. Your equity, including open positions, swaps and commissions, must not drop below that level at any point during the day.
Do I get the FTMO Challenge fee back?
On the 2-Step, the fee is refunded with your first reward from the FTMO Account. On the 1-Step, the fee is not refunded.
Can I trade news or hold trades over the weekend during the FTMO Challenge?
Yes during the evaluation. The news and overnight or weekend restrictions apply only to Standard accounts once you trade an FTMO Account. The Swing account type, available on the 2-Step only, has no such restrictions.
Does the FTMO Challenge use real money?
No. FTMO says all accounts it provides are demo accounts with fictitious funds in a simulated environment. Traders who pass can earn rewards paid by FTMO, but the Challenge fee is spent whether or not you pass.
Can I trade futures in the FTMO Challenge?
No. The FTMO Challenge uses CFDs. FTMO Futures is a separate monthly-subscription program on CME futures with its own rules, including a daily close at 4:10 p.m. ET.
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