FTMO is the firm every prop trader measures others against — and in 2026 it made its biggest rule changes in years. We bought a $100K 2-Step Challenge in May 2026, traded it through both phases, and requested a payout on the funded account. Here’s what the marketing pages don’t tell you.
What changed at FTMO in 2026?
Two changes matter, and they pull in opposite directions:
- Phase 1 target cut from 10% to 8%. This is a genuine improvement — the single hardest part of the old challenge is now meaningfully easier, and it brings FTMO in line with FundedNext’s 8% standard.
- A 0.5–1% risk-per-trade limit on funded accounts. This is the most debated rule of the year. If you risk 2–3% per trade on high-conviction setups, your strategy does not survive contact with this rule. It exists to protect FTMO’s payout pool — which is also why FTMO keeps paying while others collapse — but you need to know it before you buy.
Less discussed: scaling reviews moved from every 3 months to every 4, slowing the path to the 90/10 split and $2M ceiling.
FTMO pricing and rules (verified July 2026)
| Account | 2-Step fee | 1-Step fee | Daily loss | Max loss | Phase 1 target |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| $10,000 | ~$155 | ~$139 | 5% | 10% | 8% |
| $50,000 | ~$399 | ~$369 | 5% | 10% | 8% |
| $100,000 | $619 | $579 | 5% | 10% | 8% |
| $200,000 | ~$1,080 | ~$999 | 5% | 10% | 8% |
No time limit on either phase. The fee is refunded with your first profit split — a detail many traders miss: passing alone doesn’t return your money; getting paid does.
What was it like to actually trade it?
Execution on our test account (MT5, London session, EURUSD and XAUUSD) was clean: spreads matched the advertised feed within normal variance and we logged no meaningful slippage on stop orders under 5 lots. The dashboard’s real-time drawdown tracking is the best in the industry — you always know exactly how far you are from a breach, which sounds trivial until you’ve traded at firms where the number updates with a lag.
Our payout request was approved in under 48 hours and arrived the next business day. This matches the community consensus: FTMO’s moat is not pricing or splits — it’s that the money shows up.
Who should choose FTMO — and who shouldn’t?
Choose FTMO if: you risk ≤1% per trade, you value payout certainty enough to accept an 80/20 base split, and you want rules that won’t change under you. It’s the firm we recommend for a trader’s first serious six-figure evaluation.
Skip FTMO if: your edge needs aggressive sizing (the risk cap kills it), you want the cheapest entry (FundingPips starts near $129), or you want evaluation-phase profits (FundedNext pays 15% even if you fail). For a direct head-to-head, see FTMO vs FundedNext.
Verdict: 4.6/5
FTMO trades upside for certainty at every design decision — and after watching 80+ firms vanish since 2024, we weight certainty heavily. It’s not the cheapest, not the highest split, and no longer the most flexible. It is still the firm most likely to pay you in 2027.
Next: see where FTMO ranks in our best prop firms of 2026, or learn how to pass the challenge on the first attempt.