FTMO Review 2024: Is it Still the Best Prop Firm?

Prop firms have become one of the go-to funding sources for traders over the last few years. Considering the reward-risk ratio of investing in prop firm challenges to get large funded accounts justifies it. In this article, we will provide a comprehensive FTMO review, which is one of the best prop firms available.

We’ll begin this article by providing a brief history of FTMO and explaining how it works. Then, we will discuss the characteristics of the FTMO prop trading firm and the rules and criteria for FTMO challenges and funded accounts. We’ll also check some reviews by traders on platforms like Trustpilot to see what users really think and much more.

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Key Takeaways

• FTMO is a top prop trading firm that offers traders capital after passing a two-step challenge, with profits shared through a monetized demo account.
• The FTMO challenge consists of two phases: evaluation (10% profit target) and verification (5% profit target), with strict drawdown limits and a refundable fee.
• Successful traders can withdraw 80% of their profits, which can increase to 90% with a scaling plan. Funded accounts are demo accounts but offer real payouts.
• FTMO is highly reputable, with reliable payouts and various trading platforms, but its challenges are expensive and difficult compared to other firms.
• Top FTMO traders may qualify for Quantlane, a proprietary trading firm that offers real capital, salaries, and institutional trading conditions.

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What Is FTMO?

Let’s begin our FTMO review by introducing the company. FTMO is a top prop trading firm that provides profitable traders with capital to trade on. The company was founded in FTMO, and the Covid pandemic in 2020 has played a huge part in its rise, as many individuals turned to trading during the lockdown. FTMO serves traders from over 180 countries, with millions of traders participating in the FTMO challenges every year.

In order to evaluate traders, FTMO has designed a two-step challenge that consists of evaluation and verification phases. When you successfully pass both steps without violating any rule, FTMO will grant you a funded account to trade on, which you will receive a pre-determined share of any profits made on the account.

Read More: Which forex prop firms are legal in the US?

What Is the FTMO Challenge?

As I already mentioned, FTMO offers a two-step challenge to verify whether you are actually a profitable trader and deserve the funding or not. So, here’s an overview of the FTMO challenge:

Step 1: FTMO Evaluation

The first step of the FTMO challenge is the Evaluation phase. Right after you purchase an FTMO challenge, you will be granted a demo account of the size that you’ve chosen, and you should reach the evaluation objectives while not violating any rules to proceed to the next step. Here’s a brief overview of the FTMO Evaluation’s rules and objectives:

• Trading Period: The total duration that you are allowed to trade in the Evaluation phase, also known as the time limit. Fortunately, FTMO has an unlimited trading period.
• Minimum Trading Days: To pass the FTMO evaluation phase, you should at least trade for 4 days. This means that even if you reach the objectives, you won’t pass if you have not traded for at least 4 days.
• Maximum Daily Loss: This is the maximum drawdown you can have in 24 hours compared to the starting balance of the day. The FTMO maximum daily loss is 5%.
• Maximum Loss: It is the total drawdown you are allowed to have on your account compared to the balance at the beginning of the challenge. The FTMO maximum loss is 10%.
• Profit Target: The profit target is the percentage of profits you should reach to pass the evaluation phase. The FTMO profit target is 10% of the initial balance.

So, if you have traded for at least 4 days, have not violated the maximum loss and maximum daily loss rules, and have reached the profit target of 10%, you will be able to proceed to the second step, the FTMO verification phase.

Step 2: FTMO Verification

The second step of the FTMO challenge is the verification phase. Similar to the evaluation, if you reach the profit target without breaking any rules, you will pass the FTMO challenge. Here are the FTMO verification rules and objectives:

• Trading Period: Similar to the evaluation, the FTMO verification phase has no time limit.
• Minimum Trading Days: To pass the FTMO verification phase, you should trade for a minimum of 4 days.
• Maximum Daily Loss: The FTMO maximum daily loss is 5%.
• Maximum Loss: Again, just like the evaluation, The FTMO maximum loss in the verification phase is 10%.
• Profit Target: The profit target is the only thing different in this step. Things get a bit easier in the FTMO verification, as the profit target is reduced to only 5%.

Now, if you reach the profit target and don’t breach any rules, you will successfully pass the FTMO challenge and become an FTMO trader. This is, of course, after the necessary KYC steps and contract signings.

Read More: Are Prop Firm Passing Services Worth the Risk?

FTMO Funded Account Review

After you pass both the FTMO challenge steps, you will reach the status of an FTMO trader. Therefore, you will be awarded a funded account with the same initial balance that you’ve chosen. Note that the FTMO funded account is not a real one but a monetized demo account. This means that your profits are virtual, but you will be paid out with real money. Here are the details and rules of the FTMO funded account:

• Trading Period: Again, the trading period is unlimited.
• Minimum Trading Days: There is no minimum trading days rule for the FTMO funded accounts.
• Maximum Daily Loss: The FTMO funded account’s maximum daily loss is 5%.
• Maximum Loss: The FTMO funded account’s maximum loss is 10%.
• Profit Target: There is no profit target in this phase.
• Profit Split: The standard FTMO profit split is 80%, but it can rise up to 90% with the scaling plan. This means that as an FTMO funded trader, you will be paid 80% (or more) of the profits you make.
• Refund: According to the FTMO refund policy, the price you initially paid for the challenge will be refunded with your first payout.

So, if you are able to generate profits without violating the rules, you will be able to withdraw 80% of the profits by demanding a payout. However, there are also some payout rules that we should discuss in more detail.

FTMO Payout Rules

As already mentioned, to be able to request a payout from FTMO, you should generate some profits. Yet, there are some additional payout rules and details you should be aware of:

• First Payout: You can request your first FTMO payout at least 14 days after you’ve placed your first trade on the funded account.
• Minimum Profits: There are some minimum thresholds for requesting an FTMO payout, depending on the payout method you choose. For bank wire, the minimum is 20$, and for crypto withdrawals, the minimum profit is 50$.
• Payout Period: FTMO payouts are generally paid on a monthly basis after the first payout.
• Maximum Allocation: The FTMO max allocation is $400K for each trader. This means that the sum of your funded accounts cannot be higher than $400K.

Visit this page for more information about FTMO payouts.

What Is the FTMO Quantlane?

The newest significant addition to FTMO is the Quantlane. Traders who have exceptional trading performance and are among the best FTMO traders will have the opportunity to become professional traders in the FTMO Quantlane.

The FTMO Quantlane is a proprietary trading firm that manages real capital of its own. So, Quantlane traders do not trade on demo accounts anymore, and the profits they generate are real. They will also be offered a fixed salary, performance and mindset coaches, institutional trading conditions (spreads, fees, etc.), and custom tools and trading platforms. Becoming an FTMO Quantlane trader is the ultimate goal you can reach with the prop firm.

FTMO Trading Platforms

An important part of our FTMO review is investigating which trading platforms FTMO trades can use. Let’s take a look at the options:

You can download or access each of the FTMO trading platforms by clicking this link.

FTMO Pricing Review

FTMO offers challenge and funded accounts in several different currencies, including USD, EUR, GBP, CZK, CAD, AUD, and CHF. We will analyze the FTMO pricing structure in USD but note that these details are generally the same for all other currencies.

Note that there are also some FTMO discounts from time to time. So, make sure to check out the FTMO website or subscribe to our newsletter so you won’t miss any prop firm discount.

FTMO Free Trial

One of the best features of the FTMO prop firm is that it offers a free trial. You can have a demo account with the same rules and conditions as a challenge but without paying any fees. So, with the FTMO free trial, you will be able to practice and get yourself familiar with the FTMO challenge environment and boost your chances of getting funded.

FTMO Reviews by Real Users

It’s always essential to hear what others have to say when reviewing a platform or service. In this section, we will briefly analyze FTMO reviews on online forums like Trustpilot and Reddit.

FTMO Reviews on Trustpilot

FTMO has received overwhelmingly positive feedback on Trustpilot, with a TrustScore of 4.8 out of 5 from over 13,000 reviews. The majority of FTMO reviews on Trustpilot praise the company for its fair evaluation process, efficient trading platforms, and excellent customer support. Many traders also point out the quick and reliable FTMO payouts. 

While the vast majority of FTMO Trustpilot reviews are positive, a small percentage of users have expressed concerns. These are mostly regarding disputes over payouts and certain FTMO trading rules. Some negative FTMO reviews focus on issues with specific guidelines, such as lot size limits. However, these concerns are relatively rare compared to the widespread satisfaction of users. Overall, FTMO is seen as a trustworthy and supportive platform for traders.

FTMO Reviews on Reddit

The FTMO Reddit reviews are also generally positive. Traders have shared their decent experiences with the prop trading firm. Users appreciate FTMO’s clear rules and reliable payouts. Meanwhile, several traders have emphasized the importance of risk management and patience when trading with FTMO.

On the other hand, some traders advised against trading on FTMO. They point out that the FTMO profit targets and other rules are unrealistic. However, most traders believe that getting funded with FTMO is achievable with enough patience, as there is no time limit. As a result, Reddit users generally view FTMO as a trustworthy prop firm.

The Pros and Cons of FTMO

Trading with the FTMO prop firm can offer both benefits and drawbacks. In this part of our FTMO review, we will briefly look at the pros and cons of trading with FTMO.

Pros

Here are the most prominent pros of trading with FTMO:

• Most Legitimate Prop Firm: FTMO is the most legitimate and trustworthy prop firm in the trading industry, with millions of dollars paid out to FTMO traders every year.
• Various Trading Platforms: FTMO traders can use different trading platforms, including MT4, MT5, cTrader, and DXTrade.
• Responsive Customer Support: The FTMO customer support is one of the best in the industry, serving in 16 different languages.
• Reliable Payouts: As acknowledged by many traders worldwide, FTMO has the most reliable payouts, which get processed in 1-2 business days.

Cons

There are also a few drawbacks associated with FTMO. Here are the most important FTMO cons:

• Expensive Challenges: Over the years, many prop firms have emerged with cheaper challenges than FTMO.
• Challenging Rules: The FTMO challenge and funded account drawdown limits and profit targets are quite challenging compared to other prop firms.
• Not Regulated: While trustworthy and legit, being unregulated always adds a risk factor for users.
• Not Available Everywhere: Traders from countries like the US, Iran, Syria, etc., cannot trade with FTMO.

Looking for an FTMO alternative? Check out our comprehensive FundedNext review to see whether it’s the one for you.

Conclusion

FTMO is the most popular prop trading firm in the world and is widely known as the best prop firm in terms of legitimacy. In fact, FTMO has shaped the prop firm industry as we know it today, being the first popular firm to create the funding model. The prop firm allows you to access more capital if you pass their challenge. So, with FTMO, you can magnify your trading returns significantly.

In this article, we’ve provided a thorough FTMO review, analyzing whether the prop firm is still legitimate and what other traders think about it, according to FTMO reviews online. For more prop firm reviews, check out other posts on the Traders Fund Hub and subscribe to our newsletter so you won’t miss any news, discounts, or updates.

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