What FTMO sells
Three evaluation products and a free trial. The 2-Step and 1-Step FTMO Challenges run up to $200,000 of simulated capital; the FTMO Instant Account runs from $5,000 to $100,000. Two account types sit across them: Standard, and Swing, "available exclusively within the 2-Step FTMO Challenge product". The comparison table lists starting prices of €89 for the 2-Step, €79 for the 1-Step and €169 for Instant. The $100k fee renders only in a JavaScript widget and behind the trader login, so it is not readable.
The objectives, as published
| Model | Targets | Daily loss | Max loss and type | Min days | Time limit | Consistency |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2-Step | 10% then 5% | 5% | 10%, static | 4 (Challenge and Verification) | unlimited | none |
| 1-Step | 10% | 3% | 10%, trailing on balance, end of day | none | not stated | 50% |
| Instant | none | 3% | 10%, trailing on balance, intraday | not stated | not stated | 30% |
The trading objectives page adds that the daily loss is balance-based and resets at 00:00 CE(S)T, that the 2-Step maximum is "calculated from Initial Simulated Capital", and that a breach is measured against equity, so an open gold trade at its worst point counts. The 1-Step consistency rule applies to orders placed on or after 12 Oct 2026.
The copying rule
FTMO publishes no copier rule as such. Its forbidden practices page bars letting a third party "access or otherwise use your FTMO Account", trading "in concert with other persons", and trading on another person's account. Signal copying is not named anywhere we read.
Two readings follow. A Telegram-to-MT5 copier fed by a channel is a third party using your account by any ordinary reading of the first clause, and the "in concert" language exists to catch many accounts opening the same trade at the same moment. Placing a signal by hand on your own account is not addressed by the cited rules either way; the "in concert" clause can be read against a popular signal with a published entry, and absence of a named ban is not permission. Get FTMO's written answer to your exact workflow before buying a Challenge for it. Our guide to signals on a funded account has the wording to use. We do not connect our copier to prop accounts; our terms exclude them.
News, on evaluation and on funded
Challenge and Verification carry no news restriction. On the funded FTMO Account and the Instant Account, Standard type only, execution is restricted "for 2 minutes before and 2 minutes after selected news releases", on symbols containing the affected currency. Swing accounts are exempt.
A gold signal quoted in dollars sits inside that rule for every selected US release. FTMO does not close the trade; what you lose is the ability to enter, move a stop or take profit for four minutes around the print, a shorter wall than the five minutes either side several other firms use. Standard funded accounts also may not hold through market breaks longer than 2 hours, which rules out the weekend; Swing accounts may. Our sessions and news guide lists the releases that matter for gold.
Drawdown and daily loss, in stops
At 1% risk a trade, the 2-Step's 5% daily limit is five stops in a day and its static 10% maximum is ten from the starting balance. The 1-Step allows three stops a day, and its 10% maximum trails your balance at the end of each day, so a good week narrows the room beneath you. The Instant Account trails intraday. For several signals a day, the 2-Step's arithmetic is the kindest; sizing from the daily limit, not the account, is the rule.
Gold, platforms and leverage
Platforms: MetaTrader 4, MetaTrader 5, cTrader and TradingView, making FTMO one of two firms in our set still listing MT4. Leverage is "up to 1:100 and cannot be increased" on Standard, "up to 1:30" on Swing, up to 1:100 on Instant. A gold-specific figure is not stated; the symbol table did not render. Instruments are "Forex, Indices, Commodities, Stocks, Crypto" and XAUUSD is not named on the pages we read. Check the symbol and its margin on the free trial.
EAs are allowed, capped at 200 orders at a time and 2,000 positions a day. Position sizes "substantially larger" than your usual are a forbidden practice, so keep lot size steady across signals.
Payouts, split and refund
The first Reward can be requested "on the 14th or any following day" after the first trade on the FTMO Account, with payment "within 1-2 business days after the invoice is approved". The split is 90% on 1-Step and Instant; the 2-Step starts at 80% and rises to 90% under Scaling Plan or Premium Programme conditions. The 2-Step fee is refunded with the first Reward request; 1-Step and Instant fees are "not refundable".
Broker, entity, countries
FTMO's companies "do not act as a broker and do not accept any deposits"; platforms and data are "powered by liquidity providers", not named. The entity is FTMO s.r.o., Prague. Iran, Syria, Myanmar and North Korea are not served, nor a longer list including Afghanistan, Belarus, Cuba, Indonesia, Iraq, Russia, Venezuela and parts of Ukraine. Australia and the United States are directed to affiliated entities.
What FTMO does not publish
The $100k fee outside its widget, a per-asset leverage figure, a maximum lot size, the liquidity providers, a time limit for the 1-Step and Instant, and a copier rule in plain words. Gaps in what we could read, not warnings.
Who it suits, from the rules alone
A signal follower with FTMO's written confirmation of manual signal trading, who wants MT4 or MT5, and can sit out four minutes around US data fits the 2-Step Standard; one whose gold signals hold over weekends and through news needs Swing and its 1:30 leverage. The 1-Step and Instant, with 3% daily limits, trailing drawdown and consistency rules, fit a trader whose profits arrive evenly, which is not how a good week of gold signals arrives. The wider comparison is in our prop firm rules roundup.
Rules were read on 21 Oct 2026 and change often. Read the clause on FTMO's page before you buy.
Sources
Every figure above was read on 21 Oct 2026 from these pages. If a page has changed since, the page wins.
- ftmo.com, ftmo challenge
- ftmo.com, faq, what is the swing account type and how does it work
- ftmo.com, instant account
- ftmo.com, comparison table
- ftmo.com, trading objectives
- ftmo.com, faq, how do i withdraw my profits
- ftmo.com, faq, is the entry fee refunded
Every closed signal is on the record
The results page lists each closed VIP signal with its entry, stop, targets and outcome, stops included.
Ready to join? Compare the VIP plans: £89 a month, or £540 paid once a year.