The FTMO guide: the best-known path to a funded account
FTMO is the industry's most recognized prop firm. The evaluation structure, and what to know before you buy the challenge.
What FTMO is
FTMO is a proprietary trading firm that funds traders who pass its evaluation — you trade the firm's capital and keep a share of the profits, without risking your own money beyond the challenge fee.
Evaluation & funding tiers
FTMO's path to a funded account runs in stages:
- FTMO Challenge — the first evaluation phase, with a profit target and drawdown limits to respect within a set time window.
- Verification — a second, slightly easier phase confirming consistency before funding.
- Funded account — once both phases clear, you trade a funded account with a profit split, with scaling available over time.
The challenge fee is refunded on your first payout once funded — it isn't a sunk cost if you pass.
Why people choose it
- Industry recognition. The most widely known name in prop trading, with a long track record of paying funded traders.
- Clear rules. Drawdown and profit targets are stated upfront, with no surprise conditions mid-evaluation.
- Scaling plan. Funded accounts can grow over time with consistent performance.
Where the friction usually is
Registration and payment from a restricted region hits the usual obstacles — foreign card requirements and payment gateway restrictions. Traders also sometimes misjudge the daily drawdown limit, which is stricter than the overall drawdown and a common reason for early evaluation failure (a trading risk, not something registration fixes).
Where we help
We handle registration and the challenge purchase on your behalf, in USDT, without needing a foreign card. We walk you through FTMO's specific drawdown and profit-target rules before you start so there are no surprises, and stay available for questions through your evaluation. Trading the challenge itself is entirely up to you — our fee is a separate service charge, not the challenge cost.