FTMO US Review: Plans, Rules, and How It Compares
FTMO US
FTMO US is the United States arm of the FTMO brand, recorded in our database with an established date of 26 August 2025 and operating at ftmo.oanda.com. It is a CFD firm running on a white-label technology stack, and it exists because of a partnership rather than a simple regional domain. In the firm's own words, "the FTMO business model (“FTMO US”) is operated through a partnership between FTMO and OANDA", where JV Prop Corporation is a US-registered FTMO Group company responsible for the Evaluation Process, and OANDA Prop US Corporation is a US-registered OANDA Group company responsible for the FTMO Rewards Account.
The product line is deliberately narrow. There are exactly two evaluations, the FTMO Challenge: 1-Step and the FTMO Challenge: 2-Step, each offered in five simulated account sizes from $10,000 to $200,000. That gives ten purchasable plans in total, priced from $89 to $1,249. This review covers every one of them, the rules attached to each, and how the pricing sits against the separate FTMO Global entity recorded in our database.
Plans and pricing
All ten plans are one-time payments with no activation fee recorded and no recurring charge. Two of the ten currently carry a discount that the firm's own pricing data flags as active: the $100,000 1-Step at $463 against a list price of $579, and the $100,000 2-Step at $499 against a list price of $619. The site describes the first as "Special Offer! $100,000 Challenge for $463" and the second as "Special Deal! $100,000 FTMO Challenge for $499", both qualified by the condition that you do not already have one active. The other eight plans are sold at list price.
| Account size | Product | Price | List price | Profit target | Max daily loss | Max loss |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| $10,000 | FTMO Challenge: 1-Step | $89 | $89 | 10% | 3% | 10% |
| $25,000 | FTMO Challenge: 1-Step | $229 | $229 | 10% | 3% | 10% |
| $50,000 | FTMO Challenge: 1-Step | $359 | $359 | 10% | 3% | 10% |
| $100,000 | FTMO Challenge: 1-Step | $463 | $579 | 10% | 3% | 10% |
| $200,000 | FTMO Challenge: 1-Step | $1,149 | $1,149 | 10% | 3% | 10% |
| $10,000 | FTMO Challenge: 2-Step | $99 | $99 | 10% then 5% | 5% | 10% |
| $25,000 | FTMO Challenge: 2-Step | $289 | $289 | 10% then 5% | 5% | 10% |
| $50,000 | FTMO Challenge: 2-Step | $399 | $399 | 10% then 5% | 5% | 10% |
| $100,000 | FTMO Challenge: 2-Step | $499 | $619 | 10% then 5% | 5% | 10% |
| $200,000 | FTMO Challenge: 2-Step | $1,249 | $1,249 | 10% then 5% | 5% | 10% |
One difference between the two products is easy to miss and worth money. The 2-Step entry fee is described by the firm as "reimbursed with your first Reward once you become an FTMO Verified Prop Trader", and its pricing label reads "One-time refundable fee from". The 1-Step carries the label "One-time fee (non-refundable)" and shows no refund objective at all. At the $200,000 size that is the difference between a $1,249 fee you can get back and a $1,149 fee you cannot.
The 1-Step is cheaper at every size and pays 90% immediately, but its fee is non-refundable and its daily loss limit is 3% rather than 5%. The 2-Step costs more, starts at an 80% split, and refunds the fee with your first reward.
Rules, by product
The two evaluations do not share a rulebook, and the differences go beyond the number of phases. The 1-Step has a single evaluation phase with a 10% profit target, a 3% maximum daily loss and a 10% maximum loss. Critically, the firm describes that 10% maximum loss as "a balance-based end-of-day trailing limit", not a fixed floor. The 2-Step uses a 10% target in phase one and 5% in phase two, a 5% maximum daily loss, and a 10% maximum loss defined statically: "The equity of the trading account must never fall below 90% of the initial account balance at any time."
| Objective | FTMO Challenge: 1-Step | FTMO Challenge: 2-Step |
|---|---|---|
| Profit target | 10% | 10%, then 5% |
| Max daily loss | 3% | 5% |
| Max loss | 10%, end-of-day trailing | 10%, static |
| Minimum trading days | None shown | 4 days per phase |
| Trading period | Unlimited | Unlimited |
| Best Day Rule | 50% | Not shown |
| Fee refund | Not shown | With first reward |
| Reward split | 90% from the start | 80%, up to 90% via Scaling Plan |
The Best Day Rule is the 1-Step's most distinctive constraint. The firm states that "Your most profitable trading day (“Best Day”) must not account for more than 50% of your Positive Days' Profit", and it applies both during the evaluation and on the 1-Step Rewards Account. The 2-Step carries no such rule. A trader whose edge concentrates into one or two large sessions per month should read that line twice before choosing the 1-Step.
Beyond that, the rules are permissive by prop firm standards. Expert advisors and automation are allowed, no stop loss is required, and the trading period is unlimited on both products. Overnight and weekend restrictions "apply only to the Standard account type", with the Swing account type carrying no such limits, and even for Standard accounts the restrictions apply only once you reach a Rewards Account rather than during the evaluation. The tradable universe is 42 simulated forex pairs plus six additional instruments: 3 US indices, Gold, Crude Oil and BTCUSD. Platforms are MetaTrader 5 and TradingView.
There is no cap on how many evaluations you can run at once, but once you are a Verified Prop Trader "a maximum capital allocation limit applies. This limit is $400,000 in simulated funds (prior to scaling) per trader or strategy at any given time." Separately, the largest account you can buy is $200,000, while the Scaling Plan advertises growth to $2,000,000. Those three figures are all current and all different.
Getting paid
Rewards can be requested "after a minimum of 14 days from the first day of trading", provided the account is in positive profit with no open positions or pending orders. Once requested, the firm sends withdrawal instructions by email within 1 to 2 business days, and withdrawals are "usually processed within 1-2 business days upon confirming the invoice". Payment reaches you by Revolut bank wire. There is a $20 minimum closed profit requirement, which the firm explains exists "to cover the cost of the transaction to enable a bank wire" rather than as a profit threshold.
The US structure adds a compliance step that traders elsewhere do not face. All Verified Prop Traders "are required to submit the appropriate IRS Form (W-9) as part of the first Reward payment process, and to provide proof of ownership for the U.S. bank account where they wish to receive their Reward." The firm is explicit about the consequence: if you cannot complete the W-9 or cannot prove ownership of the US bank account, "you will not be eligible to receive any Rewards."
The Scaling Plan raises the account by 25% every four months up to $2,000,000. Its published requirements per scale-up are four months of trading since the last scale-up, at least 10% net simulated profit above the starting balance in that period, at least 2 processed rewards in the same window, and a positive balance at the time of scale-up.
A W-9 and a provable US bank account are not paperwork you can defer. Without both, the firm states you are not eligible for any reward.PropFirmMap
Pros and cons
Pros
- Unlimited trading period on both products, with no time pressure on either the target or the minimum trading days.
- The 1-Step pays a 90% reward split from the beginning, without needing to qualify through the Scaling Plan.
- Automation is allowed, no stop loss is required, and Swing accounts carry no overnight or weekend holding restrictions.
Cons
- No TrustPilot profile exists for this entity. The 4.8/5 figure displayed on the site links to the global FTMO profile at trustpilot.com/review/ftmo.com, which covers a different company.
- Rewards are paid only by Revolut bank wire, and require an IRS Form W-9 plus proof of US bank account ownership.
- The 1-Step combines a 3% daily loss limit, an end-of-day trailing maximum loss and a 50% Best Day Rule, and its fee is not refundable.
How the pricing compares
The most direct comparison is against FTMO Global, the separate entity in the same group. Both sell the same five sizes in both products, so all ten pairs line up exactly. Using the figures recorded in our database for each firm, FTMO US is priced above FTMO Global on nine of those ten pairs, and the gap widens as accounts get larger.
| Size and product | FTMO US | FTMO Global |
|---|---|---|
| $10K 1-Step | $89 | $79 |
| $10K 2-Step | $99 | $89 |
| $25K 1-Step | $229 | $199 |
| $25K 2-Step | $289 | $250 |
| $50K 1-Step | $359 | $319 |
| $50K 2-Step | $399 | $345 |
| $100K 1-Step | $463 | $499 |
| $100K 2-Step | $499 | $439 |
| $200K 1-Step | $1,149 | $999 |
| $200K 2-Step | $1,249 | $1,080 |
At $200,000 the 2-Step costs $169 more through the US entity than the global one, arithmetic on the two figures above. Two rows in that table are discounted on both sides and deserve a caveat: the $100K 2-Step is $499 against a $619 list at FTMO US, and the $439 we hold for FTMO Global sits against a $540 list. The single exception to the pattern runs the other way: the $100,000 1-Step at $463 is currently $36 below the $499 we hold for FTMO Global, and that is entirely a function of the active discount. Once the promotion ends and the plan returns to its $579 list price, the pattern would be uniform. The firm's FAQ index links an entry addressing why the fee differs from the global product, but that page returns HTTP 404 on both URL forms the site itself links, so we do not restate a reason for the gap.
Against the wider CFD field the picture is different again. The5ers is recorded at 16 plans starting from $19 with a split of up to 100%, and FundedNext at 25 plans starting from $24.74 with up to 95%. Both undercut FTMO US heavily at the entry level and both carry a large TrustPilot footprint, 4.7 from 36,877 reviews and 4.5 from 77,968 reviews respectively. What neither offers is a US-registered counterparty structure, which is the specific reason FTMO US exists.
Verdict
FTMO US is a two-product firm with an unusually clean rule set and an unusually explicit payout compliance path. It is a reasonable fit for a US-resident trader who wants the FTMO evaluation format from a US-registered entity, who can supply a W-9 and a US bank account in their own name, and who is comfortable paying more per plan than the global product costs. The 2-Step suits traders who value the refundable fee, the 5% daily loss headroom and the absence of a Best Day Rule. The 1-Step suits traders who want the 90% split immediately and can trade within a 3% daily limit and an end-of-day trailing maximum loss.
It is a weaker fit for traders who want independent review evidence before buying, because no TrustPilot profile exists for this entity and the rating shown on site belongs to a different company. It is also a weaker fit for anyone whose returns come from a small number of outsized days, since the 1-Step's 50% Best Day Rule directly penalises that shape, and for anyone who cannot receive a Revolut bank wire.
All pricing and rule figures in this review were read from ftmo.oanda.com on 13 September 2026 and matched the values recorded in our database with no discrepancies. Sources: the pricing widget and trading objectives on ftmo.oanda.com, the Scaling Plan page, and the reward withdrawal FAQ.
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