For Traders vs FTMO — the honest comparison
FTMO (Prague, founded 2015) is the biggest brand in prop trading — 4.5M+ customers, $650M+ paid out, and since 2025 the owner of broker OANDA. For Traders (Dubai, founded 2023, office in Prague) is the younger challenger. The short version: FTMO wins on brand, education and long-term scaling; For Traders wins on price (challenges from $17, a 2-step $100K for $434 vs ~€540), a lower Phase 1 target (8% vs 10%), instant funding and futures (FTMO offers neither), 70+ crypto coins 24/7, weekend holding on funded accounts, and a 48-hour payout guarantee from your very first reward.
All data verified July 29, 2026. For Traders figures load live from our system; FTMO figures come from ftmo.com pages and FAQ (sources listed below). Spotted something outdated? Tell us and we'll fix it. For Traders is our product — so we made this comparison easy to check: every claim carries a source, and where FTMO is simply better, we say so.
The facts, side by side
| Fact | For Traders | FTMO |
|---|---|---|
| Founded / HQ | 2023 · Dubai (FT Trading Ltd.) + office in Prague · native Czech support | 2015 · Prague (FTMO Evaluation Global s.r.o.); owner of broker OANDA since Dec 2025 |
| Track record | $10M+ paid out · 130+ countries · 4.5/5 from 263 verified reviews (Prop Firm Match) | $650M+ paid out · 140+ countries · 4.5/5 · 205 reviews on Prop Firm Match (4.8/5 on Trustpilot at ~47k reviews) |
| Cheapest entry | $9 (Pay After Pass) · challenges from $17 | ~$79–89 ($10K challenge) |
| 2-step $100K | Classic — $434 · targets 8% → 5% | FTMO Challenge — ~€540 · targets 10% → 5% |
| Instant funding (no evaluation) | Yes — Instant from $69 | No — closest is a 1-step challenge with a 10% target and trailing end-of-day drawdown |
| Markets | Forex & CFDs + crypto (70+ coins, 24/7, leverage up to 1:20) + exchange-listed futures on For Traders X (CME, COMEX, CBOT, NYMEX) | CFDs only: FX, indices, commodities, a handful of crypto CFDs and ~23 US stock CFDs. No exchange-traded futures |
| Platforms | MT5, TradeLocker, cTrader, For Traders X | MT5, MT4, cTrader |
| Profit split | 80% (90% on Crypto Fast PRO, up to 100% on Instant Pro) | 80% → 90% via Scaling Plan (4-month cycles, 2-step only) |
| Payouts | 48-hour guarantee from the FIRST reward — miss it and the reward is 100% yours · cadence per plan (on-demand on selected plans) | First payout on/after day 14, then on demand · 1–2 business days processing · fee refunded with first payout |
| Max allocation | Up to $300K — for every trader, from day one | $400K start cap; Scaling Plan can grow it to $2M over years (2-step only) |
| Funded-account trading windows | Weekend & overnight holding allowed; positions restricted around high-impact news on funded forex (crypto unrestricted, 24/7) | Standard accounts: no weekend holding and a ±2-minute news blackout (even SL/TP executions count); Swing variant lifts both at lower leverage (1:30) |
| Education | Blog, trading journal with AI insights, performance coaching add-on | Free FTMO Academy (course library) + performance coaches — the strongest in the industry |
Pick your scenario
“I want a 2-step $100K challenge”
Classic $100K — $434 · targets 8% → 5% · daily loss −4% / max loss −8% (of initial balance, static) · split 80% · unlimited time
FTMO Challenge $100K — ~€540 · targets 10% → 5% · daily loss −5% / max loss −10% (static) · min 4 trading days per phase · split 80–90% · unlimited time · fee refunded with first payout
For Traders is meaningfully cheaper and asks 8% in Phase 1 where FTMO asks 10% — that 2% is the difference that ends most attempts. FTMO counters with wider loss limits and the fee refund. If you pass either, the funded experience differs more than the challenge: see the trading-windows row above.
“I want the cheapest way in”
Pay After Pass $9 (activation only after you pass) · Strike 3-step from $17
$10K challenge from ~$79 (1-step) / ~$89 (2-step) · free trial with halved targets (14 days)
For Traders by an order of magnitude — $9 vs ~$79 to get a real attempt. FTMO's free trial is a nice sandbox, but it's a demo of a demo; our free path (tournaments) pays out real funded accounts.
“I don’t want an evaluation at all”
Instant Funding from $69 — funded from day one, 70% split (Instant Pro: 80%, growing to 100%)
Not available. The 1-step FTMO Challenge still requires a 10% target and carries a trailing end-of-day drawdown plus a best-day consistency rule
A category FTMO doesn’t sell. If you want funding without an exam, only one of these firms offers it.
“I trade futures or crypto”
Exchange-listed futures on For Traders X (CME, COMEX, CBOT, NYMEX) · 70+ crypto coins, 24/7, leverage up to 1:20, weekend holding welcome
No exchange-traded futures · a handful of crypto CFDs, and Standard funded accounts must close positions before the weekend — tough for a 24/7 asset class
For Traders, structurally: futures don’t exist at FTMO and crypto there fights the weekend-close rule. FTMO's Swing accounts lift the restriction but halve your leverage.
Choose FTMO if…
- You want the industry’s most established brand — a decade of history, $650M+ paid out, 4.8/5 from ~47,000 Trustpilot reviews, and ownership of a regulated broker (OANDA).
- You value the free FTMO Academy and performance coaching — the strongest education stack in prop trading.
- The refundable fee matters to you: FTMO returns your challenge fee with the first reward.
- You’re playing the long game: the Scaling Plan can grow one account relationship to $2M (on 2-step, over 4-month cycles).
- You want slightly wider loss limits on a 2-step (−5% daily / −10% max vs our −4% / −8%).
Choose For Traders if…
- You want the cheaper path at every size — $17 entry, $9 Pay After Pass, and a 2-step $100K for $434 vs ~€540.
- You’d rather chase 8% than 10% in Phase 1 — the lower target is the single biggest difference in pass difficulty.
- You want funding without an evaluation (Instant Funding — FTMO has no equivalent).
- You trade futures or crypto: exchange-listed futures and 70+ coins 24/7 with up to 1:20 leverage don’t exist at FTMO — and our funded accounts hold through weekends.
- You want your first reward fast: 48-hour guarantee from day one, no 14-day wait, with $300K allocation available to everyone.
For Traders vs FTMO — FAQ
They optimize for different traders. FTMO is the biggest, oldest brand with the best education and a broker (OANDA) in the group. For Traders is cheaper at every size, asks a lower Phase 1 target (8% vs 10%), pays from the first reward within a guaranteed 48 hours, and sells categories FTMO doesn't: instant funding, exchange-listed futures and 70+ crypto coins 24/7.
For Traders. Challenges start at $17 (Pay After Pass at $9) vs roughly $79–89 for FTMO's cheapest $10K challenge. A 2-step $100K costs $434 at For Traders vs about €540 at FTMO — though FTMO refunds its fee with your first reward, which narrows the gap if you pass and get paid.
No. FTMO sells 1-step and 2-step evaluations only — no instant funding — and no exchange-traded futures (its indices and commodities are CFDs). For Traders offers Instant Funding from $69 and futures on For Traders X (CME, COMEX, CBOT, NYMEX).
FTMO Standard funded accounts can't hold over the weekend and have a ±2-minute blackout around high-impact news (its Swing variant lifts both at lower leverage). For Traders funded accounts hold overnight and through weekends; forex accounts restrict positions around high-impact news, while crypto trades 24/7 without news windows.
Want the full market picture? See our honest ranking of the 10 best prop firms.
Prop firms rankingSources
FTMO figures: ftmo.com (homepage stats, trading-objectives, scaling-plan, trading-platforms, free-trial, news-trading and weekend-holding FAQ, OANDA acquisition press release), prices as listed at ftmo.com checkout in EUR. For Traders figures: live product catalog (the same data the configurator sells from) and fortraders.com/our-rules.
See the difference yourself
Start with a challenge from $17, grab Pay After Pass for $9 — or enter a free tournament and win a funded account.