FTMO 1-Step rules: one phase to a 10% profit target, with equity kept above two floors, a Maximum Daily Loss 3% of initial capital under each 00:00 CE(S)T balance and a 10% Maximum Loss that trails your highest end-of-day balance. On orders from 12 October 2026 your best day can be at most 50% of total profit, losing days included. There's no minimum day count, and the fee isn't refunded.
What are the FTMO 1-Step rules?
The rules sit in two places: the FTMO Challenge you pay for, then the FTMO Account you trade for Rewards, where "continuous compliance with applicable Trading Objectives is required at all times."
| Rule | FTMO Challenge: 1-Step | FTMO Account (1-Step) |
|---|---|---|
| Profit Target | 10% of initial capital, closed | None |
| Maximum Daily Loss | 3% of initial capital under each 00:00 CE(S)T balance | Same |
| Maximum Loss | 10%, trailing the highest 00:00 CE(S)T balance | Same; back to 90% of initial capital after each Reward |
| Consistency | Best day at most 50% of total profit | Same, before each Reward |
| Minimum trading days | None listed | None listed |
| Trading Period | Unlimited | Unlimited |
| Account type | Standard only, leverage up to 1:100 (FTMO's Australian site differs, below) | Same |
And by size, with the one-time fee as each FTMO site showed it:
| Account | Profit target | Daily loss amount | Maximum Loss amount | Fee on ftmo.com, in euros as shown | Fee on FTMO US |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| $10,000 | $1,000 | $300 | $1,000 | €79 | $89 |
| $25,000 | $2,500 | $750 | $2,500 | €199 | $229 |
| $50,000 | $5,000 | $1,500 | $5,000 | €319 | $359 |
| $100,000 | $10,000 | $3,000 | $10,000 | €499 | $579 |
| $200,000 | $20,000 | $6,000 | $20,000 | €999 | $1,149 |
The fee is "not refundable" on the 1-Step. ftmo.com showed it in euros whatever account currency we picked, and we haven't converted it. FTMO US prices in dollars, which it says reflect "the exchange rate at the time the product was created". That day the $100,000 card also showed a special deal, €399 and $463, "valid only if you don't currently have one active."
Sources: Trading Objectives, Comparison Table, the pricing table on FTMO's home page, FTMO US pricing, FTMO US fees, Is the entry fee refunded?, account specifications, Who can join FTMO?, checked 2026-10-18.
Check your own 1-Step days
Orders created on or after 12 Oct 2026, and any account merged since: best day ÷ total profit, losing days included.
Worst moment: how far equity, open trades included, fell below the day's 00:00 CE(S)T balance. A losing close counts as at least its loss.
Target reached, consistency not yet
Best day +$6,000 (Day 1) is 60% of $10,000 total profit. If it stays your best day, total profit must reach $12,000: $2,000 more. It isn't a breach: keep trading, on smaller days.
- Profit Target, 10%: met. Balance $110,000, past $110,000.
- Maximum Daily Loss, 3%: met. No day's worst moment reached its 00:00 balance minus $3,000.
- Maximum Loss, 10%, trailing: met. Floor now $98,000, the highest 00:00 balance minus $10,000.
- Consistency, 50%: not met. Best day +$6,000 (Day 1) is 60% of $10,000 total profit. If it stays your best day, total profit must reach $12,000: $2,000 more.
Under the legacy Best Day Rule, the same days: Best day +$6,000 (Day 1) is 50% of $12,000 from profitable days: within 50%. That passes at the close of Day 4.
Opens on FTMO's own Consistency example on a $100,000 account; the third example is invented. The rules are FTMO's, read on 2026-10-18. Equity touching either floor counts as a breach here. That's our choice: only the pricing table's Maximum Loss note says equity "cannot reach" its floor; FTMO's other wordings fail a drop below. Every position is taken as closed by 00:00 CE(S)T. It reads what you enter, not your Account MetriX, which is the source of truth.
Read as text
- Day 1: 00:00 balance $100,000; daily floor $97,000, Maximum Loss $90,000 (the daily floor binds). Closed +$6,000 at $106,000.
- Day 2: 00:00 balance $106,000; daily floor $103,000, Maximum Loss $96,000 (the daily floor binds). Closed −$2,000 at $104,000.
- Day 3: 00:00 balance $104,000; daily floor $101,000, Maximum Loss $96,000 (the daily floor binds). Closed +$4,000 at $108,000.
- Day 4: 00:00 balance $108,000; daily floor $105,000, Maximum Loss $98,000 (the daily floor binds). Closed +$2,000 at $110,000.
It opens on FTMO's own Consistency example on a $100,000 account: +$6,000, −$2,000, +$4,000 and +$2,000. The balance reaches the $110,000 target, but Day 1 is 60% of the $10,000 total, so the check reads "Target reached, consistency not yet" and asks for $12,000. Switch to the legacy rule and the same four days pass at the close of Day 4: $6,000 is 50% of the $12,000 the profitable days made. The check calls a pass at the first close where the target and the 50% hold together: our reading of FTMO's rule that all Trading Objectives be met "concurrently". The third example is invented, and it fails on Day 5.
Which FTMO 1-Step consistency rule applies to you?
That depends on when the order was created and whether the account was merged. FTMO's 8 October trading update moved new 1-Step orders to Consistency "From Monday, 12 October 2026, 9:00" in MetaTrader time, GMT+3: 06:00 UTC, 7:00 a.m. in London, 2:00 a.m. in New York. The Trading Objectives give the date alone.
| Your account | Rule | The best day is compared with |
|---|---|---|
| From an order created on or after 12 Oct 2026 | Consistency | Total profit, losing days included |
| Merged on or after 12 Oct 2026, whatever the order date | Consistency | Total profit, losing days included |
| Directly from an order created before 12 Oct 2026, not merged since | Best Day Rule (legacy) | The profitable days' sum |
An older order keeps the Best Day Rule after you pass, withdraw a Reward or get the next FTMO Account: that "doesn't change", in FTMO's words. A merge needs unused FTMO Accounts from the same product and base currency, and "the merge is irreversible" (Can I merge my accounts?). Under both rules the Best Day is the day with the highest closed profit, counted "at the end of the trading day (00:00 CE(S)T)" or when the other objectives are met, and the cap is 50%. How consistency rules work at other firms is in our prop firm consistency rule guide.
FTMO's own examples show the gap:
- Consistency: +$6,000, −$2,000, +$4,000, +$2,000. Total profit is $10,000 and the best day 60%, so "your total profit will have to be at least $12,000."
- Best Day Rule: −$2,000, +$10,000, −$2,000, −$2,000, +$6,000. The profitable days make $16,000 and the best day 62.5%; they "will have to be at least $20,000."
By our arithmetic the first example passes the legacy rule: its profitable days sum to $12,000, and $6,000 is exactly 50%. FTMO calls the new rule "stricter", and a losing day is the reason, because it shrinks the denominator.
Missing the 50% isn't a breach. "Neither rule can be breached," FTMO says: you keep trading until the best day is half the total or less.What you can't do is spread one idea across days to get there. The Forbidden Trading Practices ban "partially closing and managing the same trade idea across multiple trading days, in order to circumvent the Best Day Rule or the Consistency rule", and hedges that do the same.
Sources: Trading Update | 8 Oct 2026, Trading Objectives, How does your Consistency rule work?, Can I merge my accounts?, Forbidden Trading Practices, checked 2026-10-18.
How do the FTMO 1-Step loss limits work?
Both are floors for equity, "Balance + Open Positions P/L ± Swaps – Commissions", and both are recalculated at 00:00 CE(S)T. Breach either and "the platform automatically closes all your open positions, and the account is considered failed."
- Maximum Daily Loss: "the account balance recorded at 00:00 CE(S)T of the current day" minus 3% of initial capital. On $100,000 that's $3,000 under each midnight balance. FTMO's example: balances of $100,000, $102,000 and $101,000 give floors of $97,000, $99,000 and $98,000.
- Maximum Loss: "the highest account balance achieved at 00:00 CE(S)T of any preceding trading day or, if higher, the amount of Initial Simulated Capital", minus 10% of initial capital. "The limit can only increase, but never decrease." FTMO describes no point where it stops trailing. A Reward resets it: the new FTMO Account starts again at 90% of initial capital.
FTMO's Comparison Table calls it "Trailing on Balance (End of day)"; our trailing vs static drawdown guide covers the general idea. Balance "changes only when a trade is closed", so an open profit at midnight doesn't lift the floor, and neither does an intraday high.
When 00:00 CE(S)T falls for you, by our conversion (FTMO publishes CE(S)T only, and MetaTrader time as "GMT+2 +DST"):
| Prague time | UTC | London | New York |
|---|---|---|---|
| 00:00 CEST, European summer time | 22:00 the evening before | 11:00 p.m. | 6:00 p.m. |
| 00:00 CET, European winter time | 23:00 | 11:00 p.m. | 6:00 p.m. |
The exceptions are the weeks when Europe and the US change their clocks on different dates: from 25 October to 1 November 2026, and from 14 to 28 March 2027, New York's reset is at 7:00 p.m. Europe leaves summer time on 25 October 2026, FTMO's 15 October update says.
Sources: Trading Objectives, What are the Trading Objectives?, Comparison Table, Balance and Equity, account specifications, checked 2026-10-18.
A worked example on an invented account
An invented $100,000 1-Step, five days in. The floors are FTMO's rules applied to these balances:
| Day (invented) | Balance at 00:00 CE(S)T | Daily floor | Maximum Loss | Binding floor | The day |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $100,000 | $97,000 | $90,000 | $97,000 | closes +$6,000 |
| 2 | $106,000 | $103,000 | $96,000 | $103,000 | closes −$2,500 |
| 3 | $103,500 | $100,500 | $96,000 | $100,500 | closes −$2,500 |
| 4 | $101,000 | $98,000 | $96,000 | $98,000 | closes −$2,500 |
| 5 | $98,500 | $95,500 | $96,000 | $96,000 | dips $2,600: breach |
Day 1's close lifts the Maximum Loss to $96,000, and it stays there. By Day 5 the daily floor has slid under it, so the trailing floor binds: a $2,600 dip, less than the $3,000 daily amount, takes equity to $95,900 and fails the account. On a 2-Step, with a static $90,000 floor and a $5,000 daily amount, the same dip would leave $2,400 above that day's daily floor. Pick "An invented breach" in the check to replay it.
One good close moves the 1-Step's floor for good: after a $6,000 day, the account has $4,000 of room under its start.1-Step vs 2-Step: what's different?
| Rule | 1-Step | 2-Step |
|---|---|---|
| Phases before the FTMO Account | 1 | 2: FTMO Challenge, then Verification |
| Profit Target | 10% | 10%, then 5% |
| Maximum Daily Loss | 3% | 5% |
| Maximum Loss | 10%, trailing on end-of-day balance | 10%, static |
| Minimum trading days | None listed | 4 per phase |
| Consistency | 50% | None |
| Reward split | 90% | 80%, up to 90% |
| Fee refund | No | Yes, with the first Reward |
| Account types | Standard | Standard or Swing |
| $100,000 fee, ftmo.com and FTMO US | €499 and $579 | €540 and $619 |
The 1-Step can be done in "as few as 2 trading days", FTMO says, "provided that exactly 50% of the total profit is achieved on each of two separate trading days." The 2-Step takes at least 8. In return the 1-Step gives you 3% a day where the 2-Step gives 5%, and a floor that follows your best close. If your profit tends to come in a few big days, the 50% rule is the one you'll wait on. Once funded, a 1-Step trades as a Standard account under FTMO's news and weekend restrictions, which the Challenge doesn't have; our FTMO news trading guide covers them and the 2-Step's Swing type.
Sources: Comparison Table, How long does it take to become an FTMO Trader?, the pricing table on FTMO's home page, FTMO US pricing, Can I trade news?, Can I hold positions overnight or over the weekend?, the Swing account type, checked 2026-10-18.
How long do you have, and what happens after you pass?
- No deadline, but a start date. The Trading Period is unlimited. You activate the Challenge with a first trade, and if that doesn't happen within 30 calendar days of it reaching you, access is suspended (clause 5.8.4 of the FTMO Challenge Terms and Conditions). Clause 13.2.3 also lets FTMO end an account after 30 days without a trade, or after more than 30 days holding a loss between 8% and 10% of initial capital.
- The review. Once every objective is met, Account MetriX says so, and the account is "set for review, which typically takes 1-4 business days." Then you complete FTMO Identity (KYC/KYB) and the FTMO Account Terms & Conditions, after which FTMO "may provide you with the FTMO Account". Passing "does not guarantee your acceptance" (clause 5.8.7).
- The FTMO Account. No target, and the same two floors and 50% rule before each Reward. When you can withdraw and what you keep is in our FTMO payout rules. 1-Step accounts can also grow, under the conditions in our FTMO Scaling Plan guide.
Sources: FTMO Challenge Terms and Conditions, I have successfully passed, what to do now?, 1-Step FTMO Challenge, Reward Growth and Scaling Plan, checked 2026-10-18.
Where do FTMO's own pages disagree?
- Best Day Rule or Consistency? The 1-Step page, last edited 2026-07-01, still lists "Best Day Rule 50%", and so do FTMO US's and FTMO Australia's copies. The Trading Objectives and the pricing table say Consistency, 50%, for orders from 12 Oct 2026, and the consistency FAQ describes only the new rule. The Trading Objectives are newer and more detailed, and the check follows them.
- Touching a floor. The Trading Objectives fail equity that "drops below" the limit. The pricing table's Max Loss note says equity "cannot reach or fall beneath" it. The check counts touching either floor as a breach, our choice; for the Maximum Daily Loss both FTMO wordings ("drops below", "must not exceed") allow a touch.
- Swing on the 1-Step. The Swing FAQ says it "is not offered for the 1-Step"; FTMO Australia's Comparison Table lists "Swing" for it. Each may be right for its own site, so check the one you buy from.
- The cutoff time. The trading update says 12 October 2026, 9:00 MetaTrader time; the Trading Objectives say 12 Oct 2026 and give no time.
Not published
- A reset time in anything but CE(S)T. The UTC, London and New York times above are our conversions.
- Whether the 9:00 cutoff also applies to merges. FTMO says only "merged on or after 12 October 2026".
- Whether a 1-Step account's consistency count starts again after a Reward. FTMO says so for the Instant Account only.
- A price in US dollars on ftmo.com. Only FTMO US, for US residents, shows one.
Where we sit
We're not affiliated with FTMO and earn nothing if you buy from it. We sell the Prop Firm Challenge Toolkit, a TradingView indicator that tracks daily-loss, drawdown and target buffers in dollars from the rule numbers you enter. FTMO's Account MetriX is the source of truth. More firms are on the prop firms hub.
Sources and their last edits
Each page was read on 2026-10-18. Dates are each page's own last-modified stamp.
- Trading Objectives, 2026-10-12; FTMO US Trading Objectives, 2026-10-12; Trading Update | 8 Oct 2026, 2026-10-08; Trading Update | 15 Oct 2026, 2026-10-16.
- Pricing table, 2026-10-15; FTMO US pricing, 2026-10-15; Reward Growth and Scaling Plan, 2026-10-14; Forbidden Trading Practices, 2026-10-12; How does your Consistency rule work?, 2026-10-12.
- Can I trade news?, 2026-10-11; Can I hold positions overnight or over the weekend?, 2026-10-11; Can I merge my accounts?, 2026-10-11; Comparison Table, 2026-10-09; FTMO Australia Comparison Table, 2026-10-09.
- How long does it take to become an FTMO Trader?, 2026-10-09; I have successfully passed, what to do now?, 2026-10-09; What are the Trading Objectives?, 2026-10-06; Balance and Equity, 2026-10-06.
- Is the entry fee refunded?, 2026-10-06; the Swing account type, 2026-10-06; account specifications, 2026-10-05; FTMO US fees, 2026-10-04.
- Who can join FTMO?, 2026-09-30; 1-Step FTMO Challenge, 2026-07-01; FTMO Challenge Terms and Conditions, the Global PDF's own date 2026-10-12.
Disclosure
The check's first two examples are FTMO's own; the third, and the five-day table, are invented. None of it is a forecast, and nothing here says whether an FTMO Challenge is worth buying or that you'd pass one. If a number here no longer matches FTMO's pages, email support@pulltrade.app and we'll correct it in public.
Frequently asked questions
What are the FTMO 1-Step rules?
A 10% profit target, a Maximum Daily Loss of 3% of initial capital under each 00:00 CE(S)T balance, and a 10% Maximum Loss that trails the highest 00:00 balance. Your best day can be at most 50% of total profit. There's no minimum number of trading days and no time limit. The FTMO Account keeps the floors and the 50% rule and drops the target.
What is the FTMO 1-Step consistency rule?
Your best day by closed profit can be at most 50% of total profit, losing days included, both to pass and before each Reward. It applies to orders created on or after 12 Oct 2026 and to any account merged since. Older orders keep the Best Day Rule, which divides by the profitable days only. Missing it isn't a breach: you keep trading.
Is the FTMO 1-Step maximum loss trailing?
Yes, on end-of-day balance. Each 00:00 CE(S)T the floor becomes the highest midnight balance so far, or initial capital if higher, minus 10% of initial capital. It only rises, and FTMO describes no point where it stops. After a Reward, the new FTMO Account starts again at 90% of initial capital.
What is the daily loss limit on the FTMO 1-Step?
3% of initial capital under the balance at 00:00 CE(S)T: $3,000 on a $100,000 account, so a $102,000 midnight balance gives a $99,000 floor for the day. Equity, open trades included, must stay above it. 00:00 CE(S)T is 11:00 p.m. in London and, most of the year, 6:00 p.m. in New York.
How fast can you pass the FTMO 1-Step?
In as few as 2 trading days, FTMO says, with exactly 50% of the total profit on each. There's no minimum day count and no time limit, but the Challenge must get its first trade within 30 calendar days of reaching you. After a pass, FTMO's review typically takes 1-4 business days.
How much does the FTMO 1-Step cost?
A one-time fee, read on 2026-10-18: from €79 for $10,000 to €999 for $200,000 on ftmo.com, shown in euros, or from $89 to $1,149 on FTMO US, the site for US residents. The 1-Step fee is not refundable.
What is the difference between the FTMO 1-Step and 2-Step?
The 1-Step has one phase and no minimum days, but a 3% daily loss, a trailing Maximum Loss, a 50% consistency rule and no refund. The 2-Step gives 5% a day, a static floor and a refundable fee over two phases of at least 4 trading days each.
What happens if you break an FTMO 1-Step rule?
If equity drops below the Maximum Daily Loss or the Maximum Loss floor, FTMO closes every open position and the account fails. Missing the 50% consistency share isn't a breach: you keep trading until your best day is half your total profit or less. The 10% target has no deadline.
