The 2-Step and the 1-Step, rule by rule
Read from FTMO's own pages on 2026-10-29. The sources below show each page's last edit (UTC).
| Rule | 2-Step | 1-Step |
|---|---|---|
| Phases and profit target | Two: 10%, then 5% in Verification | One: 10% |
| Maximum Daily Loss | 5% of initial capital under each 00:00 CE(S)T balance | 3% of initial capital under each 00:00 CE(S)T balance |
| Maximum Loss | 10%, static: 90% of initial capital | 10%, trailing the highest end-of-day balance |
| Minimum trading days | 4 in each phase | None |
| Consistency | None | Best day at most 50% of total profit |
| Account type | Standard or Swing | Standard |
| Reward split | 80%, 90% once scaled | 90% |
| Fee refund | Yes, with the first Reward | No |
| Fee, $10,000 to $200,000 | €89, €250, €345, €540, €1,080 | €79, €199, €319, €499, €999 |
Both have no time limit, and both reset the daily limit at 00:00 CE(S)T: see the FTMO daily reset time on your own clock. On 2026-10-29 the $100,000 card also showed €439 (2-Step) and €399 (1-Step) for a Standard account, to buyers who don't already have one active. Both challenges lead to an FTMO Account that can join the Scaling Plan; the Instant Account, a third route with no evaluation, can't.
- Trading Objectives, edited 2026-10-20
- Comparison Table, edited 2026-10-26
- the pricing table on FTMO's home page, read 2026-10-29
- Is the entry fee refunded?, edited 2026-10-06
- How does your Consistency rule work?, edited 2026-10-27
- Reward Growth and Scaling Plan, edited 2026-10-14
Worked example: the calculator's opening numbers
$100,000, 0.5% risk, up to 3 trades a day, 45% wins at 2R.
Your average trade makes 0.5% × (0.45 × 2 − 0.55) = 0.175% of the account. The 1-Step's 10% takes about 58 trades, 20 trading days at 3 a day. The 2-Step's 10% and 5% take about 58 and 29 trades, 30 trading days with its minimum of 4 a phase.
A day of 3 full losses costs 1.5%: inside the 1-Step's 3% (5 losses fit) and the 2-Step's 5% (9 fit). A 2% best day is under half the target, so the 1-Step's Consistency rule asks for nothing extra. The first Reward on 6% ($6,000) pays $5,400 on the 1-Step and $4,800 plus the €540 fee back on the 2-Step; the 1-Step comes out ahead above $5,555, 10 times its €499 fee at 1.1133 dollars per euro.
So these numbers lean to the 1-Step: On average: 30 trading days on the 2-Step, 20 on the 1-Step, at up to 3 trades a day. Raise the risk to 1% with 4 trades a day and that day costs 4%, past the 1-Step's 3%, and the lean flips to the 2-Step.
How the calculator reads your numbers
Full losses, average trades, and the rules each number touches.
Daily room, the target, the best day and the first Reward
Daily room. Each loss is a full loss at your risk, and your worst day is your most trades a day, all losers. FTMO's daily limit counts equity, so an open loss counts too; leaving a stop wider than your risk makes the real room smaller than the count shown.
The target. Average trades are the target divided by your average trade, rounded up. Days are those trades spread at your most trades a day, never fewer than the 2-Step's 4 a phase. A real run has streaks: these are the least it could take on average, not a forecast, and nothing here is a chance of passing.
The best day. On the 1-Step your best day can be at most 50% of total profit, losing days included (orders from 12 October 2026, and accounts merged since), so the profit it needs is the larger of 10% and twice your best day. Missing it isn't a breach: you keep trading until it holds.
The first Reward. Both fees are paid up front; only the 2-Step's comes back. So the 1-Step's 90% beats the 2-Step's 80% once a tenth of the profit is more than the 1-Step's fee.
What it doesn't model
The rules that depend on how your trades unfold.
The trailing floor, scaling and Swing
- The 1-Step's trailing Maximum Loss. It rises with your best end-of-day balance and never comes back down, so after a run-up a give-back can breach it where the 2-Step's static floor wouldn't. The FTMO 1-Step rules post replays your days through it.
- Later Rewards. The 2-Step's split rises to 90% under the Scaling Plan or the Premium Programme, so the gap closes after the first cycles; the FTMO payout calculator runs a cycle.
- Swing. Swing's leverage is up to 1:30 on forex instead of 1:100, so check your lot sizes still fit. The FTMO Swing account post has the details.
Whichever you pick
Both challenges end on the same two lines: the daily floor and the Maximum Loss. We sell the Prop Firm Challenge Toolkit, a TradingView indicator that shows your daily-loss, drawdown and profit-target buffers in dollars on your chart, from the rules and balance you enter. Your FTMO Account MetriX remains the source of truth. Every rule above is in our FTMO rules guide.