FTMO Futures Review

How FTMO Futures works

FTMO is best known for its forex and CFD challenges (see our FTMO review), and FTMO Futures is its separate futures program. It has three steps: a one-step Evaluation paid by monthly subscription, a simulated Sim-Funded Account where you earn payouts, and an invitation-only Live Funded Account backed by FTMO capital. There is no activation fee and no time limit to pass.

You choose between two products:

The profit target is the same on both: $3,000, $6,000 or $9,000. Your subscription keeps running if you breach; you get a fresh account on the next billing date, or you can pay a reset to restart sooner.

FTMO Futures rules

FTMO Futures Evaluation rules

To pass, reach the profit target without touching the maximum drawdown, while meeting the consistency rule. Trades must be closed (the target counts only with all positions flat). You can hold up to 5, 10 or 15 contracts on 50K, 100K and 150K, and micros count at a 1:10 ratio.

FTMO Futures drawdown rules

The maximum drawdown is end-of-day trailing. Each morning FTMO sets the limit at your highest previous closing balance minus the drawdown amount, but your equity, including open trades and commissions, must never touch it during the day. The limit only moves up and locks permanently at your starting balance ($50,000 on a 50K account). See our trailing drawdown guide for how this compares with an intraday drawdown.

On Pro, the daily loss limit is hard: hitting it fails the account. On a Growth Sim-Funded Account it is soft: positions close and trading stops until the next day, but the account stays open.

FTMO Futures consistency rule

In the Evaluation your best day may be at most 40% (Growth) or 50% (Pro) of your total profit. Breaking it is not a violation; you simply keep trading until your best day falls below the limit. With a $2,000 best day on a 50K Growth account, for example, you need $5,000 in total profit to pass. Sim-Funded Accounts have no consistency rule.

Contract scaling on the Sim-Funded Account

Funded accounts start with fewer contracts and scale up as end-of-day profit grows. A 50K account starts at 2 contracts and moves to 5 once it closes $3,000 above the starting balance; 100K goes from 4 to 10, and 150K starts at 6 contracts.

Trading hours, news and other rules

• No overnight or weekend positions: close all positions and cancel resting orders before 4:10 PM ET each day.
• News trading is allowed.
• Automated trading is allowed, but not high-frequency strategies, latency arbitrage or anything that exploits the simulator.
• No hedging across accounts and no copying signals or other traders' decisions.
• No new positions within 2% of a CME daily price limit.
• Level 1 data is included; Depth of Market cannot be purchased on FTMO logins.
• Unlimited Evaluations, but up to 3 Sim-Funded Accounts at once.

FTMO Futures payout rules

To request a payout from a Sim-Funded Account you need a set number of qualifying days in the cycle, each above a minimum profit:

At least 50% of each request must be new profit from the current cycle. Growth lets you request up to half your profit and Pro up to all of it, both subject to the caps above. FTMO pays 90% of the approved amount in USD, with a $20 minimum, through Wise, Revolut bank wire, Visa Direct or Mastercard Send (Mastercard Send is not available to US clients). You can keep trading as soon as you submit the request.

FTMO Futures Live Funded Account

You cannot apply for a Live Funded Account; FTMO's Trading Department invites traders after reviewing their Sim-Funded trading. Live accounts trade FTMO capital, keep the maximum drawdown as the only objective, and allow daily payouts with no cap once you clear a one-time buffer. A market data fee applies, with one exchange covered by FTMO. Some countries are eligible for Sim-Funded payouts but not for Live accounts.

Is FTMO Futures legit?

FTMO has offered trader evaluations since 2015 and is based in Prague, Czech Republic. It says it has served more than 4.5 million customers and paid more than $650 million in rewards. US clients are served by JV Prop Corporation, a Delaware company. FTMO Futures runs on the NinjaTrader and Tradovate infrastructure, and its rules are published in detail on the FTMO website, which we used for this review. Evaluation and Sim-Funded Accounts are simulated; FTMO does not act as a broker.

Who FTMO Futures is for

FTMO Futures suits traders who want an established brand, an end-of-day drawdown that locks, no activation fee and no consistency rule once funded. Choose Growth for the lowest monthly price and a soft daily loss limit when funded, or Pro if you want to withdraw all of your profit with higher caps and can handle a hard daily loss limit. Look elsewhere if you want more than three funded accounts or a one-time fee instead of a subscription.