FTMO vs The5ers
FTMO and The5ers are the two longest-running forex prop firms and take different approaches. FTMO is the standard two-step evaluation with static drawdown, four platforms and a decade of public payouts. The5ers offers instant funding, a two-step and a low-cost bootcamp, allows weekend and news trading everywhere, but runs on MetaTrader 5 only and starts its instant route at a 50 percent split.
| FTMO | The5ers | |
|---|---|---|
| Methodology score | 84 / 100 | 81 / 100 |
| Challenge types | Two-step (FTMO Challenge and Verification); Swing variant | Hyper Growth (instant funding); High Stakes (two-step); Bootcamp (three-step, low cost) |
| Account sizes | $10,000 to $200,000 | $5,000 to $100,000 starting balances, scaling to $4 million |
| Challenge fees | From about €155 for $10,000 to about €1,080 for $200,000; refunded with the first payout | Varies by programme; Bootcamp from under $100, High Stakes and Hyper Growth by account size |
| Profit targets | 10% in the Challenge, 5% in the Verification | Hyper Growth: 10% per level; High Stakes: 8% then 5%; Bootcamp: 6% per phase |
| Daily loss limit | 5% of the initial balance | High Stakes: 5%; Hyper Growth and Bootcamp: no separate daily limit at some levels |
| Maximum loss | 10% of the initial balance | 6% to 10% depending on programme |
| Drawdown type | Static | Static |
| Minimum trading days | 4 in each phase | 3 in High Stakes; none in Hyper Growth |
| Maximum trading days | None | None in High Stakes and Hyper Growth |
| Profit split | 80%, rising to 90% under the scaling plan | 50% at the first Hyper Growth level, rising to 100% at the top; 80% to 100% in High Stakes |
| Payouts | Every 14 days on request after the first payout; first payout after 14 days | On demand at the end of each level, or every 14 days |
| Scaling | 25% balance increase every four months of net profit, to $2 million | Account doubles at each level of Hyper Growth, to $4 million |
| News trading | Restricted on the funded account: no opening or closing two minutes either side of high-impact news; allowed on the swing variant | Allowed |
| Weekend holding | Not allowed on standard accounts; allowed on the swing variant | Allowed |
| Automated trading | Allowed, with restrictions on copied and commercial EAs | Allowed |
| Platforms | MetaTrader 4, MetaTrader 5, cTrader, DXtrade | MetaTrader 5 |
| Markets | Forex, Indices, Commodities, Crypto, Stocks CFDs | Forex, Indices, Commodities, Crypto |
| Founded | 2015 | 2016 |
| Headquarters | Prague, Czech Republic | Israel, with a UK entity |
Both are static-drawdown, no-time-limit firms, which puts them in the forgiving category.
Verdict. FTMO for the predictable standard evaluation and platform choice; The5ers for swing traders who hold over weekends and traders who want to be funded immediately.
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Figures are each provider's published terms at the last check and can change. Trading and prop-firm evaluations carry a high risk of losing money. We may earn a commission through links. Affiliate disclosure.