Explore FTMO's trading evaluation process, account options, and strategies to enhance your chances of success in 2025.

FTMO prop firm challenge is a prop-trading firm that funds traders with up to $200,000 in simulated capital, letting them earn performance-based rewards of up to 90% of simulated profits after passing a two-phase evaluation: Challenge and Verification. Here’s what you need to know to pass and succeed:

How to Pass Prop Firm Challenges With Ready-to-Use Strategies

Pass prop firm challenges with LuxAlgo prop firm strategies

Prop firm evaluations aren’t won by “one great trade” — they’re passed through repeatable execution, strict drawdown control, and a process that stays consistent even when the market gets choppy. If your goal is to pass an FTMO evaluation (or any similar challenge), the fastest path is usually the same: trade a rules-based approach that has already shown it can survive real market conditions.

That’s why LuxAlgo maintains a dedicated Prop Firms portal — a single page where you can quickly access ready-to-use prop firm strategies tailored for challenge-style rules. These strategies are built from historical market behavior and are designed to help traders:

  • Trade proven logic that has worked in the past (rather than improvising under evaluation pressure).
  • Stress-test against historical objectives — many of these approaches would have passed historical challenges under similar constraints.
  • Increase the probability of passing current challenges by following structured entries/exits and consistent risk parameters.

Instead of piecing together rules from scattered sources, you can use the LuxAlgo Prop Firms portal to find the firm you’re interested in, review the key rules, and then jump straight into a workflow for applying challenge-friendly strategies. The goal isn’t to guarantee performance — it’s to give you a stronger, more systematic foundation so you’re not “winging it” while daily and overall loss limits are on the line.

How to access strategies quickly: visit the LuxAlgo prop firm strategies page, select your prop firm, and use the firm-specific page to navigate straight to the most relevant comparisons and resources. This keeps your preparation focused — and helps you spend less time searching and more time executing.

How to get high discounts: when prop firm discounts or partner promotions are available, the LuxAlgo prop firms portal is also the quickest place to find them. Depending on the firm and the current campaign, traders can often access some of the highest available discounts at the time by going through the dedicated prop firm pages (always confirm the exact percentage and terms on the official checkout or the firm’s verified promo page before purchasing).

Suggested Strategies

Suggested prop firm strategies for passing evaluations

When you’re preparing for challenge conditions (profit target + tight drawdown rules), the most “evaluation-friendly” approaches tend to share the same DNA: defined risk, defined invalidation, and consistent triggers. Here are strategy types traders commonly lean on during prop firm challenges:

  • Trend continuation with strict invalidation: focus on higher-timeframe direction, then execute pullbacks with tight risk.
  • Breakout + retest structure: wait for confirmation to reduce false starts and avoid overtrading.
  • Mean reversion at validated levels: only when levels are well-defined and risk is capped.
  • Session-based rules: trade your best window, avoid low-quality volatility, and protect the daily loss limit.

For the fastest route to implementation, start from the LuxAlgo prop firm strategies page, open your firm page (like FTMO), and build a simple playbook: what you trade, when you trade, how much you risk, and when you stop for the day. That single routine can make the difference between passing cleanly and breaking rules from “one bad spiral.”

Key Highlights:

  • Account Sizes: Choose from $10 000 to $200 000 accounts.
  • Reward Split: Earn up to 90 % of simulated profits (reward ratio can vary based on status/scaling).
  • Core Trading Objectives (Challenge):
    • Profit Target: 10% of initial balance.
    • Maximum Daily Loss: 5% of initial balance.
    • Maximum Loss: 10% of initial balance.
    • Minimum Trading Days: 4.
  • Evaluation Fees: A one-time, refundable fee that varies by account size (refunded with the first reward after passing both stages).
  • Unlimited Time: No time limit to reach profit targets during the Challenge and Verification phases.

Quick Comparison:

Feature Classic / Standard Risk Classic / Aggressive Risk
Profit Target (Challenge) 10 % Higher target (risk-type dependent)
Maximum Daily Loss 5 % Higher limit (risk-type dependent)
Maximum Loss 10 % Higher limit (risk-type dependent)
Max Combined Capital $400 000 $200 000
Fees (starting at) $183 $295

Tips to Pass the FTMO Challenge:

FTMO overview

  1. Risk Management: Risk only 1–1.5 % per trade to reduce the chance of breaching daily and overall loss limits.
  2. Trading Plan: Stick to a clear strategy with defined entry/exit points and risk-reward ratios.
  3. Emotional Discipline: Stay calm, avoid overtrading, and accept losses as part of the process.
  4. Strategy Testing: Use LuxAlgo’s AI Backtesting Assistant plus TradingView toolkits for systematic technical analysis and repeatable rules.

FTMO’s evaluation structure and fee-refund policy can work well for disciplined traders. Focus on consistency, patience, and sound risk management to secure funding in 2026.

FTMO Review: My Honest Opinion in 2026 — Payouts, Rules, and Challenges Explained!

FTMO Account Sizes and Fees

FTMO offers five account sizes from $10 000 to $200 000, each requiring an upfront fee for the Challenge phase. These accounts are commonly presented under two risk approaches (often described as Standard/Normal vs Aggressive), where higher-risk settings generally come with more demanding objectives and wider loss limits.

For Standard accounts, the entry-level $10 000 account costs $183 (converted from €155) with a 10 % profit target during the Challenge phase. Aggressive accounts start at $295 for the same size, reflecting the different risk parameters.

FTMO may run limited-time campaigns from time to time (for example, promotional landing pages with reduced pricing). Always confirm your exact fee in the official FTMO checkout or verified FTMO promotional page before purchasing [1].

Traders on Standard accounts can scale combined FTMO accounts up to $400 000, while Aggressive accounts are capped at $200 000 due to higher loss limits [5].

Fee breakdown:

Account Size Standard Fee Aggressive Fee
$10 000$183$295
$25 000$295$407
$50 000$407$637
$100 000$637$1 274
$200 000$1 274Not Available

FTMO supports USD, GBP, EUR, CZK, CAD, AUD, and CHF. The Challenge fee is a one-time payment (not recurring) and is reimbursed with your first reward once you pass both Challenge and Verification and request a reward on the FTMO Account [4].

FTMO Plans: Pros and Cons Comparison

FTMO provides two commonly referenced risk approaches to suit different trading styles:

Standard plan – 10 % profit target (Challenge), 5 % maximum daily loss, 10 % maximum loss.
Aggressive plan – typically higher profit target and wider loss limits, with lower maximum combined capital (commonly $200 000).

A key feature of both approaches is the unlimited timeframe to hit the Challenge profit target [2].

Feature Standard Plan Aggressive Plan
Profit Target (Challenge)10 %Higher than 10 %
Maximum Daily Loss5 % of initial balanceHigher than 5 %
Maximum Loss10 % of initial balanceHigher than 10 %
Trading PeriodUnlimitedUnlimited
Minimum Trading Days4 days4 days
Fee Refund PolicyReimbursed with first rewardReimbursed with first reward
Maximum Combined CapitalUp to $400 000Up to $200 000

The Standard plan offers balanced growth and disciplined drawdown limits, making it ideal for steady progression [3]. The Aggressive plan suits traders comfortable with higher risk for potentially faster gains. Both approaches are built around clear Trading Objectives and a structured evaluation process.

Traders in either plan can earn up to 90 % of simulated profits [6], provided they employ disciplined risk management strategies.

How to Pass FTMO Challenges

Passing an FTMO challenge isn’t just about profitable trades – it’s about discipline, risk control, and psychological resilience. Success hinges on sticking to your strategy and managing emotions under pressure.

Risk Management: The Cornerstone

FTMO recommends risking no more than 1–1.5 % per trade [8]. For example, a trader risking 10 % per trade could suffer a deep drawdown even with a strong win rate [7].

Calculate position size carefully: on a $100 000 account, risking 1 % means limiting a single trade’s loss to $1 000. With a 50-pip stop-loss, adjust lot size so losses never exceed that $1 000. If you’re refining consistency, a structured approach to position sizing can help you translate “percent risk” into exact contract/lot decisions.

Building a Reliable Trading Plan

A robust plan covers entry/exit criteria and risk-reward targets [11]. Many traders aim for a reward-to-risk framework such as 1:2 or 1:3, but what matters most is whether your approach is repeatable and stays within the daily and total loss limits across enough trades to let your edge play out.

Example: If your average reward-to-risk is 2:1, you don’t need a high win rate to stay profitable over a series of trades—provided your losses are kept small and consistent and you avoid “revenge sizing” after a losing streak.

Mastering Emotional Discipline

"Discipline and emotional control are crucial. A solid strategy helps, but the ability to stay calm under pressure, stick to the plan, and manage risk effectively is what makes a trader successful in the long run." – Trader Carlota [12]

Accept losses as part of the process, resist the urge to increase size after setbacks, and maintain routines such as journaling and regular breaks.

Executing with Precision

Diversify risk across multiple trades and set stop-loss orders at 1–2 % risk, anchored to technical analysis [9]. Combine currency-strength tools with indicators like Fibonacci retracements and moving averages.

Avoiding Common Pitfalls

"One must be incredibly disciplined and faithful to their trade plan. Deviations are what cost us funds, accounts, and challenges." – Trader Katlego Asher [12]

Overtrading and treating the Challenge differently from a funded account are common errors. Approach evaluation as if trading your own capital.

The Long Game

With unlimited time to reach targets, focus on high-quality setups. Patience and discipline outperform rushed trading, especially when combined with advanced analysis tools. If you want an objective yardstick for progress, track metrics like maximum drawdown and profit factor across a meaningful sample size (not just a “good week”).

Using LuxAlgo AI for FTMO Success

LuxAlgo AI Backtesting Assistant

LuxAlgo provides an AI Backtesting platform and exclusive toolkits on TradingView that support systematic, rule-based trading – exactly what FTMO-style evaluations reward: consistency, controlled drawdown, and repeatable execution.

AI-Powered Strategy Development

The AI Backtesting Assistant helps traders generate and evaluate strategy logic without manually iterating thousands of combinations. LuxAlgo’s “millions of strategies” upgrade (originally expanded in 2025) remains a key capability in 2026, with broad coverage across major market categories and timeframes (details here). Backtesting against historical data helps reduce trial-and-error on evaluation accounts and encourages evidence-based risk constraints.

Customizable Toolkits for Rule-Based Trading

Building Confidence Through Data

"Using the LuxAlgo indicators doing a top-down analysis from the daily and weekly chart … helps me get into the trend at the right times, catching pullbacks to very accurate S/R zones." – Damion Powell

Flexibility Across Trading Styles

Whether scalping, day-trading, or swing-trading, LuxAlgo’s indicators can adapt to different execution styles. FTMO doesn’t mandate a single style, so this flexibility can be useful—especially when your strategy rules are clear and your risk is fixed.

Community Support and Continuous Learning

A large Discord community plus detailed tutorials provide ongoing education and support.

Practical Implementation for FTMO

The Premium plan ($39.99 / month) unlocks advanced TradingView-exclusive tools; the Ultimate plan ($59.99 / month) adds the AI Backtesting platform. LuxAlgo also offers a 30-day money-back guarantee for subscribers, which can make it easier to explore the platform while you build a rules-based process (see plans and features).

Conclusion

FTMO’s Standard and Aggressive approaches serve different risk profiles. Success hinges on discipline, a solid strategy, and controlled drawdown. LuxAlgo’s toolkits on TradingView and AI Backtesting platform can help traders build repeatable rules, validate ideas with historical testing, and avoid the “randomness trap” that often breaks evaluation accounts.

"Discipline helps traders improve emotional stability and conversely, when one is emotionally stable, one is more likely to be disciplined when opening and managing positions." – FTMO Traders Q&A [12]

For FTMO challenges in 2026, pairing disciplined trading practices with LuxAlgo’s data-driven tools can help traders more confidently navigate evaluations and pursue reward eligibility.

FAQs

What’s the difference between FTMO’s Standard and Aggressive plans, and how do I choose the best one for my trading style?

The main difference is the risk constraints and objectives. The Standard plan is commonly aligned with the core FTMO Trading Objectives (10% profit target in Challenge, 5% max daily loss, 10% max loss, 4 minimum trading days). The Aggressive plan typically uses wider loss limits and a higher profit target, but it usually comes with a lower maximum combined capital cap (often $200 000 versus $400 000 on Standard). Choose based on your risk tolerance, the volatility of your market, and whether your strategy relies on tighter or wider drawdown boundaries.

What is FTMO’s fee refund policy, and how can I qualify for a refund?

FTMO reimburses the Challenge fee with your first reward after you pass both evaluation phases and request a reward on the FTMO Account. In practice, that means: complete the Challenge and Verification while meeting all Trading Objectives, then claim your first reward—at which point the fee reimbursement applies [4].

What are the best strategies and tools to manage risk and stay disciplined during the FTMO Challenge and Verification phases?

Set clear risk limits (e.g., 1–1.5 % per trade), define a rule-based plan for entries/exits, and use routines such as journaling to reduce emotional decision-making. Many traders also backtest and validate rules before trading an evaluation to reduce avoidable mistakes—especially around position sizing, overtrading, and revenge trading.

References

LuxAlgo Resources

External Resources