Rules as published by each firm
CFD vs FUTURES
Static Equity-Based vs End-of-Day Trailing (Intraday-Enforced)
☪ Islamic / Swap-Free Ready
FTMO vs Topstep
Which of these two is likelier to end your account, and why — compared rule by rule from what each firm publishes.
Short answer
- The drawdown works differently, and that is the difference that matters. FTMO's loss limit is fixed to your starting balance and never moves; Topstep's steps up at each daily close and never steps back down. Topstep: A floor set at last night's close is still enforced live all session, so you can be liquidated intraday by a level you never saw move.
- Daily loss cap: FTMO 5%, Topstep 2%.
- Minimum trading days: FTMO 4 days, Topstep 2 days — this sets the earliest you can finish, however fast you hit the target.
- Overnight and weekend: FTMO lets you hold; Topstep requires you flat before the session closes, so a swing plan does not fit it.
- Entry cost: Topstep from $49, FTMO from $155.
Figures below are what each firm publishes. Confirm them on the firm's own site before paying for an evaluation — these rules change without notice.
FTMO
CFD • Max $2,000,000
Drawdown Model
Static Equity-Based
Profit Split
80% - 90%
Starting Price
$155
Min Trading Days
4 Days
Topstep
FUTURES • Max $450,000
Drawdown Model
End-of-Day Trailing (Intraday-Enforced)
Profit Split
90%
Starting Price
$49
Min Trading Days
2 Days
Side-by-Side Specifications Matrix
Every figure below is taken from the firm's own published rules. Check the source and date under the table before you size a position on it — prop firm rules change without notice.
| Evaluation Parameter | FTMO | Topstep |
|---|---|---|
| Asset Class / Market | CFD | FUTURES |
| Drawdown Calculation Type | Static Equity-Based Measured on equity — balance plus open trade P/L, swaps and commissions — so an open losing position can breach the limit before you ever close it. On the 2-Step the loss limit is fixed for the life of the account and never moves; FTMO's other programme uses a limit that trails your end-of-day balance upward at 00:00 CE(S)T and never moves back down. |
End-of-Day Trailing (Intraday-Enforced) The floor ratchets once per day on the closing balance and locks permanently when it reaches your starting balance, but the breach check runs live all session on realized plus unrealized P&L — touching it for one tick liquidates the account immediately. The threshold only steps up on your end-of-day balance and never moves down, so an open winning trade cannot drag your floor higher during the session. |
| Max Daily Loss | 5.0% 5% of your starting capital on the 2-Step, measured on equity, with the limit reset at 00:00 CE(S)T; FTMO's other programme uses a different percentage that we could not independently confirm. |
2.0% 2% of account size ($1,000 / $2,000 / $3,000 on $50K / $100K / $150K), measured on the day's net P&L; it is optional in the Trading Combine and Express Funded Account and automatic only in the Live Funded Account, and hitting it never ends the account — it flattens you, cancels your orders and locks you out until 5 PM CT the next session. |
| Max Overall Loss | 10.0% 10% of your starting capital, measured on equity, and the same figure on both of FTMO's programmes. |
4.0% 4% on the $50K account ($2,000); the $100K account gets 3% ($3,000) and the $150K account 3% ($4,500), because Topstep sets this limit in dollars per size rather than as a percentage. |
| Profit Split | 80% - 90% | 90% |
| Minimum Trading Days | 4 Days 4 trading days on each phase of the 2-Step Challenge and Verification; whether it applies on FTMO's other programmes was not independently confirmed. |
2 Days Two days is the Trading Combine minimum, and it only works if your best day stays under 50% of the Profit Target; the Express Funded and Live Funded accounts have their own separate day counts for payouts. |
| News Trading Policy | ✓ On a funded Standard account you cannot open or close a trade within 2 minutes before or after selected news releases; Swing accounts are exempt, and the restriction does not apply during the Challenge or Verification for either account type | ✓ News trading is allowed, but putting on your full maximum position size directly into a scheduled major news event is a named prohibited strategy and those profits can be rejected |
| Weekend & Overnight Holding | ✓ Permitted (Swing accounts may hold over the weekend at any stage; Standard accounts are unrestricted during the Challenge and Verification but must be flat before the weekend close once funded) | ✗ Flat by Close (Intraday futures only; every position flat by 3:10 PM CT, risk desk starts flattening at 3:08 PM CT, nothing held from one session to the next) |
| Supported Platforms | MT4, MT5, cTrader, TradingView | TopstepX, Tradovate, NinjaTrader, Quantower |
| Payout Schedule | Bi-weekly (Every 14 days) or on-demand Payouts are on demand from the 14-day mark onward, not a forced fortnightly cycle. |
Daily payouts after 5 winning days (+$200/day) |
| First Payout Eligibility | 14 days from first placed trade You can claim on the 14th day after your first placed trade or any day after it, with roughly 1-2 business days to review and 1-2 more to pay. |
5 winning days (Standard Path) or 3 trading days (Consistency Path) Standard Path needs five winning days; the Consistency Path pays out after three trading days with at least one trade each, but only if your biggest day stays at or below 40% of total net profit. |
| Consistency Rule | No restrictive consistency rule True for the 2-Step; FTMO's newer programme carries a different rule that our checker could not confirm, so do not read this as covering every FTMO account. |
Trading Combine: best single day must stay at or below 50% of the Profit Target. Express Funded Consistency payout path: largest day must stay at or below 40% of total net profit Measured as your largest single day divided by the relevant total — against the Profit Target in the Combine (50%), against total net profit on the Express Funded Consistency payout path (40%, not rounded). |
| Islamic / Swap-Free Option | ✓ Available on Request Swap-Free option available on request via support for eligible regions (no overnight interest fees charged) |
✓ Inherently Swap-Free (CME Futures) Inherently Swap-Free (Topstep forces every position flat by 3:10 PM CT and permits no holding from one session to the next, so no overnight interest/riba can accrue) |
| US Residents Accepted | ✓ Accepted | ✓ Accepted |
| Maximum Capital Allocation | $2,000,000 | $450,000 |
Where these figures come from. Read from FTMO's own published rules on : Maximum Loss and Maximum Daily Loss mechanics · 2-minute news blackout · Overnight and weekend holding · Forbidden practices · Current platform list · Eligibility · Payout mechanics · Scaling Plan. Prop firm rules change without notice — confirm on the firm's own site before you pay for an evaluation.
Where these figures come from. Read from Topstep's own published rules on : Maximum Loss Limit · Daily Loss Limit · Combine 50%-of-Profit-Target best-day rule and · 3 · Flat 90/10 split and the pre-2026-01-12 gating · Named prohibited strategies · Trading Combine two-day minimum and the best-d · The two restriction tiers · TopstepX as the firm's own platform and the st · Quantower connects via TopstepX credentials, T · Express Funded Standard Path five-winning-day . Prop firm rules change without notice — confirm on the firm's own site before you pay for an evaluation.
What can end the account even if you are profitable
These are the rules people usually find out about after a payout is refused.
- FTMO: Once you are funded on a Standard account, you cannot open or close a trade within 2 minutes either side of a selected news release — a stop-loss or take-profit that fires inside that window counts too — and FTMO can terminate the account for it. source
- FTMO: On a funded Standard account you must close your positions shortly before the market closes for the weekend, and before any rollover or market break lasting more than 2 hours, or you break the account's rules. source
- FTMO: You cannot spread one position across correlated instruments or hold opposing trades just to make your daily profits look evenly spread — FTMO calls that artificially distributing profit without distributing risk, and it can delete the trades, fail you, cancel your payout or close your account. source
- FTMO: You cannot trade off price-feed glitches, display errors or delayed quotes, and FTMO says this counts against you even if you did it without realising, with the same penalties up to termination. source
- FTMO: You cannot let anyone else access or trade your account, trade someone else's account, or coordinate trades between your connected accounts or with other traders in your Program Group for manipulative purposes — FTMO can terminate every agreement you hold with them. source
- FTMO: If FTMO decides you broke any of these rules it can forfeit a payout you have already earned, not just close the account — so being profitable does not protect the money until it is paid. source
- FTMO: You cannot request your first payout until the 14th day after your first placed trade, however fast you hit the target. source
- Topstep: Your account is wiped the instant your balance touches the Maximum Loss Limit at any point in the session, and open unrealized losses count — you can be up on the week and still get liquidated by one spike against an open trade. source
- Topstep: In the Trading Combine your single best day must stay at or below 50% of the Profit Target, and if it goes over, Topstep raises your Profit Target instead of passing you. source
- Topstep: If you take the faster three-day payout path on an Express Funded Account, your biggest single day must be 40% or less of your total profit — Topstep does not round, so 40.1% means no payout. source
- Topstep: You must close every position by 3:10 PM CT each weekday, and Topstep's risk desk starts flattening people at 3:08 PM CT, so a winning trade left open into the close gets closed for you and nothing can be carried into the next session or the weekend. source
- Topstep: Deliberately loading up your full maximum position size right before a scheduled major news release is a banned strategy, and Topstep can reject the profits it produces. source
- Topstep: Blowing one account into its Maximum Loss Limit and then repeating the same reckless bet on your next account is banned as account stacking, and Topstep shuts it down and can refuse the profits when the gamble finally works. source
- Topstep: Deliberately draining a Live Funded Account to force it to fail is banned, so you cannot blow up a struggling live account to get a clean start. source
- Topstep: Using software, AI, ultra-high-speed systems or mass order entry to gain an unfair edge, or placing orders outside the current best bid and offer, is banned and Topstep can reject your profits and close the account. source
- Topstep: Running scalping bots, firing hundreds of seconds-long trades a day, trading recklessly into gapped markets or milking the simulator's unrealistically clean stop-loss fills gets your payout refused and you removed from the program, even if you hit the profit target. source
- Topstep: You cannot take a first payout until you have five winning days on the Standard Path, or three trading days with at least one trade each on the Consistency Path — profit alone does not unlock the money. source
Drawdown Architecture: FTMO vs Topstep
The fundamental differentiator between FTMO and Topstep lies in how risk and liquidation thresholds are tracked:
FTMO: Static Equity-Based
FTMO applies a Static Equity-Based approach. Under this structure, your stop loss floor is anchored to balance intervals. This ensures that temporary floating open profits do not pull your stop loss floor higher in real-time.
Topstep: End-of-Day Trailing (Intraday-Enforced)
Topstep implements a End-of-Day Trailing (Intraday-Enforced) model. This provides traders with full intraday flexibility without the fear of open spikes ratcheting up their liquidation point.
The Trader's Verdict: Which Firm Should You Choose?
Depending on your trading style, asset preference, and capital requirements, here is how our research team segments the two providers:
Choose FTMO if you:
- Want Static Equity-Based risk management.
- Trade primarily CFD instruments with MT4, MT5, cTrader.
- Value Discretionary swing & algorithmic traders who value institutional payout credibility and the 2-Step's static equity drawdown cushion.
- Want the ability to hold swing positions over weekends and economic news releases.
- Seek up to $2,000,000 in maximum scaling capital.
Choose Topstep if you:
- Prefer End-of-Day Trailing (Intraday-Enforced) execution terms.
- Trade FUTURES via TopstepX, Tradovate, NinjaTrader.
- Value Disciplined futures day traders who prioritize End-of-Day drawdown protection and rapid daily payout availability.
- Require strict intraday liquidity and same-day/daily payout options.
- Want access to starting entry fees at $49.
Frequently Asked Questions: FTMO vs Topstep
Which firm offers a better drawdown model between FTMO and Topstep?
FTMO uses Static Equity-Based, while Topstep utilizes End-of-Day Trailing (Intraday-Enforced).
Traders who hold positions through volatile pullbacks typically favor FTMO, whereas scalpers capitalizing on quick momentum benefit from Topstep.
Can I trade both FTMO and Topstep accounts at the same time?
Yes. Many professional prop traders run trade copiers (such as Replikanto for NinjaTrader futures, or Social Trader Tools for MT4/MT5 CFDs) to mirror trades across both FTMO and Topstep simultaneously, diversifying broker risk and maximizing total payout potential.
Which prop firm has faster payout disbursements?
FTMO processes payouts on a Bi-weekly (Every 14 days) or on-demand basis (14 days from first placed trade), whereas Topstep operates on a Daily payouts after 5 winning days (+$200/day) schedule (5 winning days (Standard Path) or 3 trading days (Consistency Path)). Both platforms support crypto and direct bank transfers.