The headline number on an FTMO Challenge is the account size: $10,000, $25,000, $50,000, $100,000 or $200,000. The number that determines whether you survive, however, is much smaller.
On a $100,000 FTMO Challenge, the practical risk budget is the distance between current equity and the nearest loss limit. In the 2-Step evaluation that can begin at $5,000 for the day and $10,000 overall. In the 1-Step evaluation the daily allowance begins at $3,000, while the overall limit trails upward after profitable days.
That distinction is why a trader can be profitable on closed trades and still violate a rule. Open losses, commissions and swaps count in equity. A new FTMO day begins at midnight Central European time, not when the trader wakes up. And the 1-Step Best Day rule can leave a trader above the profit target but not yet eligible to pass.
This guide translates the current rules into dollars. It covers FTMO's CFD evaluation products, not the separate FTMO Futures rule set.
FTMO 1-Step vs 2-Step at a glance
| Rule | 1-Step | 2-Step |
|---|---|---|
| Evaluation phases | 1 | 2 |
| Profit target | $10,000 (10%) | $10,000, then $5,000 |
| Maximum daily loss | $3,000 (3%) | $5,000 (5%) |
| Maximum loss | $10,000 EOD trailing | $10,000 static |
| Minimum trading days | No fixed minimum* | 4 days in each phase |
| Best Day rule | 50% of positive-days profit | None |
Source: CalculatorAI · calculatorai.app · FTMO Trading Objectives · checked September 11, 2026
*FTMO says the 1-Step can be completed in as few as two trading days because of the Best Day rule. There is no maximum time limit for either evaluation path.
The two products are not simply a fast version and a slow version of the same test. The 1-Step gives up half the daily loss room, adds a trailing overall floor and tests profit distribution. The 2-Step gives more daily room and a static overall floor, but requires a second verification phase and at least four trading days per phase.
The Maximum Daily Loss rule is an equity rule
For the 2-Step challenge, FTMO sets the Maximum Daily Loss Amount at 5% of initial simulated capital. For 1-Step, it is 3%. The platform recalculates the day's loss floor at 00:00 CE(S)T:
Daily loss floor = balance at midnight − fixed daily loss amount
The rule watches equity, not just closed balance. FTMO defines that equity as balance plus open-position profit or loss, adjusted for swaps and commissions. Touching the wrong side of the floor is a violation even if the losing position has not been closed.
Consider a $100,000 2-Step challenge. You finish Monday at $102,000. At midnight, Tuesday's floor becomes:
$102,000 − $5,000 = $97,000
If Tuesday's closed losses, floating losses, commissions and swaps pull equity below $97,000, the daily rule is breached. The original $100,000 headline no longer tells you where Tuesday's line sits.
This produces the most common misunderstanding after a profitable day: yesterday's profit does not give you an extra $2,000 beneath the usual $95,000 floor. The daily calculation follows the new midnight balance, so the floor rises with it.
Midnight can change the limit while a trade is open
The reset happens at midnight CE(S)T whether or not your position is closed. Imagine the same 2-Step account has a $102,000 balance and a floating $3,500 loss just before midnight. Equity is $98,500, still above Monday's applicable floor.
After the reset, the platform uses the balance recorded at midnight and subtracts the fixed $5,000 Maximum Daily Loss Amount. The exact effect depends on the balance captured by FTMO and all included costs, which is why carrying a large open loss across the reset is dangerous: the trader's intuitive “loss today” counter is not the platform's formula.
The safe workflow is not to guess the remaining room from starting capital. Record the account balance at FTMO midnight, the displayed daily loss limit and current equity in a trading journal. If you trade outside Central Europe, put the reset time in your own timezone beside the account rules.
Maximum Loss: static in 2-Step, trailing in 1-Step
The 2-Step Maximum Loss is straightforward. On a $100,000 account, the static floor is $90,000:
$100,000 − $10,000 = $90,000
It does not rise merely because the account has a profitable day. The daily floor usually sits closer to equity and therefore controls short-term risk, while the $90,000 overall floor catches cumulative damage.
The 1-Step version is different. FTMO recalculates an end-of-day trailing floor from the highest balance recorded at midnight, or initial capital if that is higher, minus 10% of initial capital. The floor can move up but cannot move back down.
Suppose a $100,000 1-Step account closes one day at $106,000 and later closes at $104,000:
Source: CalculatorAI · calculatorai.app · CalculatorAI calculation from FTMO's published formulas
The active line that day is $101,000 because it is higher than the $96,000 trailing floor. The account may say $104,000, but the usable daily room is $3,000 before costs — not $14,000 down to the original $90,000.
This is why normal trading drawdown and permitted evaluation drawdown are different questions. A strategy may be behaving within its historical range and still be incompatible with a firm's rule geometry.
The Best Day rule can delay a profitable 1-Step account
On 1-Step, the best single day must be no more than 50% of Positive Days' Profit. FTMO defines Positive Days' Profit as the sum of the closed results from profitable trading days. Losing days do not reduce that denominator.
The rule is not a hard account breach. If the best day is too large, the trader can continue generating positive-days profit until the ratio falls to 50% or less.
| Best day | Required positive-days profit | What it means |
|---|---|---|
| $2,000 | 4000 | Comfortably below a $10K target |
| $4,000 | 8000 | Target itself is enough |
| $6,000 | 12000 | $10K target is not enough |
Source: CalculatorAI · calculatorai.app · CalculatorAI calculation from FTMO's Best Day formula
A trader who makes $6,000 on the best day and reaches exactly $10,000 in total positive-days profit has a 60% Best Day ratio. The profit target may be visible, but another $2,000 of positive-days profit is needed if $6,000 remains the best day.
That creates a strange incentive near the finish line: one oversized winner can require more trading after the target. A journal should therefore track daily closed P&L separately from trade-level P&L.
How much should one trade risk?
FTMO publishes account limits, not a universal position-size prescription. The useful calculation is how many full stop-outs fit inside the daily loss amount before commissions, slippage or correlated positions reduce the room.
For a $100,000 challenge:
| Risk per trade | Dollars at risk | 1-Step $3K limit | 2-Step $5K limit |
|---|---|---|---|
| 0.25% | $250 | 12 losses | 20 losses |
| 0.50% | $500 | 6 losses | 10 losses |
| 1.00% | $1,000 | 3 losses | 5 losses |
| 2.00% | $2,000 | 1 loss | 2 losses |
Source: CalculatorAI · calculatorai.app · CalculatorAI scenario calculation
These are not targets. They are ceilings from division, and the real number is smaller. Two positions that depend on the same dollar move are not two independent 1% risks. A stop can fill worse than requested. Commission and swap costs also consume the limit.
Before placing a trade, use the Risk/Reward Calculator to convert the entry and stop into dollars, then compare that number with the remaining daily room. The more useful question is not “Can I risk 1%?” but “If this stop and the next correlated stop both fill badly, where will equity be?”
For a deeper treatment of sizing, see how much to risk per trade. The percentage should come from the account's loss budget and the strategy's losing streaks, not from the account label.
A rule-aware journal setup
An evaluation account needs more than symbol, entry and exit. Add these fields to the account or daily review:
- Evaluation type: FTMO 1-Step or 2-Step, plus current phase.
- Initial simulated capital and current balance.
- FTMO midnight in your local timezone.
- Maximum Daily Loss Amount and today's displayed floor.
- Maximum Loss floor: static or current trailing value.
- Closed P&L, floating P&L, commissions and swaps.
- Planned dollar risk across all open and pending positions.
- For 1-Step, best day and cumulative Positive Days' Profit.
Then tag every rule-related decision. “Stopped trading with $900 of room left” is useful evidence. So is “opened two correlated USD positions as if they were separate risk.” After twenty or thirty sessions, the journal can show whether violations come from the strategy or from account-rule execution.
That is the same reason a trading journal needs process fields, not only P&L. An evaluation result says whether the account survived. It does not explain why.
What the $100K label really means
The cleanest mental model is to treat $100,000 as the scale used to calculate objectives, not as spendable risk capital.
- On 2-Step, the opening daily risk envelope is $5,000 and the total envelope is $10,000.
- On 1-Step, the opening daily envelope is $3,000, the total floor trails at end of day and profit distribution also matters.
- The closest floor wins. After profitable days, that is often the daily rule.
- Equity includes floating P&L and costs, so balance alone cannot certify safety.
FTMO itself describes the Challenge, Verification and FTMO Account as simulated trading with fictitious capital. Traders can earn contractual rewards based on simulated results, but they are not being handed a live $100,000 brokerage account. That is not a technical footnote; it is the correct frame for every calculation above.
Frequently asked questions
What is the FTMO profit target on a $100,000 account?
The current target is $10,000 for the 1-Step challenge and the first phase of 2-Step. The 2-Step Verification target is $5,000. The later FTMO Account has no profit target.
What is the FTMO Maximum Daily Loss on $100,000?
It is $3,000 for 1-Step and $5,000 for 2-Step. The applicable equity floor is recalculated at 00:00 CE(S)T from the balance recorded at that time.
Does floating loss count toward FTMO's daily loss limit?
Yes. FTMO says the rule monitors equity: balance plus open P&L, adjusted for swaps and commissions. A position does not have to be closed to cause a violation.
Does the FTMO daily loss reset every day?
The limit is recalculated at 00:00 CE(S)T. “Reset” does not mean the floor always returns to the same number, because the formula uses the balance recorded at midnight.
Is FTMO's Maximum Loss trailing?
It is end-of-day trailing for the 1-Step product and static for 2-Step. Always verify the objectives shown for the exact product before trading because rules can change.
Can you pass FTMO 1-Step in one day?
No under the current Best Day rule. FTMO says the fastest possible completion is two trading days, with exactly half of the required positive-days profit earned on each day.
Is an FTMO Account a live brokerage account?
No. FTMO states that its accounts use fictitious funds in a simulated environment. Eligible traders may receive real contractual rewards based on their simulated performance.
Sources and methodology
Rules were checked on September 11, 2026 against FTMO's official Trading Objectives, How It Works, Challenge explanation, 1-Step vs 2-Step FAQ and technical account FAQ.
All worked figures are straightforward applications of FTMO's published percentages and reset formulas. They were independently reproduced in a small script kept with the article draft. Assumptions use a $100,000 starting account, no currency conversion and no attempt to estimate slippage. That biases the stop-out table toward more apparent room than a real account has.
This is educational information, not trading, investment, tax or legal advice. Evaluation fees are real money, trading rules can change and availability depends on jurisdiction. CalculatorAI is not affiliated with or endorsed by FTMO.