FTMO VS TOPSTEP
Rating breakdown
FTMO Overview
FTMO is the latest in a burgeoning series of scouting programs. Propriety trading firms or “prop firms” put traders to the test (for a fee) through evaluations and challenges. The lucky few who pass are then funded with capital, and successful trades are split down a percentage with the broker. As scouting firms go, FTMO is an excellent all-rounder. Alongside a decent 80% payout for successful traders, FTMO equips users with webinars, workshops, and coaching.
Rating breakdown
Topstep Overview
Founded in 2012, Topstep has become one of the biggest proprietary trading sites online. Topstep FX is based in the USA, but it is available for everyone to use worldwide. Traders are invited to join their "forex funded trader program," which gives them the chance to use Topstep FX's money (and gain a healthy cut of the profits), without risking their capital.Compare FTMO VS TOPSTEP Trading Features
| Trading Feature | FTMO | TOPSTEP |
|---|---|---|
| 💰 Fees: | The FTMO Challenge with an initial capital EUR 10k balance costs €155; 25k balance for €250; 50k balance for €345; 100k balance for €540; 200k balance for €1080; Scaling plan up to $2 million. | The TopStep Challenge with an initial balance $50K costs $165; $100K balance for $325; $150K balance for $375 (per month) |
| 🚀 Profit split: | FTMO will pay out up to 90% profit share on a monthly basis. Periodically, the firm will allocate more balance into your FTMO Account if you consistently profit. | TopStep will pay out 100% of the first $5,000 you generate and 90% from that amount. |
| ✔️ Evaluation: | “FTMO Challenge,” a two-step evaluation | “TopStep Challenge,” a two-step evaluation process that you must pass to get your trading account funded. |
| 🎯 Profit Target: | 10% for Step 1 and 2 in Normal Mode. 20% for Step 1 and 10% for Step 2 in Aggressive Mode. | 6% |
| ⚓ Maximum drawdown (MDD): | Normal Mode: 5% Maximum daily loss. 10% Maximum loss. Aggressive Mode: 10% Maximum daily loss. 20% Maximum loss. | 2% Daily loss limit. 4% to 3% Max trailing drawdown (the percentage varies depending on the account you choose). |
| ⌛ Trading Period: | The FTMO Challenge has No time limits. | The TopStep Challenge has No time limits. |
| ⚖️ Leverage: | The leverage offered is up to 1:100 (Forex) and can be lowered upon request. cannot be increased. The swing account type has leverage of 1:30 (Forex). | The leverage offered is up to 1:100 (Forex) and can be lowered upon request. |
| 🔧 Instruments: | Forex, Indices, Commodities, Cryptocurrencies and Stocks. | Futures Markets: CME Exchange (17 instruments) NYMEX Exchange (4) COMEX Exchange (3) CBOT Exchange (13) |
| 📰 Allow Trade News: | Yes in FTMO Challenge and Verification. After passing the Evaluation Process there are restrictions (except for Swing accounts). | Not recommended |
| 🔄 Weekend Position: | Yes in FTMO Challenge and Verification. After passing the Evaluation Process there are restrictions (except for Swing accounts). | No |
After spending several days researching different Proprietary Trading Firm for funded trading accounts, our team at start-business-online.com team collected various data points. For this review, we will compare Ftmo vs Topstep.
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Are FTMO or TOPSTEP currently the best possible options in the market? No Proprietary Trading Firm is perfect, and those two are no exception. While they do have a lot of pros, there are plenty of reasons why you might be looking for an alternative. So which Firms are better than Ftmo and Topstep? Want to jump straight to the answer?
Compare FTMO VS TOPSTEP Funded Trading Accounts Programs - Find the best firm for you
FTMO VS TOPSTEP Prop Trading Firms at a glance
A handy comparison table with all the key facts for the Funded Trading Accounts Programs.
| Evaluation Metric | How they performed |
|---|---|
| Challenge Assessment | The FTMO Challenge is not a piece of cake but for a good reason. The idea behind prop firms is to headhunt expert traders. To get the most out of FTMO and begin trading with undreamed leverage, you need to be able to offer value to the company in return. On the other hand The Topstep Challenge is a simple yet effective way of separating the wheat from the chaff. It is not a perfect system, and there are grievances about some aspects of it, but, overall, it is a transparent and fair means of ensuring you know what you are doing. It's a great platform to take on the challenge, and it has easy-to-understand metrics that reflect your trading progress. |
| Customer support | This is a rather marmite issue. On the one hand, the in-depth reports and performance coaches offered to traders provide excellent support. However, there have been complaints of disgruntled users finding it hard to get a response from FTMO, so for this, we scored them at a 5. On the other hand The customer support with Topstep is good, clearly reflected across several review platforms. There are some complaints about the quality of customer support, but most of these have been responded to. |
| Fee | The FTMO Challenge is neither free nor cheap; however, nor is it the most expensive of the prop firm challenges by a long way. Moreover, FTMO is one of the rarer scout trading sites that offers a refundable fee. On the other hand The cost on Topstep can be a positive or a negative depending on how quickly you pass the challenge. As it is a monthly payment, you will save money (compared to prop firms asking for more expensive one-off payments) if you complete the challenge quickly, but you will lose value for money if you are too slow. |
| Payout scheme | FTMO scores highly on this metric as their payout is generous compared to some rival prop trading sites. On the other hand Compared to other proprietary firms, Topstep has a high percentage payout scheme or, to put it another way, it takes a lower percentage cut on your profits. |
The Verdict: Ftmo or Topstep?
There’s no such thing as a perfect Proprietary Trading Firm, but some are going to be a better fit for you than others.
Objectively, Ftmo is more reliable based on our criteria above.
What We Really Like on Ftmo
FTMO charges a one-time fee only
FTMO has generous conditions for its traders
What We Do not Like on Topstep
Not one-off payment
Challenges perceived to be too hard or pointless
Other Important Factors That Influence Our decision the most
Topstep is not perfect in every way. If it takes you a long time to pass the challenges, you will end up spending more on the platform's monthly fees than a comparable service with a one-off payment. Some traders have been annoyed at some of the rules on Topstep. The "20-second rule" and the "Trailing Max Drawdown" moving to zero after any withdrawal have been unpopular with some. Others believe the inability to undo your decision between a pro account or an express funded account is unfair. The challenges themselves are sometimes perceived to be too hard or pointless. Topstep can provide justifications for these issues, yet some traders remain unconvinced.Finally, if you're really not sure you can always use our free tool (takes 15 seconds) that will help you find a suitable Personalised Funded Trading Accounts based on your precise requirements here.