FTMO 1-Step vs 2-Step: How to Choose

FTMO sells two evaluations. The 2-Step has two phases, the FTMO Challenge and the Verification, and the 1-Step has one. I passed the 2-Step on a 50k account, so that's the one I know from the inside. For the 1-Step I'm going by FTMO's published rules, and I'll say so where it matters.

All the figures here come from FTMO's Trading Objectives page and FAQ as of October 2026. FTMO changed part of the 1-Step rules in October 2026, so check the current version before you buy.

Disclosure: I'm an FTMO affiliate. If you buy through the links on my FTMO page, I earn a commission at no extra cost to you.

Key Takeaway: The 2-Step asks for two phases and gives you more room in return: a 5% daily loss, a fixed 10% maximum loss and no Consistency rule. The 1-Step has one phase with a 10% target, but a 3% daily loss, a maximum loss that trails your best end-of-day balance, and a rule that your best day can't be more than half your total profit.

The two side by side

FTMO 2-Step

• Phases: the FTMO Challenge, then the Verification, then the FTMO Account
• Profit target: 10% in the Challenge, then 5% in the Verification
• Maximum daily loss: 5% of the starting balance
• Maximum loss: 10% of the starting balance, fixed
• Minimum trading days: 4 in each phase
• Consistency rule: none
• Time limit: none
• Swing account option: yes

FTMO 1-Step

• Phases: one evaluation phase, then the FTMO Account
• Profit target: 10%
• Maximum daily loss: 3% of the starting balance
• Maximum loss: 10% of the starting balance, trailing your highest end-of-day balance
• Minimum trading days: no separate rule (FTMO's FAQ says the fastest pass is 2 trading days, because of the Consistency rule)
• Consistency rule: your best day can't be more than 50% of your total profit
• Time limit: none
• Swing account option: no

On a 50k account, the 2-Step's daily loss is $2,500 and the 1-Step's is $1,500. Both start with the maximum loss floor at $45,000. On the 2-Step it stays there, and on the 1-Step it moves up as your end-of-day balance makes new highs.

The daily loss is the biggest difference

A 3% daily loss on a 50k account is $1,500, and 5% is $2,500. That $1,000 gap decides how much you can risk per trade and how many losses you can absorb in one day.

My plan for the USDCAD short that helped finish my Verification was a wide stop above a high I didn't expect to break. I called it a lazy position. A wide stop works under either rule set, as long as the size is small enough that the stop, plus anything else you have open, fits inside the day's limit. The 1-Step leaves less room for a second thing to go wrong that day.

Check your journal. If any of your normal losing days went past 3% of the account, the 1-Step would have ended your attempt on that day.

The maximum loss: fixed or trailing

On the 2-Step, the maximum loss floor sits at 90% of the starting balance and never moves. Every dollar of profit is extra room above it.

On the 1-Step, FTMO recalculates the floor at midnight from your highest end-of-day balance, and it only goes up. FTMO's example on a $100,000 account: the floor starts at $90,000. After a day that closes at a $104,000 balance it rises to $94,000. If the next day closes at $103,000, it stays at $94,000.

So after that $104,000 close, the 1-Step account fails if equity drops below $94,000. The same account on the 2-Step could fall as far as $90,000 before the maximum loss rule ended it.

The Consistency rule

The 1-Step has a rule the 2-Step doesn't: your best day can't be more than 50% of your total profit. For accounts ordered from 12 October 2026, FTMO measures it against your total profit from closed trades across all your trading days. Older 1-Step accounts use the previous Best Day rule.

FTMO's example: a best day of $6,000 out of $10,000 total profit is 60%, so the rule isn't met. If that day stays your best, you need at least $12,000 in total profit.

Missing it isn't a breach. The account stays open, and you keep trading until the ratio is 50% or lower.

If most of your profit tends to come from one or two big days, expect to keep trading after you've reached the target. Every extra trade is a chance to give some back, under a 3% daily loss.

Phases and time

The second phase is the obvious cost of the 2-Step. You need 4 trading days in the Challenge and 4 more in the Verification, so at least 8 trading days in all. FTMO's FAQ says the 1-Step can be done in as few as 2 trading days.

Neither has a time limit as of October 2026, so speed only matters if you let it.

The 2-Step also offers a Swing account type. It has up to 1:30 leverage instead of up to 1:100, and on the FTMO Account it lets you hold trades over the weekend and trade through restricted news. The 1-Step doesn't offer Swing.

A test to pick one

Before paying for either, run your own trading against both rule sets. Take your last 20 to 30 trading days from your journal, at the risk you'd use in the challenge, and check three things.

1. Your worst day. Did any day lose more than 3% of the account? The 1-Step would have failed you on that day. If any day lost more than 5%, fix that before you buy either.
2. Your best day. Was it more than half of your total profit for the period? Then expect to trade for longer on the 1-Step.
3. Your give-backs. After your highest end-of-day balance, did your equity ever fall by more than 10% of the starting balance? That would have breached the 1-Step's trailing maximum loss.

If you trade like I did on that USDCAD short, with a stop beyond a level you expect to hold, the 5% daily loss and a floor that stays put give you more room. Traders whose trades are small and frequent, with losing days well under 3%, may find the single phase of the 1-Step worth the tighter rules.

FTMO's Free Trial uses the 2-Step rules with a lower profit target and one phase, so it's also a way to see how your trading sits against those limits before you pay.

Where to go next

• FTMO Challenge rules explained, with every 2-Step rule in detail
• FTMO daily loss limit: how traders breach it, with worked examples
• Why you pass phase 1 but always fail phase 2, if you pick the 2-Step
• How to pass a prop firm challenge, for the general approach
• My FTMO page, with my notes on what to sort out before you pay
• The free ICT Funded-Trader Playbook, with my pre-trade checklist and risk rules
• 1-on-1 coaching, if you'd like help building a plan around either rule set

FTMO 1-Step vs 2-Step: FAQ

Is the FTMO 1-Step easier than the 2-Step?

It has one phase instead of two, but its daily loss is 3% instead of 5%, its maximum loss trails your best end-of-day balance, and it has a Consistency rule. Which one is easier depends on how big your losing days get and how evenly your profit is spread.

Does the FTMO 1-Step have a time limit?

No. As of October 2026, FTMO's FAQ says there is no maximum time limit on the 1-Step or the 2-Step Challenge.

Does the FTMO 2-Step have a Consistency rule?

No. FTMO's FAQ says the 2-Step FTMO Challenge has no Consistency rule. The rule applies to the 1-Step and to the FTMO Instant Account.

Risk note

Trading carries substantial risk, and most traders lose money. Passing either FTMO Challenge is never guaranteed, and nothing here is financial advice. FTMO can change its rules at any time, so read the current terms on its site before you buy.