FTMO Futures Rules: Drawdown, Consistency Rule, Daily Loss Limit and Scaling Plan

FTMO Futures rules for both products, Growth and Pro, at every size (50K, 100K, 150K), from the one-step Evaluation to the Sim-Funded Account. FTMO Futures is FTMO’s exchange-traded futures product, separate from its CFD Challenge. It runs on NinjaTrader, Tradovate and TradingView with CME Group contracts, a monthly subscription and an end-of-day trailing drawdown. This page sets out every published rule, the drawdown, daily loss limit, 40% and 50% consistency rule and the contract scaling plan in plain numbers, with worked examples and calculators that use FTMO’s own formulas.

FTMO Futures Rule Checks

FTMO Futures Growth vs Pro: Every Rule Side by Side

FTMO sells two products. Both use the same one-step Evaluation, the same profit targets, the same contract limits and the same 90/10 payout ratio. FTMO describes Growth as “the lower-priced option” with “no Daily Loss Limit during the Evaluation and a soft Daily Loss Limit on the Sim-Funded Account”, and Pro as “a tighter, more demanding rule set with a hard Daily Loss Limit, in exchange for a better Profit Target-to-Max Drawdown ratio, higher payout caps, and full payout withdrawal in a single cycle” (Growth vs Pro FAQ).

Sources: FTMO Futures Trading Objectives & Rules, FTMO Futures Comparison Table, FAQ: How do the Growth and Pro products differ?; checked October 11, 2026.

The FTMO Futures Evaluation: One Phase, No Verification Step

FTMO Futures has a single-phase Evaluation. There is no second “Verification” stage as on FTMO’s two-step CFD Challenge: once the Evaluation’s objectives are met, the account goes to review and then to a Sim-Funded Account. To pass you must meet every objective at the same time, and accounts are assessed “after the end of the trading day” (rules page).

• Profit target: $3,000 / $6,000 / $9,000 on 50K / 100K / 150K, the same for Growth and Pro. It counts when the balance is above the starting balance by the target with all positions closed, so a 50K account needs a closed balance above $53,000.
• Max drawdown: end-of-day trailing (next section). Breaching it fails the Evaluation.
• Daily loss limit: none on Growth; hard on Pro, so a Pro breach also fails the Evaluation.
• Consistency rule: best day at most 40% (Growth) or 50% (Pro) of total profit.
• Max contracts: 5 / 10 / 15.
• No time limit and no minimum days beyond what the consistency rule implies. FTMO’s FAQ puts the minimum at “3 trading days for Growth Evaluation” and “2 trading days for Pro Evaluation” (how long does it take FAQ).
• Trading day: 6:00 p.m. ET to 4:10 p.m. ET on the next calendar day. All daily numbers (best day, daily loss limit, qualifying days) use this window, not midnight to midnight.

After you pass, the account is closed at 4:10 p.m. ET, the subscription ends and no more payments are charged. FTMO says results are reviewed in “1-3 business days”; you then complete FTMO Identity (KYC) and sign the Sim-Funded Terms & Conditions before the Sim-Funded Account is created (after-passing FAQ). FTMO Futures is for natural persons only, not companies.

FTMO Futures Drawdown: End-of-Day Trailing, Then Locked

Every FTMO Futures account, in both phases, uses the same drawdown mechanics. FTMO’s definition has three parts (rules page):

1. Measured on equity, at any moment. Equity is “Balance + Open Positions P&L – Commissions” and it “cannot hit” the limit “at any point”. An open trade that dips through the limit for a second is a breach, even if it would have closed green.
2. Set once per day from closing balances. The limit is calculated at the start of each trading day as the highest closing balance of any earlier trading day (or the starting balance, if higher) minus the drawdown amount. Intraday peaks do not raise it, which is what “end-of-day trailing” means.
3. Only rises, then locks. “The limit can only increase, never decrease.” Once it reaches the starting balance it stays there: for the rest of the Evaluation (unless you pay a reset or breach and restart on the next subscription), and “for the remaining life of the account” on a Sim-Funded Account.

Worked example: Growth 100K Evaluation ($3,500 drawdown)

On Day 3 the limit stayed at $97,700 although Day 2 closed lower; it never moves down. Day 3 closed at $102,600, so Day 4 starts with $102,600 – $3,500 = $99,100. Day 4 closed at $103,900: the formula would give $100,400, which is above the $100,000 starting balance, so from Day 5 on the limit is locked at $100,000 for good. A $2,800 loss on Day 5 would take equity to $101,100, still $1,100 above the limit.

Why intraday swings still matter

The limit is fixed from the close, but it is tested against live equity. Say a Growth 50K account starts a day with a $48,600 limit and a $50,100 balance. A long ES position that is down $1,600 at its worst point takes equity to $48,500 and fails the account, even if the trade later recovers to a winner. Size every trade so that the worst plausible move, plus commissions, stays above the day’s limit.

What a payout does to the drawdown

On a Sim-Funded Account the requested amount is deducted from the balance as soon as you submit the request, while the limit stays where it is (withdrawal FAQ). Once the limit has locked at the starting balance, every dollar you withdraw is a dollar less room. That is why FTMO tells traders to read the payout conditions “to understand them all and prevent violating the Maximum Drawdown on a Pro Sim-Funded Account by requesting a full withdrawal”. Example: a Pro 50K account locked at $50,000 with a $55,000 balance may withdraw up to $5,000; doing so leaves the balance at $50,000, exactly on the limit. Leave a cushion.

FTMO Futures Daily Loss Limit: None, Soft or Hard

Where a daily limit applies, it works like this (rules page):

• The level is the balance at the start of the trading day (6:00 p.m. ET) minus the daily amount. On the first day the starting balance is used.
• It is tested on equity, so open losses count the moment they appear.
• Unlike the max drawdown, it moves both ways. FTMO’s Pro 50K example: a $53,000 start of Day 2 gives a $52,000 level; a $52,000 start of Day 3 gives $51,000.
• Growth’s soft limit closes your positions and suspends trading “for the remainder of that trading day”; trading resumes at the next 6:00 p.m. ET open.

Which line is closer?

On a fresh account the drawdown is usually the closer line on Growth and the daily limit on Pro. Pro 50K, Day 1: daily level $49,000, drawdown limit $47,000, so the daily limit decides. Later the picture flips. Take a Growth 100K Sim-Funded Account locked at $100,000 that starts a day at $101,200: the soft daily level is $99,200, but the account is terminated at $100,000, so a $1,200 loss ends it before the daily limit is reached. Check both numbers before the open; the calculator above shows which one is nearer.

Searches for “FTMO Futures max daily loss” often turn up FTMO’s CFD figures. The CFD Challenge has its own daily and maximum loss rules; the futures numbers above apply only to FTMO Futures accounts.

FTMO Futures Consistency Rule: 40% for Growth, 50% for Pro

FTMO’s FAQ says the consistency rule “applies during the Evaluation only, ensuring that no single trading day may account for too large a share of your total profit” (consistency FAQ). The rules page gives the details (rules page):

• Best Day = the single trading day with the highest closed profit, measured at the end of the trading day.
• Total profit = the sum of closed profits and losses over all Evaluation days. Losing days reduce it.
• Growth: Best Day ≤ 40% of total profit. Pro: Best Day ≤ 50%.
• “Exceeding the Consistency Rule limit is not treated as a rule breach.” You keep trading until the Best Day falls to the limit or below.
• There is no consistency rule on the Sim-Funded Account. The payout qualifying-day and new-profit rules take its place there.

FTMO Futures consistency calculator formula

Required total profit = Best Day / 0.40 on Growth, or Best Day / 0.50 on Pro, and never less than the profit target. FTMO’s own examples: a $2,000 Growth best day needs $5,000 total; a $2,500 Pro best day needs $5,000.

Two worked examples (Growth 50K)

Even days. Closed results of $900, $1,100, -$300, $800 and $700: total profit $3,200, best day $1,100. $1,100 / $3,200 = 34.4%, under 40%, and the balance is above $53,000 with positions closed, so the Evaluation passes after Day 5 (subject to review).

One big day. $2,200, $600, $400 and $300: total $3,500, so the target is met, but the $2,200 day is 62.9% of it. The account needs $2,200 / 0.40 = $5,500 of total profit, another $2,000, while the drawdown keeps trailing. Keeping every day at or below $1,200 (40% of the $3,000 target) means reaching the target is enough on its own.

Because the rule is not a breach, the cost of a big day is time and subscription months, not the account. The real risk is giving back profit chasing the extra total under the trailing limit.