Head-to-head
Element Capital vs FTMO
A direct, side-by-side comparison of Element Capital and FTMO — profit splits, evaluation fees, payout cadence, supported assets, and trading rules. Data pulled live from our firm directory.
Quick verdict
Element Capital is best for
traders avoiding evaluation hurdles.
Full Element Capital profile →Cost & compensation
Cost and compensation path
Published fees and payout timing apply to trader-paid funding programs. Firm-capital and institutional paths are shown separately because their economics usually depend on hiring, allocation, salary, bonus, or profit-sharing terms.
FTMO
estimateApprox. total
—
to reach first payout eligibility
Approx. time
17days
from sign-up to first eligible request
- Start cost
- —
- Monthly fee
- None
How we estimated this
- Adds ~10 calendar days for evaluation completion (most firms require ≥5 minimum trading days).
- Source — eval fee: €89–€1,080 one-time (refundable on pass); monthly: No monthly fee — one-time challenge cost; first payout: First payout possible after 14 days; reduce to weekly on request.
Element Capital
Firm CapitalNot applicable for this model
This is a firm-capital or hiring-based trading path, not a trader-paid funding program. Compensation is typically handled through salary, bonus, draw, allocation, or profit-sharing arrangements rather than a published evaluation fee and payout schedule.
Trade-offs
Where each firm is weaker
No firm wins on every axis. These are the most meaningful drawbacks of each option — derived from the same structured fields shown in the table, never invented.
Element Capital trade-offs
No copy trading
Forbids copy / algo bridges. FTMO permits them.
FTMO trade-offs
No structural disadvantages versus the other firm based on the fields we track.
Decision guide
Best for your trader type
- Highest profit share
90% vs —%
- Fastest to funded
No mandatory evaluation.
- Biggest scaling ceiling
Up to $200,000.
- News traders
Allows trading through news events.
- Copy & algo traders
Copy trading is permitted.
- Fastest payouts
On-demand (default 14 days, weekly available) payouts.
| Attribute | Element Capital Firm Capital · est. 2005 | FTMO Evaluation Based · est. 2015 |
|---|---|---|
| Cost | ||
| Evaluation fee | — | €89–€1,080 one-time (refundable on pass) |
| Monthly fee | — | No monthly fee — one-time challenge cost |
| Evaluation required | No | Yes |
| Instant funding | No | No |
| Capital | ||
| Profit split | — | 90% |
| Max allocation | Institutional | $200,000 |
| Account sizes | Institutional | $10K, $25K, $50K, $100K, $200K (USD/EUR/GBP/CZK) |
| Scaling | — | Scaling Plan: +25% balance every 4 months at 10%+ profit over 2 of 4 months. |
| Payouts | ||
| Frequency | Quarterly | On-demand (default 14 days, weekly available) |
| First payout | — | First payout possible after 14 days; reduce to weekly on request |
| Assets | ||
| Futures | Yes | Yes |
| Stocks | Yes | Yes |
| Options | Yes | No |
| Forex | Yes | Yes |
| Crypto | No | Yes |
| Trading rules | ||
| News trading | — | Yes |
| Overnight holding | Yes | Yes |
| Weekend holding | Yes | Yes |
| Copy trading | No | Yes |
| Technology | ||
| Platforms | Internal | MetaTrader 4, MetaTrader 5, cTrader, DXtrade |
| Data feed | — | Purple Trading / Spotware |
| Company | ||
| Headquarters | New York, NY, USA | Prague, Czech Republic |
About Element Capital
Global macro hedge fund led by Jeffrey Talpins, trading rates, FX and commodities.
Full Element Capital profile →Trust & stability
Reputation and rule-change activity
Two added decision signals: a weighted reputation score from independent review sources, and a 90-day view of structural rule-change activity where monitored sources are available.
Reputation
canonical- Sources used
- 1
- Confidence
- low
Weighted blend of independent trader-review sources. See methodology.
Rule Stability
last 90dWe do not currently have enough monitored public rule sources for this firm to report rule-change activity honestly.
Reputation
canonical- Sources used
- 1
- Confidence
- medium
Weighted blend of independent trader-review sources. See methodology.
Rule Stability
last 90d- Last change
- —
- Type
- —
- Sources monitored
- —
- Status
- No changes detected in monitored sources
Weekly diff of the firm's published rule pages (terms, rules, FAQ, legal). "No changes detected" only means none of the monitored monitored sources changed — other surfaces (Discord, email, dashboards) are not covered. "Limited" or "unavailable" means our monitor cannot reach enough sources to make an honest call.
Frequently asked
Common questions
- Which has a higher profit split — Element Capital or FTMO?
- FTMO pays 90% of trader profits once funded.
- Is Element Capital cheaper to start than FTMO?
- Element Capital: evaluation from —. FTMO: evaluation from €89–€1,080 one-time (refundable on pass).
- Which pays out faster — Element Capital or FTMO?
- Element Capital payouts: Quarterly. FTMO payouts: On-demand (default 14 days, weekly available). First-payout eligibility: Element Capital — —; FTMO — First payout possible after 14 days; reduce to weekly on request.
- What's the maximum allocation at Element Capital vs FTMO?
- Element Capital scales up to Institutional. FTMO scales up to $200,000.
- Can I trade news at Element Capital or FTMO?
- Element Capital: policy unconfirmed. FTMO: permits news trading.
- Can I hold positions overnight at Element Capital or FTMO?
- Element Capital: allows overnight holds. FTMO: allows overnight holds.
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