Head-to-head
FTMO vs Headlands Technologies
A direct, side-by-side comparison of FTMO and Headlands Technologies — profit splits, evaluation fees, payout cadence, supported assets, and trading rules. Data pulled live from our firm directory.
Quick verdict
FTMO is best for
traders prioritizing profit share (90% vs 50%); copy-trading setups.
Full FTMO profile →Quick verdict
Headlands Technologies is best for
traders avoiding evaluation hurdles.
Full Headlands Technologies 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.
Headlands Technologies
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.
FTMO trade-offs
No structural disadvantages versus the other firm based on the fields we track.
Headlands Technologies trade-offs
Lower profit split
Pays 50% versus 90% — 40 points less of every funded dollar.
No copy trading
Forbids copy / algo bridges. FTMO permits them.
Decision guide
Best for your trader type
- Highest profit share
90% vs 50%
- Fastest to funded
No mandatory evaluation.
- Biggest scaling ceiling
Up to $200,000.
- Copy & algo traders
Copy trading is permitted.
- Fastest payouts
On-demand (default 14 days, weekly available) payouts.
| Attribute | FTMO Evaluation Based · est. 2015 | Headlands Technologies Firm Capital · est. 2009 |
|---|---|---|
| Cost | ||
| Evaluation fee | €89–€1,080 one-time (refundable on pass) | — |
| Monthly fee | No monthly fee — one-time challenge cost | — |
| Evaluation required | Yes | No |
| Instant funding | No | No |
| Capital | ||
| Profit split | 90% | 50% |
| Max allocation | $200,000 | Firm capital |
| Account sizes | $10K, $25K, $50K, $100K, $200K (USD/EUR/GBP/CZK) | Firm capital |
| Scaling | Scaling Plan: +25% balance every 4 months at 10%+ profit over 2 of 4 months. | — |
| Payouts | ||
| Frequency | On-demand (default 14 days, weekly available) | Annual |
| First payout | First payout possible after 14 days; reduce to weekly on request | — |
| Assets | ||
| Futures | Yes | Yes |
| Stocks | Yes | Yes |
| Options | No | Yes |
| Forex | Yes | Yes |
| Crypto | Yes | No |
| Trading rules | ||
| News trading | Yes | Yes |
| Overnight holding | Yes | Yes |
| Weekend holding | Yes | Yes |
| Copy trading | Yes | No |
| Technology | ||
| Platforms | MetaTrader 4, MetaTrader 5, cTrader, DXtrade | Proprietary |
| Data feed | Purple Trading / Spotware | — |
| Company | ||
| Headquarters | Prague, Czech Republic | Chicago, USA |
About Headlands Technologies
Quantitative proprietary trading firm with offices in Chicago, New York, San Francisco, Amsterdam, and Singapore. Trades global futures, options, and equities.
Full Headlands Technologies 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
- 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.
Reputation
Not enough independent rating sources to compute a canonical score yet.
Rule Stability
last 90dWe do not currently have enough monitored public rule sources for this firm to report rule-change activity honestly.
Frequently asked
Common questions
- Which has a higher profit split — FTMO or Headlands Technologies?
- FTMO pays 90%; Headlands Technologies pays 50% of trader profits once funded. FTMO pays a higher share to the trader.
- Is FTMO cheaper to start than Headlands Technologies?
- FTMO: evaluation from €89–€1,080 one-time (refundable on pass). Headlands Technologies: evaluation pricing varies.
- Which pays out faster — FTMO or Headlands Technologies?
- FTMO payouts: On-demand (default 14 days, weekly available). Headlands Technologies payouts: Annual. First-payout eligibility: FTMO — First payout possible after 14 days; reduce to weekly on request; Headlands Technologies — n/a.
- What's the maximum allocation at FTMO vs Headlands Technologies?
- FTMO scales up to $200,000. Headlands Technologies scales up to Firm capital.
- Can I trade news at FTMO or Headlands Technologies?
- FTMO: permits news trading. Headlands Technologies: permits news trading.
- Can I hold positions overnight at FTMO or Headlands Technologies?
- FTMO: allows overnight holds. Headlands Technologies: allows overnight holds.
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