Head-to-head
FTMO vs Spot Trading
A direct, side-by-side comparison of FTMO and Spot Trading — profit splits, evaluation fees, payout cadence, supported assets, and trading rules. Data pulled live from our firm directory.
Quick verdict
Spot Trading is best for
traders avoiding evaluation hurdles.
Full Spot Trading 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.
Spot Trading
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.
Spot Trading trade-offs
No copy trading
Forbids copy / algo bridges. FTMO permits them.
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 | FTMO Evaluation Based · est. 2015 | Spot Trading Firm Capital · est. 1999 |
|---|---|---|
| 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% | — |
| 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) | Quarterly |
| First payout | First payout possible after 14 days; reduce to weekly on request | — |
| Assets | ||
| Futures | Yes | No |
| Stocks | Yes | Yes |
| Options | No | Yes |
| Forex | Yes | No |
| Crypto | Yes | No |
| Trading rules | ||
| News trading | Yes | — |
| Overnight holding | Yes | Yes |
| Weekend holding | Yes | Yes |
| Copy trading | Yes | No |
| Technology | ||
| Platforms | MetaTrader 4, MetaTrader 5, cTrader, DXtrade | Internal |
| Data feed | Purple Trading / Spotware | — |
| Company | ||
| Headquarters | Prague, Czech Republic | Chicago, IL, USA |
About Spot Trading
Options-focused proprietary trading and market-making firm.
Full Spot Trading 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
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.
Frequently asked
Common questions
- Which has a higher profit split — FTMO or Spot Trading?
- FTMO pays 90% of trader profits once funded.
- Is FTMO cheaper to start than Spot Trading?
- FTMO: evaluation from €89–€1,080 one-time (refundable on pass). Spot Trading: evaluation from —.
- Which pays out faster — FTMO or Spot Trading?
- FTMO payouts: On-demand (default 14 days, weekly available). Spot Trading payouts: Quarterly. First-payout eligibility: FTMO — First payout possible after 14 days; reduce to weekly on request; Spot Trading — —.
- What's the maximum allocation at FTMO vs Spot Trading?
- FTMO scales up to $200,000. Spot Trading scales up to Firm Capital.
- Can I trade news at FTMO or Spot Trading?
- FTMO: permits news trading. Spot Trading: policy unconfirmed.
- Can I hold positions overnight at FTMO or Spot Trading?
- FTMO: allows overnight holds. Spot Trading: allows overnight holds.
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