FTMO vs Instant Funding
FTMO
Instant Funding
Computed verdict
There isn't a current verified offer on both firms, so we don't call a cost winner. On the overall score, FTMO comes out ahead (83 vs 73).
The verdict is computed from verified data and recomputes when the data changes. It is not an opinion and no commercial arrangement alters it. Methodology
Rule by rule
Max loss is 10% of initial balance — static on the 2-Step and end-of-day trailing on the 1-Step — measured on equity, so floating losses count.
Both the flagship program and the GO program use Smart Drawdown — a -10% floor that tightens to a fixed -5%-of-starting-balance floor after a 5% gain; only the One/Two-Phase and Micro challenge programs use static 4-10% floors.
Hard daily limit of 5% (2-Step) or 3% (1-Step) of initial capital, recalculated at CET midnight and applied to equity — touching it for an instant fails the account.
A hard daily limit of 2–5% by program on the higher of balance or equity at 17:00 EST, plus an extra hard rule: losing more than 50% of the day's allowance on a single trade idea also breaches.
The 2-Step has no consistency rule at all; the 1-Step requires your best day to stay within 50% of your positive days' profit to pass, never failing the account.
Checked at payout: a 40% best-day cap on One/Two-Phase and a 15% best-day cap on IF Micro and IF1 (best day of total profit, not per trade); the flagship and GO have no consistency rule.
Two phases: 10% ($5,000) in Phase 1 and 5% ($2,500) in Verification, minimum 4 days each; 10% ($5,000) max overall loss, 5% ($2,500) daily.
Single phase: 10% ($5,000), minimum 3 days; 8% ($4,000) max overall loss, 3% daily.
On-demand payouts from day 14 after your first trade, at a 90% split (1-Step) or 80% rising to 90% (2-Step), with the 2-Step entry fee refunded with your first withdrawal.
First payout at 14 days on the flagship (on-demand on challenges and Micro, from $25) at 80% upgradeable to 90% — the processing time is in conflict between 24 hours and 48 business hours.
$50K 1-Step Challenge: one-time EUR 319, read first-hand from FTMO's own promo page on 2026-09-08, where the fees are stated one-time and non-refundable. FTMO prices in euros and we do not convert. We hold no primary price for the 2-Step and publish none. No subscription or activation fee is documented on the pages we reviewed, which is not the same as a confirmed absence.
$50K One-Phase: $289 is the price after the 18% code TRUSTED, not a list price. Instant Funding's fees load by script and we have captured no undiscounted price at any size. Their own page runs deeper codes than that one: 42% off with BFNEW for new customers, 37% off with BF1. No activation fee is documented on the rules and account pages, but that absence was never positively confirmed.