Last updated: April 22, 2026
Reviewed by 0xRoyNL, Founder. Verified against FTMO's official rules.
Yes: FTMO explicitly supports Expert Advisors on both the challenge and funded accounts. Standard trend-following, breakout, swing, and scalping EAs are fully permitted. The restriction applies only to exploitative strategies that target platform inefficiencies.
| EA Support | Yes: fully supported |
| Allowed EA Types | Trend following, breakout, swing, scalping, multi-strategy |
| Martingale | Allowed: but reviewed if it triggers drawdown limits |
| Grid Trading | Allowed |
| Copy Trading | Own accounts only, third-party signal copying reviewed case-by-case |
| HFT / Latency Arbitrage | Prohibited |
| News Trading | Restricted: no new trades within 2 minutes of major news events |
| Min Trade Duration | Not stated |
| Fixed SL Required | No |
| Account Sizes | $10K, $25K, $50K, $100K, $200K |
| Challenge Price | Starting from €89 for the $10K account (billed in EUR; verify current pricing on official website) |
| Phase 1 Profit Target | 10% |
| Phase 2 Profit Target | 5% |
| Daily Drawdown | 5% (balance-based) |
| Max Drawdown | 10% (static, balance-based) |
| Drawdown Type | Static: calculated from starting balance, does not trail |
| Min Trading Days | 4 days per phase |
| Time Limit | 30 days (Phase 1), 60 days (Phase 2) |
| Profit Split | 80% (up to 90% via scaling) |
| Scaling Plan | 25% account increase every 4 months with 10% profit; up to €2M |
| Platforms | MetaTrader 4, MetaTrader 5, cTrader, DXTrade |
| MT5 Available | Yes |
| Payout Frequency | On-demand monthly; processed within 1 business day |
| Payout Methods | Bank wire, crypto, Skrill, Neteller, PayPal (varies by country) |
I rate FTMO 4 out of 5 for EA traders. Static drawdown is the single biggest reason I keep coming back to them: your room does not shrink as you profit. The 2-minute news restriction is easy to handle with a news filter built into your EA. I recommend FTMO if you run multi-strategy MT5 portfolios with strict risk management and a fixed stop loss on every trade.
0xRoyNL, Founder of EAFunded.com
Comparing FTMO to FundedNext? Read the full FTMO vs FundedNext comparison for algo traders.
Does FTMO allow EA trading?
Yes. FTMO fully supports Expert Advisors on MT5 for both the challenge and funded accounts. Standard trend following, breakout, swing, and scalping EAs are permitted without pre-approval.
What are the FTMO EA rules in 2026?
FTMO prohibits HFT and latency arbitrage EAs. No trades may be opened or closed within 2 minutes of a major news event. The same strategy may not exceed $400K in total capital across all FTMO accounts combined.
What is the FTMO EA policy for news trading?
FTMO restricts news trading. No new trades or closes are permitted within 2 minutes before or after a major news event on the traded instrument. A built-in news filter in your EA is recommended.
Does FTMO allow martingale EAs?
Yes, martingale EAs are allowed on FTMO but are reviewed if they trigger drawdown limits. The 10% max drawdown with no trailing floor makes martingale strategies high risk.