The Best Prop Trading Firms Similar to FTMO

Is FTMO the best prop firm?

FMTO is one of the more well-known proprietary trading firms. Traders Union conducted a comprehensive review of the company in 2023, issuing it a score of 7.13/10. We found that it had several advantages. For a start, it has quite a low testing cost of 155 Euros, uses classically familiar platforms such as MT4 and MT5, offers diverse tariff plans, and allows leverage of up to 1:100.

However, it also has some disadvantages which resulted in its suboptimal score of 7.13. Some of those cons are:

• Higher cost to start: Although our reviewer found €155 to be a reasonable testing fee, the amount is higher than many of the other cheaper platforms we reviewed.

• Strict risk rules: FTMO has strict requirements for the testing period, only allowing a maximum 10% loss of the deposit amount.

• Regulation: Although FTMO’s two-step evaluation process is the industry standard, some traders are put off by it. A trading account is funded once a trader passes the FTMO Challenge and a two-step verification process.

• Lack of transparency: We rated FTMO 4.89 out of 10 for regulation and safety. There is a lack of transparency for FMTO, and they provide no detailed information about security or protection for investors.

Due to these slight drawbacks that FTMO has, you may want to consider pursuing funded accounts with alternative prop trading firms.

Top 3 FTMO alternatives

Based on the extensive research and reviewing conducted by Traders Union researchers, these 3 top FTMO alternatives come out as the cream of the crop:

1. The Trading Pit.

2. TopStep Trader.

3. Fidelcrest.

For a full list of our favorite 20 prop trading firms including detailed reviews, see: All Prop Firms List - TU Ranking. For now, let’s take a look at the top three alternative prop trading firms as rated by TU, and compare them to FTMO.

FTMO vs The Trading Pit

The Trading Pit is one of the best proprietary trading firms in the financial market even though it is quite a young company. The firm has a low entry threshold and favorable cooperation conditions, and focuses on futures and Forex. After conducting detailed research into the firm’s platform, Traders Union allocated it a score of 9.65 out of 10, which is the highest score out of all the prop trading firms we investigated.

There are several reasons why we found The Trading Pit to be better than FTMO, including:

• Lower challenge fee: To acquire their funded account, which provides you with $10,000 to trade with, you only need to pay a € 99 fee. This is slightly less than FMTO.

• Better trading platforms: The Trading Pit supports nine of the most popular trading platforms, including MT4, MT5, BOOKMAP, R Trader, and QUANTOWER. This gives more accessibility to a wider number of traders compared to FMTO. 

Traders Union took a deep dive into The Trading Pit, looking at its popularity, customer reviews, location of traders, trading conditions, fees, security, and everything else you could want to know about the prop trading firm. Click here to see the full, comprehensive review: The Trading Pit Review.

FTMO vs TopstepTrader

TopstepTrader is another alternative to FTMO that meets the standards set by the Traders Union. Topstep is an international broker catered toward active traders looking to improve their skills in an environment that facilitates continuous learning. The company looks past traders’ experience or lack thereof and takes simulated trading results into account. Topstep comes second in our ranking of prop trading firms, with a score of 9.02 out of 10. It scored particularly high in regulation and safety, user satisfaction, and brand popularity.

We found several factors that led to Topstep receiving a higher overall score than FTMO:

• Better regulation: Topstep scored high for its transparency and security. The company is registered in Chicago, Illinois, in the USA. Trading on a real account is carried out through the Equiti Capital broker, which is registered in the UK and licensed to provide financial services.

• Better trading platforms: Out of all of the entries on this list, Topstep offers the most diverse range of trading platforms its users can connect to. You can use Topstep with TSTrader, NinjaTrader, TradingView, Bookmap X-ray, CTS, DayTradr, InvestorRT, MotiveWave, MultiCharts, R|Trader Pro, Trade Navigator, and Volfix.net.

• Educational resources: The company provides a wide range of free training materials, including free group coaching, educational videos, weekly blog posts, podcasts, trading eBooks, and a community of traders.

Full comparison of the terms of cooperation with FTMO and TopStep - read in a special review: FTMO vs Topstep - profit split and costs included.

FTMO vs Fidelcrest

Fidelcrest is a proprietary trading company founded by professional Forex market participants who have more than 10 years of experience working for brokerage companies. Though registered in Cyprus, it cooperates with traders all over the world.

Traders Union rated it as our third favorite prop trading firm, receiving an exemplary score of 8.39 out of 10. Fidelcrest’s expansive options for funding and wide selection of financial instruments put this company high in our rankings.

Fidelcrest scored higher in several areas when compared to FTMO. Some of those accolades that Fidelcrest has are:

• Subscription model: Fidelcrest offers traders the option to pay a one-time subscription payment of €99 rather than a monthly subscription fee like many other prop trading firms.

• Attractive bonuses: Bonuses in the form of an accelerated plan, free additional account and a doubling of capital.

• Huge capital: Fidelcrest offers traders the opportunity to be financed with up to $2 million, which allows them to maximize their profit opportunities by keeping 90% of the profit generated.

What are the pros and cons to consider when choosing between FTMO and FidelCrest - read the comparison: FTMO vs Fidelcrest - profit split and costs included

Summary