What the evaluation actually costs
Work out the full cost before you pay anything, not just the headline entry fee. Check what the fee covers for the account size you want, whether any part of it is refundable and at what stage, what a reset costs after a breach, and whether the cost changes on a renewal or at the funded stage. Firms revise pricing and terms, so read the current version on the firm's own site rather than a blog summary or a discount post. Then convert every limit that applies to that account into absolute currency and write it down. Percentages feel abstract when a trade is open and moving. A currency figure per day and per account is something you can check against the equity line in your terminal in seconds.
How the evaluation phases differ
FTMO's CFD 2-Step has a Challenge and Verification; 1-Step has one evaluation phase. These products have different loss calculations, so use the objectives attached to the product and order you bought. For 2-Step, the profit targets are 10% and 5%, with four trading days required in each evaluation phase. A target is measured on closed results with all positions closed. Reaching a target alone does not complete the evaluation: all applicable objectives must be met together. Other FTMO products have their own objectives. Rules checked on 16 October 2026; use FTMO's official Trading Objectives for the account-specific version.
Daily loss reset and the clock it runs on
For FTMO CFD 1-Step and 2-Step, the daily loss limit is recalculated at 00:00 CE(S)T, not at local midnight or an assumed broker-server time. The floor is that midnight's balance minus 3% of initial simulated capital for 1-Step, or 5% for 2-Step. Equity, including open P/L, swaps and commissions, must not fall below the applicable floor throughout the day. An open position can therefore breach the limit after the reset even without a new entry. Convert the reset time to your own time zone and check the account's current objectives before carrying a position across it.
Static versus trailing maximum loss
FTMO CFD 2-Step uses a static maximum-loss floor at 90% of initial simulated capital. CFD 1-Step instead uses an end-of-day trailing floor based on the highest preceding midnight balance, or initial capital if higher, minus 10% of initial capital. End-of-day describes when that floor updates; equity is still checked against it during the session. Do not treat an intraday recovery as permission to cross the floor. Check the specific product before using a preset: FTMO's other products can use a different trailing calculation.
Running an EA on an evaluation account
EA Hub provides MetaTrader tools and configurable inputs; that is not a certification that every supplied file complies with every FTMO product. Verify symbol names, suffixes, tick value, lot step and minimum lot on the exact account. Test the internal daily stop below the firm's limit with room for costs and execution differences. A local stop cannot guarantee that the account floor will hold. Compare the chosen file's test report with the account's platform and rules before enabling orders. The same lot count on two symbols is not the same currency risk. Calculate from the symbol's tick value, contract size, stop distance and account-currency conversion instead of assuming gold is always riskier than a currency pair. Prices and refund eligibility are set out on the relevant checkout and agreement; the software licence and hosted-service bundle can have different conditions.
Why a widely used EA can look like copy trading
Prop firms monitor for trade copying and coordinated activity across accounts, and a widely sold EA can trip those checks without anyone intending it. When many accounts run identical default settings on the same feed, entries land within seconds of each other at similar prices and similar relative sizes, which is exactly the pattern a review system is built to catch. Read the firm's rules on copy trading, group trading and shared strategies before you buy, not after a payout is queried. If the firm prohibits it, changing parameters does not make it permitted, and trying to look different while breaking a rule is a worse position than not running it at all. If it is permitted, treat the defaults as a starting point and set your own risk, sessions and instrument list per account, which is better trading regardless of what any review system sees.
What to verify on demo first
Run the whole setup on a demo account before you pay an entry fee. Check that the EA attaches and reports its status on the chart, that the symbol suffix resolves instead of silently failing, that the calculated lot comes out where you intended for that balance, and that the internal daily stop actually blocks new entries when it triggers rather than only writing a line in the log. Leave it running through a full session including the rollover hour and a scheduled news release, so you see what spread widening does to entries and stops. Demo execution may differ from the account being considered, so a successful demo session is neither a forecast nor sufficient evidence that paying for an evaluation is suitable.
Challenge preparation and the managed route
The downloadable EA Hub and JPTC's hosted algorithm are different products. A copier's technical support for a platform does not establish permission to use a hosted strategy or let another party trade an FTMO account. FTMO's personal-use, third-party access and prohibited-practice rules apply. Check those rules and obtain clarification from FTMO before any proposed connection; do not connect if the arrangement is prohibited. The account remains with its provider, and JPTC does not hold client funds or have withdrawal access. The separate Telegram signals do not establish FTMO permission.
What changes after an evaluation is completed
The next stage can use different rules, so read them again before the first payout request. The funded stage commonly brings a different loss structure, a payout schedule with a first eligible date, a profit split, and rules on consistency or minimum trading days that did not apply during the evaluation. Traders can lose funded accounts by trading exactly as they did in the evaluation and never checking what moved. Update the EA settings to the new balance and the new limits before the first trade, and redo the currency conversion of every limit from scratch instead of scaling the old numbers in your head. Risk settings can limit intended exposure, but slippage, gaps, disconnections and software errors can still produce a breach. Neither software nor preparation guarantees completion or a payout.
Common questions
Can you use an EA on FTMO?
FTMO allows EAs only when the actual strategy and account use comply with its current rules. Technical platform compatibility is not approval of a particular JPTC file, third-party strategy or account-management arrangement. Check forbidden practices and allocation restrictions, and test the exact file, inputs and account configuration. Rules checked on 16 October 2026; see FTMO's official strategy FAQ and forbidden-practice policy.
Can an EA pass a prop firm challenge for me?
An EA executes its programmed strategy and can meet or miss an evaluation's objectives. It cannot guarantee the result. Check an advertised pass rate's population, dates, failures, fees and method before relying on it. Repeatable entry logic or an internal risk stop is useful only if the implementation and account configuration have actually been tested; neither removes market or execution risk.
Which errors can cause an evaluation to fail?
A daily-loss breach, a maximum-loss breach or a prohibited strategy can end an evaluation. Position size, open P/L, commissions, swaps and the reset time all matter. This is a checklist of failure mechanisms, not a ranking of how often traders encounter them: no representative failure dataset is provided here. Also distinguish a breach from an unmet consistency condition, which may require further trading under the relevant product's rules.
Is news trading allowed on prop firm accounts?
News trading rules differ by firm and by account type, and some firms restrict it only on certain funded stages or only around specific high impact releases. Check the current terms for the exact account you are buying, because this is one of the rules firms revise most often. A news filter is worth running either way: spread widening and slippage around a major release can turn a normally sized loss into a limit breach, and a stop can fill well past the level you set.
Can I run the same EA on multiple accounts?
Running the same EA on more than one account is technically simple, but whether it is allowed depends on the firm's rules on copy trading and shared strategies, including whether those rules reach across accounts you hold at the same firm, across different firms, or across accounts held by people in the same household. Identical settings on several accounts produce near identical entries, which review systems are built to flag. If it is permitted, set risk, sessions and instruments per account instead of cloning one file everywhere. If it is prohibited, varying the settings does not make it permitted.
What happens if my terminal disconnects during a challenge?
Open positions stay live at the broker when the terminal drops, but the EA cannot manage them, move a stop or block new entries while it is offline. That is the argument for hosting the terminal on a VPS rather than a home machine that sleeps, updates or loses its connection. Place a stop loss on the server with every entry instead of relying on the EA to close a position, because a stop that exists only inside the EA does not exist while the EA is down. When it reconnects, check the open position and the internal daily counters before you let it trade again, since a restart can reset a counter that was holding you back for the day.
What account size should I start with?
The right starting size is the smallest one whose entry fee you would be comfortable writing off, because the first attempt is where you find out how the rules behave under pressure rather than on paper. Larger accounts are not easier, since the targets and limits scale with the size. The one thing size genuinely changes is whether the loss limit in currency is wide enough that the minimum lot on your instruments still fits inside sensible per trade risk, which matters most on gold and other large contract instruments.
Should I run EA Hub myself or use the challenge preparation service?
EA Hub is the software route for users who intend to run and configure supported MetaTrader files themselves. The hosted algorithm is a separate service. Do not infer from either product's availability that FTMO permits third-party access or a hosted/copied strategy on a particular account; check FTMO's current terms first. Neither route guarantees completion, a Reward or a payout.