FTMO Profit Split Explained: How Much Do You Really Keep? (2026)

Quick Answer: FTMO offers an 80% profit split on funded accounts. If you make $10,000 in profits, you receive $8,000 and FTMO keeps $2,000. The split can increase to 90% after you scale up to a $400K+ account size. But the headline number is only the start of the story — fees, payout timing, and the cost of getting funded all change what you actually take home.

FTMO Profit Split Breakdown (All Account Sizes)

Account Size	You Keep	FTMO Keeps	Example ($5K Profit)
$10,000	80%	20%	You get: $4,000
$25,000	80%	20%	You get: $4,000
$50,000	80%	20%	You get: $4,000
$100,000	80%	20%	You get: $4,000
$200,000	80%	20%	You get: $4,000
$400K+ (scaled)	90%	10%	You get: $4,500

One thing jumps out immediately: the split is identical across all starting sizes. FTMO doesn't reward you for buying a bigger account — the 80/20 applies from $10K to $200K. The only way to improve your percentage is to grow through the scaling plan, which is why the split conversation is really a conversation about scaling.

How the FTMO Scaling Plan Increases Your Split

FTMO rewards consistent traders with account scaling AND improved profit splits. The two go together:

Account Balance	Profit Split	Notes
$10K - $200K	80/20	Initial split for all new accounts
$300K - $400K	80/20	After first scaling increase
$400K+	90/10	Improved split after reaching $400K

What the 90/10 Split Is Actually Worth

The jump from 80% to 90% sounds small — ten points. But put real numbers on it and it's the difference between a side hustle and a serious income. At a $400K account generating a conservative 4% per month ($16,000), the 80/20 split pays you $12,800 while the 90/10 pays $14,400. That's $1,600 more per month, $19,200 per year — for exactly the same trading. The 90% split isn't a bonus; it's a raise.

This is also why the split matters more than the account size. A $200K account at 90% pays better than a $400K account at 80% on the same percentage return. When you're comparing firms or planning your scaling path, always compute your take-home in dollars, not your split in percentage points.

FTMO First Payout: Challenge Fee Refund

Your first payout includes your challenge fee refund + your profit share — a detail most guides bury. Here's how it works with real numbers:

Example: $100K Account ($540 Challenge Fee)

1. You make $5,000 profit in Month 1
2. Your 80% split = $4,000
3. FTMO refunds your $540 challenge fee
4. First payout = $4,540

Example: $200K Account ($1,080 Challenge Fee)

1. You make $10,000 profit in Month 1
2. Your 80% split = $8,000
3. FTMO refunds your $1,080 challenge fee
4. First payout = $9,080

The refund is conditional, so read the fine print: it's paid with the first profit withdrawal, and it requires that you've met the funded-phase rules (minimum trading days and no violations). Treat the refund as a bonus, not a guarantee — the account must be in good standing when the first payout is processed.

Hidden Fees That Reduce Your Take-Home Pay

The 80% split is the gross number. These four costs eat into it:

1. Withdrawal Fees

• Bank transfer: $0-50 (depending on country and bank)
• Crypto (USDT): ~$10-20 network fees
• Wire transfer: $25-50

2. Currency Conversion Fees

If you withdraw in a different currency, your bank charges 1-3% conversion fees. On a $4,000 payout, that's $40-120 you didn't budget for.

3. Payment Processor Fees

FTMO uses RISE (formerly Deel) for payouts. They charge small processing fees on some methods — check the fee schedule in your dashboard before choosing a method.

4. Taxes (Your Responsibility)

FTMO doesn't withhold taxes. You're responsible for reporting and paying taxes on your earnings. Depending on your jurisdiction, set aside 15-30% of every payout.

FTMO Profit Split vs Other Prop Firms

Prop Firm	Initial Split	Max Split (Scaled)	Winner
FTMO	80/20	90/10	—
FundedNext	80/20	90/10	Tie
E8 Markets	80/20	80/20	FTMO wins
The5ers	50/50	80/20 to 100%	The5ers wins long-term
MFF	80/20	90/10	Tie
TopstepTrader	90/10	90/10	Topstep wins

Verdict: FTMO's 80/20 split is industry standard, and its path to 90/10 via scaling is competitive. Only TopstepTrader offers 90/10 from day one — but its payout model is different (salary-style on some plans), so the comparison isn't apples-to-apples. The5ers' path to 100% is the most generous long-term, but its early splits and rule structure are stricter.

How Much Can You Actually Make with FTMO?

Conservative Trading (5% Monthly Return)

Account Size	5% Monthly Profit	Your 80% Split	Annual (12 months)
$10,000	$500	$400	$4,800
$50,000	$2,500	$2,000	$24,000
$100,000	$5,000	$4,000	$48,000
$200,000	$10,000	$8,000	$96,000

Aggressive Trading (10% Monthly Return)

Account Size	10% Monthly Profit	Your 80% Split	Annual (12 months)
$10,000	$1,000	$800	$9,600
$50,000	$5,000	$4,000	$48,000
$100,000	$10,000	$8,000	$96,000
$200,000	$20,000	$16,000	$192,000

When Do You Get Paid?

FTMO Payout Schedule

1. First payout: After 14 days of trading + making profit
2. Subsequent payouts: Every 14 days (bi-weekly cycle)
3. Processing time: 1-2 business days after requesting withdrawal

Payout Timeline Example

• Day 1-14: Trade and make profit
• Day 15: Request first payout
• Day 16-17: FTMO processes payment
• Day 17-18: Money arrives in your account

Two details worth knowing: first, the 14-day window starts from the day your account is approved as funded, so your first payout can arrive as early as day 16-18 after funding. Second, you can request payouts more frequently than every 14 days once the first payout is done — the bi-weekly cycle is a minimum rhythm, not a hard cap for later withdrawals.

Does FTMO Pay on Time?

Yes. FTMO is one of the most reliable prop firms for payouts. They have paid out $100M+ to traders since 2015 (and the cumulative figure has grown well beyond that).

• Consistent bi-weekly payment cycles
• Multiple withdrawal methods (bank, crypto, RISE)
• No payout limits (withdraw all profits if you want)
• Transparent payout dashboard

In my experience across 500+ passes and dozens of funded clients, FTMO's payout record is clean — delays, when they happen, trace back to unverified KYC or a rule breach, not to the firm withholding money. That reliability is a big part of why FTMO still leads the industry despite harder evaluations than many competitors.

Can You Negotiate the FTMO Profit Split?

No. FTMO's profit split is fixed:

• 80/20 for accounts under $400K
• 90/10 for accounts $400K and above

The only way to increase your split is to scale your account to $400K+. There's no special deal, no loyalty bonus, no negotiation — the system is deliberately uniform. That's good news in one sense: everyone is treated the same. And it's a clear roadmap in another: your job is to survive the funded phase long enough to scale.

The Real Cost of Getting That 80% Split

Here's the number nobody puts next to the split: what it costs you to get the account in the first place. The math changes depending on who passes the challenge:

Scenario 1: DIY (You Pass Yourself)

• Challenge fee: $540
• Pass rate: 10-15%
• Average attempts: 3-4 ($1,620-$2,160 total spent)
• Time to funded: 3-6 months
• Profit split: 80/20

Scenario 2: ElitePropX (We Pass for You)

• Service fee: $220 (one-time)
• Pass rate: 95%
• Time to funded: 1-3 weeks
• Profit split: You keep 100% of FTMO's 80% (ElitePropX takes NO profit split)

The Split vs. the Strategy: Why Most Traders Never See the 90%

Here's the uncomfortable statistic: the vast majority of funded traders never reach the $400K scaling threshold, which means most never see the 90/10 split. The bottleneck isn't skill at making money — it's the ability to stay funded long enough to scale. FTMO's scaling requires funded-phase profit targets (typically 10% of account size) with no rule violations, and most traders lose their funded account to a drawdown breach in the first 60-90 days.

This reframes the split question completely. The 80% vs 90% difference only matters if you survive to scale, and survival depends on the same discipline that got you through the challenge: fixed risk, no revenge trading, no news gambling. Traders who treat the funded account as a promotion rather than a new challenge lose it at an alarming rate. The ones who treat it as phase 3 of the same test — same risk, same hours, same rules — are the ones who reach $400K and beyond.

Compounding: The Split's Hidden Multiplier

Most split comparisons ignore compounding, and compounding is where the real money lives. Here's the difference over 12 months between withdrawing everything versus reinvesting part of your split into scaling-consistent trading:

Month	Account Size	5% Profit	Your 80% Split	Split if Scaled to 90%
1	$100,000	$5,000	$4,000	$4,500
3	$100,000	$5,000	$4,000	$4,500
6 (scaled to $200K)	$200,000	$10,000	$8,000	$9,000
9 (scaled to $400K)	$400,000	$20,000	$16,000	$18,000
12 (at 90%)	$400,000	$20,000	$16,000	$18,000

By month 12, the scaled trader at 90% is earning $18,000/month versus the stuck-at-80% trader's $16,000 — and the gap keeps widening as the account grows toward $2M. The split percentage and the account size compound together. That's why the smartest FTMO strategy is boring: take modest payouts, keep the account alive, hit every scaling checkpoint. The 90% split is the prize for longevity, not brilliance.

Payout Methods: Which One Maximizes Your Take-Home?

The method you choose affects both speed and fees. Here's the practical comparison for FTMO payouts:

Method	Speed	Typical Fee	Best For
USDT (TRC-20)	~1 business day	$1-3 network fee	Lowest fees, fastest
BTC	1-2 business days	$5-20 network fee	Crypto users
Bank transfer (RISE)	2-5 business days	$0-30	Direct to bank account
Wire	3-7 business days	$25-50	Larger payouts

USDT on TRC-20 is the efficiency winner for most traders: near-instant settlement and network fees under $3. The one caveat is your jurisdiction — if crypto gains are taxed or restricted where you live, the bank route's higher fee may still be the better net outcome after tax. Run both numbers before choosing.

The Split in a Losing Month: What Happens When You're Red

Every split discussion assumes profit — but real funded trading includes losing months, and how FTMO handles them is part of the deal. The key fact: FTMO's 80/20 split applies only to net profits. If you finish a payout cycle down, there's no profit to split, you receive no payout for that cycle, and the loss sits in the account as a drawdown against your balance — within your maximum loss limit, it's the firm's capital at risk, not yours.

Three consequences follow that most new funded traders don't anticipate:

• Losses aren't clawed back from future payouts. FTMO doesn't deduct previous losing cycles from your next profit share. Each payout window is calculated on that window's net result. A down month costs you the payout for that month only.
• Your split percentage never drops for a bad month. The 80/20 stays intact as long as you respect the rules — FTMO doesn't punish a losing cycle by cutting your split. The only way to lose the 80/20 is to breach account rules.
• Sequential losses shrink your working capital. This is the real risk. Two losing months in a row can push a $100K account toward the 10% maximum loss line, which ends the funded relationship entirely. The split isn't the danger; the drawdown is.

The practical takeaway: plan your risk so a single bad week costs you 1-2%, not 5%. Traders who survive losing months without breaching the maximum loss are the ones who eventually scale to 90/10 — the split rewards staying in the game, not winning every month.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is the FTMO profit split 80/20 or 90/10?

80/20 initially. It increases to 90/10 after you scale to a $400K+ account size.

When does FTMO refund your challenge fee?

With your first profit withdrawal. It's added on top of your 80% profit share.

Does FTMO charge monthly fees on funded accounts?

No. FTMO has no monthly fees, no inactivity fees, and no hidden costs after you're funded.

Can you withdraw profits anytime?

Yes, but the first payout follows the 14-day cycle. After that, you can withdraw all profits or leave some in the account.

Does ElitePropX take a profit split?

No. ElitePropX charges a flat $220 fee to pass your challenge. After that, you keep 100% of the 80% split from FTMO (we take nothing).

Is the 80% split calculated before or after fees?

Before withdrawal fees. FTMO calculates 80% of your profit, then you pay any withdrawal/conversion fees on top. Budget roughly 1-2% for those costs.

Do you pay tax on FTMO payouts?

Yes, in most jurisdictions. FTMO doesn't withhold anything — you report the income yourself. Set aside 15-30% per payout depending on your country's rates.

What happens to my split if I have a losing month?

A: Nothing changes in the percentage itself. A losing payout cycle means no payout for that cycle — there's simply no profit to split. Losses within your maximum drawdown come out of the firm's capital, and your 80/20 remains intact for the next profitable cycle. The real threat in a losing month is drawdown, not the split.

Final Verdict: Is FTMO's 80/20 Split Fair?

Yes. 80/20 is industry standard for prop firms. You're trading with FTMO's capital (not your own), so a 20% fee is reasonable — and the 90/10 path via scaling is genuinely generous.

Better question: Is it worth spending $540-$1,620 and 3-6 months to get that 80% split? For most traders, the honest answer is no — the failure math makes the DIY route the most expensive way to reach the same funded account.

Related Guides

FTMO Challenge Cost Breakdown Prop Firm Profit Splits Compared How Much Do Prop Firm Traders Make? Funded Account Payout Process