AphnaFTMO rules explained: daily loss, maximum loss and consistency
Most FTMO accounts are lost to two rules: the daily loss limit and the maximum loss limit. They work differently on each account type, and the difference decides how much room you really have. Here they are in plain words, with a calculator for your own levels.
The figures below are from FTMO's Trading Objectives page, checked on 25 October 2026. FTMO changes its rules from time to time, so check that page before you trade.
The rules side by side
| 2-Step | 1-Step | Instant | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Profit target | 10% in the Challenge, then 5% in the Verification | 10% | None |
| Maximum daily loss | 5% of the starting capital | 3% of the starting capital | 3% of the starting capital |
| Maximum loss | 10% below the starting capital, fixed | 10% of the starting capital below your highest end-of-day balance; it moves up at midnight | 10% of the starting capital below your highest balance from closed trades; it moves up the moment a trade closes at a new high |
| Consistency | None | Your best day must be no more than 50% of your total profit (accounts bought from 12 October 2026; older accounts use FTMO's earlier Best Day rule) | Your best day must be no more than 30% of your total profit since your last reward |
| Minimum trading days | 4 in each phase | None | None |
The daily loss limit
Each day at midnight Prague time, FTMO takes your balance and subtracts the daily loss amount (5% or 3% of your starting capital). Your equity, which includes the running result of open trades, must not fall below that level until the next midnight.
Two things catch people out. The limit is a share of your starting capital, not of today's balance. And an open trade counts: a trade that dips hard before it recovers can break the limit even though it closes in profit.
The maximum loss limit
2-Step has the simplest version: a fixed line 10% below the starting capital. It never moves.
1-Step trails your best day. The line starts 10% below the starting capital and moves up whenever a day closes at a new high balance. It never comes down.
Instant trails even closer. The line moves up the moment a trade closes at a new high balance, not just at midnight, and it never comes down. FTMO's page adds one rule that matters for payouts: the line does not reset when you withdraw a reward. Withdrawing lowers your balance but not the line, so the room you trade with after a payout is smaller than before. FTMO says that once your balance is above 110% of the starting capital, a reward withdrawal would breach the limit.
Consistency
On 1-Step and Instant, one big day can hold up a pass or a payout. Your best day's profit is compared with your total profit: on 1-Step it must be no more than 50% of it, on Instant no more than 30%. Going over isn't a breach. You keep trading until other days catch up. On Instant, the count starts again from zero after each reward.
Calculator: your levels today
Calculator: consistency
Trading to these rules automatically
If you automate your trading, the tool placing your trades should know these rules too. Aphna checks your account against its own daily and maximum loss limits, measured the way your FTMO account type measures them, and stops new trades before FTMO's line is reached. Set Aphna's limits a little inside FTMO's own. How automating a TradingView strategy on FTMO works.