Guides / FTMO vs E8 Markets

FTMO vs E8 Markets: rules compared

FTMO and E8 Markets side by side: prices, drawdown, news, weekend and EA rules, and the hidden rules in their terms. Every figure comes from each firm's own site.

Quick take

E8 Markets has the higher fine-print score (41 vs 26), meaning fewer or milder hidden rules by our method.
FTMO: 0 of 3 plans clearly allow news trading; E8 Markets: 0 of 2.
FTMO: 0 of 3 plans clearly allow weekend holding; E8 Markets: 2 of 2.
FTMO: 0 of 3 plans clearly allow EAs; E8 Markets: 0 of 2.

Which is better depends on how you trade. “Not found in the pages we read” means we didn't find it in the firm's pages we read. Checked 23 Oct 2026. Not financial advice.

	FTMO	E8 Markets
Challenge types	Instant; 1-Step; 2-Step	E8 One (1-phase)
Plans tracked	3	2
Cheapest listed price	€79 ($10,000 1-Step)	$20 ($5K E8 Pro (1-Step, Classic Markets, static DD, daily payouts))
Daily loss limit	2-Step (Standard/Swing): 5% (Max Daily Loss) 1-Step: 3% Instant: 3%	E8 One (1-Step, Classic Markets): Configurator default 4% (e.g. $4,000 on $100K); help-centre preset 3% (hard breach, from start-of-day balance) E8 Pro (1-Step, Classic Markets, static DD, daily payouts): 2.5% of initial balance (hard limit); plus 2% daily profit cap (only 2% of initial balance per day counts toward target/profit)
Max loss	2-Step (Standard/Swing): 10%, static 1-Step: 10%, trailing on balance (end of day) Instant: 10%, trailing on balance (intraday)	E8 One (1-Step, Classic Markets): Dynamic drawdown on closed balance: configurator default 6% ($6,000 on $100K); help preset 4%; trails closed profits then locks at initial b E8 Pro (1-Step, Classic Markets, static DD, daily payouts): 8% static (fixed on initial balance; moves only when the first payout is processed)
Profit split	2-Step (Standard/Swing): 2-Step: 80% default, 90% with Scaling Plan/Premium Programme; 1-Step and Instant: 90% 1-Step: 90% Instant: 90%	E8 One (1-Step, Classic Markets): 80% default (configurable up to 100%) E8 Pro (1-Step, Classic Markets, static DD, daily payouts): 80% default (configurable, up to 100%); no payout caps
News trading (plans)	Allowed with conditions: 3/3	Allowed with conditions: 2/2
Weekend holding (plans)	Allowed with conditions: 3/3	Allowed: 2/2
EAs (plans)	Allowed with conditions: 3/3	Allowed with conditions: 2/2
Consistency rule (plans)	Has a consistency rule: 2/3 Not found in the pages we read: 1/3	No consistency rule: 1/2 Has a consistency rule: 1/2
Hidden rules found	23 (10 can breach the account)	18 (7 can breach the account)
Fine-print score	26/100	41/100
Rule changes logged	1	0
Platforms	MT4; MT5; cTrader; TradingView	TradeLocker; cTrader; Match-Trader

All FTMO rules All E8 Markets rules