Scalping and High-Frequency Trading
Scalping is permitted at both firms, but the level of freedom varies significantly between them.
- FTMO Futures: Allows scalping as long as it reflects legitimate market behavior. There are no specific restrictions on trade duration or minimum tick movements, making it more flexible for those using the high execution speeds of NinjaTrader or Tradovate.
- FXIFY Futures: Explicitly prohibits "micro scalping." This includes trades executed in under a minute or those targeting movements of less than 10 ticks. This rule significantly limits the profitability of high-velocity manual strategies.
- Risk and Platforms: Both firms provide the necessary low-latency tools for scalping, but FTMO’s Growth model is safer for this style during evaluation as it lacks a daily drawdown limit, whereas FXIFY imposes a daily loss limit on all accounts.
Automated Trading with EAs
The choice for algorithmic traders is binary when comparing these two providers.
- FTMO Futures: Permits the use of Expert Advisors and algorithmic trading. However, traders must avoid "manipulative automation," high-frequency strategies, or latency arbitrage. Using third-party EAs is risky due to potential "duplicated strategy" violations if other traders use the same software.
- FXIFY Futures: Does not allow EAs or automated trading of any kind. All trades must be executed manually, which excludes any trader relying on NinjaTrader scripts or TradingView alerts to trigger trades automatically.
- Alternative: For FXIFY users, the only "automation" allowed is the use of standard bracket orders (Take Profit/Stop Loss) provided by the platforms.
News Trading
Both firms are relatively permissive regarding trading during high-impact economic releases.
- FTMO Futures: Allows news trading without specific time-window restrictions. This is advantageous for traders who capitalize on the volatility of the NFP or CPI releases in the futures market.
- FXIFY Futures: Also permits news trading. However, traders must be careful with their "Account Rolling" and "All or Nothing" rules, which prohibit using maximum leverage on a single event to hit a profit target in one go.
- Execution Risk: Since both firms use the EOD trailing drawdown, a sharp slippage during a news event could hit the trailing threshold even if the price later recovers before the market close.
Copy Trading
If you manage multiple accounts, both firms offer paths to synchronization, though the hurdles differ.
- FTMO Futures: Allows copy trading between accounts owned by the same person. No prior approval is needed, but copying signals from third parties or other traders is strictly forbidden.
- FXIFY Futures: Permits copying between your own accounts, but it is not enabled by default. You must submit a request for review and provide an HTML trading history of at least 3 months from a master account to prove the strategy is yours.
- Limits: FTMO limits you to 3 concurrent Sim-Funded accounts, while FXIFY allows up to 5 active accounts across evaluation stages.
Swing Trading and Position Holding
The futures market structure at these firms heavily penalizes those who do not close their positions before the day ends.
- Intraday Requirement: Both FTMO Futures and FXIFY Futures prohibit holding positions overnight or through the weekend. All trades must be closed before the daily market halt of the CME.
- Consequences: At FTMO, holding past the close is listed under prohibited strategies. At FXIFY, failing to close positions is a violation of the trading parameters.
- Trader Profile: These firms are exclusively for day traders. If your strategy requires multiple days for a setup to play out, you will find these rules impossible to follow.
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- If you use EAs or Bots: FTMO Futures is your only option, as FXIFY prohibits all forms of automated trading.
- If you are a high-speed scalper: FTMO Futures is better suited for you because it lacks the 10-tick minimum movement and 1-minute minimum duration rules found at FXIFY.
- If you want to skip the evaluation: FXIFY Futures is the choice, as they offer "Straight to Sim Live" accounts for a one-time activation fee, whereas FTMO requires a 1-step evaluation.
- If you want the highest profit split from day one: FTMO Futures offers 90% immediately, while FXIFY starts at 60% and requires five successful payouts to reach 100%.
Frequently asked questions
Which firm is cheaper to start a 50K account, FTMO Futures or FXIFY Futures?
FXIFY Futures is cheaper for the initial purchase, with a Standard 50K account costing $89 per month compared to FTMO’s $119. However, FXIFY requires a $125 activation fee once you pass, while FTMO has no activation fees for its funded phase. If you choose FXIFY's "Straight to Sim Live" to skip the test, the cost is $199.
Can I use Expert Advisors (EAs) on both FTMO Futures and FXIFY Futures?
No, you can only use EAs on FTMO Futures. FTMO allows algorithmic trading as long as it isn't high-frequency or latency arbitrage. FXIFY Futures strictly prohibits the use of any automated trading or EAs, requiring all operations to be executed manually by the trader.
How do the payout schedules compare between FTMO Futures and FXIFY Futures?
FTMO Futures offers payouts "on demand," meaning you can request your profits as soon as you meet the minimum profitable day requirements for that cycle. FXIFY Futures follows a fixed schedule where traders are eligible for withdrawals every 14 calendar days from their first trade in the funded account.
Which firm has stricter consistency rules, FTMO Futures or FXIFY Futures?
FXIFY Futures generally has stricter consistency requirements, with a 20% rule for "Straight to Sim Live" accounts and a 30% rule for Standard accounts. FTMO Futures is more lenient, requiring that no single day exceeds 40% of total profit in its Growth model or 50% in the Pro model during the evaluation phase.
