FTMO vs The5ers for News Traders (2026): Rules Compared
FTMO vs The5ers for News Traders (2026): The Rules That Actually Matter
If you trade news, NFP, CPI, FOMC, central bank speeches, your prop firm’s rulebook matters more than its profit split. A high split is worthless if your CPI scalp gets disqualified or your account gets terminated for trading the wrong release.
If you are choosing between FTMO and The5ers, the good news is that the two firms have remarkably similar news rules at a headline level. Both block trading inside a 2 minute window around high impact news. The real differences are in the scope of restricted events, how clearly each firm communicates them, and whether either firm offers an unrestricted account variant.
Here is the direct comparison.
The Short Answer
Direct news scalper (opening and closing inside the release): Neither firm allows this on a standard funded account. FTMO Swing is the only realistic option, removing news restrictions entirely in exchange for lower leverage at 1:30.
Pre-positioned swing trader: Both firms work. FTMO’s rule is more clearly scoped, restricted events are named and flagged on a public Economic Calendar. The5ers states the 2 minute rule but does not publish which events count as high impact.
Macro positional trader: Either firm works well. The 100k two-step economics are close enough that the decision should come down to profit split structure, payout cadence, and platform preference rather than the news rules themselves.
How FTMO Handles News Trading
FTMO’s news trading policy depends on the account type and the phase you are in.
Challenge and Verification phases
No news restrictions apply on either the Standard or Swing account during the evaluation phases. You can trade news freely while completing your challenge.
Funded Standard account
A 2 minute window applies before and 2 minutes after a named list of high impact events. You cannot open or close positions, including pending orders, stop losses, or take profits, inside that window. Breaching the rule is treated as a violation of the FTMO Account Agreement.
The published list covers seven currencies plus Crude Oil. USD events include Non-Farm Payrolls, CPI year on year, the Fed Funds Rate, FOMC Minutes, Advance GDP, and the Unemployment Rate. EUR is restricted around the ECB Main Refinancing Rate. GBP is restricted around the Bank Rate and CPI year on year. CAD covers the BOC Rate, CPI, and Employment figures. AUD covers the Cash Rate, CPI, GDP, and Employment. NZD mirrors the AUD restrictions. CHF is restricted around the SNB Policy Rate. Crude Oil is restricted around Inventories data.
The restriction is currency-specific. A USD event restricts USD pairs, gold, US indices, and the Dollar Index, but does not affect EURGBP or AUDNZD. The full list, along with a public Economic Calendar that tags each restricted event, is published on FTMO’s site.
Funded Swing account
No news restrictions apply at any time. In exchange, leverage is capped at 1:30 instead of the standard 1:100. This is FTMO’s direct answer for traders who need genuinely unrestricted news access.
The 4 minute total window on the Standard account is one of the tightest in the industry, and it is broader than most traders assume. Non-USD events on the ECB, Bank of England, and RBA are restricted too, not just US data.
The public calendar removes most of the ambiguity. Swing remains the only path to genuinely unrestricted news trading on FTMO.
How The5ers Handles News Trading
The5ers imposes a 2 minute window on its High Stakes two-step Challenge that mirrors FTMO’s structure: orders cannot be executed from 2 minutes before until 2 minutes after high impact news. Holding open trades through a news release is permitted. Opening or closing a position inside the window is not.
Two differences from FTMO are worth flagging directly.
No published list of restricted events
The5ers refers only to high impact news without naming specific releases or pointing to a calendar source. In practice, this means the safer assumption is to treat all red folder Forex Factory events as restricted, since there is no official list to check against.
A specific bracketing ban
The5ers’ Terms and Conditions separately prohibit a bracketing strategy, defined as opening pending orders around high impact news using buy stops and sell stops placed near price ahead of a release. FTMO’s 2 minute pending-order rule covers similar behaviour but is not called out as a named, defined strategy in the same way.
The day-to-day net effect is similar to FTMO. The real disadvantage is the absence of a published event list, which forces traders into either over-compliance or exposure to discretionary enforcement.
The5ers has no unrestricted account variant equivalent to FTMO Swing.
FTMO vs The5ers News Rules: Side by Side
| Feature | FTMO Standard (Funded) | FTMO Swing (Funded) | The5ers High Stakes (Funded) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Restricted window | 2 min before / 2 min after | None | 2 min before / 2 min after |
| Events covered | Named list across 7 currencies + Crude Oil | None | High impact news, no published list |
| Currency-specific scoping | Yes | N/A | Not specified |
| Public restricted-events calendar | Yes, Economic Calendar marks them | N/A | Not published |
| Bracketing rule | Caught by pending-order rule | N/A | Explicit ban in Terms |
| Evaluation phase rules | No restrictions | No restrictions | 2 minute window appears to apply |
Which Firm Fits Which Type of News Trader?
The print scalper
If your style involves entering inside the candle of a release, neither firm works on a standard funded account. FTMO Swing is the only option of the two, at 1:30 leverage.
The pre-positioned swing trader
If you enter hours or days before a release and exit around it, both firms work, but FTMO is more usable in practice. Currency-specific scoping means a trader holding EURGBP through an NFP release is unaffected on FTMO Standard. On The5ers, the rule is not scoped by currency, so broader avoidance of all major releases is the safer approach.
The macro positional trader
If you hold through CPI, NFP, or FOMC for days or weeks, both firms work well. Both allow holding through news, and both restrict only intraday opening and closing around the window itself. For this trading style, the decision should come down to the underlying economics rather than the news rules.
The 100k Two-Step Challenge: Economics Compared
| Metric | FTMO 100k Challenge (2-Step) | The5ers High Stakes 100k |
|---|---|---|
| Phase 1 / Phase 2 profit target | 10% / 5% | 10% / 5% |
| Max daily loss | 5% (recalculated at midnight CE(S)T) | 5% |
| Max overall loss | 10% (static on 2-Step) | 10% |
| Min trading days | 4 trading days per phase | 3 profitable days |
| Time limit | No maximum | No maximum, but accounts expire after 30 consecutive days of inactivity |
| Consistency rule | Best day no more than 50% of positive-day profit | Not stated; a profitable day requires at least 0.5% of initial balance |
| Profit split | 80% (90% with Scaling Plan or Premium) | 80/20 at $100k; scales to 100% plus fixed payouts at $350k+ |
| Payout schedule | First payout from day 14 after first trade; on demand thereafter | First payout 14 days after receiving funded account; every 2 weeks thereafter; minimum $150 |
| Leverage (FX) | 1:100 (Standard); 1:30 (Swing) | 1:100 |
| Refund policy | Fee may be refunded with first reward | Staged: 10% HUB credits after Phase 1, 20% HUB credits after Phase 2, 70% as withdrawable trading-account credits at the funded stage |
| Challenge fee | $500 | $491 |
The drawdown framework is functionally identical between the two firms. The5ers asks for fewer trading days, three rather than four, but each of those days must be profitable, defined as a closed-trade gain of at least 0.5% of the initial balance. On a $100,000 account, that is a $500 minimum profitable day, which is a meaningfully different requirement to simply being active.
Profit split is closer than the headline figures suggest. Both firms start at 80% at the entry point. FTMO’s overall maximum loss is static on the two-step model, which tends to be more forgiving for traders who are carrying open profits, compared to the trailing drawdown rules common at other firms.
Neither firm imposes a hard time limit to complete the challenge, but The5ers expires accounts after 30 consecutive days of inactivity, which is a relevant factor for lower-frequency or swing-focused traders. The5ers’ refund is staged across the evaluation phases as HUB credits and trading-account credits, rather than a single cash refund of the original fee, which differs meaningfully from FTMO’s approach.
Verdict
FTMO and The5ers have nearly identical news rules on paper. Both apply a 2 minute window, both allow holding through news, and neither restricts news trading during the evaluation phase, explicit on FTMO and implied on The5ers. The real differences come from how each firm scopes and communicates that rule.
FTMO publishes a named event list across seven currencies plus Crude Oil, flags restricted events on a public Economic Calendar, and offers a Swing account with no news restrictions at all. The5ers states the 2 minute rule but does not define which events count, and offers no unrestricted variant. For a rules-driven trader, that clarity gap matters more than the headline rule itself. Knowing precisely which six USD events, which ECB event, and which two GBP events are in scope lets you plan your trading around them with confidence.
On the underlying economics, the two firms are close enough that the news framework should not be the deciding factor for traders who rarely interact with the calendar. Profit split favours FTMO slightly at entry level, with a defined path to 90%, and favours The5ers at higher account balances. Both firms have operated since 2015 to 2016 and both publish payout records.
Read each firm’s actual published policy, paper trade through one full news cycle under those rules, and confirm your trading style fits the consequence model before paying a challenge fee.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can you trade news on FTMO?
Yes, with conditions. The Challenge and Verification phases have no news restrictions at all. On a funded Standard account, you cannot open or close positions within 2 minutes before or after a defined list of high impact events covering USD, EUR, GBP, CAD, AUD, NZD, CHF, and Crude Oil. The restriction is currency-specific. The FTMO Swing account has no news restrictions at any time, with leverage capped at 1:30.
Does The5ers allow news trading?
Partially. The5ers’ High Stakes Challenge prohibits executing orders within 2 minutes before or after high impact news. Holding open trades through a release is permitted. The5ers does not publish a list of which events count, so traders generally treat red folder Forex Factory events as in scope. The Terms separately prohibit a bracketing strategy.
Is FTMO or The5ers better for news traders?
The two firms are functionally similar, both block a 2 minute window around high impact news. FTMO offers more clarity through named events and a public calendar, plus an unrestricted account variant in Swing. The5ers offers no equivalent option. If your strategy requires opening or closing positions inside the news window itself, FTMO Swing is the only viable choice between the two.
What is the FTMO news trading rule exactly?
On a funded FTMO Standard account, you may not open or close positions, including stop losses, take profits, or pending orders, within 2 minutes before or after listed high impact events across seven currencies and Crude Oil. The full list is published in the FTMO FAQ, and restricted events are tagged on FTMO’s public Economic Calendar. The rule does not apply during the Challenge or Verification phases, and does not apply to the FTMO Swing account.
Last updated 8 May 2026. Rules change regularly. Always verify against each firm’s current published documentation before purchasing a challenge. Published by Propify. This article is for educational purposes only and does not constitute financial advice.
