[September 2026] We Calculated Funded Futures Network (FFN)'s Expected Value: Both Plans Negative at Zero Edge, STEADY Wins With Edge Thanks to Faster Payouts

※ Pricing and rules were confirmed on FFN's official help center (fundedfuturesnetwork.zendesk.com) and pricing page on September 25, 2026. The figures are Monte Carlo simulation results and do not guarantee future performance.

📢 Advertising / affiliate disclosure: This site does not hold an affiliate link with FFN.

TL;DR

• Both plans are negative at zero edge. At 0.30 lots, Standard MAX comes to −$312/year, STEADY to −$516/year
• The cause: on the funded account you can't withdraw a single dollar until you've built a "$2,000 + $500" buffer. Since max loss is also $2,000, many accounts get lost before they ever finish building it
• STEADY wins with edge. It drops the consistency rule after passing and allows daily payouts once conditions are met. At "medium" edge, 0.30 lots nets +$24,104/year
• Under the same conditions, FTMO Futures Pro $50K comes to +$4,836 at zero edge and +$26,306 at "medium"
• Automated trading is "allowed at FFN's discretion." Trading within 1 minute of a major news release triggers forced liquidation and profit forfeiture on a funded account

Pricing and rules (verified September 25, 2026)

Common to all plans:

• There's no separate funded step — you build the buffer directly on the funded-style account itself (the MAX-style structure). A $50K account starts at $50,000, with the max-loss line at $48,000. You can only withdraw once the balance exceeds $52,500
• Payouts are capped at $10,000 per person per request (across all accounts combined). No fees, processed the same day
• Daily flat close is at 4:50 PM ET (5:50 AM JST in summer / 6:50 AM JST in winter). Carrying a position past this is a breach
• The platform is Rithmic-based, with an Onyx or Quantower license included
• Trustpilot 3.8 (493 reviews). Japan is not on the restricted-country list (not among the official 23 restricted countries)

Automated trading and VPS

The official FAQ says "Automated trading is allowed but at the discretion of FFN" — permission comes with management discretion. HFT bots and abusing the sim environment result in loss of account access. Copying the same product simultaneously is allowed up to 5 accounts; exceeding that resets all related accounts.

Trading is banned within 1 minute before/after a major (T1) news release; violating this on a funded account triggers forced liquidation and forfeits profit, with no exceptions. An EA that trades through these windows needs logic to avoid them. We found no stated VPS policy.

Assumptions

Same as the FTMO Futures expected value article.

• One trade per trading day on Micro Gold (MGC). At a 0.6% stop-loss, the loss on 0.10 lots (1 MGC contract) is $262
• Same lot size for the evaluation and funded account. 1 year (252 trading days)
• Since fees aren't published, we assume the same MGC round-trip cost of $1.82 as FTMO
• Standard MAX's monthly fee is the list price of $160 (it's not stated officially whether the DOUBLE50 half-price rate continues on renewal). We assume billing stops once you pass
• Standard MAX is limited to a lot size (up to 0.30) where a single loss stays within the $1,250 daily loss limit
• On failure, reset; if you lose the funded account, buy again
• The "second free evaluation" perk is not factored into the calculation

Result ①: Annual expected value at a fixed 0.30 lots

The number in parentheses is the probability of finishing profitable. "Strong" is a reference point that's realistically rare.

• Both plans are negative at zero edge. Among the 7 futures prop firms we've calculated under the same conditions (0.30 lots) on this site, FFN is the only one where even the best plan comes out negative at zero edge
• With edge, STEADY pulls well ahead. It has no consistency rule after passing, and allows a daily payout for every $500 that clears the buffer
• DOUBLE50's effect is roughly $100/year. The half-price rate only applies to the first purchase — reset fees and re-buys after failing are at full price

Result ②: cash flow (0.30 lots)

At zero edge, the number of times you pass and the number of times you lose the funded account are nearly the same. Against a $2,000 max loss on the funded account, you need +$2,500 to reach a payout. Since losing $2,000 first is the more likely outcome, most passes never turn into money.

Result ③: the best-performing setup

The number in parentheses is the lot size. STEADY has no daily loss limit, so the bigger you size, the higher the expected value climbs. But at 0.70 lots, a single loss is $1,834 — nearly the entire $2,000 max loss. That's a sizing scheme where one loss ends everything, so it isn't a realistic strategy.

Comparison with FTMO Futures and Topstep ($50K, 0.30 lots)

At zero edge, FFN loses badly to both FTMO and Topstep. For someone with real edge, STEADY comes close to matching FTMO Pro and Topstep.

Caveats

• There are inconsistencies within the official materials. The help center lists the activation fee as $120, while the pricing page says "none." The same cheat sheet lists both "resets on every payout" and "best-day rule doesn't reset" for the consistency rule
• STEADY has no dedicated help center article (it's a plan added in July 2026). Its rules come from the "View full details" display on the pricing page, and the 90% split is the figure from the time of its announcement
• Trustpilot has reports of delays on their proprietary Onyx platform and payouts running 2–3 weeks late
• Once you request a payout, you must not trade until the balance reflects it (trading afterward gets the payout rejected)

FAQ

Q. Is FFN worth buying?

If you're not confident in your edge, you're better off choosing another firm. In this calculation, both plans came out negative at zero edge. If you do have edge, STEADY is worth considering.

Q. Which is better, Standard MAX or STEADY?

If you're close to zero edge, Standard MAX has the smaller loss (−$312 vs. −$516). If you have edge, go with STEADY. STEADY has no consistency rule after passing and allows daily payouts.

Q. Should I use DOUBLE50?

There's no downside to using it. But since the half-price rate only applies to the first purchase, it only shifts the annual expected value by about $100.

Reference links (official)

• FFN official site (pricing and DOUBLE50)
• Article 2.3: Standard MAX Accounts — Full Specifications
• Article 4.2: Building Your Buffer
• Article 5.1: How Payouts Work
• Article 11.1: Rules Cheat Sheet
• FFN FAQ (automated trading)

Simulation script: scripts/sim-futures-blusky-ffn-ev.py (engine: scripts/sim-futures-prop-ev.py)

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