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The5ers vs FTMO Overnight and Weekend Trading Rules: What Swing Traders Need to Know in 2026

The5ers vs FTMO overnight and weekend trading rules in 2026: compare swing trading, holding limits, swaps, news rules and account restrictions.

October 2, 202612 min read

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Riddhika Chakrabarti
The5ers vs FTMO Overnight and Weekend Trading Rules: What Swing Traders Need to Know in 2026

The5ers vs FTMO Overnight and Weekend Trading Rules: What Swing Traders Need to Know in 2026

A profitable swing trade can take days or weeks to develop. That creates a practical problem for prop firm traders: What happens if the position is still open when the market closes for the weekend?

The answer is not the same across every prop firm or every account type.

In 2026, The5ers and FTMO take different approaches to overnight and weekend trading. The5ers' main CFD programs allow traders to hold positions overnight and over the weekend, while its Futures products have separate rules. FTMO allows overnight and weekend holding during its evaluation process, but restrictions apply to funded Standard accounts. Its dedicated Swing account removes those restrictions.

For traders who use higher-timeframe setups, this distinction can affect everything from strategy design and position sizing to gap risk, swaps and account selection.

Can You Hold Positions Overnight and Over the Weekend at The5ers and FTMO?

What is the short answer for The5ers CFD programs, FTMO Standard accounts and FTMO Swing accounts?

The short answer is: The5ers CFD programs generally allow overnight and weekend positions, FTMO Standard funded accounts do not, and FTMO Swing accounts do.

Account/programOvernight holdingWeekend holdingImportant condition
The5ers Hyper GrowthYesYesWeekend swaps can apply
The5ers Pro GrowthYesYesProgram risk rules still apply
The5ers High StakesYesYesNews-execution restrictions still apply
The5ers BootcampYesYesIndices can carry high weekend swaps
The5ers Futures Day TradeNoNoPositions must be closed before market close
The5ers Futures SwingLimitedNoOne mini or 10 micros may be held overnight
FTMO Standard - EvaluationYesYesRestrictions begin after funding
FTMO Standard - FTMO AccountRestrictedRestrictedPositions must be closed before applicable weekend/rollover deadlines
FTMO Swing - FTMO AccountYesYesNo overnight/weekend restriction

The most important distinction is between evaluation rules and funded-account rules.

The5ers' CFD programs are generally designed to permit longer-duration positions. FTMO takes a different approach by allowing flexibility during the Challenge and Verification stages but applying Standard-account restrictions once the trader reaches an FTMO Account.

FTMO Swing is specifically designed for traders who need to maintain positions through overnight and weekend periods.

Why do overnight and weekend rules depend on program, account type and evaluation stage?

Because a prop firm does not necessarily use one trading rulebook for every product.

At The5ers, the CFD programs and Futures programs have different structures. A trader using Hyper Growth cannot simply assume that the Futures Day Trade account follows the same holding rules.

At FTMO, the account type is particularly important. During the Challenge and Verification stages, overnight and weekend restrictions do not apply. Once a trader becomes an FTMO Trader, the Standard account introduces closing requirements, while Swing remains unrestricted for overnight and weekend holding.

Related Read: https://propfirmsinsider.com/guides/the5ers-overnight-and-weekend-trading-guide-which-programs-let-you-hold-positions

This creates a useful pre-purchase rule:

Never check only whether a firm "allows swing trading." Check the exact program, account type and stage.

A trader can otherwise pass an evaluation using a strategy that is perfectly acceptable during the Challenge and then discover that the funded Standard account requires positions to be closed around the weekend.

Always verify the latest rules before purchasing because holding conditions can change independently of the firm's broader evaluation structure.

How Does The5ers Handle Overnight and Weekend Holding on Its CFD Programs?

Are overnight and weekend positions allowed on Hyper Growth, High Stakes, Pro Growth and Bootcamp?

Yes. The current The5ers information allows overnight and weekend holding across its main CFD programs.

Hyper Growth explicitly permits weekend holding and also notes that indices can carry high swap costs over the weekend.

High Stakes currently states that overnight and weekend actions are allowed. Its published rules also allow traders to hold positions through news, although executing orders around selected high-impact releases is restricted.

Pro Growth is part of The5ers' current Growth offering, which states that holding open trades over the weekend is allowed.

Bootcamp also permits overnight and weekend positions. The current Bootcamp FAQ specifically warns that holding indices over the weekend carries very high swaps.

This is particularly relevant to swing traders because the permission to hold a position does not eliminate the financial and risk consequences of doing so.

A trader holding EUR/USD through Friday's close may face a very different risk profile from someone holding an index CFD through the weekend.

The key considerations include:

  • ●Weekend gaps
  • ●Wider spreads around reopening
  • ●Swap or financing costs
  • ●Reduced liquidity
  • ●News events
  • ●Correlation between open positions
  • ●Available drawdown
  • ●Position size

The5ers' relatively flexible holding structure can therefore be useful for traders whose strategies naturally require several days of market exposure. But flexibility should not be confused with lower risk.

Related Read: https://propfirmsinsider.com/guides/prop-firms-that-allow-overnight-trading-in-2026-the5ers-ftmo-fundednext-fundingpips-ftm-compared

How do drawdown mechanics and the daily loss rule apply to positions held through gaps?

An overnight position remains exposed to the firm's account-level risk rules.

That means a trader cannot treat the weekend as a pause in risk management.

For example, Hyper Growth currently has a 3% daily pause. The5ers explains that this is a protective pause rather than an account termination: when the daily threshold is reached, open trades are closed and the account remains disabled until the next trading day.

Hyper Growth also has a 6% stop-out level measured against the initial account size.

Pro Growth has a similar displayed 3% daily-loss figure, but its account consequences differ from Hyper Growth. High Stakes has its own 5% maximum daily loss and 10% maximum loss framework.

The lesson for swing traders is important:

A weekend gap can affect equity before a trader has an opportunity to react.

Consider an illustrative $50,000 account with a $3,000 available loss buffer. If an open position loses $1,500 when the market reopens after a weekend gap, half of that buffer has disappeared before the trader can manually close the position.

The exact effect depends on the instrument, position size, spread and account rules. The example is purely illustrative.

This is also where scaling becomes relevant.

A trader who has reached a larger funded account through The5ers' scaling system may have a larger nominal position size available, but the underlying risk limits still matter. Bigger account numbers should not automatically lead to proportionally larger weekend exposure.

What Are the Overnight and Weekend Rules for The5ers Futures Day Trade and Swing Programs?

What must Day Trade and Swing futures accounts do before the daily close?

The5ers Futures is different from its CFD programs.

The current Futures rules divide the offering into Day Trade and Swing.

For Day Trade, overnight holding is not permitted. Traders must manually close positions and cancel pending orders at least 10 minutes before the market close. The current FAQ gives the cutoff as 4:50 PM CET.

For Swing, limited overnight holding is permitted. The current rule allows one mini contract or 10 micro contracts to remain open overnight. Larger positions must be closed at least 10 minutes before market close.

This creates an important distinction:

The5ers allows broad weekend holding on its CFD programs, but its Futures Swing product does not allow weekend holding.

That difference is easy to miss if a trader searches only for "The5ers overnight trading."

The product category matters.

Is weekend holding allowed on The5ers Futures?

No.

The current Futures FAQ states that neither Day Trade nor Swing allows weekend holding.

All positions must be closed at least 10 minutes before the Friday close.

The reason this structure differs from The5ers CFDs is partly related to the nature of Futures markets, where exchange sessions, daily settlement processes and scheduled maintenance periods create different trading conditions.

The current Futures rules also include a 4% end-of-day maximum daily loss and a separate 2.5% daily drawdown for the $100K and $150K account variants.

The5ers Futures also uses a 40% per-position consistency rule, meaning a single trade cannot represent more than 40% of total profits for the relevant calculation.

These are separate from the overnight rule, but they demonstrate why Futures traders should read the Futures rulebook independently rather than importing assumptions from The5ers' CFD products.

Related Read: https://propfirmsinsider.com/guides/can-you-hold-trades-over-the-weekend-with-the5ers-in-2026-weekend-holding-rules-explained

How Do FTMO Standard and Swing Accounts Differ on Overnight and Weekend Trading?

When do FTMO's closing requirements apply on a Standard account?

FTMO's current rule is more specific than simply saying "FTMO does not allow overnight trading."

During the Evaluation Process, traders can keep positions open overnight and over the weekend. This applies to both the 1-Step Challenge and the 2-Step Challenge/Verification structure.

The restriction begins after the trader becomes an FTMO Trader and starts trading on an FTMO Account with the Standard account type.

At that point, positions generally need to be closed shortly before the weekend market close or when a market rollover break lasts longer than two hours.

The exact trading hours can vary by instrument, holiday and market conditions.

This distinction matters for traders comparing prop firms because a strategy can behave differently between the evaluation and funded stages.

Imagine a trader who normally holds GBP/USD from Thursday through Monday.

During an FTMO evaluation, that behaviour is permitted.

If the trader subsequently receives a Standard FTMO Account, the same routine may no longer comply with the account's weekend rules.

That is why traders should test their intended strategy against the funded-account rules, not just the evaluation rules.

What does the FTMO Swing account allow, and what are the trade-offs?

The FTMO Swing account is specifically designed for longer-duration trading.

FTMO states that the Swing account has no restrictions on overnight or weekend holding and no restrictions on trading around news releases.

There is an important purchasing condition, however.

The Swing account type is available through the FTMO Challenge: 2-Step. Traders select Swing when configuring the 2-Step Challenge.

If a trader purchases a Standard account, FTMO states that it cannot later be changed into Swing.

Swing also comes with different leverage parameters. FTMO's current account specifications list leverage of up to 1:30 for Swing compared with up to 1:100 for Standard accounts, although the exact leverage applied can depend on the instrument and current specifications.

That creates a genuine trade-off for traders.

A swing trader may value the freedom to maintain a position through a weekend more than the higher leverage available on a Standard account.

The correct choice depends on the strategy rather than the headline leverage number.

How Do Swaps, Gaps and News Events Affect Positions Held Overnight?

How do overnight swaps, rollover costs and weekend gaps affect prop firm trading?

Being allowed to hold a position overnight does not mean holding it is cost-free.

Three factors deserve attention:

Swap or financing: Some CFD positions incur overnight financing charges.

Weekend gaps: The market can reopen materially above or below Friday's closing price.

Liquidity and spreads: Trading conditions can change around market reopenings.

Consider an illustrative example.

A trader opens a position with a notional exposure of $50,000 and plans to hold it through Friday.

Suppose the position is profitable by $300 before the market closes. Over the weekend, the underlying market gaps against the trader by 0.8%.

The gross gap effect on a simplified $50,000 exposure would be approximately:

$50,000 × 0.8% = $400

The trader could therefore move from a $300 unrealized gain to roughly a $100 loss before considering spread or financing effects.

This is not a prediction of actual execution. It is simply an illustration of why position size matters when holding through a market closure.

For traders using The5ers, the firm's own pages specifically warn about high weekend swaps on indices.

FTMO traders should likewise review the instrument specification for the exact symbol being traded because swap rates and trading hours vary by instrument.

Internal-link opportunity: This section is a natural place to link to a Prop Firm Insider article on swap-free prop firm accounts and another article explaining CFD rollover charges.

How do news trading rules interact with holding positions at each firm?

Overnight holding and news trading are related, but they are not the same rule.

The5ers generally allows traders to hold positions through news on its CFD programs, although restrictions can apply to executing orders around high-impact releases.

For example, High Stakes currently restricts opening or closing trades around selected high-impact news within the specified two-minute window. Holding an existing position through the release is different from executing an order during the restricted period.

FTMO also distinguishes between Standard and Swing accounts.

Its current rules state that selected news restrictions apply to Standard FTMO Accounts. They do not apply during the Evaluation Process, and the Swing account is exempt from those news restrictions.

For Standard accounts, the restricted window covers two minutes before through two minutes after selected releases for targeted instruments. A stop-loss or take-profit execution inside the restricted window can also count as an execution.

This is important for swing traders.

A position opened several hours before CPI may be legal to hold, while an automatic stop-loss that executes during the restricted news window can create a rule issue on a Standard FTMO Account.

That is a very different concept from simply saying "news trading is prohibited."

Which Approach Fits Which Trading Style, and Where Can You Verify Current Rules?

Which trader profiles may prefer overnight-friendly structures, and which prefer intraday rules?

Different strategies create different requirements.

Trading styleKey requirement
Scalping/intradayFast execution and no need for overnight exposure
Day tradingPositions normally closed before the daily session ends
Swing tradingAbility to hold positions for multiple days
News/fundamental tradingAbility to maintain positions through major releases
Higher-timeframe technical tradingOvernight and weekend flexibility
Futures day tradingStrict daily close discipline
Futures swing tradingLimited overnight capacity without weekend holding

A trader using a four-hour or daily chart may consider weekend holding essential.

A trader who closes every position before the New York session ends may not care about the difference between Standard and Swing.

For The5ers, the choice can also involve CFD versus Futures.

A trader who wants broad weekend flexibility may find the CFD programs structurally different from the Futures products.

For FTMO, the decision is more directly tied to Standard versus Swing.

The key is to start with the trading method and work backward to the account.

Where should traders confirm current holding rules before choosing an account type?

The safest process is to check the firm's official rules immediately before purchase.

Use this checklist:

  1. ●Identify the exact program.
  2. ●Check whether it is CFD or Futures.
  3. ●Check whether it is Standard or Swing.
  4. ●Check whether the rule applies during evaluation, funded trading, or both.
  5. ●Check weekend closing times for the instruments you trade.
  6. ●Check overnight swap charges.
  7. ●Check news-execution restrictions.
  8. ●Check maximum daily loss and overall drawdown.
  9. ●Check whether automatic stop-loss or take-profit executions can create restrictions.
  10. ●Recheck the rules immediately before purchasing.

This is particularly important for The5ers Futures because its 2026 Futures rules distinguish Day Trade and Swing accounts.

It is equally important for FTMO because the distinction between Evaluation, Standard FTMO Account and Swing FTMO Account changes the overnight, weekend and news framework.

Summary

The The5ers vs FTMO overnight and weekend trading rules comparison is primarily about account structure.

The5ers' main CFD programs provide considerable flexibility for traders who want to hold positions overnight and through weekends. Hyper Growth, Pro Growth, High Stakes and Bootcamp all publish weekend-holding provisions, although their risk and news rules differ.

The5ers Futures is different. Day Trade requires positions to be closed before the daily market close, while Swing allows limited overnight exposure but does not permit weekend holding.

FTMO separates its rules through account type. During the evaluation, overnight and weekend holding is allowed. Once funded, Standard accounts have closing restrictions, while the dedicated Swing account permits overnight and weekend positions and is designed specifically for longer-duration strategies.

For a trader choosing between these structures, the most useful question is not simply "Which prop firm allows swing trading?"

Ask instead:

Can this exact account hold my strategy through the periods when I need it open?

Then check swaps, gap exposure, news rules, drawdown mechanics and leverage before purchasing.

For more prop firm comparisons, swing-trading guides, risk-rule explainers and trader education, explore Prop Firm Insider.

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The5ers vs FTMO Overnight and Weekend Trading Rules: What Swing Traders Need to Know in 2026 FAQ