Scaling plans and their math
Walk through how scaling plans work, what consistency thresholds unlock, and what realistic income looks like at each tier.
Lesson path
Futures, Indices, and Commodities
Prop Firms — Honest Take
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Walk through how scaling plans work, what consistency thresholds unlock, and what realistic income looks like at each tier.
From $25k to $200k — but slower than the ads
Once you pass an evaluation, you get a funded account. The standard tiers in 2026 are $25k, $50k, $100k, and $200k of simulated buying power, though some firms now offer larger tiers up to $400k. The fee for the evaluation scales with the size — a $25k evaluation might cost $100-150, while a $200k evaluation runs $500-700. The math: bigger account, bigger drawdown buffer (since drawdown is a percentage), bigger potential profit splits, but also a bigger evaluation fee to risk.
Scaling plans are how some firms reward sustained performance. The typical structure: hit certain profit and consistency milestones across several months and your account size doubles or your drawdown buffer expands. So a $50k trader who runs clean for three months might unlock a $100k tier. The catch — many firms don't actually auto-scale. Instead, they sell you a bigger evaluation at a discount. Read your specific firm's scaling plan carefully because 'scaling' means different things at different firms.
Let's run real numbers. You pass a $50k evaluation for $300. First month funded, you do 4 percent — that's $2,000. At 80/20, you keep $1,600. Subtract the $300 evaluation fee from month one, net is $1,300. Month two, 3 percent — $1,500 gross, $1,200 to you. Month three, drawdown violation, account terminated. You re-buy the evaluation for $300. Net of three months: $2,500 minus a new evaluation cost. That's the honest math. Not a salary. Not nothing either.
Some firms let you run multiple funded accounts in parallel — three $50k accounts, for example. That looks like scaling on paper. The risk: drawdown rules apply per account, so a bad day across correlated trades can take out all three at once. Multi-account plans amplify both upside and ruin. Treat them as a separate skill that requires having mastered single-account discipline first.
Recap: standard tiers run $25k to $200k. Scaling plans usually require milestones or just discount bigger evaluations. Realistic monthly returns are 3 to 5 percent. After evaluation fees and account losses, the long-run math is real but modest. Multi-account plans amplify everything.
Knowledge check
Answer before moving on.
1. You pass a $50k evaluation and earn 4 percent in your first funded month. At an 80/20 split, what do you take home before evaluation fees?
2. A firm advertises 'scaling to $200k' but the small print says you need three months of clean trading then can buy a discounted $200k evaluation. Is this real scaling?
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