A scaling plan is a prop firm's published policy for increasing a funded trader's account size over time, based on consistent profitability. Most firms scale account balance up by 25-40% every four months provided the trader has been profitable in at least two of those four months and has met a minimum profit threshold (often 10% cumulative). The drawdown rules typically scale with the new balance.
Scaling plans exist because firms want to retain consistent traders without taking on the risk of giving a $2M account to someone who has only proven themselves on $100K. They also incentivize patience — a trader who hits a moderate target every month for a year ends up with a much larger account than a trader who blows up chasing big returns.
Worked example
You pass a $100,000 FTMO challenge and receive a funded account. Over four months you make 4%, 6%, 2%, and 5% — averaging above the 10% cumulative threshold with two profitable months above the firm's minimum. FTMO scales your account by 25% to $125,000. Four months later, hitting the same criteria, it scales to $156,250. After a year, your account has grown by ~95% with no additional capital risk to you.
Why it matters
A scaling plan converts consistency into compounding income. A trader making 5% a month on a scaled account significantly outearns a trader making 15% a month who keeps blowing accounts. The math heavily favors discipline. See payout for how scaling interacts with monthly cash flow.
Common pitfalls
- Assuming all scaling plans are automatic — some require requesting a scale, and some only scale on profit, not initial balance.
- Sacrificing a scale-up by overtrading in month four to "make up" a slow month.
- Scaling to an account size that exceeds the trader's psychological comfort, leading to position-sizing errors.