FTMO's Scaling Plan adds 25% of your starting balance to an FTMO Account every 4 months, up to $2,000,000 across all your FTMO Accounts. It applies to accounts from the 1-Step or 2-Step, and the Instant Account is excluded. Each scale-up needs 4 months under the same order, at least 10% net profit and 2 processed Rewards in that window, and a positive balance. On the 2-Step the split also rises from 80% to 90%.
What are the FTMO Scaling Plan requirements?
Five, and all of them must hold at the scale-up. FTMO's wording, with what each one asks of you:
| Condition | FTMO's wording | In practice |
|---|---|---|
| Account | "An FTMO Account obtained by passing the 1-Step or 2-Step FTMO Challenge" | The Instant Account is excluded by name |
| Time | "Minimum of 4 months trading as an FTMO Trader (or since the last scale-up) under the same order" | The months carry over from one Reward's account to the next |
| Profit | "At least 10% net simulated profit above the starting balance, generated within the prior 4 months" | $10,000 on $100,000, losing months included |
| Rewards | "At least 2 processed Rewards within that same 4-month period" | Rewards FTMO has processed, inside the same window |
| Balance | "Positive account balance at the time of scale-up" | Not defined; the check reads it as above the starting balance |
And by account type:
| Account | Can it scale? | Reward split before and after |
|---|---|---|
| From the 2-Step | Yes | 80%, then 90% |
| From the 1-Step | Yes | 90%, unchanged |
| FTMO Instant Account | No | 90% |
| FTMO Futures | A different plan: more contracts, below | 90/10 |
Sources: Reward Growth and Scaling Plan, How do I withdraw my reward?, checked 2026-10-18.
Check whether your FTMO account scales
Not yet: one condition to go
Needs $2,000 more net profit. Then $100,000 becomes $125,000, and the split moves from 80% to 90%.
- 2-Step account: met. Covered: an FTMO Account from the 1-Step or 2-Step.
- 4 months: met. 4 months under this order.
- 10% net profit: not met. Net $8,000 of the $10,000 it needs (10% of $100,000): $2,000 more.
- 2 processed Rewards: met. 2 Rewards processed in the window.
- Positive balance: met. Closed balance $2,500 above the start.
- $2,000,000 cap: met. $1,900,000 of room under the cap.
When it scales
| Item | Now | After |
|---|---|---|
| Account size | $100,000 | $125,000 |
| Maximum Daily Loss | $5,000 | $6,250 |
| Maximum Loss | $10,000 | $12,500 |
| Reward split | 80% | 90% |
From there the $2,000,000 cap is 75 more scale-ups away, at least 300 months if every window qualifies.
The $2,000,000 cap counts all your FTMO Accounts together.
Starts on an invented $100,000 2-Step account in its fourth month. The conditions are FTMO's, read on 2026-10-18; where its pages leave a gap, the check takes the stricter reading. It reads what you enter, not your Account MetriX, which is the source of truth.
It opens on an invented $100,000 2-Step account in its fourth month: +$4,000, −$1,500, +$3,000 and +$2,500, two Rewards processed, and a balance $2,500 above the start. Four of the five conditions hold. The months net $8,000, 8% of the starting balance, so the check reads "Not yet" and asks for $2,000 more. Pick Instant and nothing you enter changes the answer.
How does the FTMO Scaling Plan work?
The window is 4 months as an FTMO Trader under one order, or 4 months since the last scale-up. If that window made at least 10% net profit with 2 processed Rewards, the account grows by a quarter of its starting balance, and the next window starts.
- The order carries the clock. After a Reward "you get a new account" (account changes), but the Scaling Plan counts months "under the same order", so a Reward doesn't restart it.
- Net means a losing month counts. A −$1,500 month comes off the total. FTMO counts profit "generated within the prior 4 months", so we add every month's closed P/L, whether you withdrew it as a Reward or not. That's our reading: FTMO doesn't say how withdrawn Rewards count.
- Before the split, by our reading. FTMO pays a Reward "according to 80% of the simulated profit", so "simulated profit" is the figure before the split, and we read the 10% of "net simulated profit" the same way.
- Two Rewards fit the window. The first can be requested on the 14th day after the first trade on an FTMO Account, so a 4-month window has room for several. Each one still has to clear its own rules: see our FTMO payout rules.
- The balance on the day. The Maximum Loss ends an account long before its balance could reach zero, so we read "positive" as a closed balance above the start, and the check does the same. FTMO doesn't define it.
Sources: Reward Growth and Scaling Plan, How do I withdraw my reward?, checked 2026-10-18.
How much does each scale-up add, and what is the maximum?
A quarter of the starting balance, every time, up to "$2,000,000 (across all your FTMO Accounts)". FTMO's own growth path starts at $400,000, "for example, by merging two 2-Step $200,000 accounts":
| Elapsed time | Initial balance | Maximum Daily Loss | Maximum Loss |
|---|---|---|---|
| 0 months | $400,000 | $20,000 | $40,000 |
| 4 months | $500,000 | $25,000 | $50,000 |
| 8 months | $600,000 | $30,000 | $60,000 |
| 12 months | $700,000 | $35,000 | $70,000 |
| 16 months | $800,000 | $40,000 | $80,000 |
| Up to | $2,000,000 | $100,000 | $200,000 |
Each step is $100,000, a quarter of the original $400,000. By the second step that's 20% of the size before it, so the growth is linear.
How far the cap is, by our arithmetic, if every window qualifies and the steps stay a quarter of the start as in FTMO's table:
| Starting size | Each scale-up adds | After 12 months | Scale-ups to $2,000,000 | Months, at the fastest |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| $100,000 | $25,000 | $175,000 | 76 | 304 |
| $200,000 | $50,000 | $350,000 | 36 | 144 |
| $400,000 | $100,000 | $700,000 | 16 | 64 |
From one $100,000 account the cap is more than 25 years of qualifying windows away. A bigger start gets there sooner, and FTMO's own example gets its start by merging. Merging takes FTMO Accounts that are unused, in the same base currency and from the same product. A used account qualifies once you withdraw its Reward, the merged account gets "correspondingly adjusted drawdown limits", and "the merge is irreversible". What you can hold in total is capped at "$400,000 per trader or strategy (prior to any scaling)", or €320,000, £280,000, CAD 480,000 or AUD 520,000 in other base currencies, and the cap rises with the Premium Programme.
Sources: Reward Growth and Scaling Plan, Can I merge my accounts?, How many accounts can I have?, checked 2026-10-18.
Does scaling give you FTMO's 90% split?
On the 2-Step, yes. "By default, you receive a Reward according to 80% of the simulated profit. If the Scaling Plan or Premium Programme conditions are met, the Reward Ratio is increased to 90%." The Scaling Plan page marks its 90% "(valid for 2-Step only)". The 1-Step and the Instant Account pay 90% from the start.
The Premium Programme is the other route to 90%. FTMO calls the two "separate and independent programmes" that you "may participate in" at the same time, and "Neither programme is available for the FTMO Instant Account product." Prime, its first level, asks for at least 4 successful Reward withdrawals of 4% or more and no failed FTMO Account in the past four months, and raises the maximum capital allocation to $600,000.
Sources: How do I withdraw my reward?, Is the Premium Programme compatible with the Scaling Plan?, Premium Programme, checked 2026-10-18.
What happens to the loss limits when you scale?
They grow with the account. In FTMO's growth path the Maximum Daily Loss and Maximum Loss are 5% and 10% of each new size, the 2-Step's percentages. FTMO publishes no 1-Step example. Its Trading Objectives set the 1-Step's amounts at 3% and 10% "of the Initial Simulated Capital", and the growth path calls the scaled size the "Initial balance", so we'd expect the 1-Step's amounts to scale the same way. That's our reading; confirm it with FTMO.
One scale-up from $100,000:
| After one scale-up | 2-Step | 1-Step |
|---|---|---|
| Account size | $125,000 | $125,000 |
| Maximum Daily Loss amount | $6,250 | $3,750, our reading |
| Maximum Loss amount | $12,500 | $12,500, our reading |
| Reward split | 90% | 90% |
The 2-Step column applies the percentages of FTMO's example. The 2-Step's Maximum Loss is static and the 1-Step's trails, and FTMO doesn't say a scale-up changes either.
Sources: Reward Growth and Scaling Plan, Trading Objectives, checked 2026-10-18.
A worked example on an invented account
An invented $100,000 2-Step account, its first four months as an FTMO Trader on one order:
| Month (invented) | Net closed P/L | Running net | Rewards processed so far |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | +$4,000 | $4,000 | 1 |
| 2 | −$1,500 | $2,500 | 1 |
| 3 | +$3,000 | $5,500 | 2 |
| 4 | +$2,500 | $8,000 | 2 |
Four months under one order, 2 Rewards, and a balance $2,500 above the start after the second Reward cover four of the five conditions. The fifth fails: $8,000 is 8% of $100,000, $2,000 short of the $10,000 FTMO asks for. Had month 4 made +$4,500 instead, the running net would be exactly $10,000, and the account would grow to $125,000 with its split at 90%.
On a $100,000 account, each window that clears 10% adds $25,000, whatever the size has reached.FTMO Futures has its own Scaling Plan
FTMO Futures uses the name for something else. A Sim-Funded Account's Max Contracts limit "can increase through the Scaling Plan": "each time your end-of-day (EOD) Profit above the Initial Simulated Capital reaches a defined threshold, your Max Contracts limit adjusts by a set amount." The steps are the same on Growth and Pro:
| End-of-day profit above the start | 50K | 100K | 150K |
|---|---|---|---|
| $0–$999 | 2 | 4 | 6 |
| $1,000–$1,999 | 3 | 5 | 8 |
| $2,000–$2,999 | 5 | 8 | 10 |
| $3,000–$4,499 | 5 | 10 | 12 |
| $4,500+ | 5 | 10 | 15 |
Contracts are minis or standard; micros are ten times the number. It moves both ways. FTMO's example: a $50,000 account closes at $53,000, and its limit is 5 contracts from the next trading day; if it closes back at $50,000, the limit is back to 2 the trading day after. FTMO's trading day ends at 4:10 p.m. ET: 20:10 UTC in US summer time, 21:10 UTC in winter, and 9:10 p.m. in London (8:10 p.m. in the few weeks a year when only one side has changed its clocks).
Sources: Futures Trading Objectives & Rules, checked 2026-10-18.
Where do FTMO's own pages disagree?
- A 25% boost of what? The Scaling Plan page says "Get a 25% boost to your FTMO Account balance every 4 months". Its growth path adds a flat $100,000 a step, 25% of the original balance, and only 20% of $500,000 at the second step. The check follows the table.
- Initial capital past $400,000. The FTMO Challenge Terms and Conditions (clause 6.4) close the FTMO Trader Program to anyone an account would take past "USD 400,000 ... as the maximum total sum of the Initial Simulated Capital". The growth path's "Initial balance" column runs to $2,000,000. The accounts FAQ squares the two: the $400,000 applies "prior to any scaling". The terms don't mention the Scaling Plan at all.
Not published
- What "positive account balance" means. The check takes the stricter reading, a closed balance above the starting balance.
- Whether the 10% after a scale-up is measured on the original or the scaled balance. The check uses the scaled one, the larger.
- Whether the 10% counts profit before or after the split, how Rewards you've already withdrawn count toward it, and whether a rolled-over 2-Step Reward counts as a processed Reward. The check adds every month's closed P/L.
- Whether a scale-up happens by itself or on request, and on which day.
- The $2,000,000 cap in other base currencies. FTMO gives equivalents only for the $400,000 allocation.
- A 1-Step growth path, and whether the Swing account type scales the same way; the Scaling Plan page doesn't mention it.
- How the cap sits with Prime's $600,000 and Supreme's $1M allocations.
- The FTMO Account Terms and Conditions, which govern the FTMO Account. They aren't on FTMO's site.
Where we sit
We're not affiliated with FTMO and earn nothing if you buy from it. We sell the Prop Firm Challenge Toolkit, a TradingView indicator that tracks daily-loss, drawdown and target buffers in dollars from the rule numbers you enter, a scaled size included. FTMO's Account MetriX is the source of truth. More firms on the prop firms hub.
Sources and their last edits
Each page was read on 2026-10-18. Dates are each page's own last-modified stamp.
- Reward Growth and Scaling Plan, 2026-10-14; FTMO US Scaling Plan, 2026-10-15.
- How do I withdraw my reward?, 2026-10-13; Trading Objectives, 2026-10-12; Premium Programme, 2026-10-12.
- Can I merge my accounts?, 2026-10-11; Is the Premium Programme compatible with the Scaling Plan?, 2026-10-09; account changes, 2026-10-09; How many accounts can I have?, 2026-09-30.
- Futures Trading Objectives & Rules, 2026-10-14; FTMO Challenge Terms and Conditions, the Global PDF's own date 2026-10-12.
Disclosure
The check and the worked example use invented accounts and FTMO's published rules; the arithmetic on how far the cap is assumes every window qualifies. Neither is a forecast, and neither says whether an FTMO account is worth buying. FTMO decides a scale-up, not this page. If a number here no longer matches FTMO's pages, email support@pulltrade.app and we'll correct it in public.
Frequently asked questions
How does the FTMO Scaling Plan work?
Every 4 months, an FTMO Account from the 1-Step or 2-Step grows by 25% of its starting balance if, in that window, it made at least 10% net profit and had at least 2 Rewards processed, and its balance is positive at the scale-up. It can repeat up to $2,000,000 across all your FTMO Accounts.
What are the FTMO Scaling Plan requirements?
Five, all at once: an FTMO Account from the 1-Step or 2-Step; at least 4 months as an FTMO Trader under the same order, or since the last scale-up; at least 10% net profit above the starting balance in those 4 months; at least 2 processed Rewards in the same window; and a positive balance at the scale-up.
Does the FTMO Scaling Plan apply to the 1-Step?
Yes. FTMO's Scaling Plan page names FTMO Accounts obtained by passing the 1-Step or the 2-Step FTMO Challenge and excludes the FTMO Instant Account. The 1-Step already pays a 90% split, so there a scale-up adds size and leaves the split where it is.
How much does an FTMO account grow when it scales?
By 25% of the starting balance each time, not of the size before it. FTMO's own example starts at $400,000 and adds $100,000 a step: $500,000 at 4 months, $600,000 at 8, $700,000 at 12 and $800,000 at 16. On a $100,000 account each step adds $25,000.
What is the maximum account size on the FTMO Scaling Plan?
$2,000,000, across all your FTMO Accounts. At a quarter of the start per step, a $100,000 account needs 76 scale-ups to get there, at least 304 months by our arithmetic. FTMO's $400,000 example needs 16, at least 64 months.
Does the FTMO Scaling Plan raise the profit split to 90%?
On accounts from the 2-Step, yes: the Reward Ratio goes from 80% to 90% once the Scaling Plan or Premium Programme conditions are met. The 1-Step and the Instant Account pay 90% from the start, and the Instant Account can't scale.
Do the loss limits change when an FTMO account scales?
They grow with it. In FTMO's example the Maximum Daily Loss and Maximum Loss are 5% and 10% of each new size: $20,000 and $40,000 at $400,000, then $25,000 and $50,000 at $500,000. FTMO publishes no 1-Step example; its 3% and 10% would give $3,750 and $12,500 on $125,000, by our reading.
Does FTMO Futures have a Scaling Plan?
Yes, a different one. A Sim-Funded Account's Max Contracts limit is set by bands of end-of-day profit above the start, from $1,000 up to $4,500, and drops back when the profit does. A 50K account goes from 2 to 5 contracts, a 150K account from 6 to 15.
