Most articles list firms by “scaling plan” without explaining that the structure varies significantly. There are three distinct models in use right now. Which one fits you depends on your risk tolerance and capital target, not just the headline number.

1. Doubling Model

Each milestone doubles the account size. Hit 10% profit on the funded account, get paid, and the next level is 2x the previous capital. FTUK and Instant Funding use this model. It is the fastest path to large capital in absolute terms, but the jump from $320K to $640K feels very different from the jump from $10K to $20K. Risk management discipline has to scale with the account.

2. Percentage Increment Model

The most common structure. Account grows by a fixed percentage per qualifying cycle, typically 25% to 40%. FundedNext adds 40% every four months. FTMO adds 25% every four months. Orion adds 25% every three months. Growth is slower than doubling, but each step is proportionally easier to absorb. This is the right model for traders who want steady compounding without the psychological pressure of large overnight jumps.

3. Account Stacking Model

The firm adds funded accounts rather than growing one. The5ers is the primary example. Hit your milestones, receive another funded account. Combined capital grows as accounts stack. This approach gives you more risk distribution. A breach on one account does not wipe out your other allocations. The trade-off is operational complexity when trading across multiple accounts.

All data sourced from each firm’s FundedTrading review page and official site. Scaling rules can change, so verify the current terms before purchasing.

FTUK doubles your account at every milestone. Most firms add 25%. FTUK doubles. From a $100,000 funded account, seven successful milestones reach $6,400,000. The trigger is simple: hit 10% profit on the funded account, receive your payout, and the next level begins at double the capital.

This is the most aggressive capital growth structure in the industry. The profit split climbs with each level, reaching a maximum of 80%. There is no new challenge fee. No re-evaluation. Just consistent trading against the same rules at increasingly large account sizes.

Drawdown Structure at Scale

The 1-Step account uses an 8% trailing drawdown. That means your loss floor moves up as your balance grows. At $640K, you have a $51,200 trailing buffer. A bad run does not reset the floor. It just eats into it permanently. Traders who manage tight risk on smaller accounts sometimes underestimate how different this feels at six-figure levels. The 2-Step account uses a static drawdown, which is more forgiving as you scale.

Platform Note

FTUK dropped MetaTrader entirely. Available platforms are TradeLocker, DXTrade, Match Trader, and FTUK XT (their futures platform). If your strategy relies on MT4 Expert Advisors, plan for a platform migration before buying.

The5ers operates differently from every other firm on this list. Instead of growing one account, they add funded accounts as you hit milestones. Combined capital stacks toward the $4M ceiling. This spreads breach risk across accounts. Losing one does not end your entire allocation.

The most important detail most traders miss: at $350,000 in total allocated capital, The5ers introduces a fixed monthly salary of $4,000. That payment continues as long as you remain in good standing, regardless of that month’s specific trading performance. No other major prop firm offers this structure.

Profit Split Progression

The split reaches 100% at documented scale points. The firm takes nothing at the top tier. Hyper Growth (1-step) starts at 80% and progresses from there. Bootcamp (3-step, entry from $95) starts at 50% but allows the same 100% ceiling. That is the budget route for traders willing to prove consistency across three phases.

Futures Track

The5ers launched a separate Futures track in February 2026. It runs on Black Arrow (proprietary platform) and is fully open to US-based traders. The Futures program caps at $500,000 and scales buying power by 5% per 10% profit milestone. It operates separately from the CFD track. You cannot combine capital across both.

FundedNext scales faster than any other percentage-increment firm on this list. Each qualifying 4-month cycle adds 40% to the funded account, compounding toward a $4M ceiling. On a $100,000 funded account, the first cycle brings it to $140,000. The second to $196,000. Growth accelerates as the base grows.

The payout guarantee is the strongest accountability structure in the industry. FundedNext promises to process every valid reward request within 24 hours. If an internal delay (not a documentation issue or missing KYC) causes them to miss that window, they add $1,000 directly to your account. That policy creates real financial skin-in-the-game for the firm.

Challenge-Phase Earnings

FundedNext pays 15% of simulated profit earned during the evaluation, even if you fail to pass. Trade a $100,000 Stellar evaluation, generate $8,000 in profit, then breach a rule. You still collect $1,200. This is unique. No other major firm on this list offers any payout on a failed evaluation.

The 40% Credit Rule

Funded accounts apply a 40% credit rule during high-impact news windows. Trades active during the restriction count for only 40% of their profit in that payout cycle. The trade is not closed. The position stays open. But if you trade economic releases heavily, your effective payout on news days drops significantly. Factor this in before choosing FundedNext if you are a fundamental trader.

Instant Funding skips the evaluation entirely. Pay the fee, receive funded access, start trading. The Smart Drawdown accounts use a doubling model: hit 10% balance gain, the firm doubles the account. Starting at $5,000, that’s seven doublings to reach the $1.28M ceiling.

The drawdown structure on Smart accounts is worth understanding before you scale. Initial protection is 10% below starting balance. Once you hit a 5% balance gain, the drawdown tightens to 5% of the starting balance and locks there permanently. Your buffer shrinks by half after the first profitable leg. Traders who enter large positions near the new 5% floor can find themselves much closer to a breach than expected.

Static drawdown accounts scale differently. They add 25% per 10% gain over 90 days. This is slower but the floor never tightens. Over $7.9M was paid out on the platform in 2025 alone. First payout is available after 14 days, then weekly. Payment methods include USDC/USDT or bank transfer via Rise.

Orion Funded scales by 25% per 3-month cycle. To qualify in any given window, you need: 15% return in the rolling period, at least two of three months in profit, and three completed reward requests. Missing a cycle does not disqualify you permanently. You can re-qualify in any future 3-month window.

The 48-hour payout guarantee is the second strongest accountability structure on this list, behind FundedNext’s 24-hour version. If Orion misses the 48-hour processing window due to an internal issue, you receive a 100% profit split on that cycle and a full refund of your original program fee. The reported average processing time is under 5 hours. Trustpilot sits at 4.6 from over 1,700 reviews as of July 2026.

The profit split locks at 90% permanently after your first scaling qualification. There is no progression back down. The split goes from 80% to 90%, stays there, and adds 25% to the account size with every subsequent qualifying cycle.

FTMO has operated since 2015. It has paid out over $500M to traders worldwide and holds a 4.8/5 Trustpilot rating from over 40,000 reviews. The firm completed the acquisition of regulated broker OANDA in December 2025, giving the FTMO group regulatory coverage across eight jurisdictions including the US, UK, Canada, and Australia. For traders who weight institutional credibility heavily, FTMO is the default benchmark.

The scaling plan adds 25% every four months. Qualifying requires 10% profit, at least two payouts, and a net positive balance over the period. After the first scaling qualification, the split moves from 80% to 90% and stays there. Maximum allocation across all FTMO accounts combined is $400,000 pre-scaling, growing to $2,000,000 through the plan.

The Drawdown Advantage

FTMO uses a 10% static maximum loss on the 2-Step path. Your loss floor is fixed at 10% below the starting account balance. It does not move up as profits increase. A strong winning run does not shrink your buffer. This is the most trader-friendly drawdown model for scaling because you never lose room from making money. The static floor remains constant from the day you go funded to the day you reach your scaling ceiling.

Funded Trader Markets runs a three-stage salary structure that no other firm on this list replicates. Each stage combines a capital increase with a monthly cash salary. The salary pays regardless of specific trading results in that month, provided you remain active and compliant.

Stage breakdown:

The full path from Pioneer to VIP takes a minimum of six months. two months per stage. Traders who sustain 8% per two-month period are rare. But the salary structure rewards traders who hit that level with income that is not directly tied to trade-by-trade performance within the paying period.

All accounts are swap-free. News trading is allowed. Up to 100% profit split depending on the program. The FT60 code gives 60% off at checkout, which is among the highest discount rates on the FundedTrading platform.

Funded Trading Plus triggers scaling after each 10% profit milestone. no waiting for a quarterly review. Hit 10%, the risk team reviews, and the account grows. There is no fixed cycle window. Consistent traders can scale multiple times in a 4-month window that a quarterly firm uses for one review.

Maximum capital is $2.5M through standard scaling. The 2026 lineup streamlined to three programs: Instant Funding, 1-Step Express, and 2-Step Classic. All come with no time limits and no minimum trading days. The 2-Step Classic applies the same scaling structure once you reach the funded stage.

The 100% profit split is achievable through the scaling path. The firm has paid out over $19.5M to a global community of more than 60,000 traders across 180 countries. Founded in 2021 and registered in the United Kingdom, FT+ has a solid operational history for a firm that is not FTMO-vintage.