Prop firm scaling plan: how to grow a funded account to $10M

A prop firm scaling plan decides how much capital you can trade once you have proven yourself. Without one, a funded trader who does everything right stays on the same account size forever. At Core Funded the prop firm scaling plan is built on a single rule: make 12% profit within a 3-month period and your funded account grows by 25% of its starting balance. Then the same rule applies again, up to $10,000,000 in total capital.

This guide walks through that rule step by step, shows which accounts it applies to, runs the numbers on a $100,000 account and explains how scaling connects to payouts and to Core Funded Elite.

How the Core Funded scaling plan works

The rule has three parts, and it is the same for every funded account from the first step to the last:

1. A funded account with a starting balance from $10,000 to $500,000.
2. 12% profit, reached within a 3-month period.
3. +25% capital: 25% of the starting balance is added to the account.

After that, the cycle starts again. Every further successful 3-month period adds another 25% of the starting balance. The increase is always based on the starting balance, so each step adds the same dollar amount. A $100,000 account grows to $125,000, then $150,000, then $175,000, and so on, until total capital reaches the $10,000,000 cap.

There is no separate application and no second challenge. Scaling happens on the funded account you are already trading.

Which accounts can be scaled

Every funded account with a starting balance between $10,000 and $500,000 follows the scaling rule. It does not matter how you got there: through the 1-Step Challenge, the 2-Step Challenge, 2-Step Flex or an instant funded account without an evaluation.

The table shows how much each successful 3-month period adds for every scalable size, and where the account stands after four periods.

Four successful periods double the starting balance. The scaling simulator on the scaling plan page lets you pick any starting balance and number of periods and plays out the rule for you.

Worked example: scaling a $100,000 funded account

Say you trade a $100,000 funded account with the standard 80% profit split.

Period 1. 12% of $100,000 is $12,000. You reach that within three months. At an 80% split, $12,000 in profit is worth $9,600 to you when you request a payout. On top of that, the account grows by 25% of the starting balance, $25,000, to $125,000.

Period 2. You keep trading and reach the 12% target again within a 3-month period. Another $25,000 is added, and the account stands at $150,000.

Periods 3 and 4. Two more successful periods take the account to $175,000 and then $200,000.

The point of scaling is leverage on your own consistency. The same performance on a bigger balance produces bigger profits. A 2% month on $100,000 is $2,000; the same 2% month on $200,000 is $4,000, without changing anything about how you trade.

If you upgraded to a 95% split at checkout, the same $12,000 in profit would be worth $11,400 to you instead of $9,600.

What 12% in 3 months means for your trading

Twelve percent over a quarter works out to an average of about 4% a month. That is a meaningful target, and it has to be reached inside the normal account rules, which don't change because you are chasing a scaling step.

The loss limits still apply

Your drawdown is static, set once from the starting balance and never moved up by your profits. On a $100,000 account that means a fixed floor of $95,000 on Instant (5%), $94,000 on 1-Step (6%), $92,000 on 2-Step (8%) and $88,000 on 2-Step Flex (12%). The maximum daily loss is 3% on Instant and 1-Step, 5% on 2-Step, and 2-Step Flex has no daily loss limit. You can read more about how the fixed floor works on the static drawdown page.

Pushing size to hit 12% faster is the quickest way to lose the account instead of growing it. Excessive margin use (more than 50% of available margin) and all-or-nothing trades are also prohibited under the trading rules.

There is no deadline on the account itself

The 3-month window only applies to the scaling step. Core Funded accounts have no time limit, so a quarter in which you don't reach 12% doesn't cost you the account. It simply doesn't add capital. The next 3-month period is a fresh chance.

Payouts and the consistency rule

Scaling and payouts run side by side. On a funded account you request payouts on demand in Match-Trader once you have met the minimum trading days (5 for Instant and 2-Step Flex, 3 for 1-Step and 2-Step) and, after your first payout, at least 3 more qualifying days since the last one. Payouts go out by bank transfer or crypto within 24 hours; if a payout takes longer, you keep 100% of that payout's split. Details are on the payouts page.

The consistency rule is checked at payout: no single day may account for more than 15% of your total profit on Instant, or 30% on 1-Step and 2-Step. Steady gains spread over many days fit both the consistency rule and a 3-month scaling target better than one big day.

Getting to a funded account first

Scaling starts on a funded account, so the first step is getting one. You have four routes:

• Instant Funding: no evaluation, you trade a funded account from day one.
• 1-Step Challenge: one phase with a 10% profit target.
• 2-Step Challenge: 10% in phase 1, then 5% in phase 2.
• 2-Step Flex: two phases without a daily loss limit, available up to $100,000.

When you pass a phase, you keep the same account and the same login, reset to the starting balance. Account sizes run from $5,000 to $500,000 and prices start at 45€. Because scaling begins at $10,000, choose at least a $10,000 account if you want your funded account to scale.

Core Funded Elite: the next level on top of scaling

Scaling grows your capital. Core Funded Elite adds support on top, and the two stack. Elite cannot be bought; your funded record is the only way in. To be eligible you need all four of these:

• 3 months of profitable funded trading
• no failed funded accounts in that period
• at least 6 successful payouts from one funded account
• at least $15,000 withdrawn in total

Elite has three tiers. Bronze adds 25% to your account balance, plus payouts on demand, a Core Funded gift box, an Elite community role and priority support. Silver adds 50% and a monthly salary of up to $15,000, unlimited crypto withdrawals, monthly psychology coaching and monthly 1-on-1 mentoring. Gold adds 75%, the same salary of up to $15,000, a dedicated account manager, private mentoring with the trading team, a yearly mastermind event and an in-person experience at the Core Funded HQ.

How to plan for your first scaling step

A few habits make the 12% target realistic:

• Work backwards from the target. On a $100,000 account, 12% is $12,000 over roughly 13 weeks, or a little under $1,000 a week on average. Size your risk per trade so that a normal losing streak stays far away from your daily limit and your drawdown floor.
• Track your 3-month windows. Note the date your funded account started so you know where each period begins and ends.
• Keep your strategy. The rules require the same strategy in the challenge and the funded phase. A sudden switch to a more aggressive style to hit a scaling step breaks that rule.
• Use payouts to protect your gains. Taking profit out regularly does not stop you from scaling, and it moves you toward the payout count that Elite requires.