Prop firm scaling plans: Apex, Topstep and MyFundedFutures
A scaling plan caps how many contracts you may trade based on how much profit the account has accumulated. You start below the headline number and earn your way up. The headline “10 contracts” on a 50K account is rarely what you get on day one.
Scaling plans by firm
| Firm | Mechanic | Example | When it updates |
|---|---|---|---|
| Apex | Half-then-full: start at 50% of the contract max | 50K unlocks all 10 contracts once balance clears roughly starting + trailing drawdown + $100 (~$52,600) | Next session after the threshold clears |
| Topstep (Express) | Balance ladder with fixed checkpoints | 50K: 2 contracts → 3 above ~$1,500 profit → 5 past ~$2,000. 150K: 3 → 15 by ~$154,500 | End-of-session report sets the next session’s cap |
| Topstep (Live funded) | Dynamic risk expansion, profit-based tiers | — | Per tier |
| Earn2Trade | Progression ladder | 50K: 2 contracts → 6 at ~$2,000 profit | On milestone |
| MyFundedFutures | Pro and Rapid: no scaling plan — full size from day one | — | n/a |
| Lucid (Flex funded) | Contract cap grows with simulated profit | Ceiling reached at the top tier | End of day |
| Tradeify / FundedNext | Fewer scaling restrictions | — | — |
Two timing rules matter more than the numbers
The review runs once a day. On a ladder system your end-of-session report sets the limit for the next session. You cannot size up the moment your balance qualifies mid-session — and a strategy that assumes it can will place an oversized order.
The ladder runs in reverse. A losing day can shrink the cap back down. The size you traded yesterday can be a breach today, on the same account, with no rule change. This is the single most common way a scaling plan is violated by someone who read the plan.
The trap nobody mentions: micros count differently by platform
This one is worth reading twice, because it changes your position size by a factor of ten inside the same firm.
On Topstep’s own platform micros count 10 to 1 — ten MES equals one ES against your limit. On third-party platforms like Tradovate or NinjaTrader, one micro counts as one full contract. Same firm, same account, same word “5 contracts”.
At a 5-contract cap with 10-to-1 counting, 50 micros is fine. At a 5-contract cap with 1-to-1 counting, 50 micros is a tenfold breach. Apex counts every contract one to one, so six MES counts as six — micros buy finer sizing, not more simultaneous contracts. Some products carry special weightings on top of that.
Before you set a position size in code, confirm the counting convention for the exact firm and platform combination you are on.
What this does to a systematic strategy
A fixed-size strategy and a scaling plan are structurally in tension. Your sizing model wants a constant relationship to the drawdown; the scaling plan wants size to be a function of accumulated profit that can also move backwards.
Two workable approaches. Either size for the starting tier and never scale up — simplest, and it means the plan never binds — or make position size an explicit function of the current tier, recalculated once per day at the same time the firm recalculates.
What does not work is sizing for the top tier and hoping. That is a breach waiting for the first losing week.
Our per-tier configurations take the conservative path: sizing is derived from the drawdown limit for the account size, not from the maximum contract count the firm advertises. The arithmetic is in sizing against trailing drawdown and the configurations are on the portfolios page. Related: contract scaling rule violations.
FAQ
What is a prop firm scaling plan?
A rule that limits how many contracts you can trade based on accumulated profit. You start below the advertised maximum and unlock more capacity as the balance grows. If the balance falls back, the cap usually falls with it.
What is the Topstep scaling plan?
Topstep Express Funded accounts use a balance ladder. A 50K account starts around 2 contracts, rises to 3 above roughly $1,500 in profit and 5 past roughly $2,000. Limits are set by the end-of-session report and apply to the next session. Live Funded accounts use dynamic risk expansion instead.
How does Apex scaling work?
Apex starts you at half your funded contract maximum. Full size unlocks the session after your balance clears a threshold, roughly the starting balance plus the trailing drawdown amount plus a small buffer. On a 50K account that lands near $52,600 for the full contract count.
Do micro contracts count the same everywhere?
No, and this catches people out. On Topstep's own platform ten micros count as one contract; on Tradovate or NinjaTrader one micro counts as one full contract. Apex counts every contract one to one. Confirm the convention for your firm and platform before setting position size.
Which firms have no scaling plan?
MyFundedFutures Pro and Rapid plans give full contract size from day one. Tradeify and FundedNext apply fewer scaling restrictions than the ladder-based firms. Rules change often, so verify before purchase.
Verified July 2026. Prop firm rules change often and several firms rewrote their rulebooks in 2026. Confirm every figure on the firm’s official site before purchasing an evaluation.
Performance figures are a combination of live-tracked and modeled results. Past performance does not guarantee future results. Not financial advice.