Prop Firm Payout Calculator

A prop firm payout calculator estimates how much money you actually keep after a proprietary trading firm applies its profit split to the gains you earn on a funded account. You enter three numbers: the account size, the profit you made as a percentage of that account, and your profit split percentage (the share of profit the firm lets you keep, often 80 to 90 percent). The calculator above then shows your gross profit in currency, the firm's share, and your final payout. This page explains how profit splits work, how scaling plans raise your split over time, how payout cycles and minimum thresholds affect when the money reaches you, and why almost every funded account is simulated capital rather than a pool of the firm's real cash. Read it as a risk-management guide, not a promise of income. Most challenge attempts fail, and the traders who get paid are usually the ones who protect the drawdown first and chase the target last.

How a prop firm payout is calculated

The core math is simple, and the calculator above uses it directly. First it works out your gross profit: the account size multiplied by the profit you made as a percentage. If you trade a 100,000 account and finish a payout period up 5 percent, your gross profit is 5,000. Next it splits that gross profit between you and the firm. If your split is 80 percent, you keep 4,000 and the firm keeps 1,000. The firm's share is simply gross profit minus your payout. That is the entire model in plain terms: gross profit is what your trading produced, the split is the agreed division, and your payout is your slice of it.

Each input matters. Account size sets the scale of your gross profit, so a 5 percent gain on a 200,000 account is worth twice a 5 percent gain on a 100,000 account. Profit made as a percentage is where discipline lives: a smaller, steadier percentage protected across a full cycle usually beats a large percentage won by breaking risk rules, because a breach can wipe the account before payout day. Your profit split is the lever the firm controls and that you improve over time by staying consistent. The outputs mirror these inputs: gross profit shows what you generated, firm share shows what the firm retains, split confirms the percentage applied, and your payout is the figure that reaches your account if you meet the withdrawal rules.

How profit splits actually work

A profit split is the percentage of net trading profit a funded trader keeps. The firm keeps the rest as its fee for providing the account, the rules, and the payout infrastructure. Splits are usually expressed from the trader's side, so an 80 percent split means you keep 80 and the firm keeps 20. Starting splits at well known firms commonly sit between 80 and 90 percent, and several firms advertise the ability to reach 90 percent or higher once you have taken a few consistent payouts. Some firms also front-load the split: Topstep, for example, has historically let traders keep 100 percent of the first portion of profits and then 90 percent above that. These numbers move, so treat any figure here as last verified in 2026 and confirm the current terms on the firm's own website before you rely on them.

One point traders miss: a higher split is only valuable if you can pass and keep the account. A 90 percent split on an account you breach next week is worth nothing. A disciplined trader on an 80 percent split who survives many payout cycles will out-earn an aggressive trader chasing a 100 percent split who blows up before the first withdrawal. The split is the last variable to optimise, not the first.

Scaling plans that raise your split

Most firms reward consistency with a scaling plan. Scaling can mean two things, and they often work together. The first is account scaling: after a set number of profitable months or payouts, the firm increases the capital you manage, so the same percentage return produces a larger gross profit. The second is split scaling: the firm raises your percentage, for example from 80 percent to 90 percent, once you have proven you can trade within the rules over time. FTMO has historically offered a scaling path that raises both the balance and the split for traders who stay consistent, and The5ers is built around a scaling model that grows the account as you hit steady targets. The exact triggers, waiting periods, and caps differ by firm and change often, so verify the current plan before assuming you qualify.

To model scaling in the calculator above, run it twice. Enter your current account size and split for today's reality, then enter the scaled account size and higher split to see the future payout you are working toward. Seeing both numbers side by side keeps expectations honest: scaling is earned slowly through many clean cycles, not unlocked by one big winning week.

Payout cycles and minimum thresholds

Earning profit and receiving profit are two different events. Firms pay on a cycle, commonly every 14 to 30 days, and many let consistent traders request payouts more often over time. Two rules decide whether a given cycle actually pays you. The first is the minimum payout threshold: some firms require you to have earned at least a set amount, for example 50 or a few hundred in profit, before you can withdraw. The second is any consistency or minimum trading day requirement that must be satisfied before a payout is approved. Futures firms such as Apex Trader Funding and Topstep have historically used their own minimum payout amounts and trading day rules on funded accounts, and forex or CFD firms such as FTMO and FundedNext run their own cycle schedules. These policies change, so confirm the current cycle length, minimum amount, and any waiting period on the firm's site before you count on a payout date.

Why the funded account is usually simulated capital

This is the most misunderstood part of prop firm payouts. At most evaluation-style firms, the funded account is a simulated or demo environment, not a live brokerage account holding the firm's own money that you trade directly. You are not withdrawing your own balance. You are being paid a contractual share of the profit your simulated trades would have produced, funded from the firm's revenue, which includes the fees paid by all the traders taking challenges. Some firms do route consistent traders to live capital or hedge selected trades in the real market, but you should never assume that. Read the firm's terms to learn whether your account is simulated, demo, or live, because it affects how payouts are funded and how sustainable they are. This is not a reason to distrust every firm, but it is a reason to keep expectations realistic and to treat the payout as a performance fee rather than a withdrawal of capital you own.

Three worked examples

Example 1: standard 80 percent split

You have a 100,000 funded account and finish a payout period up 4 percent while staying inside every risk rule. Gross profit is 100,000 multiplied by 4 percent, which equals 4,000. On an 80 percent split you keep 4,000 multiplied by 0.80, which is 3,200. The firm's share is 800. Notice that a modest 4 percent, earned without breaching the drawdown, produces a real 3,200 payout. Consistency, not a heroic month, is what compounds here.

Example 2: higher split after scaling

After several clean cycles your firm scales you to a 200,000 account and raises your split to 90 percent. You make the same disciplined 4 percent. Gross profit is 200,000 multiplied by 4 percent, which equals 8,000. At a 90 percent split you keep 8,000 multiplied by 0.90, which is 7,200, while the firm keeps 800. The same percentage return now pays more than double the first example, purely because scaling grew the capital and lifted the split. This is the reward for surviving many cycles rather than chasing one.

Example 3: a big month that misses the threshold

You have a 50,000 account on an 85 percent split and you make just 0.1 percent, which is 50 in gross profit. Your share would be 50 multiplied by 0.85, which is 42.50. If the firm requires a minimum payout of, say, 100 before you can withdraw, that 42.50 cannot be paid out this cycle and must roll forward or be topped up in a later period. The lesson is that a payout has two gates: you must earn the profit and you must clear the minimum threshold. The calculator shows the split math, but always check the firm's minimum payout rule to know if the money is actually withdrawable.

Comparing profit splits across major firms

The table below shows typical starting splits and account models for well known firms, last verified in 2026. These figures are approximate, promotions and rule changes are frequent, and each firm sets its own drawdown, consistency, and payout rules. Always confirm the current terms on the firm's own website before you rely on any number here.

Tips and common mistakes

Use these steps to keep your payout expectations grounded and your account alive long enough to reach a withdrawal.

1. Calculate your payout from a realistic monthly return, not your best week ever. A steady 3 to 5 percent that respects the drawdown is worth more than a 15 percent month that risks a breach.
2. Confirm the minimum payout threshold and the payout cycle length before you start, so you know when money can actually reach you.
3. Model your current split and your scaled split separately so you can see the future without assuming you already have it.
4. Size every position so a normal string of losses cannot breach the maximum or daily drawdown.
5. Read whether the account is simulated, demo, or live, and understand how payouts are funded, before you build any income plan around it.

Avoid these frequent errors that quietly wreck payout expectations:

• Treating the profit split as the only variable that matters while ignoring the drawdown rules that actually decide whether you keep the account.
• Assuming the funded balance is real capital you can withdraw, rather than a base for calculating a performance-based payout.
• Forgetting that the calculator shows gross split math only, before taxes, refundable fees, or firm deductions.
• Chasing a bigger account before you have proven you can stay inside the rules on the smaller one.
• Counting a payout as earned before you have cleared the minimum threshold and any consistency or minimum trading day rule.

How this supports disciplined journaling

A payout calculator tells you the reward, but a journal tells you whether you earned it the right way. The traders who get funded and stay funded are the ones who track every rule, not just every profit. Before a challenge, use the calculator above to set a realistic payout goal from a modest, protected return. Then log each trading day against your firm's rules: how close you came to the daily loss limit, how much of the maximum drawdown you used, whether you respected your position size, and whether you traded on days you should have sat out. Over a few weeks that record shows you the truth about your consistency, which is exactly what firms reward with higher splits and scaled accounts. Passing is a risk-management test, and journaling is how you study for it.

Frequently asked questions

Use the calculator above to set an honest payout goal from a realistic, risk-controlled return, then treat the funded challenge as what it really is: a test of whether you can follow rules under pressure. Prop firm terms, splits, and payout schedules change, so verify the exact numbers on each firm's site before you rely on them, and remember that nothing here is financial advice or a promise of profit. If you want to give yourself the best chance, journal every trade and track your prop rules as you go. OneTradeJournal includes a Funded Mode built for exactly this, so you can watch your drawdown, log each day against your firm's limits, and build the consistency that earns higher splits and scaled accounts over time.