Time limits
While neither firm forces you to pass an evaluation within a specific number of days, they both impose boundaries on your pace. Breakout allows you to move to a funded account immediately upon hitting the target, but Upscale prevents this through its minimum profitable days rule: you cannot advance or request a payout without at least 3 to 5 separate days of significant trading activity. Furthermore, Upscale imposes an inactivity limit that freezes your account if you stay away for 90 consecutive days, a restriction that forces a minimum level of engagement even when the market offers no clear opportunities.
Weekends and news
Breakout offers more leeway here, but you are still limited by its 0.033% daily swap, which acts as a tax on holding positions overnight. Upscale, however, strictly limits your ability to hold certain assets:
- You cannot hold US or European indices through the weekend if you opened or increased them on Friday afternoon; the firm will force-close the entire position.
- In US stocks, you are prohibited from opening or increasing positions 5 minutes before and after macro releases.
- Dividends and splits can also trigger forced closures, meaning you cannot maintain a long-term strategy without constant terminal monitoring.
Where you can trade from
Geography is a major barrier depending on your residence. Upscale completely prohibits traders from the United States, whereas Breakout is legally based there and accepts US clients. Both firms restrict access from high-risk jurisdictions like Russia, North Korea, or Venezuela. Additionally, Breakout limits your technical privacy: you cannot complete your KYC verification using a VPN, and using one during trading must not hide your real jurisdiction, or you risk account closure.
What the platform limits
Both firms deny you the use of industry-standard software like MetaTrader 4 or 5. You are confined to their proprietary terminals, which restricts the use of custom indicators and templates.
- Breakout: You cannot use any Expert Advisors (EAs), scripts, or third-party signals. Trading is 100% manual.
- Upscale: You are blocked from trading directly from tradingview.com, despite using their charts. While it allows bots via an API, this is a "paid extra" that you cannot disable once purchased, and it subjects your manual trades to the same 60-second minimum holding time for profit eligibility.
What the rules cost you
The cost of entry is your first limit: at Breakout, the fee is never refunded, meaning every failed attempt is a total loss of capital. At Upscale, your profit is capped by its withdrawal limits: you cannot withdraw more than 15% to 50% of the account's notional value per period, depending on the account size.
Risk-wise, Breakout limits you with a static drawdown that never moves, meaning your "buffer" never grows even if you are in deep profit. Upscale’s "Turbo" accounts are even more restrictive, using a trailing drawdown that follows your highest equity point, effectively shrinking your room for error as you succeed.
Restrictions that add up
The combined weight of these rules creates a high-pressure environment. At Breakout, the lack of EAs combined with a static drawdown means you must manually manage every pip of risk without the account ever "relaxing" its limits. At Upscale, the combination of a 14-day payout wait, minimum profitable days, and withdrawal caps creates a "bottleneck" effect: even if you are a highly profitable trader, the firm limits how much of that money you can actually touch and how fast you can access it, forcing you to keep risk on the table for longer than you might prefer.
Frequently asked questions
Which firm is more restrictive for US-based traders, Breakout or Upscale?
Upscale is the most restrictive as it completely bans users from the United States from using its services. Breakout, on the other hand, is owned by Kraken and its evaluation group is a Delaware-based LLC, allowing US traders to open accounts and trade without geographic blocks.
Which one limits your payout speed more, Breakout or Upscale?
Upscale is significantly more restrictive, requiring a 14-day wait after account activation for the first payout and another 14 days between subsequent requests, plus a minimum of 5 profitable days per period. Breakout imposes almost no wait, allowing on-demand payouts 24/7 from the very first day the account is funded.
Which firm imposes tighter capital limits, Breakout or Upscale?
Breakout limits traders to a maximum combined allocation of $200,000 across all active accounts. Upscale allows for more total capital, offering up to $400,000 for its Basic/Accelerated plans and an additional $100,000 for Turbo accounts, totaling a $500,000 limit.
Which one has more barriers to using automated bots, Breakout or Upscale?
Breakout has an absolute barrier, as it prohibits all EAs, scripts, and automated strategies on its proprietary terminal. Upscale is less restrictive but charges an additional fee for API access to use bots, and it excludes profits from any trades closed within 60 seconds on those accounts.
