Can You Upgrade Your TradeDay Account? Upgrade Guide

Written by Paul

Published on

January 14, 2026

No. TradeDay does not allow upgrades or downgrades between evaluation accounts once you've purchased one. If you're currently on a $50K EOD evaluation and want to switch to a $100K EOD or change your drawdown type from EOD to Intraday, you can't upgrade—you have to cancel your current subscription, lose all evaluation progress, and purchase a completely new evaluation from scratch.

This is TradeDay's explicit policy stated in their FAQ: "Unfortunately, we do not allow members to upgrade or downgrade between evaluations at any time." The word "upgrade" here covers both scaling up (moving from $50K to $100K) and changing parameters (switching from Intraday to EOD or EOD to Static).

Quick heads-up: This article is based on my real experience with TradeDay and the info available when I published/updated this. Things change in prop trading — rules, payouts, promos, all of it.

For the absolute latest, check TradeDay´s website or their faq page.

The only partial exception: You can upgrade from CoPilot membership ($24/month education-only access) to a full evaluation. But once you're IN an evaluation, you're locked to that specific account type, size, and drawdown configuration for the life of that subscription.

Why does this matter? If you realize after 10 days of evaluation that you picked the wrong account type—maybe Intraday drawdown is too aggressive for your trading style, or you want more capital—your only option is canceling and restarting from Day 1 with a new account. All your previous progress, trading days completed, and profits accumulated get wiped.

What "Upgrade" Actually Means at TradeDay

When traders ask about "upgrading" at TradeDay, they usually mean one of three things:

1. Increasing Account Size

Moving from $50K to $100K, or $100K to $150K. This gives you larger position limits, bigger profit targets, and more drawdown buffer.

TradeDay's Answer: Not allowed. Cancel current evaluation, purchase new larger evaluation, start over from zero.

2. Changing Drawdown Type

Switching from Intraday trailing to EOD trailing, or from EOD to Static. Each drawdown type has different risk calculations that significantly impact how you can trade.

TradeDay's Answer: Not allowed. You're locked to the drawdown type you purchased.

3. Moving from Evaluation to Funded

This isn't really an "upgrade"—it's progression. When you pass evaluation requirements (hit profit target, complete 7 trading days, maintain 30% consistency), you automatically move to Funded Sim status. Billing stops when you pass, and you transition from evaluation to funded account.

TradeDay's Answer: This IS allowed and expected—it's the entire point of evaluation.

Desired Change	Allowed?	How to Do It
$50K → $100K	NO	Cancel $50K, buy $100K, lose all progress
Intraday → EOD	NO	Cancel Intraday, buy EOD, start from Day 1
EOD → Static	NO	Cancel EOD, buy Static, restart evaluation
Tradovate → NinjaTrader	NO	Cancel current, buy new with platform preference
Evaluation → Funded	YES	Pass evaluation requirements, auto-transitions
CoPilot → Evaluation	YES	Purchase evaluation from dashboard

Why TradeDay Doesn't Allow Upgrades

TradeDay's systems are built around subscription products tied to specific evaluation parameters. When you purchase a $50K EOD evaluation, you're subscribed to that exact product. TradeDay's backend provisions your account through third-party trading platforms (Tradovate, NinjaTrader, TradeDayX) with those specific parameters.

Changing account size mid-evaluation would require:

Canceling your existing platform account
Provisioning a new account with different parameters
Migrating your trading history and progress
Adjusting drawdown calculations retroactively
Modifying your billing structure

TradeDay partners with external brokers and platform providers who set up accounts based on the original purchase parameters. These third-party systems don't support mid-evaluation parameter changes. It's easier and cleaner for TradeDay to require you to cancel and repurchase than to build complex migration systems.

The Business Reality:

Allowing upgrades would create revenue leakage. If you're on Day 25 of a $50K evaluation with $2,500 profit toward $3,000 target and want to upgrade to $100K, TradeDay would lose the $105/month subscription on your $50K account and you'd potentially pass the $100K evaluation immediately (since you've already proven consistency over 25 days). They'd rather you finish the $50K evaluation, pass it, then purchase a new $100K evaluation separately.

The Cost of Canceling to "Upgrade"

If you cancel your current evaluation to purchase a different one, here's what you lose:

Trading Progress:

All completed trading days reset to zero
Accumulated profits reset to zero (back to starting balance)
Consistency rule resets (your 30% calculation starts fresh)
Any evaluation momentum—you start from Day 1 again

Financial Cost:

No refund on current subscription. If you're on Day 10 of 30, you lose the remaining 20 days you paid for.
Immediate new charge for the upgraded evaluation. If you're switching from $50K EOD ($105/month) to $100K EOD ($165/month), you pay the full $165 immediately even though you just paid $105 ten days ago.

Time Investment:

Psychological reset. You were 10 days in, feeling confident, building rhythm. Now you're starting completely fresh with different parameters, potentially different platform, learning new risk limits.

Example Cost Calculation:

You're on Day 18 of a $50K Intraday evaluation ($75/month). You've traded 10 days (need 7 minimum). You have $2,400 profit toward $3,000 target. But you realize Intraday drawdown is too restrictive—every profitable morning trade trails your drawdown up and you're nervous about afternoon volatility.

You want to switch to $50K EOD ($105/month) for the breathing room EOD provides.

Your Options:

Finish the Intraday evaluation (you're close—need $600 more profit over at least 1 more day)
Cancel Intraday, lose all progress, pay $105 for new EOD evaluation

If you cancel:

Lost costs: ~$75 for 18 days of Intraday ($38 unused)
New cost: $105 for EOD
Total: $143 to "upgrade" from Intraday to EOD, plus restarting from Day 1
Days lost: 18 days of work erased
Progress lost: $2,400 profit evaporated

If you finish:

Continue Intraday, make $600 more (probably 3-5 more days)
Pass Intraday evaluation, billing stops
Total cost: $75 for complete evaluation
Start fresh with Funded Sim account
If you want EOD experience later, pass this account first, then purchase a second $50K EOD evaluation

The math almost always favors finishing your current evaluation unless you're very early (Day 1-3) with minimal progress.

Adding Multiple Accounts Instead of Upgrading

TradeDay allows up to 6 simultaneous evaluation accounts. Instead of canceling your current account to upgrade, you can ADD a second (or third, or fourth) evaluation with different parameters while keeping your original account active.

Strategy:

You're on Day 15 of a $50K EOD evaluation with $1,800 profit. You're realizing $50K position limits (5 contracts max) are too restrictive for your trading style. You want $100K (10 contracts).

Instead of upgrading: Purchase a second $100K EOD evaluation ($165/month) while keeping your $50K active.

Benefits:

$50K continues progressing (you're already at $1,800 toward $3,000)
$100K starts fresh with larger position limits
You can compare how EOD drawdown performs at different account sizes
If you pass both, you have 2 funded accounts with combined position sizes
Total monthly cost while both are active: $105 + $165 = $270

When to Use Multi-Account Strategy:

You're more than 40% toward profit target on current account (don't waste that progress)
You have 5+ trading days completed (you've proven consistency, closer to passing)
You can afford running 2 subscriptions simultaneously
You want to test different account configurations without losing current progress

When to Cancel and Restart:

You're on Day 1-5 with minimal profit (< $500)
You absolutely hate your current drawdown type (Intraday is destroying you mentally)
You can't afford multiple subscriptions

Upgrading Funded Accounts

Once you pass evaluation and move to Funded Sim status, the concept of "upgrading" changes. You're no longer paying monthly subscriptions. Your account parameters (size, drawdown type) are locked based on the evaluation you passed.

What You CAN Do on Funded Accounts:

Scale Through Milestones:

As you hit profit milestones ($5K, $10K, $25K), TradeDay reviews your account for potential increases. They may:

Add a second funded account (same size as original)
Increase position limits on existing account
Eventually graduate you to Funded Live (real capital, not sim)

This isn't upgrading account size—it's scaling through additional accounts or increased limits on your existing account.

Purchase Additional Evaluations:

Nothing stops you from buying a new $100K evaluation while you're trading a funded $50K account from a previous pass. You're trading your funded account, paying $0/month for it, and simultaneously working through a new larger evaluation.

If you pass the $100K evaluation, you'll have two funded accounts running: the original $50K and the new $100K. This is how most successful TradeDay traders operate—they pass one evaluation, get funded, then immediately start working on larger evaluations to build a portfolio of funded accounts.

What You CANNOT Do:

Convert your $50K Funded Sim to a $100K Funded Sim
Change your funded account's drawdown type from EOD to Intraday
Merge two smaller funded accounts into one larger account

Once an account passes evaluation, its parameters are permanent for the life of that funded account.

Alternative: Start Fresh with Correct Parameters

If you're early in evaluation (Day 1-7) with minimal progress and you realize you chose wrong parameters, the financially smart move is canceling immediately and repurchasing with correct settings.

Decision Framework:

Cancel and Repurchase If:

Days 1-7 completed (you haven't invested much time)
Under 30% toward profit target (minimal progress to lose)
Strong conviction you picked wrong account type (Intraday when you needed EOD, $50K when you needed $100K)
Haven't hit your monthly billing renewal yet (you can salvage some value from current subscription if you cancel now and use remaining days to research correct parameters)

Stick With Current Account If:

Days 8+ completed (you're over halfway to minimum 7-day requirement)
40%+ toward profit target (significant progress)
Only minor doubts about parameters (you can adapt your strategy to current drawdown type)
Close to monthly renewal (you'll get free reset when renewal hits anyway)

Example Smart Cancel:

Day 3 of $50K Intraday, $300 profit, 2 trading days completed. You're getting destroyed by Intraday trailing—every winning morning trade tightens your drawdown, and afternoon reversals nearly violate you twice already.

Cancel now. You've lost $25 worth of subscription (3 days at $75/month = $7.50), plus the emotional cost of 3 days work. Purchase $50K EOD for $105/month. Total real cost: $113 to get correct parameters before you invest serious time in wrong configuration.

Example Dumb Cancel:

Day 22 of $100K EOD, $4,800 profit toward $6,000 target, 12 trading days completed. You realize you want $150K for larger position limits.

Don't cancel. You're 80% to target, way past minimum days, and you'll pass this account within a week. Pass it, stop paying $165/month, then purchase the $150K evaluation separately. Total cost: $165 for one successful evaluation + $210 for new $150K evaluation = $375 for two funded accounts. If you cancel now, you lose $4,800 progress and 22 days of work, pay $210 for $150K, and start from zero—much worse outcome.

Platform Changes (Tradovate vs NinjaTrader vs TradeDayX)

Some traders want to "upgrade" their platform—switch from Tradovate to NinjaTrader, or NinjaTrader to TradeDayX. This is also not supported mid-evaluation.

When you purchase an evaluation, you select your platform preference. That platform hosts your evaluation account. Switching platforms mid-evaluation requires:

Canceling current evaluation
Purchasing new evaluation with new platform selection
Losing all progress on original platform

Why This Matters:

Tradovate and NinjaTrader have completely different interfaces, order entry systems, and charting packages. If you're struggling with Tradovate's web interface and want NinjaTrader's desktop application, you can't just switch—you have to restart evaluation.

The Workaround:

Most traders maintain multiple platform installations. You can download both Tradovate and NinjaTrader, connect both to your TradeDay account, and use whichever one you prefer for actual trading. Your evaluation account is provisioned through one platform (the one you selected at purchase), but you can execute trades through your preferred platform by logging in with your TradeDay credentials.

Check TradeDay's documentation on multi-platform support—some account types support this, others lock you to the originally selected platform.

CoPilot to Evaluation Upgrade (The One Allowed Upgrade)

The ONLY upgrade path TradeDay supports is CoPilot membership → Full evaluation account.

CoPilot is TradeDay's $24/month education-only membership. You get access to webinars, courses, Discord community, and morning market meetings, but no trading platform access and no evaluation.

CoPilot Upgrade Process:

Sign up for CoPilot at $24/month
Access TradeDay's member dashboard
Click "Upgrade to Evaluation" button
Select evaluation parameters ($50K/$100K/$150K, EOD/Intraday/Static)
Pay evaluation subscription ($75-375/month depending on choice)
CoPilot billing continues separately ($24/month) OR gets replaced by evaluation subscription (depends on current promotion)

This is the only time "upgrade" works as expected—you're moving from non-trading membership to trading evaluation without losing anything (because there was no trading progress to lose).

FAQ: Upgrading TradeDay Accounts

Can I upgrade from $50K to $100K mid-evaluation?

No. You must cancel your $50K evaluation (losing all progress) and purchase a new $100K evaluation starting from Day 1.

Can I change drawdown type from Intraday to EOD?

No. Cancel current evaluation and purchase new evaluation with desired drawdown type. All progress is lost.

What happens to my completed trading days if I cancel?

They're erased. When you purchase a new evaluation, you start from 0 days completed, $0 profit, and Day 1 of consistency tracking.

Can I get a refund if I cancel to upgrade?

No. TradeDay doesn't refund subscriptions. If you cancel on Day 10 of 30, you lose the remaining 20 days you paid for with no credit or refund.

Should I cancel my account to get a bigger size?

Only if you're very early (Day 1-5) with minimal progress. If you're past Day 8 or over 40% to target, finish current evaluation and purchase the larger size as a second account afterward.

Can I run multiple evaluations at once instead of upgrading?

Yes. TradeDay allows up to 6 simultaneous evaluation accounts. You can keep your current account active while adding a second evaluation with different parameters.

Will TradeDay upgrade my funded account size after I pass?

Not directly. They may add additional funded accounts or increase position limits through milestone reviews, but your original funded account parameters stay fixed.