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Topstep

Futures · Chicago, IL · United States · Founded 2012 · PFM 7.7/10 · Verified data
✓ Data last verified Sep 14, 2026 · source ↗ · screenshot, Sep 14, 2026, 20:07 UTC
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Topstep at a glance

Read from Topstep's own site; inputs last verified Sep 14, 2026. Terms change — confirm on the firm's site before you buy.

Topstep is a futures prop firm based in Chicago, IL · United States, founded 2012. Its evaluation uses an end-of-day drawdown of $2K with a profit target of 6% of the starting balance ($3,000 on $50K), and funded traders keep a 90% profit split. Payout processing is quoted at 2 days, with payouts after 5 winning days of $150+ (Standard) or 3 traded days at 40% consistency. Trading is on TopstepX, NinjaTrader, Tradovate, TradingView, on accounts from $50K to $150K, with evaluations from $49.

Drawdown model
End-of-day · $2K
Recalculated once a day, not intraday · what this means →
Profit split
90%
Share of funded-account profit the trader keeps · what this means →
Profit target
6%
$3,000 on $50K
Payout processing
2 days
The wire itself — the last step, not the whole wait
Payout frequency
After 5 winning days of $150+ (Standard) or 3 traded days at 40% consistency
Consistency rule
55% best day in the Trading Combine; 40% on the XFA Consistency path, none on Standard
Cap on how much of total profit one day may contribute · what this means →
Evaluation from
$49
Cheapest listed evaluation; see the cost panel for the full bill · what this means →
Platforms
TopstepX, NinjaTrader, Tradovate, TradingView
Account sizes
$50K, $100K, $150K
  • News trading : yes
  • Weekend holding : no
  • EAs / bots : yes
  • Scaling plan : yes
  • Same-day payouts : yes

True cost to first payout

Normalised to a $50K account. Billed monthly — the total grows with every month you take to pass.

Recurring

$198to reach a funded account, if you pass in month one

Entry feeFirst payment to start the evaluation
$49
Monthly feeRecurring while the evaluation is open
$49
Activation feeCharged once, on passing, to open the funded account
$149
Reset fee Cost to retry a failed evaluation
Same as your monthly rebill
Consistency rule Cap on how much of your total profit a single day may contribute
55% best day in the Trading Combine; 40% on the XFA Consistency path, none on Standard

Two paths, chosen at purchase and not changeable afterwards. Standard Path is $49/mo plus a $149 activation fee charged once per Express Funded Account earned. The No Activation Fee Path is $95/mo with no fee on passing. Figures above quote the Standard Path.

See the screenshot we took on Sep 14, 2026, 20:07 UTC — Pricing help article: Trading Combine and reset tables, captured logged out so it shows the public price, not a personalised one. Check it against the live page↗

Path to your first payout

Topstep advertises a 2-day payout. That's the last step, not the whole wait.

7 trading days from purchase to money in your account, at the fastest

  1. 1
    Pass the evaluationmin 2 trading days

    The minimum before you can hit the target — most traders take longer.

  2. 2
    Activate the funded account$149 once

    A one-off charge on passing, before you trade a funded account.

  3. 3
    Trade until you qualifymin 3 trading days

    Minimum payout $125; a request is capped at 50% of the balance, up to $2,000 on the 50K

  4. 4
    Get paid2 days to process

    After 5 winning days of $150+ (Standard) or 3 traded days at 40% consistency

The Maximum Loss Limit resets to $0 after every payout, so the balance you leave behind becomes the new floor. Payouts run during CME hours and 30 winning days on a Live Funded Account unlock daily requests.

The PFM Score, broken down

Three weighted pillars, computed from this firm's official-site facts. No firm can buy a better rank — ever.

7.7
out of 10
#15 of 25
Payout Integrity 47% weight
8.3
Rule Clarity 29% weight
6.9
Trading Conditions 24% weight
7.4

No trader sentiment is in this score, and we publish no star ratings — self-selected reviews can't be made representative, however carefully each one is checked. Why →

Rules at a glance

Topstep publishes one hard rule and a set of payout conditions. These are the 50K figures from its own help centre.

DD
Maximum Loss Limit
$2,000
The only hard rule. It trails your end-of-day balance upward, never downward, and locks permanently once it reaches your starting balance. It is enforced in real time on unrealised P&L, so an open loss that touches it liquidates the account immediately.
T
Profit target
$3,000
On the 50K Trading Combine. There is no profit target at all once you reach the Express Funded Account — from there the objective is payout eligibility rather than a number to hit.
C
Consistency target
55% in the Combine
Your best single day must stay at or below 55% of the profit target, or the target itself rises (best day divided by 0.55 becomes the new target). The funded account then has no consistency rule on the Standard payout path and a 40% target on the Consistency path.
*
Minimum days to pass
2
Two trading days is the floor, and only because of the consistency target — a single day large enough to pass would breach the 55% rule and push the target up.
S
Scaling plan
Balance based
Maximum position size is 5 contracts (50 micros) on the 50K Combine, and on the funded account the contracts you may hold follow your current balance rather than the account label.
F
Activation and resets
$149 / monthly price
The Standard path is $49 a month plus a $149 activation fee charged once per funded account earned; the No Activation Fee path is $95 a month with nothing on passing. A Combine reset costs the same as the monthly price, and the path cannot be changed after purchase.

Latest on Topstep

Sourced updates, newest first. All news →

Platforms

Topstep: 90% split on its own TopstepX platform

Topstep offers a 90% profit split with an end-of-day $2K drawdown and ~2-day payouts, on its proprietary TopstepX plus NinjaTrader, Tradovate and TradingView, from $49. Verified on its official site.

Payouts

Topstep enables instant payouts with Aeropay

Topstep added Aeropay as a payout method, letting funded traders receive payouts to a US bank account near-instantly — a notable speed-up to its payout policy.

Platforms

Topstep adds 12 new products, including Bitcoin, Gold and Micro Crude Oil

Funded Topstep traders can now trade 12 additional futures products, including Bitcoin, Gold and Micro Crude Oil, widening diversification beyond the equity indices.

Topstep, head to head

Metric by metric against a single rival, from each firm's own site.

Where Topstep ranks

Every ranking Topstep qualifies for by its own published terms, and its position in each. All rankings →

Frequently asked

Answered from Topstep's own help centre, including the parts its pricing page leaves out.

Which path is cheaper, Standard or No Activation Fee? +
It depends on how long you take. Standard is $49 a month on the 50K plus $149 the first time you pass, so one month and one pass costs $198. The No Activation Fee path is $95 a month with no fee on passing, so the same outcome costs $95 — but a second month makes it $190 against Standard's $247. Topstep's own framing is that Standard suits traders still building consistency and the other suits traders who expect to pass in one or two attempts. The choice is locked at purchase.
When can I request my first payout? +
On the Standard path, after five winning days of at least $150 each; on the Consistency path, after three traded days while keeping your best day at or below 40% of total profit. Requests are capped at 50% of the balance — $2,000 per request on a 50K Standard account, $3,000 on Consistency — with a $125 minimum, and adding a Daily Loss Limit at checkout doubles those caps.
What is the catch with the Maximum Loss Limit? +
It follows your profits up and never comes back down, so a good run permanently raises the floor you must stay above. After a payout it is set to $0 whatever it was before, which means the balance you leave in the account becomes your effective loss limit. Topstep states the limit cannot be adjusted and makes no exceptions.
What happens to my funded account if I breach it? +
The account closes, and Back2Funded is the paid route back: $599 on the 50K, $699 on the 100K and $829 on the 150K, available for 30 calendar days after closure and only before your first payout. Adding a Daily Loss Limit takes $50 off that fee.
Does the profit split have exceptions? +
The split is 90/10 in your favour on both funded paths. Traders who joined the current Topstep dashboard before 12 January 2026 keep 100% of their first $10,000 in lifetime profits before the split applies; payouts from the legacy dashboard do not count toward that $10,000. Live Funded Account payouts are not capped at all, and 30 winning days there unlock daily requests.

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