Topstep Review 2026: Rules, Costs and Payouts

Topstep sells a paid test, then a simulated account that pays real money, and only at the very end a live account. The firm’s own figures for 2025 show that 0.71 percent of traders in the Express Funded Account were called up to the one stage that trades real capital. If you are weighing the monthly fee, the useful question is not whether Topstep pays, but what you are buying at each step and what you can lose on the way.

For this review I collected the current rules, prices and payout terms from Topstep’s own pages. The sources are topstep.com and about fifteen articles in the Topstep help center, checked on October 24 and 25, 2026. I did not buy a Combine myself, and we have no business relationship with Topstep: no affiliate link, no coupon code. How we research and write is described in our editorial policy.

Topstep in 30 seconds

• Overall: a Chicago futures prop firm, founded in 2010. Three stages: the Trading Combine and the Express Funded Account are simulated, only the Live Funded Account uses real capital, and Topstep decides who moves up.
• Cost: from $49 a month (50K, Standard Path) plus a $149 activation fee when you pass, or from $95 a month without the activation fee. You keep paying monthly until you pass or cancel, and a Reset after a failed attempt costs the same as one monthly fee.
• Main rule: the Maximum Loss Limit. It follows your highest end-of-day balance upward, is checked in real time including open losses, and one touch ends the attempt.
• Payouts: 90/10 split. In the Express Funded Account each request is capped at 50 percent of the balance and at $2,000 to $6,000 depending on size and path. After the first payout the loss limit sits at $0.
• Trust signals: published 2025 statistics, named operating companies, Trustpilot 3.7 of 5 from 14,989 reviews (October 25, 2026). The rules can change at short notice, and Topstep keeps broad discretion over reviews and the Live call-up.

What is Topstep?

Topstep is a Chicago company that sells futures traders a paid test, gives successful testers a simulated account with real payouts and, for a small share, a live account with company capital. According to its company history, it started in 2010 as Patak Trading Partners on the floor of the Chicago Board of Trade, launched the Trading Combine as Topstep Trader in 2012, renamed itself Topstep in 2020 and launched its own platform TopstepX in 2024.

Behind the brand are several companies with different roles. The risk disclaimer on topstep.com names them as wholly owned subsidiaries of Topstep LLC: the Trading Combine and the Express Funded Account are run by TopstepTrader, LLC, the Live Funded Account by TopstepFunded LLC, and TopstepX belongs to ProjectX Trading LLC. Only Topstep Brokerage LLC is named as a registered introducing broker and NFA member (NFA ID 0567079). It does not run the simulated program.

Topstep at a glance

Account sizes	50K, 100K, 150K
Markets	CME Group futures only (CME, CBOT, NYMEX, COMEX), no stocks, no spot forex
Trading day	5:00 PM to 3:10 PM CT (6:00 PM to 4:10 PM ET), flat every day
Combine fees	$49 / $99 / $199 a month (Standard Path)
Profit split	90/10
Payout cap per request	Express Funded only: $2,000 to $6,000; Live: none
2025 statistics	16.8% of Combines passed; 0.71% of Express Funded traders called up to Live

The three stages: Combine, Express Funded Account, Live

1. Simulated, you payTrading CombineMonthly fee. Reach the profit target without touching the Maximum Loss Limit. Profits do not carry over.
2. Simulated, Topstep paysExpress Funded AccountStarts at a $0 balance. Payouts in real money, 90/10 split, capped per request.
3. Real capitalLive Funded AccountOnly after a call-up at Topstep's discretion. All Express Funded Accounts close. No payout cap.

Topstep's 2025 figures: 16.8% of all Combines started were passed, and 0.71% of traders in an Express Funded Account were called up to Live. Sources: topstep.com and the Topstep help center, checked October 24 and 25, 2026.

Only the last of the three stages trades real money. The common description of a prop firm as a company that lends you capital fits only the Live Funded Account. In the Combine and the Express Funded Account you trade CME futures on live market data, but the account is simulated and no exchange order is placed.

1. The Trading Combine

The Trading Combine is a paid, simulated test with one rule and two objectives. The rule: your balance must never touch the Maximum Loss Limit. The objectives: reach the profit target, and keep your best day within the consistency target described below. You can pass in two trading days at the earliest. The money you make in the Combine does not carry over to the next stage.

Account	Profit target	Loss limit
50K	$3,000	$2,000
100K	$6,000	$3,000
150K	$9,000	$4,500

Profit target and Maximum Loss Limit. The maximum position is 5, 10 or 15 mini contracts (most micros count 10:1; Micro Silver, Micro Bitcoin and Micro Ether have special weightings or limits, see Topstep’s Scaling Plan article). Topstep help center: Trading Combine Parameters, Consistency at Topstep and What is the Maximum Loss Limit, checked October 25, 2026.

2. The Express Funded Account

After the Combine you get an Express Funded Account, which is still simulated but pays real money. Its balance starts at $0; the 50K, 100K or 150K label only describes the buying power. You can hold up to five of these accounts at once, and the number of contracts grows with your balance under Topstep’s Scaling Plan.

At activation you choose one of two payout paths, and you cannot change it later. The Standard path needs five winning days of at least $150 net profit each. The Consistency path needs three trading days, and your largest winning day may be at most 40 percent of your total net profit. On the Standard Path you pay the $149 activation fee at this point.

3. The Live Funded Account

The call-up to Live is at the discretion of Topstep’s risk team, and you cannot refuse it and keep your Express Funded Accounts. If you are called up, all your Express Funded Accounts close. The Live account size is the average size of your eligible Express Funded Accounts, rounded up to 50K, 100K or 150K, and the balance you bring over is capped at that size. Topstep needs 7 to 10 business days to open the account.

Only part of the Live account can be traded at the start. 20 percent is available right away (at least $10,000), and 80 percent is held in reserve and released in four steps of 25 percent each time you reach the profit target for your size. A Daily Loss Limit of $2,000, $3,000 or $4,500 applies automatically, automated strategies are not possible on Live, and the account is closed if the balance falls below $1,000. Live payouts have no dollar cap.

Not every country can reach Live. Topstep’s eligibility page lists countries whose residents can trade the Combine and the Express Funded Account but not the Live Funded Account, among them Germany, Hong Kong and Iceland. For them, total payouts are capped at $200,000. US residents are not affected.

Topstep costs: what the test really costs

Topstep charges a monthly subscription for the Combine, and you choose between two price paths at purchase. The current list prices on Topstep’s pricing page, in US dollars before sales tax:

	50K	100K	150K
Standard, monthly	$49	$99	$199
plus activation	$149	$149	$149
No Activation Fee, monthly	$95	$149	$229

Monthly fees for the Standard and the No Activation Fee Path; the activation fee is charged once per Express Funded Account on the Standard Path only. A Reset costs the same as one monthly fee on the same path. Topstep help center, Topstep Pricing and Payment Questions, checked October 24 and 25, 2026 (unchanged).

What you pay depends on how many fees you pay before you pass, not directly on how many attempts you need. The subscription bills every month until you pass or cancel, even if you have not failed. If you touch the loss limit, the Combine becomes ineligible until you Reset it. A Reset costs one monthly fee and moves your next billing date 30 days out; each monthly rebill also adds a free Reset credit to your account. So a fast failure plus a Reset costs one extra fee, and one slow attempt that runs into a second month costs one extra fee as well. The paths cannot be switched after purchase.

For a 50K account, the No Activation Fee Path is cheaper as long as you pay three fees or fewer. The table is an illustration: it counts the fees paid (monthly fees and Resets) plus the activation fee after passing, assumes no Reset credits saved from earlier, and leaves out sales tax, Level 2 data, commissions and promotion codes. Two fees can mean one attempt that lasted two months or a failure plus a Reset:

Fees paid until you pass	Standard Path	No Activation Fee Path
1	$49 + $149 = $198	$95
2	$98 + $149 = $247	$190
3	$147 + $149 = $296	$285
4	$196 + $149 = $345	$380

The break-even point moves with the account size. On the 100K account both paths cost almost the same at three fees ($446 against $447), and on the 150K account the No Activation Fee Path stays cheaper up to four fees. How many fees you will pay is unknown in advance: Topstep reports that 16.8 percent of all Combines started in 2025 were passed, but that figure counts accounts, not people, and does not tell you how many months or Resets one trader needs.

Some costs sit inside every trade. Commissions and exchange fees are deducted per trade in all three stages; on TopstepX a round turn costs $3.78 for the E-mini S&P 500 and $1.22 for the Micro E-mini S&P, according to Topstep’s commission table. Level 1 data is included, Level 2 (depth of market) costs $38 a month, and Live accounts pay professional data fees.

Back2Funded is a second life for an Express Funded Account, at a price. If you lose the account before your first payout, you can reactivate it within 30 calendar days for $599 (50K), $699 (100K) or $829 (150K), up to two times per account and only on TopstepX. Topstep extended this window from 7 to 30 days on May 29, 2026, according to its Back2Funded article; an older rules page on topstep.com still says 7 days.

Topstep rules: loss limit, consistency and trading hours

Topstep’s rules are documented in detail, and three of them decide most outcomes. They are the trailing loss limit, the consistency targets and the daily close at 3:10 PM CT.

The Maximum Loss Limit: the rule that ends the attempt

The Maximum Loss Limit is the lowest balance your account may reach. It is set at the end of each trading day from your highest closing balance and only moves up, but it is monitored in real time, including open losses. If your account touches it for a moment, the position is closed at market, even if the fill comes back above the limit. In the Combine the limit stops rising once it reaches the starting balance (for example $50,000), according to Topstep’s explanation.

50K account	Loss limit	Breach
Combine	starts at $48,000, locks at $50,000	Reset needed
Express Funded	starts at minus $2,000, locks at $0	closed
After 1st payout	$0	closed

The Express Funded limit locks at $0 once the balance reaches $2,000. The 100K and 150K accounts work the same way with $3,000 and $4,500. Topstep help center, What is the Maximum Loss Limit, checked October 25, 2026.

The drawdown guide works this rule through with real trades. Our guide to prop firm drawdown runs 61 closed trades against Topstep’s 50K rules and shows how risk per trade changes the modelled pass rate. That simulation uses the rules as checked on October 18, 2026; the loss limit, the 55 percent consistency target and the 50K prices described there are unchanged on October 25.

The 55 percent consistency target in the Combine

Your best single day in the Combine may be at most 55 percent of your profit target. On the 50K that is $1,650, on the 100K $3,300 and on the 150K $4,950. If one day goes higher, your profit target rises to the best day divided by 0.55, and later losses do not undo it. Example: a best day of $1,800 on a 50K Combine lifts the target from $3,000 to about $3,273. Topstep says there is no buffer above the 55 percent line.

The 40 percent consistency rule for Express Funded payouts

On the Consistency path, no winning day may exceed 40 percent of your total net profit since the last payout. If your best day is $2,000, you need at least $5,000 of total net profit before you can request a payout. After every payout the calculation starts again from zero, together with the count of three trading days.

Trading hours and the 3:10 PM CT close

The Topstep trading day runs from 5:00 PM CT to 3:10 PM CT the next day, which is 6:00 PM to 4:10 PM ET. Every position must be flat by 3:10 PM CT; Topstep’s risk managers start closing positions at 3:08 PM, and products with an earlier close must be exited earlier. Chicago and New York change to and from daylight saving time on the same dates, so the one-hour gap stays the same all year. Topstep does not hold positions overnight, so swing trading is not possible.

The Daily Loss Limit

The Daily Loss Limit is optional in the Combine and the Express Funded Account, and automatic in the Live account. If you choose it at checkout, it is $1,000, $2,000 or $3,000 by account size, fixed for the life of the account. Hitting it is not a rule violation: open positions are closed and you can trade again from 5:00 PM CT, according to Topstep’s Daily Loss Limit article. With a Daily Loss Limit the No Activation Fee Combine is $10 to $30 cheaper per month, and new Combine purchases currently get doubled payout caps in the Express Funded Account under a limited-time offer.

What is not allowed

Topstep lists a long catalogue of prohibited conduct and decides violations case by case. It includes cross-account hedging (opposite positions in two of your own accounts), coordinated trading with others, account stacking (burning one account after another with high risk), VPNs, exploiting price or platform errors, trading for others and holding positions within 2 percent of a price limit. Possible responses range from a warning to permanent closure and a delayed or denied payout. The list ends with a catch-all clause for any conduct Topstep considers not responsible trading.

Topstep payouts: how fast and how much?

You can request payouts from the Express Funded Account and the Live account, with a minimum of $125 and a 90/10 split. Traders who joined Topstep’s new dashboard before January 12, 2026 keep 100 percent of their first $10,000 in lifetime profits; for everyone else the 90/10 split applies from the first dollar. Each Express Funded request is limited to 50 percent of the balance and to a cap by size and path:

Account	Standard path cap	Consistency path cap
50K	$2,000	$3,000
100K	$3,000	$4,000
150K	$5,000	$6,000

Topstep help center, Topstep Payout Policy, checked October 25, 2026. Under a limited-time offer the caps double for new Combine purchases with a Daily Loss Limit added at checkout.

On the Standard path you need five winning days of at least $150 for every payout. The days do not have to follow each other, and they lock in at 4:00 PM CT. From the second payout on, you also need positive net profit since the last payout. The day of a request does not count for the next cycle. In the Live account, each payout also needs five winning days and may take up to 50 percent of the balance; after 30 winning days in Live (Express Funded days do not count) you can request daily payouts of up to 100 percent of the unlocked balance. Reserve funds cannot be withdrawn, and taking out everything closes the account.

A worked example: why the timing of the first payout matters

Paying out early costs more of your safety margin than paying out late. Take a 50K Express Funded Account on the Standard path. After five winning days of $300 the balance is $1,500, and the loss limit has trailed up from minus $2,000 to minus $500: you have $2,000 of cushion. The first payout is limited to 50 percent of the balance, so you can take $750. You receive $675 after the 90/10 split (with Aeropay; ACH costs another $30). Then the loss limit jumps to $0, and only $750 of cushion remains.

If you wait until the balance is $4,000, the loss limit has already locked at $0. The payout of $2,000 (50 percent of the balance, also the 50K Standard cap) brings $1,800 after the split and leaves $2,000 of cushion. Topstep itself recommends waiting until the loss limit has reached $0 before the first payout. Both cases are illustrations of the published rules, not results of real traders, and assume the payout is requested after the end-of-day update with no earlier, higher closing balance.

Payout methods

Method	Time	Fee
Prop-to-Brokerage (US)	same day	none
Aeropay (US banks)	instant	none
ACH (US banks)	1 to 3 days	$30
Wise (China, Canada, UK)	1 to 3 days	none
Wire (international)	5 to 10 days	$30

Topstep’s own fee; banks and payment services may charge their own. Times in business days, after Topstep’s internal approval of 1 to 3 business days; Prop-to-Brokerage is same-day if requested by 12:00 PM CT, Aeropay instant after approval if your bank supports it. Topstep help center, Topstep Payout Policy, checked October 25, 2026.

TopstepX and the trading platforms

TopstepX is Topstep’s own web platform, and some features only work there. It runs in the browser with charts, order entry and risk settings such as personal daily loss limits, profit targets and contract limits. Back2Funded reactivation requires an account on TopstepX. Topstep’s commission table for TopstepX applies to all three stages; the fees differ by product, from $0.72 per round turn for Micro Ether to $5.32 for the Nikkei future.

You can trade only CME Group futures. Topstep’s product list covers equity index futures (ES, NQ, RTY, YM and their micros), currency futures, energy, metals, grains, livestock, Treasury futures and Micro Bitcoin and Micro Ether. There are no stocks, no spot forex, no CFDs and no options. Some micro contracts carry extra restrictions under the prohibited-conduct rules.

Reliability and what this review cannot prove

Topstep publishes more performance data than most prop firms, but the figures have different bases. For 2025 it reports that 16.8 percent of all Combines started were passed, that 51.8 percent of people who started at least one Combine passed one, that 33.3 percent of people at the funded level received a payout, and that 0.71 percent of traders in an Express Funded Account were called up to Live. Accounts and people are different units, so these rates cannot be multiplied into one chance of success, and none of them predicts your own result.

Customer reviews are mixed. On October 25, 2026, Trustpilot showed 3.7 of 5 from 14,989 reviews. The German version of this review recorded 3.4 from more than 13,800 reviews in April 2026. Review scores are self-selected opinions and say little about any single rule. Topstep’s provider-reported payouts are not independent proof either.

What this review cannot establish: how consistently Topstep applies its discretionary rules (prohibited conduct, the Live call-up, reserve releases), and whether today’s prices and caps will still hold next month. In 2026 alone, Topstep changed its profit split and the Back2Funded window and added a limited-time payout offer. Read the Terms of Use and the Payout Policy on the day you buy.

Pros and cons of Topstep

Pros

• Published 2025 statistics: pass rate per Combine and per person, payout rate and Live call-up rate, with their bases named.
• Detailed help center: each stage, limit and payout rule is explained with examples.
• Optional Daily Loss Limit: a forced pause after a bad day instead of a closed account, with a small price discount.
• Real money in the Express Funded Account: payouts start before the Live stage, with several US payout methods without a Topstep fee.
• No dollar cap on Live: at first up to 50 percent of the balance per request, after 30 Live winning days daily payouts from the unlocked balance.

Cons

• Monthly fees until you pass: the subscription runs every month, and only 16.8 percent of the Combines started in 2025 were passed.
• Loss limit in real time: a short dip in open profit and loss can end the attempt.
• Low payout caps on small accounts: $2,000 per request on a 50K Standard account.
• Live is rare and discretionary: 0.71 percent of Express Funded traders in 2025, and you cannot decline the call-up.
• Broad discretion: prohibited conduct includes a catch-all clause, and rules changed several times in 2026.

Who Topstep fits and who should avoid it

• Good fit for: futures day traders with a tested setup who are flat by 3:10 PM CT, can keep their best day small relative to the target, and budget the fees for several months or Resets.
• Not a fit for: beginners without a tested strategy, swing traders, anyone who wants stocks, spot forex or CFDs, anyone who needs automated strategies on live capital, and anyone who must take money out of a small account quickly.

Alternatives to Topstep

Topstep competes with several US futures prop firms, each with its own rulebook. On this site we have reviewed Take Profit Trader, which also charges a monthly test fee, and Bulenox, which switched to one-time fees in 2026. IQ Capital offers crypto, CFD and futures accounts with a strict per-trade loss limit, and our Bitfunded review covers a crypto prop firm. Short comparisons of these firms are on our prop trading page.

Before choosing, compare how the loss limit moves and what each attempt costs. Whether the limit trails at the end of the day or intraday, when it stops rising and how a payout changes it decides how long a strategy survives. Good risk management and a backtest of your setup under the firm’s rules matter more than the size printed on the account.

Our verdict: documented rules, a long way to real capital

Topstep is one of the best-documented futures prop firms in 2026. The rules, the 2025 statistics and the help center are clearer than at most competitors, and the Express Funded Account pays real money before the Live stage. For a trader with a tested setup, the Combine is a fair, paid stress test.

My criticism concerns the path more than the firm. The fees add up month by month, the payout caps on small accounts are low, a first payout taken early leaves a thin cushion, and the data show that almost no one reaches the Live account. Germany is not even eligible for Live. If your goal is to trade company capital, Topstep is a long route with an uncertain end.

In short: Topstep is a usable training ground with real payouts, not a shortcut to a funded career. Treat the fees as the price of a test, take payouts only when the loss limit has locked at $0, and read the current rules on the day you buy.

This review describes Topstep’s rules and costs; it is not investment advice. Futures trading carries a high risk of loss, and we do not earn a commission from Topstep.

Frequently asked questions about Topstep

Is Topstep legit?

Topstep is an established US firm with named operating companies and published statistics, and its Trading Combine and Express Funded Account are simulated services, not brokerage accounts. The Combine and the Express Funded Account are run by TopstepTrader, LLC, the Live account by TopstepFunded LLC. Only the sister company Topstep Brokerage LLC is a registered introducing broker (NFA ID 0567079).

How much does Topstep cost?

The Combine costs $49 to $229 a month, depending on size and price path. On the Standard Path it is $49, $99 or $199 a month plus a $149 activation fee after passing; on the No Activation Fee Path $95, $149 or $229 a month. Each further month costs another fee, a purchased Reset costs the same as one monthly fee (an eligible Reset credit from a rebill avoids that charge), and commissions, Level 2 data and Back2Funded ($599 to $829) come on top.

Is the Topstep funded account real money?

The Express Funded Account is simulated, but its payouts are real money. Your trades are not sent to the market. Only the Live Funded Account trades Topstep’s capital, and Topstep invites traders there at its own discretion: 0.71 percent of Express Funded traders in 2025.

How fast does Topstep pay out?

Topstep approves payouts within 1 to 3 business days, and the method decides the rest. In the US, Prop-to-Brokerage can arrive the same day and Aeropay instantly after approval; ACH takes 1 to 3 business days and costs $30. Internationally, Wise works only for China, Canada and the UK, otherwise a wire takes 5 to 10 business days.

What happens if I hit the Maximum Loss Limit?

In the Combine the account becomes ineligible until you buy a Reset; in the Express Funded Account it is closed for good. If you lost an Express Funded Account before your first payout, Back2Funded can reactivate it within 30 days for a fee. A Daily Loss Limit, by contrast, only stops trading until the next session.

Which countries are restricted at Topstep?

Topstep excludes residents of sanctioned and partner-restricted countries, and some other countries cannot reach Live. Among the excluded are Russia, Iran, Turkey, Ukraine and Nigeria; Germany, Hong Kong and Iceland are among the countries limited to the Express Funded Account with total payouts of up to $200,000. The list can change, so check Topstep’s eligibility page before you buy.