Unbiased Futures Prop Firm Data & Reviews
4.5
Based on 1 review
About the firm
Topstep is a Chicago futures prop firm that runs the Trading Combine, a monthly-subscription evaluation on CME Group products, and funds traders who pass through an Express Funded Account (XFA) where payouts are taken. Strong performers are called up to a Live Funded Account trading the firm's own capital, with a starting balance up to $150,000. The programme has one hard rule - the trailing Maximum Loss Limit - plus a consistency target that keeps a single big day from carrying a pass. Topstep trades on its own TopstepX platform, which embeds TradingView charts and real-time CME data.
Legal entity: Topstep LLC (TopstepTrader, LLC) · Based in: Chicago, Illinois, United States · Founded: January 2012
Topstep publishes its own timeline: Patak Trading Partners in 2010, Topstep Trader launched in 2012, renamed Topstep in 2020.
2012
Founded
United States
Headquarters
$50K–$150K
Account sizes
$150K
Scales up to
Trade on
1TopstepX
Instruments & assets
Instruments: Equity index futures, Energy futures, Metals futures, Agricultural futures, Interest rate futures, FX futures, Micro crypto futures
Contracts traded: ES, NQ, YM, RTY, CL, GC, SI, ZB, MES, MNQ, MBT, MET
Exchanges: CME, CBOT, NYMEX, COMEX
You pay with
6Visa
Mastercard
American Express
Discover
Apple Pay
Google Pay
You’re paid by
5Prop-to-Brokerage (US only)
Aeropay (US banks)
Wise (China, Canada, UK)
ACH (US banks)
Wire/SWIFT (international)
Leverage & contract limits
Position limits: Every tradeable CME Group product is available, within permitted hours for the Trading Combine and funded accounts. Maximum position size is 5 mini / 50 micro on 50K, 10 mini / 100 micro on 100K and 15 mini / 150 micro on 150K; micros count at a 10:1 ratio to minis.
Futures accounts are sized by contract limit and exchange margin rather than by a leverage multiplier, so no forex-style leverage figure applies.
Risk model: One rule: the Maximum Loss Limit (MLL), a trailing floor that rises with end-of-day balance and locks permanently once it reaches the starting balance. It is $2,000 on 50K, $3,000 on 100K and $4,500 on 150K, and is enforced on unrealised P&L intraday. An Express Funded Account starts at a $0 balance - the 50K/100K/150K label is buying power, not starting capital - and its MLL starts negative, locking at $0 once the balance covers it. A Daily Loss Limit is optional and, when added at Trading Combine checkout, doubles the per-request payout cap.
Commissions & fees
Level 1 (top of book) CME data is included in the subscription; Level 2 depth of market is a $38/month add-on billed on the 28th and not prorated. Live Funded Account traders are additionally subject to professional data fees. Commissions and exchange fees are deducted from the account balance on each fill and show in net P&L. Automated strategies and trade copiers are allowed, with no support or exceptions for errant trades or malfunctions. Micros and minis count against the position limit at a 10:1 ratio in the Trading Combine and Express Funded Account, but not in the Live Funded Account. All of a trader's accounts must sit under a single Topstep profile.
Firm rules
Maximum Loss Limit
The one hard rule
The MLL is the lowest balance the account may reach; touching it at any point in the day, including on unrealised P&L, liquidates the account immediately. It is $2,000 on a 50K, $3,000 on a 100K and $4,500 on a 150K. It trails up with end-of-day balance, never down, and locks once it reaches the starting balance. It cannot be adjusted, and Topstep makes no exceptions.
Consistency target
Best day under 55%
In the Trading Combine, the best single day should stay below 55% of the profit target; a bigger day raises the consistency target rather than failing the account. A Combine cannot be passed in one day - two is the minimum. The Express Funded Account Consistency path applies a 40% consistency target instead.
Daily Loss Limit
Optional, and rewarded
A DLL is optional. Adding one at Trading Combine checkout discounts the monthly fee ($10/$20/$30 by size) and doubles the per-request payout cap once funded. Default DLL amounts are $1,000 on 50K, $2,000 on 100K and $3,000 on 150K. Adding it later, at activation, does not unlock the higher cap.
Payout caps
Express Funded Account only
A payout request is capped at 50% of the account balance, up to $2,000 (50K), $3,000 (100K) or $5,000 (150K) on the Standard path, and $3,000/$4,000/$6,000 on the Consistency path. Those caps double where a Daily Loss Limit was added at Combine purchase. Live Funded Account payouts are not capped.
Position limits
Minis and micros at 10:1
Maximum position size is 5 mini / 50 micro on a 50K, 10 mini / 100 micro on a 100K and 15 mini / 150 micro on a 150K, counted per account at any one moment. The micro-to-mini ratio applies in the Trading Combine and Express Funded Account but not in the Live Funded Account. Micro Silver, Micro Bitcoin and Micro Ether are scaled differently.
Single profile policy
One account per person
Every Trading Combine, Express Funded Account and Live Funded Account must sit under one Topstep profile. Multiple profiles breach the Terms of Use and can lead to closure or suspension. Payment cards must be in the trader's own name; prepaid and gift cards may be declined.
News and prohibited conduct
Published separately
Topstep publishes separate prohibited-conduct and prohibited-trading-strategies policies covering practices such as account rolling and coordinated group trading, and an economic-releases policy for high-impact data. Automated strategies and trade copiers are permitted, but Topstep gives no support and makes no exceptions for malfunctions or errant fills.
Challenges & pricing
6Challenge
Type
Account sizes
Payout policy
Payout frequency: Express Funded Account Standard: after 5 winning days of $150 or more. XFA Consistency: after 3 trading days within a 40% consistency target. Live Funded Account: daily after 30 winning days.
Profit split: 90%
Paid through: Prop-to-Brokerage (US only), Aeropay (US banks), Wise (China, Canada, UK), ACH (US banks), Wire/SWIFT (international)
Maximum allocation: $150,000
Restricted countries
FAQs
5On the Standard Path it is $49/month for a 50K, $99/month for a 100K and $199/month for a 150K, with a $149 activation fee charged once per Express Funded Account earned. On the No Activation Fee Path it is $95, $149 and $229/month and nothing is charged when you pass. Paths cannot be changed after purchase. The subscription rebills every 30 days until you pass or cancel, and each rebill banks a reset credit.
It is the lowest point your balance may reach - $2,000 below the start on a 50K, $3,000 on a 100K and $4,500 on a 150K. It trails upward with your end-of-day balance and locks permanently once it reaches your starting balance. If your balance touches it at any moment, including on open positions, the account is liquidated.
On the Express Funded Account Standard path, after 5 winning days of $150 or more. On the XFA Consistency path, after 3 trading days inside a 40% consistency target. Each request is capped at 50% of the balance up to a per-size ceiling, and those ceilings double if you added a Daily Loss Limit when you bought the Combine. In a Live Funded Account, payouts are uncapped and available daily after 30 winning days.
Every tradeable CME Group product - CME, CBOT, NYMEX and COMEX - inside the permitted hours for your account stage. Level 1 data is included; Level 2 depth of market is a $38/month add-on. Micros and minis count against your position limit at a 10:1 ratio.
No. Two days is the minimum, and your best day should stay below 55% of the profit target or the consistency target rises. Profits made in the Trading Combine do not carry over to the Express Funded Account.
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