01 Topstep
Adversarially verified 16 load-bearing claims · no corrections needed.
50KStandard pricing path: $49/month Combine subscription (rebills every 30 days from signup until passed or canceled) + $149 one-time Activation Fee charged once when the Combine is passed and the Express Funded Account (XFA) is issued. No-Activation-Fee path: $95/month base, or $85/month with the optional Daily Loss Limit add-on (a $10/month 'Responsible Trading Discount'); $0 activation fee on this path.+
Evaluation phase
- Profit target
- $3,000
- Max drawdown
- $2,000
- Drawdown type
- End-of-Day Trailing Max Loss Limit (MLL). It trails upward with each new end-of-day closing balance high but never trails down, and it locks permanently (stops trailing) once it reaches the account's starting balance (breakeven). It is monitored in real time intraday — both realized and unrealized P&L count toward it, and the account is liquidated immediately if net P&L touches the current floor at any moment — even though the floor value itself only steps once per day at the close (~3:10 PM CT). This is NOT a static drawdown and NOT a pure intraday-trailing drawdown; it is officially described as trailing the end-of-day balance, not intraday peaks.
- Daily loss limit
- Optional add-on, selectable at checkout or configured afterward (not mandatory in the Combine). Amount: $1,000 for the 50K tier. Resets each session at 5:00 PM CT. Hitting it flattens open positions and cancels pending orders for the rest of that session (no new trades until the next 5:00 PM CT open) but is explicitly NOT a rule violation and does not fail the evaluation.
- Consistency rule
- Best single trading day's profit must be ≤50% of total accumulated profit toward the Profit Target (Best Day ÷ Total Profit ≤ 50%). The best-day value locks at 3:10 PM CT each day; a later losing day does not reduce a previously locked best day. Breaching 50% does not fail the account outright — instead the required Profit Target is raised to (Best Day ÷ 0.50).
- Minimum trading days
- No separately stated formal minimum-day count. Topstep's own help content says a trader 'can pass in as few as two days,' provided no single day exceeds 50% of total profit — so 2 days is the practical floor created by the consistency math itself, not an independent day-count rule. Third-party sources agree there is no hard minimum beyond this (medium confidence on the 'no hard minimum' framing specifically, since it is not stated as an explicit numbered rule on topstep.com).
- Max contracts
- 5 full-size contracts (50 micro contracts). Micro contracts count against the limit at a 10:1 ratio versus minis/full-size.
- Other pass rules
- Day-trading only: all positions must be flat by 3:10 PM CT every weekday (no overnight or weekend holds); trading resumes at 5:00 PM CT. The Combine is a rebilling monthly subscription until passed or canceled.
Funded phase
- Account type
- Express Funded Account (XFA) — a simulated funded account, not live capital. A further, separate real-money stage (Live Funded Account / LFA) exists beyond the XFA; see universal_rules for how traders reach it.
- Activation / monthly fee
- $149 one-time Activation Fee (Standard pricing path) charged once when the Combine is passed and the XFA is issued; $0 if the trader originally selected the No-Activation-Fee Combine pricing path. No separate recurring monthly fee was found for the XFA stage itself.
- Drawdown
- $2,000 Max Loss Limit — same dollar figure as the Combine.
- Drawdown type
- Same End-of-Day Trailing MLL mechanic as the Combine (trails up with new EOD balance highs, locks permanently at breakeven). Per Topstep's payout policy, after each payout is processed the MLL cushion resets to $0 buffer above the (now-reduced) floor, forcing the trader to rebuild a profit cushion before further drawdown room exists.
- Daily loss limit
- Optional, same $1,000 amount and same 5:00 PM CT reset / non-violation flatten-and-pause behavior as the Combine.
- Consistency / payout rule
- Payout path is chosen once at XFA activation and is fixed for that cycle (cannot switch mid-cycle). Standard path: no percentage cap — requires 5 non-consecutive winning days of $150+ net profit each, plus positive net profit since the last payout. Consistency path: requires a minimum of 3 trading days with at least 1 trade on each, and the largest single day's net profit must be ≤40% of total net profit (a strict, non-rounded cutoff — 40.1% fails).
- Payout schedule
- Payout requests may be submitted any time markets are open: Sunday 5:00 PM CT through Friday 5:00 PM CT (excluding holidays). No stated cap on request frequency once each cycle's requirements are re-met. Minimum payout amount: $125.
- Profit split
- 90/10 (trader keeps 90%, Topstep keeps 10%). Legacy exception: traders onboarded to the new dashboard before 2026-01-12 keep 100% of their first $10,000 in lifetime profit before the 90/10 split applies to profit thereafter.
- Scaling / contract limits
- Same max-contract limit as the Combine for this tier (5 full-size / 50 micro), tied to a balance-based Scaling Plan whose exact contract-per-balance-band breakdown Topstep presents only as a visual chart (not extracted as text here — unknown exact intermediate steps). Maximum 5 active XFAs open simultaneously.
- Other funded rules
- Per-tier payout caps for the 50K account: Standard path — up to 50% of account balance, capped at $2,000; Consistency path — up to 50% of balance, capped at $3,000. After each payout, the winning-day counter (Standard) or the 3-day/consistency calculation (Consistency) restarts from zero. Same 3:10 PM CT day-trading close rule as the Combine applies. Back2Funded: an XFA closed before its first payout can be reactivated up to 2 times within 7 days of closure for a $599 reactivation fee (50K tier).
100KStandard pricing path: $99/month + $149 one-time Activation Fee on passing. No-Activation-Fee path: $149/month base, or $129/month with the Daily Loss Limit add-on ($20/month discount); $0 activation fee.+
Evaluation phase
- Profit target
- $6,000
- Max drawdown
- $3,000
- Drawdown type
- Same End-of-Day Trailing Max Loss Limit mechanic described for the 50K tier (trails up with EOD highs, never down, locks permanently at breakeven; monitored intraday in real time on realized+unrealized P&L).
- Daily loss limit
- Optional add-on. Amount: $2,000 for the 100K tier. Same 5:00 PM CT reset and non-violation flatten/pause behavior as described for the 50K tier.
- Consistency rule
- Identical rule to the 50K tier: best single day ≤50% of total profit toward the Profit Target, locked at 3:10 PM CT daily; breach raises the target rather than failing the account.
- Minimum trading days
- Same as 50K tier: no separately stated formal minimum; practical floor of ~2 days from the consistency math itself.
- Max contracts
- 10 full-size contracts (100 micro contracts, 10:1 ratio).
- Other pass rules
- Same day-trading (3:10 PM CT flat) and monthly-rebilling-subscription structure as the 50K tier.
Funded phase
- Account type
- Express Funded Account (XFA) — simulated funded account, same structure as the 50K tier.
- Activation / monthly fee
- $149 one-time Activation Fee (Standard path) or $0 (No-Activation-Fee path). No separate recurring XFA monthly fee identified.
- Drawdown
- $3,000 Max Loss Limit.
- Drawdown type
- Same End-of-Day Trailing MLL mechanic; resets to $0 cushion above the floor after each payout, same as 50K.
- Daily loss limit
- Optional, $2,000 for this tier, same reset/behavior rules.
- Consistency / payout rule
- Same two-path structure as 50K tier: Standard = 5 winning days of $150+; Consistency = 3 trading days, largest single day ≤40% of total net profit.
- Payout schedule
- Same schedule as 50K tier: Sunday 5:00 PM CT – Friday 5:00 PM CT, no stated frequency cap, $125 minimum payout.
- Profit split
- 90/10, same legacy 100%-of-first-$10,000 exception for pre-2026-01-12 dashboard accounts.
- Scaling / contract limits
- 10 full-size / 100 micro contract limit, same balance-based Scaling Plan caveat as 50K. Max 5 active XFAs simultaneously.
- Other funded rules
- Per-tier payout caps for the 100K account: Standard path capped at $3,000; Consistency path capped at $4,000 (both up to 50% of balance). Same payout-cycle reset and 3:10 PM CT rules as 50K. Back2Funded reactivation fee: $699 for this tier.
150KStandard pricing path: $199/month + $149 one-time Activation Fee on passing. No-Activation-Fee path: $229/month base, or $199/month with the Daily Loss Limit add-on ($30/month discount); $0 activation fee.+
Evaluation phase
- Profit target
- $9,000
- Max drawdown
- $4,500
- Drawdown type
- Same End-of-Day Trailing Max Loss Limit mechanic as the other tiers.
- Daily loss limit
- Optional add-on. Amount: $3,000 for the 150K tier. Same 5:00 PM CT reset and non-violation flatten/pause behavior.
- Consistency rule
- Identical rule to other tiers: best single day ≤50% of total profit, locked at 3:10 PM CT daily.
- Minimum trading days
- Same as other tiers: no separately stated formal minimum; practical ~2-day floor from the consistency math.
- Max contracts
- 15 full-size contracts (150 micro contracts, 10:1 ratio).
- Other pass rules
- Same day-trading (3:10 PM CT flat) and monthly-rebilling-subscription structure as other tiers.
Funded phase
- Account type
- Express Funded Account (XFA) — simulated funded account, same structure as other tiers.
- Activation / monthly fee
- $149 one-time Activation Fee (Standard path) or $0 (No-Activation-Fee path).
- Drawdown
- $4,500 Max Loss Limit.
- Drawdown type
- Same End-of-Day Trailing MLL mechanic; resets to $0 cushion above the floor after each payout.
- Daily loss limit
- Optional, $3,000 for this tier, same reset/behavior rules.
- Consistency / payout rule
- Same two-path structure: Standard = 5 winning days of $150+; Consistency = 3 trading days, largest single day ≤40% of total net profit.
- Payout schedule
- Same schedule as other tiers: Sunday 5:00 PM CT – Friday 5:00 PM CT, no stated frequency cap, $125 minimum payout.
- Profit split
- 90/10, same legacy 100%-of-first-$10,000 exception for pre-2026-01-12 dashboard accounts.
- Scaling / contract limits
- 15 full-size / 150 micro contract limit, same balance-based Scaling Plan caveat. Max 5 active XFAs simultaneously.
- Other funded rules
- Per-tier payout caps for the 150K account: Standard path capped at $5,000; Consistency path capped at $6,000 (both up to 50% of balance). Same payout-cycle reset and 3:10 PM CT rules as other tiers. Back2Funded reactivation fee: $829 for this tier.
Sources (23)
- https://www.topstep.com
- https://www.topstep.com/no-activation-fee
- https://www.topstep.com/express-funded-account-rules
- https://www.topstep.com/our-program
- https://help.topstep.com/en/articles/8284197-trading-combine-parameters
- https://help.topstep.com/en/articles/8284121-trading-combine-subscriptions
- https://help.topstep.com/en/articles/8284208-consistency-at-topstep
- https://help.topstep.com/en/articles/8284204-what-is-the-maximum-loss-limit
- https://help.topstep.com/en/articles/10490293-daily-loss-limit-in-the-trading-combine-and-express-funded-account
- https://help.topstep.com/en/articles/14289835-topstep-pricing-and-payment-questions
- https://help.topstep.com/en/articles/10657969-live-funded-account-parameters
- https://help.topstep.com/en/articles/8284233-topstep-payout-policy
- https://help.topstep.com/en/articles/10305426-prohibited-trading-strategies-at-topstep
- https://help.topstep.com/en/articles/8284215-express-funded-account-parameters
- https://help.topstep.com/en/articles/8284198-what-happens-after-i-pass-the-trading-combine
- https://help.topstep.com/en/articles/8284229-what-are-the-costs-in-the-live-funded-account
- https://proptradingvibes.com/blog/topstep-rules-overview
- https://proptradingvibes.com/blog/topstep-trading-combine-rules
- https://proptradingvibes.com/blog/topstep-trading-platforms
- https://tradecovex.com/guides/topstep-combine-rules-2026
- https://tradecovex.com/guides/topstep-payout-rules-2026
- https://fortraders.com/blog/topstep-funded-account-rules
- https://app.tradersforge.net/prop-firms/topstep
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