Chicago futures prop firm running monthly Trading Combine evaluations from $50K to $150K on TopstepX.
Founded
2012 (14 years)
Headquarters
Chicago, United States
CEO
Michael Patak
Max funding
$750K
Profit split
Up to 90%
Programs
1-step
Trading permissions
NewsAllowed with limits
EAsAllowed
CopyAllowed with limits
OvernightNot allowed
WeekendNot allowed
Overview
Topstep is a Chicago futures prop firm that launched its Topstep Trader evaluation in 2012 and is led by its founder and CEO, Michael Patak. Traders buy a monthly Trading Combine subscription in 50K, 100K or 150K sizes, either on the Standard path with a $149 activation fee after passing or on a higher-priced No Activation Fee path. Passing leads to a simulated Express Funded Account, where payouts are split 90/10 and capped per request, and traders with a consistent record may be called up to a Live Funded Account. Trading runs only on Topstep's own TopstepX platform, positions must be flat by 3:10 PM CT, and up to five Express Funded Accounts can be held at once. Experimental one-time-fee products sold under the Topstep Labs banner are not profiled here.
No challenges match these filters. Pick another size or clear a filter.
Target ÷ loss is the total profit target divided by the max loss limit. Lower means less profit is needed for each unit of risk. Prices are list prices before discounts. Per $100K converts EUR and GBP at a fixed rate for ranking only.
Trading Combine (Standard)
1-step
Account sizes
$50K to $150K
Price
$49 to $199 a month
Drawdown
End-of-day trailing
Profit split
90%
Payouts
5 winning days, or 3 days at 40%
Minimum trading days
2, because the best day must stay at or below 55% of the profit target
Time limit
None; the subscription rebills every 30 days until the Combine is passed or cancelled
Fee refunded
No
Payouts: on activation the trader picks the Express Funded Standard path (5 winning days of $150 or more per payout) or the Consistency path (3 traded days with the best day at or below 40% of net profit).
A daily loss limit of $1,000, $2,000 or $3,000 is optional and can be fixed at checkout; hitting it ends the session but is not a rule break, and it carries into the Express Funded Account.
The Maximum Loss Limit trails the end-of-day balance high, is enforced in real time on open P&L, and locks once it reaches the starting balance.
In the Express Funded Account the balance starts at $0 with the loss limit at minus $2,000, $3,000 or $4,500; it locks at $0 once reached and is set to $0 after the first payout.
Express Funded Accounts follow a Scaling Plan, so the full contract size is only unlocked as the balance grows.
A Reset costs the same as the monthly price, and one free Reset credit is issued at each rebill.
A lost Express Funded Account can be reactivated through Back2Funded within 30 days for $599 (50K), $699 (100K) or $829 (150K), up to two times.
New traders can get one monthly payment refunded within their first 14 days if they have not passed; activation fees and Resets are not refundable.
Trading Combine (No Activation Fee)
1-step
Account sizes
$50K to $150K
Price
$95 to $229 a month
Drawdown
End-of-day trailing
Profit split
90%
Payouts
5 winning days, or 3 days at 40%
Minimum trading days
2, because the best day must stay at or below 55% of the profit target
Time limit
None; the subscription rebills every 30 days until the Combine is passed or cancelled
Fee refunded
No
Same Combine rules as the Standard path; the higher monthly price replaces the $149 activation fee. The path cannot be changed after purchase.
Adding the optional daily loss limit ($1,000, $2,000 or $3,000) at checkout applies the Responsible Trading discount of $10, $20 or $30 a month, giving $85, $129 or $199.
Payouts: the trader chooses the Express Funded Standard path (5 winning days of $150 or more) or the Consistency path (3 traded days, best day at or below 40%).
A Reset costs the same as the monthly price, and one free Reset credit is issued at each rebill.
Trading rules
What Topstep lets you do on its accounts, taken from its rules and FAQ pages.
News trading
Allowed with limits
News can be traded, but deliberately trading the full maximum position size into a scheduled major news event is prohibited.
Expert advisors
Allowed
Automated strategies may be used at the trader's own risk; software, AI or high-speed systems that gain an unfair advantage or exploit simulated fills are prohibited.
Copy trading
Allowed with limits
The TopstepX trade copier can mirror trades across a trader's own Combine and Express Funded accounts (up to $750K in buying power), but not Live accounts; coordinated trading with other people is prohibited.
Overnight holding
Not allowed
All positions must be closed by 3:10 PM CT each weekday; trading resumes at 5:00 PM CT.
Weekend holding
Not allowed
Positions must be flat at the Friday 3:10 PM CT close.
Rules to read before you buy
Each trader may hold only one Topstep profile, and up to five active Express Funded Accounts at a time.
Holding opposite positions across accounts and trading in coordination with other people are prohibited.
Holding a position within 2% of a product's daily price limit is prohibited.
Account stacking (repeatedly blowing one account and moving to another), trading outside the best bid or offer and exploiting simulated fills are prohibited.
VPNs, proxies and other location-masking tools are not allowed.
Ten micros count as one mini, except Micro Silver, Micro Bitcoin and Micro Ether, which have their own weightings.
Residents of Crimea and the Donetsk, Luhansk, Kherson and Zaporizhzhia regions are ineligible. Traders in some countries, such as Germany, Hong Kong and Vietnam, can earn Express Funded payouts up to $200,000 in total but cannot move to a Live account.
Inactivity: Express Funded Accounts with no trading activity for more than 30 days may be closed.
How the drawdown works
End-of-day trailing (Trading Combine (Standard), Trading Combine (No Activation Fee))
The loss limit moves up once a day, based on your end-of-day balance, and ignores swings during the session.
Consistency rules
Trading Combine (Standard)
Combine: best day at or below 55% of the profit target, or the target rises; Express Funded Consistency path: best day at or below 40% of net profit
Trading Combine (No Activation Fee)
Combine: best day at or below 55% of the profit target, or the target rises; Express Funded Consistency path: best day at or below 40% of net profit
Leverage and fees
Leverage
Leverage is not published.
Commissions
Topstep commissions
Mini and full-size contracts
$1.00 round turn commission plus exchange fees and a $0.02 NFA fee (ES totals $3.78 round turn)
Micro contracts
$0.50 round turn commission plus exchange fees and a $0.02 NFA fee (MES totals $1.22 round turn)
90% to the trader on Express Funded and Live payouts. Traders who joined the new dashboard before 12 January 2026 keep 100% of their first $10,000 in lifetime profit.
How often
Express Funded Standard: after every 5 winning days of $150 or more. Express Funded Consistency: after 3 traded days with the best day at or below 40% of net profit. Live: every 5 winning days, and daily after 30 winning days.
First payout
Once the chosen Express Funded path's requirement is met: five $150 winning days, or three traded days at 40% consistency.
Minimum withdrawal
$125 per request.
Each Express Funded request is capped at 50% of the balance and at $2,000, $3,000 or $5,000 (Standard) or $3,000, $4,000 or $6,000 (Consistency) for 50K, 100K and 150K.
As a limited-time offer from 2 June 2026, adding the daily loss limit when buying a Trading Combine doubles these per-request caps in the resulting Express Funded Account.
After a Standard-path payout the trader also needs positive net profit since the last payout before requesting again.
Payout options: transfer to a Topstep Brokerage account (US, same day, no fee), Aeropay (US, instant after approval), Wise (China, Canada and the UK), ACH ($30 fee, US) and wire or SWIFT ($30 fee, international).
Requests can be made from Sunday 5 PM CT to Friday 5 PM CT; internal approval can take 1 to 3 business days.
Live Funded Account payouts are not capped; each request can be up to 50% of the balance.
Ways to get paid
Broker account transfer
ACH
Wise
Bank wire
Scaling plan
Express Funded Accounts follow a Scaling Plan that sets the maximum number of contracts from the account balance, so the full position size is reached only as profit builds.
The limit for each session is set from the balance and does not increase during the session.
Position errors corrected within 10 seconds are ignored; longer breaches can trigger a review.
Live Funded Accounts replace the Scaling Plan with Dynamic Live Risk Expansion.
Platforms and payments
Trading platforms
In-house platform
ProjectX
Quantower
Markets
Indices
Forex
Agriculture
Energy
Metals
Interest rates
Crypto
Pay for a challenge with
Credit or debit card
Apple Pay
Google Pay
Who can sign up
Topstep accepts traders from the United States. It lists 32 restricted countries.
List prices run from $49 for the $50K Trading Combine (Standard) account to $229 for the $150K Trading Combine (No Activation Fee) account a month, before any discount.
What profit split does Topstep pay?
90% to the trader on Express Funded and Live payouts. Traders who joined the new dashboard before 12 January 2026 keep 100% of their first $10,000 in lifetime profit.. The highest split across its programs is 90%.
How often does Topstep pay out?
Express Funded Standard: after every 5 winning days of $150 or more. Express Funded Consistency: after 3 traded days with the best day at or below 40% of net profit. Live: every 5 winning days, and daily after 30 winning days.. First payout: Once the chosen Express Funded path's requirement is met: five $150 winning days, or three traded days at 40% consistency..
Does Topstep allow news trading?
Allowed with limits. News can be traded, but deliberately trading the full maximum position size into a scheduled major news event is prohibited.
Can I use expert advisors (EAs) with Topstep?
Allowed. Automated strategies may be used at the trader's own risk; software, AI or high-speed systems that gain an unfair advantage or exploit simulated fills are prohibited.
Does Topstep accept traders from the United States?
Yes. Topstep's terms allow US residents to sign up. It does restrict 32 other countries, listed on this page.
Which platforms can I trade on with Topstep?
In-house platform, ProjectX, Quantower.
How long has Topstep been operating?
Topstep was founded in 2012 and is based in Chicago, United States. Its CEO is Michael Patak.
