Rank #4 of 16 · reviewed October 2026
Topstep review
The best counterparty in the industry: over a decade, zero denial pattern
The verdict
This Topstep review is based on the firm's current rulebook, payout policy and reputation record as of October 2026 — scored the same way we score all 16 firms we track.
Worst deal in Tier 1 (no public discount code, $5-6K payout caps on a 150K) but the most trustworthy payout record in futures prop: more than a decade, no credible non-payment scandal. Keep exactly one as the 'this check always clears' anchor. Two things to price in: the MLL resets to $0 permanently after every payout, so you are one bad day from losing the account; and the caps only double (to as much as $12,000) if you opt into the Daily Loss Limit add-on at purchase — without it, scaling withdrawals here is slow.
Trustpilot 3.6/5 (~14,500 reviews), fell from ~4.5 after TopstepX outages and rule changes — but a payout record of more than a decade, payouts real and reliable, no denial pattern
What's good
- Track record of more than a decade — most trustworthy payout record in futures prop
- EOD trailing drawdown in eval; the daily loss limit is an optional opt-in add-on, not a fail condition
- Fast first payout — as few as 3 trading days on the Consistency payout path
- Cheap 50K entry; Back2Funded reactivations available (paid: $599-$829 by size, max 2 per account)
What's not
- Payout caps among the worst for scaling withdrawals unless you opt into the DLL add-on at purchase
- MLL resets to $0 after every payout — one bad day from losing the account
- Locked into TopstepX; no NinjaTrader/Tradovate
- Serial trader-negative rule changes through 2026
Who Topstep is for
- Trust-first traders who'd rather pay a bit more for the industry's longest track record.
- First-eval traders — the rules are forgiving enough that a rookie mistake doesn't instantly torch the account.
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Every Topstep plan and size, side by side
Pulled from Topstep's official pricing and rules pages, re-verified 2026-09-18. Drawdown column shows eval → funded when the type changes after passing (⚠ = it does).
| Plan | Size | Price | Reset | Target | Min days | Drawdown | Consistency (eval) | PA fee | Buffer | Min days to payout | Min withdrawal | Consistency (funded) | Payouts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Trading Combine (No Activation Fee) | 50K | $85/mo | $95 | $3,000 | 2 | EOD | 55% | $0 | — | 5 | $125 | — | On request via the dashboard during CME market hours (Sunday 5 PM CT to Friday 5 PM CT, excluding holidays). Each cycle needs 5 winning days of $150+ (Standard path) or 3 trading days at 40% consistency or below (Consistency path). Max 50% of balance per request, capped at $2,000 (Standard) or $3,000 (Consistency), doubled to $4,000 / $6,000 if a Daily Loss Limit was added at Combine checkout. |
| Trading Combine (No Activation Fee) | 100K | $129/mo | $149 | $6,000 | 2 | EOD | 55% | $0 | — | 5 | $125 | — | On request via the dashboard during CME market hours (Sunday 5 PM CT to Friday 5 PM CT, excluding holidays). Each cycle needs 5 winning days of $150+ (Standard path) or 3 trading days at 40% consistency or below (Consistency path). Max 50% of balance per request, capped at $3,000 (Standard) or $4,000 (Consistency), doubled to $6,000 / $8,000 if a Daily Loss Limit was added at Combine checkout. |
| Trading Combine (No Activation Fee) | 150K | $199/mo | $229 | $9,000 | 2 | EOD | 55% | $0 | — | 5 | $125 | — | On request via the dashboard during CME market hours (Sunday 5 PM CT to Friday 5 PM CT, excluding holidays). Each cycle needs 5 winning days of $150+ (Standard path) or 3 trading days at 40% consistency or below (Consistency path). Max 50% of balance per request, capped at $5,000 (Standard) or $6,000 (Consistency), doubled to $10,000 / $12,000 if a Daily Loss Limit was added at Combine checkout. |
| Trading Combine (Standard) | 50K | $49/mo | $49 | $3,000 | 2 | EOD | 55% | $149 | — | 5 | $125 | — | On request via the dashboard during CME market hours (Sunday 5 PM CT to Friday 5 PM CT, excluding holidays). Each cycle needs 5 winning days of $150+ (Standard path) or 3 trading days at 40% consistency or below (Consistency path); the day the payout is requested does not count toward the next cycle. Max 50% of balance per request, capped at $2,000 (Standard) or $3,000 (Consistency), doubled to $4,000 / $6,000 if a Daily Loss Limit was added at Combine checkout. |
| Trading Combine (Standard) | 100K | $99/mo | $99 | $6,000 | 2 | EOD | 55% | $149 | — | 5 | $125 | — | On request via the dashboard during CME market hours (Sunday 5 PM CT to Friday 5 PM CT, excluding holidays). Each cycle needs 5 winning days of $150+ (Standard path) or 3 trading days at 40% consistency or below (Consistency path); the day the payout is requested does not count toward the next cycle. Max 50% of balance per request, capped at $3,000 (Standard) or $4,000 (Consistency), doubled to $6,000 / $8,000 if a Daily Loss Limit was added at Combine checkout. |
| Trading Combine (Standard) | 150K | $199/mo | $199 | $9,000 | 2 | EOD | 55% | $149 | — | 5 | $125 | — | On request via the dashboard during CME market hours (Sunday 5 PM CT to Friday 5 PM CT, excluding holidays). Each cycle needs 5 winning days of $150+ (Standard path) or 3 trading days at 40% consistency or below (Consistency path); the day the payout is requested does not count toward the next cycle. Max 50% of balance per request, capped at $5,000 (Standard) or $6,000 (Consistency), doubled to $10,000 / $12,000 if a Daily Loss Limit was added at Combine checkout. |
Trading Combine (No Activation Fee): what changes when you pass
Identical to the Standard-path 50K except that NO activation fee is due on passing, because the higher $95/mo subscription prepays it. XFA balance starts at $0, the 50K label is buying power only, and Combine profits do not carry over. MLL stays $2,000 but starts at -$2,000 and locks at $0 permanently once balance reaches +$2,000, then is set to $0 permanently after the first payout. The eval 55% Consistency Target is replaced at activation by a one-time irreversible payout-path choice: Standard (5 winning days of $150+, no consistency %) or Consistency (3 trading days plus a 40% consistency objective). The eval recovery rule also has no funded analogue: in the Combine a Consistency increase can only be cleared by earning the remaining profit on a separate trading day after the session that set the best day closes, whereas the funded Consistency Objective simply resets to $0 after every payout request, with the new window starting the trading day after the request. No Profit Target on the funded account. The fixed 5 mini / 50 micro limit is replaced by a balance-based Scaling Plan. Monthly subscription ends. Up to 5 active XFAs.
After payout: Firm's wording: 'After each Payout: Your Maximum Loss Limit (MLL) resets to $0 permanently, and your 5-day count restarts.' and 'Your MLL is set to $0 after your first Payout. If it's already at $0, it stays there. The remaining balance becomes your effective loss floor.'
A day counts toward payout eligibility at $150+ profit.
Trading Combine (Standard): what changes when you pass
XFA balance starts at $0, the 50K label is buying power only, and Combine profits do not carry over. MLL stays $2,000 but starts at -$2,000 and locks at $0 permanently once balance reaches +$2,000, then is set to $0 permanently after the first payout. The eval 55% Consistency Target (which only raises the Profit Target) is replaced at activation by a one-time irreversible choice of payout path: Standard (5 winning days of $150+, no consistency %) or Consistency (3 trading days plus a 40% consistency objective). The eval recovery rule also has no funded analogue: in the Combine a Consistency increase can only be cleared by earning the remaining profit on a separate trading day after the session that set the best day closes, whereas the funded Consistency Objective simply resets to $0 after every payout request, with the new window starting the trading day after the request. There is no Profit Target on the funded account. The fixed 5 mini / 50 micro Combine position limit is replaced by a balance-based Scaling Plan. The monthly subscription ends and is replaced by a one-time $149 activation fee per XFA. Up to 5 active XFAs at a time. Breaching the MLL permanently closes the XFA (in the Combine it only blocks funding until a Reset), with Back2Funded reactivation available up to 2 times.
After payout: Firm's wording: 'After each Payout: Your Maximum Loss Limit (MLL) resets to $0 permanently, and your 5-day count restarts.' and 'Your MLL is set to $0 after your first Payout. If it's already at $0, it stays there. The remaining balance becomes your effective loss floor.'
A day counts toward payout eligibility at $150+ profit.
The rules that matter
- Eval cost
- 50K Combine $49/mo list, 100K $99/mo, 150K $199/mo on the Standard path, plus a $149 one-time activation fee when you pass. The No-Activation-Fee path is $95/$149/$229 with $0 activation, dropping to $85/$129/$199 if you add a Daily Loss Limit at checkout.
- Activation fee
- $149 one-time (Standard path); $0 on No-Activation-Fee path
- Account sizes
- 50K, 100K, 150K
- Max accounts
- 5
- Drawdown
- EOD
- Consistency rule
- Eval: best day must stay at or below 55% of the profit target, a hard line with no rounding and no buffer. Exceeding it does NOT fail you, it raises the target, and the firm's own worked example now uses the matching divisor (an $1,800 best day / 0.55 = a $3,273 target on a 50K). The shortfall must then be earned on a SEPARATE trading day, after the session that set the best day closes; trading more the same day only adds to the best day and pushes the target higher. Funded: Standard payout path has no consistency %, needs 5 winning days of $150+; Consistency payout path needs 3 trading days at 40% or below (blocks payout until met) and resets to $0 after every payout request.
- Profit split
- 90/10 from dollar one (post-Jan-2026 accounts)
- Payouts
- Per-request during CME hours. Standard path: 5 winning days of $150+ per cycle, caps $2,000/$3,000/$5,000 (50K/100K/150K); Consistency path: 3 trading days + 40% consistency, caps $3,000/$4,000/$6,000. The optional Daily Loss Limit add-on doubles these caps on qualifying new purchases (up to $12,000). Max 50% of balance per request; min $125; MLL resets to $0 permanently after every payout.
- Platforms
- TopstepX (in-house only), Quantower via TopstepX credentials
- Data feed
- TopstepX in-house; NinjaTrader/Tradovate/TradingView dropped
- Typical discount
- No promo code is published on any official Topstep surface. The one live standing discount is the Responsible Trading Discount: adding a Daily Loss Limit at purchase cuts the No-Activation-Fee Combine by $10 to $30 a month depending on size, recurring rather than first month only, applied automatically with no code to type. It does not apply to the $49/$99/$199 Standard path. New traders can also get 15% off their first account purchase with a referral code from an existing Topstep trader; it covers the first purchase only, does not stack with other discounts, and each code is personal and expires after 90 days. Any other Topstep code you find elsewhere is profile-specific and single-use, so it will not transfer to you.
Topstep FAQ
Is Topstep legit?
Trustpilot 3.6/5 (~14,500 reviews), fell from ~4.5 after TopstepX outages and rule changes — but a payout record of more than a decade, payouts real and reliable, no denial pattern
What drawdown does Topstep use?
Topstep uses a EOD drawdown. End-of-day drawdown only updates at session close — the most forgiving structure.
How do payouts work at Topstep?
Per-request during CME hours. Standard path: 5 winning days of $150+ per cycle, caps $2,000/$3,000/$5,000 (50K/100K/150K); Consistency path: 3 trading days + 40% consistency, caps $3,000/$4,000/$6,000. The optional Daily Loss Limit add-on doubles these caps on qualifying new purchases (up to $12,000). Max 50% of balance per request; min $125; MLL resets to $0 permanently after every payout.
Is there a Topstep discount code?
Discounts of 30–90% are evergreen across the industry. No promo code is published on any official Topstep surface. The one live standing discount is the Responsible Trading Discount: adding a Daily Loss Limit at purchase cuts the No-Activation-Fee Combine by $10 to $30 a month depending on size, recurring rather than first month only, applied automatically with no code to type. It does not apply to the $49/$99/$199 Standard path. New traders can also get 15% off their first account purchase with a referral code from an existing Topstep trader; it covers the first purchase only, does not stack with other discounts, and each code is personal and expires after 90 days. Any other Topstep code you find elsewhere is profile-specific and single-use, so it will not transfer to you. Never pay list price.