The price on a prop firm's checkout page is almost never what you end up paying. It buys one attempt. The real cost is the whole road to a funded account: how many attempts you need, what each new attempt costs, the activation fee, and whatever keeps running every month (market data, commissions, subscription). This article breaks that bill down line by line, using the price sheets Apex, Tradeify and Topstep publish in their official help centers, re-read on October 18, 2026.
If you are new to how evaluations work, start with our guide to prop firm rules. This one is only about money.
The four lines on the bill
Every futures prop firm bills with the same building blocks. They just assemble them differently, which is why comparing entry prices gets it wrong.
- The evaluation: the right to take the test. One-time payment at Apex and Tradeify, monthly subscription at Topstep.
- The reset: putting a failed account back to its starting balance without buying a whole new evaluation. Some firms sell it, others do not offer it at all.
- The activation fee: paid once you pass, to open the funded account. It can be zero, or more than the evaluation itself.
- Running costs: market data beyond Level 1, commissions on every contract, and taxes depending on where you live.
Three billing models
Apex: one-time fee, 30 days, no resets
At Apex, the evaluation is a one-time fee with no renewal. It gives you 30 consecutive calendar days of access, weekends included, and expires at 6:00 PM ET on day 30. The official page adds two points that change the whole math: there are no reset options and no extensions. An account that hits its maximum drawdown, or reaches day 30 without hitting the target, has to be bought again in full.
Once the evaluation is marked as passed, you have 7 calendar days to pay the Performance Account activation fee. It is a one-time payment per account. Miss the window and the opportunity expires; you have to pass a new evaluation. The refund policy has no exceptions: evaluations, activation fees and data add-ons are non-refundable, wrong plan selections included.
We do not publish Apex prices here. The help center permanently shows a promotion banner with a coupon code and a countdown; on October 18, 2026 it still read "90% OFF ALL EVALS" with less than a day left. A price that depends on whichever code is live on purchase day cannot be compared seriously. The only number that matters is the one on the checkout page when you pay.
Tradeify: one-time fee, paid resets, no activation fee
Tradeify publishes a full price sheet in its "Tradeify Pricing Reference" article. Every plan is a one-time purchase with no recurring billing. Growth and Select evaluations have a published reset price, and the page states plainly that no current account type carries an activation fee. One exception worth knowing: the limited-release Select 300K has no reset.
Topstep: monthly subscription, two paths you pick once
Topstep bills the Trading Combine monthly, on two paths. The Standard Path costs less per month but charges a $149 activation fee for each Express Funded Account you earn. The No Activation Fee Path costs more per month and charges nothing when you pass. The official page notes that the path cannot be changed after purchase. A reset costs the same as the monthly price of your path.
Prop firm costs on a 50K account
| Firm and product | Evaluation | Reset | Activation |
|---|---|---|---|
| Apex, EOD or Intraday | One-time, price depends on the live code | None | One-time, within 7 days |
| Tradeify Growth | $145 one-time | $95 | $0 |
| Tradeify Select (40% consistency) | $165 one-time | $109 | $0 |
| Topstep, Standard Path | $49 per month | $49 | $149 |
| Topstep, No Activation Fee Path | $95 per month | $95 | $0 |
For other account sizes and other firms, the values we re-check every morning live in our prop firm data tool.
How to work out your real cost
The formula fits on one line: real cost = first attempt + (number of failures × price of a new attempt) + activation fee + monthly fees over the period. The term that weighs most is not the entry price. It is the number of failures.
A purely arithmetic example, not a statistic: a trader who passes a 50K on the third attempt, with all three attempts inside the same month.
- Tradeify Growth: 145 + 2 × 95 = $335.
- Topstep Standard Path: 49 + 2 × 49 + 149 = $296.
- Topstep No Activation Fee Path: 95 + 2 × 95 = $285.
- Apex: three evaluations at the day's price, plus the activation fee.
If the attempts stretch over several months, the Topstep subscription adds up for every month started. At Apex, every failure costs a full evaluation, which makes the day's price far more important than at a firm that sells resets.
The break-even point between Topstep's two paths
On a 50K, each attempt costs $49 on the Standard Path and $95 on the other, a $46 gap per attempt. The Standard Path activation fee is $149. The two paths therefore cross at just over three paid attempts (149 / 46 ≈ 3.2). Below that, the No Activation Fee Path is cheaper; above it, the Standard Path wins. Topstep itself says the No Activation Fee Path suits traders "confident they'll pass in 1–2 attempts". The honest question is not "which one is cheaper" but "how many attempts did my last evaluations really take". Your trading journal has the answer.
The fees people forget
- Market data. Level 1 is included at all three firms. Market depth is extra: $38 per month at Topstep, billed on the 28th and not prorated. At Tradeify, data is free as long as you sign the Non-Professional Agreement on your first Tradovate login; without it, the page cites a $300 per month professional data fee.
- Commissions. They hit every contract, round trip. Tradeify's sheet lists $1.82 on MNQ and $5.76 on NQ. Ten micros cost more in commissions than one mini: $18.20 versus $5.76 in the firm's own example. On an account with a drawdown of a few thousand dollars, that line shows.
- Taxes. Topstep states its prices exclude tax, and VAT or local sales tax is added at checkout depending on your location.
- Promo codes. They lower the entry price, rarely the rest. At Topstep, a code applies to a Trading Combine or a reset, never both, and only the first month is billed at the promo price unless stated otherwise.
What the price does not tell you
Two firms with the same entry price can cost very different amounts depending on how you fail. An evaluation lost in a single bad session costs a full attempt. That is why Topstep offers a discount when you add a daily loss limit at purchase ($10 off the 50K on the No Activation Fee Path): the firm presents it as a way to keep one bad day from closing the account. To understand what that rule protects, read our daily loss limit article, then the five classic ways traders lose an evaluation.
In other words, the lever that lowers the bill is not the coupon code. It is a risk framework that keeps you from buying the same test twice. Our approach to that framework is described on the Ephore Prop System page.
Frequently asked questions
How much does a futures prop firm cost on a 50K account?
At Topstep and Tradeify, the entry price read on October 18, 2026 ranges from $49 per month (Topstep, Standard Path) to $165 one-time (Tradeify Select); at Apex it depends on the live promo code. The real cost depends mostly on the number of attempts and on activation fees.
Do you pay an activation fee after passing?
It depends on the firm, and sometimes on the path. Tradeify charges none. Topstep charges $149 per account on the Standard Path and nothing on the other path. Apex charges a one-time fee due within 7 days of passing.
Is a reset always cheaper than a new evaluation?
Where resets exist, yes at Tradeify ($95 versus $145 on the Growth 50K). At Topstep, a reset costs the same as a month of subscription. Apex has no resets: a failed account is bought again.
Figures re-read on October 18, 2026 in the official help centers: Tradeify Pricing Reference, Topstep Pricing and Payment Questions and Apex Evaluation Plan Fees and Access Explained. These rules change often: always check the official source before you trade.
Futures trading involves substantial risk of capital loss. This article is educational and does not constitute investment advice.