Topstep is one of the oldest futures funding firms, and one of the most misread. Its rules changed several times between late 2025 and 2026, most comparison articles are affiliate-driven, and the two mechanics that actually end accounts are rarely explained side by side. Here is how the program works, figure by figure, re-read this morning on the official help center. There is no affiliate link in this article: Ephore Market earns nothing if you open an account.
The path: three stages, one rule that kills
Topstep runs a three-stage program.
- The Trading Combine: the evaluation, on a monthly subscription.
- The Express Funded Account (XFA): the funded account, no subscription, where payouts become possible.
- The Live Funded Account: access to the firm's real capital, by invitation from the risk team, with no published threshold.
On the evaluation, Topstep sums up its own framework as one rule and two objectives. The rule: never touch the Maximum Loss Limit. The objectives: reach the profit target and hold consistency. Everything else follows from that. If funding is new to you, start with our deep dive on prop firm rules, then come back here.
The three account sizes, in numbers
Topstep offers three formats only. These are the official parameters of each.
| Account | Profit target | Maximum Loss Limit | Daily loss limit (optional) | Max contracts | Subscription, standard path | Subscription, no-activation-fee path |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 50K | 3,000 USD | 2,000 USD | 1,000 USD | 5 minis or 50 micros | 49 USD per month | 95 USD per month |
| 100K | 6,000 USD | 3,000 USD | 2,000 USD | 10 minis or 100 micros | 99 USD per month | 149 USD per month |
| 150K | 9,000 USD | 4,500 USD | 3,000 USD | 15 minis or 150 micros | 199 USD per month | 229 USD per month |
Two purchase paths exist, and the choice is final. The standard path costs less per month but adds a one-time 149 USD activation fee when you earn your funded account. The no-activation-fee path costs more per month and removes that 149 USD. The math depends on how many months you expect to spend in evaluation, and nobody knows that number in advance. A reset costs the same as the subscription.
The trading day runs from 5:00 pm CT to 3:10 pm CT the next day. The evaluation takes a minimum of two days, with no time limit: it is not a race.
The Maximum Loss Limit: what rises, and what ends you
The MLL is the lowest balance your account is allowed to reach. On a 50K it starts at 48,000. It is the core of the Topstep system, and it works on two timeframes that must be kept separate.
It trails on the closing balance. The MLL follows your end-of-day balance and never comes back down. A day up 500 moves your floor by 500, permanently. A losing day does not move it back.
It is monitored in real time, unrealised P&L included. This is the part traders discover too late. The threshold only moves at the end of the day, but it is checked at every moment of the session, unrealised gains and losses included. If your net P&L touches the limit intraday, the account is liquidated immediately, even if the closing balance would have stayed above it. The official text notes that execution slippage can push the final balance back above the limit: the violation still stands, because it was recorded on unrealised P&L.
It eventually locks. In the evaluation, the MLL stops rising once it reaches the starting balance. On a 50K it locks at 50,000, which happens when your closing balance reaches 52,000. From that point you cannot lose the account as long as you stay above your initial capital.
This is not how Apex works, and confusing the two is expensive. At Apex the threshold follows the highest balance of the session, unrealised included, which tightens your room intraday. At Topstep it follows the close. The three freeze regimes of that other model are detailed in our article on the Apex trailing drawdown. The general concept is summarised in our trading glossary, under trailing drawdown.
The 55% consistency target: it does not fail you, it moves the bar
In the Trading Combine, your best winning day must stay below 55% of the profit target. On a 50K, where the target is 3,000 USD, your best day must stay under 1,650 USD. The two other published benchmarks: under 3,300 USD on a 100K, under 4,950 USD on a 150K.
Update, September 12, 2026: this threshold was 50% until September 11, 2026. Topstep raised it to 55% and removed the buffer that used to be added silently on top of the old number. The help center is blunt about it: there is no buffer any more, 55% is a hard limit, with no rounding.
Here is the part almost nobody explains correctly: exceeding that threshold does not fail the account. It increases the profit target. In other words, a 2,500 USD day on a 50K does not bring you closer to funding, it pushes funding further away, because the bar rises with it. It is an anti-lucky-streak rule, not a punishment.
The practical consequence is easy to state and hard to live with: on a Topstep evaluation, a big day is worth nothing. What counts is the repetition of a regular execution decided in advance. That is exactly what an execution framework written before the session does, instead of a string of opportunities taken on the fly, the logic documented in the Ephore Prop System.
The daily loss limit: optional, permanent, and it changes payouts
On the Combine and on the funded account, the daily loss limit is optional. It is chosen at checkout and becomes fixed: it cannot be changed afterwards. It is automatic on the Live Funded Account.
When it triggers, open positions are flattened, pending orders are cancelled, and no new trade is possible until 5:00 pm CT the next session. It is not a rule violation: the account stays eligible for funding. It is a forced break, nothing more.
Topstep also runs a limited-time offer that raises the payout cap for traders who added that limit at purchase. The exact uplift moves with the offer: check it on the help center before you choose, because that is precisely the kind of parameter that changes without notice.
The funded account starts at zero
This is the costliest misunderstanding in the program. The Express Funded Account does not start with 50,000 USD on the balance. It starts at zero. The advertised size is buying power, not capital. Profits made during the evaluation are not transferred. The MLL starts negative, at the size of the drawdown, rises with the closing balance, and locks permanently at zero once the balance reaches the drawdown amount, so 2,000 USD on a 50K. After the first payout it is set to zero no matter what.
Two payout paths exist, chosen at activation and final as well.
- Standard path: 5 winning days of 150 USD or more in net P&L.
- Consistency path: at least 3 traded days, with a 40% consistency target, meaning your largest winning day must stay under 40% of total net profit.
The split is 90/10 in the trader's favour on both paths, the minimum withdrawal is 125 USD, and requests are open during CME market hours, Sunday 5:00 pm CT to Friday 5:00 pm CT. Withdrawals are capped at 50% of the balance, within the caps below.
| Account | Payout cap, Standard path | Payout cap, Consistency path |
|---|---|---|
| 50K | 2,000 USD | 3,000 USD |
| 100K | 3,000 USD | 4,000 USD |
| 150K | 5,000 USD | 6,000 USD |
After each payout the MLL moves to zero and the day counter restarts. On the Live Funded Account, withdrawals are not capped.
What these rules actually require
Put together, Topstep's rules describe a precise trader profile. The 55% consistency target rules out betting everything on one session. The real-time MLL rules out holding a losing position and hoping it comes back. The funded account starting at zero means rebuilding after you pass. And the purchase path and the payout path are both irreversible, so both should be decided cold, before there is an account on the line.
None of these rules is a trap. They are published, readable, and known in advance. The real trap is discovering them halfway through, on an account you already paid for.
Frequently asked questions
What account sizes does Topstep offer?
Three only: 50K, 100K and 150K. Their profit targets are 3,000, 6,000 and 9,000 USD, with Maximum Loss Limits of 2,000, 3,000 and 4,500 USD.
Is the Topstep drawdown intraday or end of day?
It trails on the closing balance, so end of day. But it is monitored in real time during the session, unrealised losses included: touching it liquidates the account immediately, even if the close would have stayed above.
What happens if I break the 55% consistency target?
The account does not fail. The profit target increases instead. A day that is too big pushes funding further away rather than closer.
Does a Topstep funded account start with the advertised capital?
No. It starts at zero: the advertised size is buying power. Profits from the evaluation are not carried over.
How much does a Topstep evaluation cost?
On the standard path, 49, 99 or 199 USD per month depending on size, plus a one-time 149 USD activation fee when the funded account is issued. On the no-activation-fee path, 95, 149 or 229 USD per month and no activation fee. The choice is final.
Figures re-read on the official Topstep help center on September 12, 2026. 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.