Is Topstep trustworthy?

Topstep (Chicago, since 2012) is the oldest futures prop firm in the world. Founder Michael Patak is a former CBOT pit trader. US-based, regulated SaaS model, 13 years on the market — in an industry where firms vanish in 6 months, that's the gold standard.

How is Topstep different from FTMO?

Topstep is FUTURES on CME (ES, NQ, CL, GC) — you trade real contracts. FTMO is forex/CFD/synthetic indices. Topstep = $99/mo subscription, FTMO = $590 one-shot. Topstep requires close before 3:10 PM CT, FTMO allows overnight.

How does trailing Max Loss work on Topstep?

Max Loss is $2-4.5k depending on account size and TRAILS to break-even from peak EOD balance, then stays static. Similar mechanic to FTMO trailing, but from EOD (not equity peak) — gentler. The main Combine killer.

How long until the first payout on Topstep?

After 5 'winning days' (days with min $200 profit) on the Funded Account. The first $10k of payout is 100% to the trader, above that 90/10 split. Withdrawals on-demand via ACH/wire.

Does Topstep allow overnight trading?

Positions must close before 3:10 PM CT (futures close) in the Combine. No overnight holding. After moving to Funded you can hold overnight, but in Combine NO — main trap for swing traders.

Topstep vs FundingPips — when does each pay off?

Different markets. Topstep for day-trading futures (ES, NQ, CL) wanting real CME exposure. FundingPips for forex/CFD traders wanting cheap ticket and 7-day payouts. Don't compare 1:1 — choice depends on instrument, not rules.

Topstep 2026 review — rules, pros, cons, who it's for (futures)

Intro — what Topstep is

Topstep (Topstep LLC, Chicago) is the oldest futures prop firm in the world — operating since 2012, four years before FTMO. This is a completely different league than FTMO, FundedNext, The5%ers or FundingPips — there you trade forex/CFDs on the prop firm's broker, here you trade real futures contracts (ES, NQ, CL, GC, 6E) directly on CME via NinjaTrader, TradingView, Tradovate or Quantower.

Topstep is the standard for American day-trading futures community — on X/Reddit "passed Topstep Combine" is currency as strong as "passed FTMO" in Europe. Founder Michael Patak is a former CBOT pit trader, which built them credibility from day one.

Topstep rules in a nutshell

Models (as of June 2026)

Trading Combine — classic evaluation, single phase, max account up to $150k
Express Funded Account (XFA) — after passing Combine, scaling to $150k
Live Funded Account — real money on CME, after passing XFA

Trading Combine — the key model

Account sizes: $50k, $100k, $150k
Profit target: $3k (50k), $6k (100k), $9k (150k)
Daily Loss Limit: $1k / $2k / $3k (hard, from EOD balance)
Max Loss Limit (trailing): $2k / $3k / $4.5k — trails to break-even from peak EOD balance, then static
Min trading days: 2 (lowest in the industry)
No time limit (removed in 2023)
Scaling plan — start with 1 mini contract, scales with balance
Close before EOD: YES (3:10 PM CT futures close, no overnight in Combine)

Subscription pricing (Combine, June 2026)

$50k Combine → $49/mo
$100k Combine → $99/mo
$150k Combine → $149/mo
(vs FTMO one-shot fee — Topstep is subscription, cancel anytime)

Payouts and split

First $10k of funded profit → 100% to trader
Above $10k → 90/10 split in trader's favor (one of the best in the industry)
First payout: after 5 winning days (min $200/day)
Frequency: on-demand, ACH/wire

Pros

Oldest futures prop firm (since 2012) — undisputed credibility, US-based, Chicago
Real CME futures — you trade actual ES, NQ, CL, GC, not synthetic CFDs like on FTMO
Subscription instead of one-shot fee — $49/mo for 50k vs ~$290 one-shot FTMO 50k. Reset/retry cheaper
First $10k payout = 100% to you — unique in the industry
90/10 split above $10k — better than FTMO (80/20), on par with The5%ers Level 3
Just 2 days minimum — lowest in the industry (FTMO 4)
No time limit — removed the 30-day deadline in 2023
Scaling to $150k subscription + separate accounts (multi-account allowed)
Community and education — TopstepTV, daily livestreams, BookMap integration

Cons

FUTURES ONLY — no forex, crypto, stocks. If you trade forex, not for you
Trailing Max Loss to BE — the most treacherous Topstep rule, identical mechanic to FTMO trailing but from EOD balance (not equity peak) — gentler, but still kills accounts
No overnight in Combine — all positions must close before 3:10 PM CT (futures close). Swing/positional traders out
CME futures only — no micro forex futures, no crypto on CME (Bitcoin futures exist but spreads kill)
Subscription adds up — fail 4 months and that's 4×$99 = $396 for 100k (cheaper than FTMO but not wow)
No PL support — EN only
Daily Loss from EOD balance — if you closed the day +$500, the next day's daily loss is calculated from the new balance (so you can lose more than $1k intraday if you were +$500 in the morning). Needs understanding

Who Topstep makes sense for

Day-trading futures traders — ES, NQ, CL, GC. The core customer
Intraday scalpers — close-before-EOD fits scalp/day model
American traders or anyone trading US session (15:30-22:00 CET)
People with solid risk management — subscription forgives retries, but trailing DD to BE punishes
Traders wanting real CME exposure (not synthetic) — future portfolio, prop trading career
All TradeZella users — Topstep + TradeZella is the classic combo; TradeLogic aims to capture this funnel with better pricing

Who it does NOT make sense for

Forex/CFD traders — pick FTMO, FundedNext, FundingPips
Swing traders — Combine doesn't allow overnight
Crypto traders — wrong address
Non-US-session traders — most ES/NQ volume is 14:30-21:00 GMT
No EOD discipline — one forgotten overnight contract = Combine reset

Topstep vs FTMO — quick comparison

| Criterion | Topstep (Combine 100k) | FTMO (100k) | |---|---|---| | Instrument | CME Futures (ES, NQ, CL) | Forex/CFD/synthetic indices | | Daily Loss | $2k from EOD balance | $5k from equity peak | | Max Loss | $3k trailing to BE | $10k static | | Profit target | $6k (6%) | $10k (10%) | | Min days | 2 | 4 | | Pricing | $99/mo (subscription) | ~$590 (one-shot) | | First payout | after 5 winning days | after 14 days | | Split | 100% to $10k, then 90/10 | 80/20 (90/10 scaling) | | Overnight | NO in Combine | YES | | News trading | allowed | allowed | | Company age | 13 years | 10+ years |

Topstep vs FundedNext — quick comparison

| Criterion | Topstep (Combine 100k) | FundedNext (Stellar 100k) | |---|---|---| | DNA | futures career path | challenge + cashback | | Daily Loss | $2k from EOD balance | 5% from balance | | Max Loss | $3k trailing to BE | 10% static | | Profit target | $6k | $10k (Phase 1) | | Pricing | $99/mo | ~$549 one-shot | | First payout | 100% to $10k | 15% cashback after Phase 1 | | Split | 100% → 90/10 | 80-90% | | Instrument | CME Futures | Forex/CFD | | Brand | top 1 futures | top 2 forex/CFD |

Topstep vs The5%ers — quick comparison

| Criterion | Topstep (Combine 100k) | The5%ers (Bootcamp 100k) | |---|---|---| | Instrument | CME Futures | Forex/CFD | | Model | 1-step + funded | 3-step scaling | | Max DD | $3k trailing to BE | 4% trails→static | | Profit target | $6k (6%) | 6% per level | | Pricing | $99/mo | ~$595 one-shot | | Split | 100% → 90/10 | 50→75→100% | | Scaling ceiling | $150k (multi-account) | $4M | | Time limit | none | none | | Strategy | scalp/day futures | swing forex |

Topstep vs FundingPips — quick comparison

| Criterion | Topstep (Combine 100k) | FundingPips (Standard 100k) | |---|---|---| | Instrument | CME Futures | Forex/CFD | | Daily Loss | $2k from EOD balance | 5% from initial balance | | Max DD | $3k trailing to BE | 8% static | | Profit target | $6k | 8% / 5% | | Pricing | $99/mo (subscription) | ~$399 (one-shot) | | First payout | 100% to $10k, then 90/10 | after 7 days, 80→95% | | Overnight | NO in Combine | YES | | Company age | 13 years | 3 years | | Brand | futures gold standard | forex rising star |

TL;DR vs the rest: Topstep = king of futures, the only real CME prop. If you trade ES/NQ/CL — nothing else to consider. If forex — Topstep is out. Different market, different customers, different emotions. The futures community is smaller than forex but obsessively tracks stats — exactly TradeLogic's target customer.

CTA — how to handle trailing Max Loss + EOD close on Topstep

Trailing Max Loss to BE is the classic Combine killer — after 2 winning days you feel safe, but in the background the peak EOD balance is raising your "death line". The second cardinal sin: forgetting about the 3:10 PM CT close — one contract held overnight = Combine reset (with subscription still ticking).

Prop Firm Tracker in TradeLogic has a built-in Topstep Combine preset (50k/100k/150k) — enter account size and the tracker shows your buffer to trailing Max Loss, daily loss from EOD and an alarm 15 minutes before 3:10 PM CT to close positions. The journal also counts your winning days toward the first payout.

Sign up for a free TradeLogic account, add Topstep in 2 minutes, and stop blowing Combine on forgotten overnight contracts.