What Is Topstep? How the Futures Prop Firm Works (2026)

Topstep traces its roots to Patak Trading Partners, which Michael Patak founded in 2010 on the Chicago Board of Trade floor. It launched as TopstepTrader in 2012, rebranded as Topstep in 2020, launched its TopstepX platform in 2024 and opened Topstep Brokerage in 2026 (Topstep company timeline). It reports more than $1.4 billion paid to traders.

How Topstep Works: Three Stages

Each stage is described in Topstep's program overview. Topstep calls simulated-account traders "Research Analysts", and payouts from the XFA are real money based on simulated results (XFA parameters). If the prop firm model itself is new to you, our explainer on how prop firms work covers evaluations, profit splits and how firms make money.

Step 1: Pass the Trading Combine

Pick a 50K, 100K or 150K account. The profit targets are $3,000, $6,000 and $9,000, and the end-of-day trailing Maximum Loss Limit is $2,000, $3,000 and $4,500. Your best day must stay at or below 55% of the target, and you can trade up to 5, 10 or 15 minis. The Daily Loss Limit is optional. Full numbers are in our Topstep Trading Combine guide.

Step 2: Trade the Express Funded Account

After you pass, you activate an XFA that starts at a $0 balance. Payouts need either 5 winning days of $150+ (Standard) or 3 trading days with the largest day at or below 40% of net profit (Consistency). Each request is capped at 50% of the balance and $2,000 to $6,000 depending on size and path, with a 90/10 split. See Topstep payout rules. Your contract limit in the XFA grows with the balance: the tiers are in our Topstep Scaling Plan breakdown, and our scaling plans comparison shows how Apex and FTMO Futures handle the same stage.

Step 3: Get called up to Live

Topstep's Risk Team invites consistent XFA traders to a Live Funded Account. You start with 20% of the transferred balance (minimum $10,000) tradable and the rest in a reserve released as you hit profit targets. Live payouts have no dollar cap, and daily payouts unlock after 30 winning days (Live Funded Account parameters).

What Topstep Costs in 2026

Other costs: a Reset costs the same as one month on your path, Level 2 market data is $38 a month (Level 1 is included), and ACH or international wire payouts carry a $30 fee (how long each payout method takes is in our prop firm payout timing guide). Prices are from Topstep's pricing page as of October 5, 2026. For discounts, see our Topstep promo code status.

The Rule That Ends Most Accounts: The Maximum Loss Limit

Topstep's Maximum Loss Limit is an end-of-day trailing drawdown. It rises with your closing balance, never falls, and locks once it reaches the starting balance. On a 50K Combine, that happens when the balance closes at $52,000 and the limit locks at $50,000. Until then, every winning day raises the floor. Topstep enforces it in real time, including open losses, so one bad trade can end the account mid-session. Read trailing drawdown explained and EOD vs intraday drawdown before you start, then build the habits in how to avoid trailing drawdown violations, which uses Topstep examples.

Topstep Pass Rates: The Official 2025 Numbers

Topstep publishes its own statistics. From January through December 2025 (Topstep disclosure):

• 16.8% of Trading Combines started were passed.
• 51.8% of individual traders who tried reached the funded level in at least one Combine.
• 33.3% of traders at the funded level received a payout.
• 0.71% of Express Funded Account traders were called up to a Live Funded Account.

Most Combines fail, and only a fraction of funded traders get paid. A tested strategy and strict risk control matter more than the account size you choose. If a Combine does end early, our guide to what to do after a failed prop firm challenge weighs Topstep's reset and Back2Funded options against starting over elsewhere.

Who Topstep Is For (and Not For)

Good fit: futures day traders with a tested intraday strategy, who can afford a few months of fees while they pass, and who will follow loss limits without exception.

Poor fit: beginners without a strategy, traders who hold overnight (all positions must be flat by 3:10 PM CT), forex or stock traders (Topstep is futures only), and anyone who can't afford to lose the evaluation fee.

Not sure Topstep is the right fit? Our FTMO vs Topstep vs Apex comparison puts the three 50K accounts side by side, and our guide to choosing a prop firm matches drawdown type, cost and platform to how you trade.

Topstep vs a Normal Brokerage

Topstep also runs a separate brokerage, Topstep Brokerage LLC, an NFA-member introducing broker, for traders who want to trade their own money.

Is Topstep Legit?

Yes. Topstep is a long-running, US-based firm with public rules, and it publishes its pass rates and payout statistics. It reports $1.4B+ paid out and a 99.26% payout approval rate. Its simulated programs are run by TopstepTrader, LLC, Live accounts by TopstepFunded LLC, and its brokerage by Topstep Brokerage LLC (NFA ID 0567079). Legit does not mean easy: the 2025 statistics above show how many traders fall short. TopstepX is now the only trading platform (Topstep start guide).

Common Beginner Mistakes

• Buying the Combine without a strategy. You pay every month until you pass.
• Sizing to the contract ceiling. Size from your stop and remaining Maximum Loss Limit buffer, not the 5/10/15-mini maximum.
• One huge day. A best day above 55% of the target raises the target you need to hit.
• Treating the XFA like a casino. Payout caps and the Scaling Plan reward steady days, not swings.

FAQ

What is Topstep?

A Chicago-based futures prop firm. You pay a monthly fee to take a simulated evaluation called the Trading Combine, then trade an Express Funded Account that pays real payouts, with a path to a Live Funded Account trading firm capital.

How does Topstep work?

Pass the Trading Combine by hitting the profit target with your best day at or below 55% of it and without touching the Maximum Loss Limit. Then qualify for payouts in the Express Funded Account and keep 90% of profits.

How much does Topstep cost?

The 50K Trading Combine is $49 a month plus a $149 activation fee when you pass, or $95 a month with no activation fee. The 100K is $99 or $149 a month and the 150K is $199 or $229 a month.

Is Topstep legit?

Yes. It has operated since 2012, publishes its rules and 2025 pass-rate statistics, and reports more than $1.4 billion paid to traders. Most traders still fail the evaluation.

Is the Topstep funded account real money?

The Express Funded Account is simulated, but its payouts are real money. Only the Live Funded Account trades Topstep's real capital.

Who is Topstep for?

Futures day traders with a tested strategy, the budget for a few months of fees, and the discipline to follow loss limits. It is not for beginners, overnight holders, or forex and stock traders.

Bottom Line

Topstep is the most established futures prop firm and a legitimate path to trading more capital than you control. The trade-off is real: you pay monthly until you pass, most Combines fail, and the Maximum Loss Limit ends accounts that are traded carelessly.

The question isn't "should I try Topstep?" It's "do I have a tested strategy and the discipline to follow the rules?" If you do, Topstep is a strong place to prove it. If you don't, the Combine fee is the wrong place to build one.

Sources

• Topstep: About us (company timeline)
• Topstep Help Center: Topstep Program Overview
• Topstep Help Center: Pricing and Payment Questions
• Topstep Help Center: Topstep Payout Policy
• Topstep Help Center: Live Funded Account Parameters
• Topstep: 2025 trader performance statistics (site footer)

The Complete Topstep Guide

This explainer is the starting point. Once you understand what Topstep is, use the guides below to go deep on each part of the evaluation and funded-account journey — the rules that fail accounts, the exact costs, how payouts work, and how Topstep stacks up against the alternatives.