Topstep Review 2026: Is It Legit? Challenge Rules, Drawdown Limits and Payouts

What it is

Topstep is a prop firm operating since 2012. Jurisdiction: USA, Chicago. Legal entity: Topstep LLC, Chicago. You pay for an evaluation, prove you can respect risk limits, and get a funded account with most of the profit paid to you.

Figures below come from the company's public data as of this page's update date. Prop firms change terms more often than brokers, so verify them on the Topstep site before paying.

Challenge conditions

Account sizes: $50 000 / $100 000 / $150 000 (фьючерсы). Fee: subscription from ~$49 per month. Structure: single phase — Trading Combine, then an Express Funded Account. Drawdown limits: trailing drawdown from peak equity; daily loss limit by account size. Platforms: TopstepX, NinjaTrader, TradingView, Quantower.

Payouts

100% of the first $10,000 in profit, then 90%. Payouts on demand, processed within a few business days.

Drawbacks

• CME futures only, not forex
• Monthly subscription rather than a one-off fee
• Trailing drawdown is harder for beginners than a static one

The calculation most people get wrong

The cost of access to capital is not the challenge fee — it is the fee multiplied by the average number of attempts. Published industry pass rates run from a few percent to around 10%. Multiply subscription from ~$49 per month by a realistic number of attempts and compare it with trading your own deposit at the same risk — position size calculator.

Availability

Us futures prop firm; check availability for cis countries before subscribing.

Other prop firms

Hash Hedge, FTMO, FundedNext, The5ers, Alpha Capital Group, E8 Markets, MyFundedFX, Funded Trading Plus

If the prop model does not suit you, compare regulated brokers instead.