Prop Firms

Topstep – Get Funded To Trade Futures

Topstep

Rating: N/A

REVIEW SUMMARY

Topstep is a Futures prop firm, located in Chicago, Illinois, USA. It was founded in 2010.

FEATURES

Instruments: Equity Futures, Foreign Exchange Futures, Agricultural Futures, Energy, Interest Rates Futures, Metals Futures.

Max balance: $150,000

Profit split: 90%

Cost: from $165/month

Platforms: TradingView, Proprietary, Web, NinjaTrader, Tradovate, Rithmic, Volfix, ATAS, Quantower, TradeNavigator, SierraChart, MultiCharts, MotiveWave, RInvestor, Bookmap X-Ray.

PROS & CONS

What I like:

  • You can get your funded account in as little as 2 days.
  • In business for more than a decade, which conveys confidence.
  • No complex rules. Just a profit target and a loss limit.
  • Proprietary TopStepX trading platform, with TradingView charts, built-in copy trading, and much more.
  • Performance coaches to support you on your journey.

What could be improved:

  • Minimum payout is $125.
  • Day trading only. You can't hold your trades to the next day.

Topstep is a futures prop trading firm based in Chicago.

In this article, you’ll get a review of this prop firm, including instructions about the challenges and how to pass them to get funded with a Topstep Funded account.

Here’s what you’re going to learn:

Let’s start.

What Is Topstep

Topstep is a Futures prop firm located in Chicago, Illinois, USA, founded in 2010.

What Can You Trade With Topstep?

Topstep is a prop firm dedicated to Futures trading.

Here’s a list of the assets that you can trade with their accounts:

  • Equity Futures
  • Foreign Exchange Futures
  • Agricultural Futures
  • Oil and Natural Gas Futures
  • Financial/Interest Rate Futures
  • Metals Futures (Gold, Silver, and Copper)

What Are The Topstep Account Sizes?

Topstep has three funded account sizes and each one has a different cost.

  • $50k (buying power): $165/month
  • $100k (buying power): $325/month
  • $150k (buying power): $375/month

What Is The Topstep Leverage?

There’s no leverage, the trading account balance is the buying power, meaning the leverage is 1:1.

Your limits are defined by the maximum number of contracts you can trade. It starts at 5 contracts for the $50,000 account and goes up to 15 contracts for the $150,000 account.

How Much Is The Topstep Profit Split And Payout?

The Topstep profit split is variable. Initially, all the profit goes to the trader, so there’s no split which is great. Only later Topstep starts to keep 10% of the profit for them which is also very good considering that a lot of prop firms keep 20% of the profit if not more.

  • 100% profit split: For the first $10,000 in earnings
  • 90% profit split: After you receive the first $10,000

Topstep Trader Reviews

According to Trustpilot, Topstep Trader has quite a good rating in terms of reviews.

After 1,500+ reviews, the rating is 4.5/5.0, which is very good.

Topstep Combine – Rules and Targets

The Topstep Combine is the challenge that Topstep requires you to pass to give you access to a funded account. The challenge has one single step.

Here are all the details of the Topstep Combine.

During the Topstep Combine, you have one main target to meet:

  • Minimum profit target: You need to reach a minimum profit target, depending on the account you are trading.

Here’s the minimum profit target you need to achieve in the Topstep Combine depending on the account you are applying to:

TRADING COMBINE
RULES
$50k account
(buying power)
$100k account
(buying power)
$150k account
(buying power)
Profit target$3,000$6,000$9,000
Maximum Position Size5 contracts10 contracts15 contracts
Daily Loss Limit$1,000$2,000$3,000
Trailing Max Drawdown$2,000$3,000$4,500

To achieve the targets mentioned above, you also need to follow some rules while trading the Trading Combine.

  • Daily Loss Limit: You cannot exceed the Daily Loss Limit, according to the table above.
  • Trailing Max Drawdown: Your account balance can’t hit the Trailing Max Drawdown, according to the table above. This drawdown is calculated at the end of the day.
  • Consistency target: Your best day cannot exceed 50% of all profits made
  • Scaling plan: The Topstep scaling plan is the rule that limits the maximum number of lots or contracts that you can trade depending on your account size. More about this is below.
  • Minimum trading days: You need to trade for at least 2 days

Topstep Scaling Plan

The number of lots/contracts on the scaling plan is just the maximum number of lots that you can trade according to your account size. You are not required to trade this amount, you can trade a smaller number of contracts if you desire.

The scaling plan is updated at the end of each trading session. This means that if you eventually achieve an account balance that allows you to trade a bigger number of contracts, you need to wait for the next trading session to do so.

Here’s how it works for each account size:

$50,000 Account

Account BalanceMax Number of Contracts
Less than $51,5002
Between $51,500.1 – $52,0003
Above $52,000.015

$100,000 Account

Account BalanceMax Number of Contracts
Less than $101,5003
Between $101,500.1 – $102,0004
Between $102,000.01 – $103,0005
Above $103,000.0110

$150,000 Account

Account BalanceMax Number of Contracts
Less than $151,5003
Between $151,500.1 – $152,0004
Between $152,000.01 – $153,0005
Between $153,000.01 – $154,50010
Above $154,500.0115

Topstep Funded Account Rules

Once you pass the Topstep Combine, you’ll finally get access to your desired funded account with real money to trade.

This account comes with a set of rules to follow, and they are the exact same you had the Trading Combine.

Note you don’t have targets anymore once you get a Topstep funded account. You just need to follow the same basic risk management rules:

  • Trade only during the allowed time to trade
  • Respect the daily loss limit
  • Respect the trailing max drawdown
  • Don’t exceed your lot size according to the scaling plan

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Topstep Swing Trading Combine

In the past, it was possible to purchase a Swing Trading Combine, but unfortunately, it’s not available anymore.

Topstep Funding EAs/Algos/Bots

Automated trading, like the one done by EAs, algos, or bots, is allowed to be used with Topstep.

The same is valid for copy trading. You can even use a trade copier to copy your trades across multiple accounts when you have them.

Topstep Free Trial

Currently, the prop firm doesn’t offer free trials to traders.

Topstep Free Repeat

There are no free repeats, but there’s a reset option in case you breach any rule.

Topstep Platforms

Topstep supports a variety of futures trading platforms, fifteen to be more precise.

Some of the Topstep platforms are free others are paid. The paid Topstep platforms are often free when you are in the Trading Combine phase.

For a better understanding, here’s a list of the Topstep platforms and whether they are free or not.

First, the platforms recommended by Topstep:

Topstep Recommended PlatformsFree In Trading CombineFree In Live Funded Account
TSTraderYesYes
NinjaTraderYesNo
QuantowerYesYes

However, if you are used to a different platform, there are other available platforms at Topstep:

Other Topstep PlatformsFree In Trading CombineFree In Live Funded Account
TradingViewYesYes
Sierra ChartNoNo
T4YesYes
Jigsaw DaytradrNoNo
MultiChartsNoNo
R|Trader ProYesNo
VolfixNoNo
Trade NavigatorNoNo
ATAS Orderflow TradingYesNo
Motive WaveNoNo
BookmapNoNo
Investor/RTNoNo

In case you are using a Mac to trade, you are limited to these platforms when trading with Topstep:

  • TSTrader
  • TradingView
  • MotiveWave
  • T4 (web version)

TopstepX

Besides the commercial platforms, you also get access to TopstepX, which is their proprietary trading platform. This platform is the first of its kind in the prop trading industry.

When you use their platform you get access to:

  • Charts from TradingView
  • The Tilt indicator (gives market insight to traders, usually only given to market makers and institutions)
  • Built-in trade copier
  • Livestream from TopstepTV
  • Commission free trading
  • Account manual lockout
  • Personalized daily loss and profit limit
  • Simple bracket orders
  • Live chat support
  • Feature voting (see your ideas come to life inside TopstepX)
  • Micros and minis

Topstep Trading Hours

You need to close all positions before the end of the allowed time to trade, so beware of when does the stock market close. According to this rule, you cannot have anything open between 3:10 PM and 5:00 PM (CT time).

Topstep News Trading

If you like to trade news then Topstep is a good prop firm for you.

While news trading is allowed, you’re advised by Topstep to do it with caution and avoid trading when a major news release is coming.

You just need to be careful and have good risk management. Learn how to calculate your maximum lot size wisely.

Is Topstep Legit

Yes, Topstep is a legit company.

Here are the contacts to reach them:

Email: support@topstep.com

Phone: (888) 407-1611

Address: 141 West Jackson Boulevard, Suite #4240, Chicago, Illinois 60604

Topstep Customer Service

Topstep customer service is one of the most positive aspects of the company, according to their reviews.

To contact Topstep customer service use these contacts:

Customer service email: support@topstep.com

Customer service phone: (888) 407-1611

Support Hours (Monday – Friday): 7AM – 6PM CT

WhatsApp hours (Monday – Friday): 8AM – 5PM CT

Topstep Withdrawal

Topstep partnered with Deel to allow withdrawals of the payments using different methods.

You can withdraw from Topstep using any of these methods:

  • Bank transfer
  • Paypal
  • Coinbase
  • Binance
  • Payoneer
  • Revolut
  • Wise
  • Instant Card Transfer
  • Deel Card

The time that each withdrawal takes will depend on the method chosen.

Here’s how much time you can expect to wait after you ask for a withdrawal:

  • Paypal, Coinbase, Binance, Payoneer, Revolut: Withdrawal completed in up to one business day
  • Local bank transfer: Withdrawal completed between one to five business days
  • Bank transfers via swift: Withdrawal completed between five to seven business days

Topstep Alternatives

Here is a list of the best Topstep alternatives:

For more alternatives check our alternative prop firm tool:

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Here’s What You Learned Today

  • Topstep is a Futures prop trading firm based in Chicago
  • You can get a funded account of up to $150k with a profit split of 90% after an initial period where you get 100% of the profits (up to $10k).
  • To get access to a Topstep funded account you need to pass a 1-step challenge called Trading Combine
  • When trading the simulated or live accounts you need to follow rules mainly related to good risk management
  • All major futures trading platforms are supported by Topstep Trader

Learn More

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