Topstep's consistency rule limits how much of your profit one day can carry. In the Trading Combine, your best day must stay at or below 55% of the profit target ($1,650 on 50K), or the target becomes your best day ÷ 0.55. In the Express Funded Account, only the Consistency payout path has one: your largest day can be at most 40% of net profit when you request a payout. The Standard path has none; Topstep publishes none for Live.
Check your days
Use a minus sign for a losing day. More than 6 days? Switch to best day + total.
Target raised to $3,272.73
Your $1,800 best day is over $1,650, 55% of the $3,000 target, so the target becomes $1,800 ÷ 0.55 = $3,272.73. You need $2,272.73 more, on later days of no more than $1,800: at least 2 more days.
- Profit target $3,000: not met. $1,000 so far
- Best day at or below 55% of profit: not met. $1,800 is more than your $1,000 total: other days lost money
Starts on Topstep's own example: a $1,800 best day, then a losing day that leaves $1,000. The rules are Topstep's, read on 2026-10-17. Each day you enter counts as a closed trading day with at least one trade. The check doesn't know your Maximum Loss Limit, your Daily Loss Limit or Topstep's payout review; your Topstep dashboard is the source of truth.
It opens on Topstep's own example: a $1,800 best day on a 50K Combine, then a losing day that leaves $1,000 of profit. After the loss the best day is bigger than the whole profit. The target becomes $1,800 ÷ 0.55 = $3,272.73, so you need $2,272.73 more, on later days of no more than $1,800: at least 2 more days. Switch to XFA Consistency and the same days need $4,500 of net profit, $3,500 more.
If your dashboard already shows your best day and your total, use "Best day + total". Our consistency calculator runs the same share math at any threshold (enter 55 or 40), but it doesn't know the Combine's profit target. A $1,000 best day on $2,000 of profit reads $0 more there, though you're still $1,000 short of $3,000.
Which Topstep accounts have a consistency rule?
Two do. The Trading Combine always has its 55% Consistency Target. An Express Funded Account (XFA) has a 40% rule only if you picked the Consistency payout path when you activated it.
| Account | Rule | What it compares | When it's checked | If you're over |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Trading Combine (50K, 100K, 150K) | 55% | Best day ÷ total profit, held against the profit target | When you'd pass: both must hold | The profit target rises to best day ÷ 0.55 |
| XFA, Consistency path | 40% | Largest single-day net profit ÷ total net profit since your last payout | When you request a payout | No payout yet; keep trading |
| XFA, Standard path | None | Nothing | Not applicable | Needs 5 winning days of $150+ instead |
| Live Funded Account | None published | Nothing | Not applicable | Needs 5 winning days of $150+ per payout |
Topstep's program overview lists a Consistency Target under the Combine and "40% consistency" under the XFA's Consistency path, and nothing of the kind for the Standard path or Live. The Live Funded Account's own page has no consistency rule at all. Its nearest cousin governs the Live Reserve, not payouts: "You cannot unlock multiple tiers with a single large win." A Live payout needs 5 winning days of $150 or more, and the payout policy lets you "Request up to 50% of your account balance with no dollar cap".
Topstep Labs "drops" carry their own rules, and "Every drop is limited; when it's gone, it's gone." On 2026-10-17 the Labs page listed:
| Labs drop | Consistency |
|---|---|
| $25K Static Drawdown Trading Combine (#001) | 55%; its XFA lets you choose Consistency or Standard |
| $250K Freedom Funded Trading Combine (#002) | 55%; its XFA is Standard only |
| $50K Static Drawdown Trading Combine (#006) | 55%; its XFA offers "Standard (no consistency) or Consistency (40%)" |
| $3K, $1.5K, $6K, $1.5K Powered Up, $3K Undead and $3K Slasher Challenges | None, in either round |
Sources, checked 2026-10-17: Consistency at Topstep, Topstep Program Overview, Express Funded Account™ Parameters, Live Funded Account Parameters, Topstep Payout Policy, Topstep Labs
How does Topstep measure your best day?
The Combine's formula is "Best Day Profit ÷ Total Profit = Best Day %". The XFA's is "Largest Single-Day Net Profit ÷ Total Net Profit = Consistency %". Five details decide what goes into them.
- A day is a trading day. "The trading day runs from 5:00 PM CT through 3:10 PM CT the next calendar day," so a trade at 6:30 PM CT on Tuesday counts toward Wednesday.
- The best day locks at the close. In the Combine, "At 3:10 PM CT, that day's value locks into your trading history and cannot be changed." The payout policy says XFA days "lock in at 4:00 PM CT".
- A losing day lowers the total and leaves the best day alone. "If your best day is $1,800 but a losing day brings your total profit down to $1,000, your best day is still $1,800." So a loss makes the share worse.
- Nothing is rounded. "55% is a hard line. It is not rounded, and there is no buffer." The old buffer, Topstep says, was "quiet padding on top of a 50% target", so summaries that quote 50% predate the change. On the XFA, "Any result above 40% does not qualify."
- You can't fix it the same day. Profit made in the session that set your best day "adds directly to that best day total", which raises the target further. The rest has to come on a later trading day.
Sources, checked 2026-10-17: Consistency at Topstep, Trading Combine® Parameters, Topstep Payout Policy
What happens if your best day goes over 55% in the Combine?
Your profit target goes up, to your best day ÷ 0.55, and you pass once your total profit reaches it. The account stays open. Topstep's own answer: "Can I keep trading after hitting my Best Day Recommendation? Yes, but exceeding it increases your Profit Target and makes the Trading Combine harder to pass."
| Combine | Profit target | Keep your best day under | A best day of | Makes the target |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| $50,000 | $3,000 | $1,650 | $2,200 | $4,000 |
| $100,000 | $6,000 | $3,300 | $4,400 | $8,000 |
| $150,000 | $9,000 | $4,950 | $6,600 | $12,000 |
The middle column is Topstep's "Best Day Recommendation", 55% of the target. Every $100 over it adds $181.82 to the target ($100 ÷ 0.55). In Topstep's own example a $1,800 best day makes the 50K target $3,273 ($3,272.73 before Topstep rounds it up), and a $2,200 day after it makes the target $4,000. You can pass in "as few as 2 days".
Here's an invented week on a 50K Combine:
| Day | P&L | Total profit | Best day | Best day ÷ total | Profit needed | Still needed |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | +$600 | $600 | $600 | 100.00% | $3,000 | $2,400 |
| 2 | +$2,200 | $2,800 | $2,200 | 78.57% | $4,000 | $1,200 |
| 3 | −$500 | $2,300 | $2,200 | 95.65% | $4,000 | $1,700 |
| 4 | +$800 | $3,100 | $2,200 | 70.97% | $4,000 | $900 |
| 5 | +$450 | $3,550 | $2,200 | 61.97% | $4,000 | $450 |
| 6 | +$500 | $4,050 | $2,200 | 54.32% | $4,000 | passes |
Day 2 decides it. Its $550 above the $1,650 line added $1,000 to the target, and Day 3's loss took back $500 of profit on top. Day 4 cleared $3,000 and still didn't pass. Day 6 did, at 54.32%.
On a 50K Combine, a $2,200 day turns a $3,000 target into $4,000.When it's checked. The Combine passes once both objectives hold: the target, raised or not, and the 55% share. Topstep says the status "can take up to 30 minutes" to update; if it doesn't, "verify your Consistency Target has been met." Profits don't carry over into the XFA.
A daily stop. On TopstepX you can set a Personal Daily Profit Target (Settings, then Risk Settings) with an action of "Do Nothing, Liquidate, or Liquidate and Block", so a day stops before it crosses the line. A Reset is the blunt alternative: balance, Maximum Loss Limit, Consistency Target and trading days all go back to day one, with at most 2 Resets per account each day.
Sources, checked 2026-10-17: Consistency at Topstep, Trading Combine® Parameters, What is a Reset?
How does the 40% rule work in the Express Funded Account?
You choose Standard or Consistency when you activate an XFA, and "that choice cannot be changed". The Consistency path swaps Standard's 5 winning days for 3 trading days and a 40% cap on your largest day.
- The rule: "Your largest single day cannot exceed 40% of your total net profit." In Topstep's example, a $2,000 best day needs at least $5,000 of total net profit ($2,000 ÷ 0.4).
- The days: "3 trading days with at least 1 trade per day." The 40% rule asks for that anyway: over two days, the better one is at least half the total.
- When it's checked: when you request a payout. Over 40%, Topstep's advice is to "keep trading. As you earn more net profit, the percentage will naturally come down." The dashboard shows the share in real time, but only once your net profit is positive.
- The window: after a payout request, "your consistency calculation resets to $0". The new window "starts on the trading day after your Payout was requested", and profit left in the balance doesn't count toward it. Topstep's example: $15,000 over 3 days, a $5,000 payout, a $10,000 balance, and the count back at $0.
Both paths pay up to 50% of the balance per request, split 90/10, with a $125 minimum and these caps:
| XFA | Standard cap | Consistency cap | Standard, DLL added at Combine checkout | Consistency, DLL added at Combine checkout |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| $50,000 | $2,000 | $3,000 | $4,000 | $6,000 |
| $100,000 | $3,000 | $4,000 | $6,000 | $8,000 |
| $150,000 | $5,000 | $6,000 | $10,000 | $12,000 |
The doubled caps are a "Limited Time Offering" for new Combine purchases with a Daily Loss Limit (DLL) added at checkout. Topstep gives no end date. One exception to the split: traders who joined Topstep's new dashboard before January 12, 2026 receive "100% of your first $10,000 in lifetime profits", then 90/10. A Back2Funded reactivation keeps "the same Payout rules as your original XFA", path included.
Sources, checked 2026-10-17: Consistency at Topstep, Express Funded Account™ Parameters, Topstep Payout Policy, Back2Funded
Standard or Consistency path: which pays sooner?
That depends on your biggest day. Here are two invented starts on a 50K XFA, each read by both paths for a first payout (the balance starts at $0, so it equals the profit):
| Even days | One big day | |
|---|---|---|
| Days | +$700, +$600, +$650, +$400, +$550 | +$2,000, +$300, −$400, +$600, +$450, +$500, +$700, +$900 |
| Consistency path | Day 3: $700 is 35.90% of $1,950; up to $975 | Day 8: $2,000 is 39.60% of $5,050; up to $2,525 |
| Standard path | Day 5, the fifth winning day of $150+: up to $1,450 | Day 6, the fifth winning day of $150+: up to $1,725 |
With even days the Consistency path can pay two days sooner. With a $2,000 first day it waits for $5,000 of net profit, while the Standard path pays on day 6. We haven't tested which path suits any strategy; the check above shows both for your own days.
Steady days suit the Consistency path; one big day suits Standard.Does breaking the consistency rule fail your account?
No. In the Combine it moves the target. On the XFA's Consistency path it holds back a payout request until the share is back at 40% or under. Topstep's pages describe neither one as closing the account: the Combine's target "increases", and on the XFA you "keep trading". The line that does close accounts is the Maximum Loss Limit, covered with a breach check in our Topstep rules post.
Where do Topstep's own pages disagree?
- At or below 55%, or below it? The consistency page says "at or below 55% of your Profit Target". The Combine parameters say "below 55% of your Profit Target", the program overview "below 55% of total profits", and the recommendation table "Less than $1,650". By Topstep's formula a $1,650 best day leaves the 50K target at $3,000; the check passes it and flags the line. Stay a dollar under.
- What goes up. The Combine parameters say a big day ends up "increasing your Consistency Target"; the consistency page says "your Profit Target increases". The arithmetic is the same.
- When a day locks. The Combine's best day locks at 3:10 PM CT (consistency page); XFA days "lock in at 4:00 PM CT" (payout policy), though the trading day ends at 3:10 PM CT.
- The XFA's numerator. "Largest Single-Day Net Profit" (consistency page) or "Largest Winning Day" (XFA parameters). They differ only if no day is positive, and then there's no share to show.
- Rounding. "It is not rounded", yet Topstep's own example rounds $3,272.73 up to $3,273. Rounding up is the safe direction, and it's the one the check takes, to the cent.
Not published
- Whether the Combine's "Total Profit" is net of commissions and fees. The XFA wording says net profit.
- A consistency rule for the Live Funded Account.
- How the dashboard rounds the share it shows.
- When the doubled payout caps end. Topstep says to "Keep an eye on our social channels".
Sources and their last edits
Each page was read on 2026-10-17. Dates are the help center's own last-edit stamps (UTC).
- Consistency at Topstep, edited 2026-09-17.
- Trading Combine® Parameters, 2026-09-24; What is a Reset?, 2026-09-25.
- Topstep Program Overview, 2026-09-10.
- Express Funded Account™ Parameters, 2026-08-05; Topstep Payout Policy, 2026-10-13; Back2Funded, 2026-09-29.
- Live Funded Account Parameters, 2026-10-01.
- Topstep Labs, 2026-10-15.
Disclosure
The check and the worked examples use invented numbers and Topstep's published rules. Neither is a forecast, and neither says whether a Topstep account is worth buying. Topstep's dashboard decides whether you pass or get paid, not this page. If a number here no longer matches Topstep's pages, email support@pulltrade.app and we'll correct it in public.
Frequently asked questions
What is Topstep's consistency rule?
In the Trading Combine, your best day must stay at or below 55% of your profit target: $1,650, $3,300 or $4,950 on a 50K, 100K or 150K account. Go over and the target becomes your best day ÷ 0.55. In the Express Funded Account only the Consistency payout path has a rule: your largest day can be at most 40% of your net profit when you request a payout.
Does breaking the Topstep consistency rule fail your account?
No. In the Trading Combine a best day over 55% raises your profit target, and you keep trading until your profit reaches it. On the Express Funded Account's Consistency path a share over 40% holds back your payout request until more profit brings it down. Topstep's pages describe neither one as closing the account.
Do losing days count in Topstep's consistency rule?
Yes, through the total. A losing day lowers your total profit but never resets your best day, so the share gets worse. Topstep's own example: a $1,800 best day and a losing day that leaves $1,000 of profit still need $3,273 on a 50K Combine.
Can you fix a Topstep consistency increase on the same day?
No. Profit you make in the session that set your best day adds to that day and raises the target further. The rest has to come on a later trading day. The Combine's best day locks at 3:10 PM CT, and a trading day runs from 5:00 PM CT to 3:10 PM CT.
Does the Topstep Express Funded Account have a consistency rule?
Only on the Consistency payout path, which you choose at activation and can't change: your largest single day must be 40% or less of your total net profit, over at least 3 trading days with a trade each. It resets after every payout request. The Standard path has no consistency rule; it needs 5 winning days of $150 or more instead.
Is Topstep's consistency rule 50% or 55%?
55% in the Trading Combine, as read on 2026-10-17. Topstep says the old buffer was padding on top of a 50% target and that 55% is now a hard line, not rounded and with no buffer. Summaries quoting 50% predate the change.
Does the Topstep Live Funded Account have a consistency rule?
Topstep publishes none. Its Live pages ask for 5 winning days of $150 or more net P&L per payout, and a Live request can be up to 50% of the balance with no cap.
