Topstep's evaluation is the Trading Combine, in 50K, 100K and 150K sizes. After it come a simulated Express Funded Account and, by invitation only, a Live Funded Account. The Maximum Loss Limit is $2,000, $3,000 or $4,500. It trails your end-of-day balance, it's enforced in real time on unrealized P&L, and it locks for good once it reaches your starting balance. The Daily Loss Limit is optional until Live, and soft: hitting it ends your day, not your account. The Combine's consistency target is 55% of the profit target; the Express Funded Account's Consistency path uses 40%. Payouts split 90/10, with per-request caps until Live.
The three stages at a glance
| Stage | What it is | Maximum Loss Limit | Consistency rule | Daily Loss Limit | Minimum days |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Trading Combine | Monthly-subscription evaluation | End of day, trails then locks at your starting balance | 55% of the profit target | Optional, soft | None stated; the 55% rule means at least two days |
| Express Funded Account (XFA) | Simulated funded account; balance starts at $0 | End of day, trails then locks at $0 | Standard path: none. Consistency path: 40% per payout | Optional, soft | Standard: 5 winning days of $150+ per payout. Consistency: 3 trading days per payout |
| Live Funded Account (LFA) | Invitation only ("call-up"), Topstep's capital | Balance may not reach $0 | None published | Always on | 5 winning days of $150+ per payout |
Sources, checked 2026-10-08: Topstep Program Overview and the pages linked below.
The floor that locks: the Maximum Loss Limit
Before each session, find your floor: your highest end-of-day balance minus the limit, never above your starting balance. Open trades count against it in real time. Topstep's own summary: "The MLL is a trailing limit. It rises as your end-of-day balance grows, but never moves down. Once it reaches your starting balance, it locks permanently."
Mon: +$300, close $53,550. The limit stays locked at $50,000.
Illustrative balances, not market data: the trades are invented. The rules are Topstep's, as quoted in the Maximum Loss Limit section and read 2026-10-08: a $2,000 limit trailing end-of-day closes and monitored in real time, locked at the $50,000 starting balance, with the optional $1,000 Daily Loss Limit added at checkout.
Rule: limit = the highest end-of-day balance − $2,000, never moving down and never above the $50,000 starting balance: it locks there once a close reaches $52,000.
Read as text
- Start: $50,000. The limit starts $2,000 below, at $48,000. The optional $1,000 Daily Loss Limit, soft, sits $1,000 under each close for the next session.
- Mon: close $50,700. The limit trails up to $48,700.
- Tue: close $52,600, past $52,000. The limit locks at $50,000 for good.
- Wed: −$450, close $52,150. The limit stays locked at $50,000.
- Thu: +$600, close $52,750. The limit stays locked at $50,000.
- Fri: +$500, close $53,250. The limit stays locked at $50,000.
- Mon: +$300, close $53,550. The limit stays locked at $50,000.
The Daily Loss Limit flattens you at $51,150: done for the day, until 5 PM CT. The account survives, $1,150 above the Maximum Loss Limit.
Session starts and limits from the film's sample week: invented trades, Topstep's rules as quoted on this page, read 2026-10-08. The Maximum Loss Limit is watched in real time, open P&L included; the optional Daily Loss Limit flattens you when the day's net P&L reaches it. Fills can slip past either line; this check doesn't model slippage.
| Account | Starting balance | Limit starts at | Locks at | Once the end-of-day balance reaches |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 50K Combine | $50,000 | $48,000 | $50,000 | $52,000 |
| 100K Combine | $100,000 | $97,000 | $100,000 | $103,000 |
| 150K Combine | $150,000 | $145,500 | $150,000 | $154,500 |
| 50K / 100K / 150K XFA | $0 | −$2,000 / −$3,000 / −$4,500 | $0 | $2,000 / $3,000 / $4,500 |
- It moves once a day but bites all day: "monitored in real time throughout the session. Both realized and unrealized P&L count toward it." A touch liquidates the trade even if the fill comes back above the line.
- The XFA starts from $0: a 50K XFA's limit starts at −$2,000 and locks at $0; after your first payout it's set to $0 wherever it was. Rows other than the 50K follow from Topstep's rule.
- Our calculator can't model the lock. The trailing drawdown calculator trails a percentage of the peak: entered as 4%, after the sample's $52,600 close it shows $50,496, while Topstep's floor is locked at $50,000. Do it by hand (static vs trailing).
Source, checked 2026-10-08: What is the Maximum Loss Limit?
The sample week behind both films: invented trades under the 50K Combine's rules, with the optional $1,000 Daily Loss Limit added at checkout.
| Day | Day P&L | Close | Total profit | Best day | Best day ÷ total | Profit needed | Limit after the close |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mon | +$700 | $50,700 | $700 | $700 | 100.00% | $3,000.00 | $48,700 |
| Tue | +$1,900 | $52,600 | $2,600 | $1,900 | 73.08% | $3,454.55 | $50,000 (locked) |
| Wed | −$450 | $52,150 | $2,150 | $1,900 | 88.37% | $3,454.55 | $50,000 (locked) |
| Thu | +$600 | $52,750 | $2,750 | $1,900 | 69.09% | $3,454.55 | $50,000 (locked) |
| Fri | +$500 | $53,250 | $3,250 | $1,900 | 58.46% | $3,454.55 | $50,000 (locked) |
| Mon | +$300 | $53,550 | $3,550 | $1,900 | 53.52% | $3,454.55 | $50,000 (locked) |
Tuesday's close locks the limit, so Wednesday's loss costs room but never moves the floor. With the Daily Loss Limit on, it was the nearer line every session.
Trading Combine
Topstep calls it "a simulated account with one rule and two objectives": never let the balance hit the Maximum Loss Limit; reach and hold the profit target, and meet the Consistency Target. It rebills every 30 days, with "No time limit for passing."
| Account | Profit target | Maximum Loss Limit | Daily Loss Limit (DLL), if added | Max size | Keep your best day under |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| $50,000 | $3,000 | $2,000 | $1,000 | 5 minis or 50 micros | $1,650 |
| $100,000 | $6,000 | $3,000 | $2,000 | 10 minis or 100 micros | $3,300 |
| $150,000 | $9,000 | $4,500 | $3,000 | 15 minis or 150 micros | $4,950 |
The 55% consistency target. "Your single best day of profit must stay at or below 55% of your Profit Target. If it exceeds that, your Profit Target increases," to your best day ÷ 0.55. A day locks at 3:10 PM CT, so the fix comes on a later day. "55% is a hard line. It is not rounded, and there is no buffer." "The old buffer was quiet padding on top of a 50% target": summaries quoting 50%, including a row in our roundup of firms without a consistency rule, predate it.
- Profit ≥ $3,000met
- Best day ≤ 55%met
Mon: +$300, 53.52%. Both objectives met.
Illustrative balances, not market data: the trades are invented. The rules are Topstep's, as quoted in the Trading Combine section and read 2026-10-08: a $3,000 target and a best day at or below 55% of it, or the target becomes best day ÷ 0.55.
Rule: profit needed = the larger of the $3,000 target and best day ÷ 0.55; both objectives are met when the profit reaches it (best day ÷ total profit at or below 55%). Our consistency calculator's arithmetic.
Read as text
- Mon: +$700, total profit $700, best day $700 = 100.00% of it, profit needed $3,000.
- Tue: +$1,900, total profit $2,600, best day $1,900 = 73.08% of it, profit needed $3,454.55. The best day tops the $1,650 line, so the target becomes $1,900 ÷ 0.55.
- Wed: −$450, total profit $2,150, best day $1,900 = 88.37% of it, profit needed $3,454.55. Losing days don't shrink the best day.
- Thu: +$600, total profit $2,750, best day $1,900 = 69.09% of it, profit needed $3,454.55.
- Fri: +$500, total profit $3,250, best day $1,900 = 58.46% of it, profit needed $3,454.55. The $3,000 target is met, but the share is over 55%: $204.55 more, on days smaller than $1,900.
- Mon: +$300, total profit $3,550, best day $1,900 = 53.52% of it, profit needed $3,454.55. Both objectives met.
Tuesday's $1,900 tops the $1,650 line: the target becomes $3,454.55 (Topstep's own example rounds up to the next dollar). Friday in our consistency calculator (best day $1,900, total $3,250, threshold 55) reads 58.46%: $204.55 more, on days smaller than $1,900. Monday's $300 clears it at 53.52%.
On this run the best day, not the $3,000 target, set the finish line. A first big day under $1,650 would have kept the target at $3,000.After you pass, the Combine closes and you can activate an XFA; "Profits don't transfer." A Reset returns a Combine to day one, at most 2 per account per day. The profit target calculator turns $3,000 over 20 trading days (our assumption) into $150 a day: about 58 trades at $150 risk, a 45% win rate and 2R.
Sources, checked 2026-10-08: Trading Combine® Parameters, Consistency at Topstep, Trading Combine Subscriptions, What is a Reset?
Express Funded Account
"Your balance starts at $0 and grows from your trading profits." The 50K, 100K or 150K label is buying power. You can hold up to 5 active XFAs, and you pick a payout path at activation for good.
| Standard path | Consistency path | |
|---|---|---|
| To request a payout | 5 winning days of $150+ net P&L (not consecutive), plus positive net profit since your last payout (the first payout is exempt) | 3 trading days with at least 1 trade each, and "Your largest single day cannot exceed 40% of your total net profit" |
| Size of a request | 50% of your balance, up to the cap below | 50% of your balance, up to the cap below |
| Profit split | 90/10 | 90/10 |
| Account | Standard cap | Consistency cap | Standard cap, DLL added at Combine checkout | Consistency cap, 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 added at checkout, not one added later. The minimum payout is $125. Traders who joined Topstep's new dashboard before January 12, 2026 keep 100% of their first $10,000 in lifetime profits. After every payout the Maximum Loss Limit "resets to $0 permanently" and the day count restarts.
Scaling plan, in mini equivalents (1 mini = 10 micros); limits "do not increase mid-session":
| XFA balance | 50K | 100K | 150K |
|---|---|---|---|
| Below $1,500 | 2 lots | 3 lots | 3 lots |
| $1,500 to $2,000 | 3 lots | 4 lots | 4 lots |
| $2,000 to $3,000 | 5 lots | 5 lots | 5 lots |
| $3,000 to $4,500 | 5 lots | 10 lots | 10 lots |
| Above $4,500 | 5 lots | 10 lots | 15 lots |
Lose an XFA before its first payout and Back2Funded reactivates it up to 2 times within 30 calendar days, for a fee. An XFA with no trading for more than 30 days may be closed.
Sources, checked 2026-10-08: Express Funded Account™ Parameters, Topstep Payout Policy, What is the Scaling Plan? (the table is an image there), Back2Funded
Live Funded Account
You can't buy it: Topstep's Risk Team calls traders up, and your XFAs close. Only 20% of the transferred balance is tradable at first (minimum $10,000); the 80% Reserve is released in 25% steps per $3,000 / $6,000 / $9,000 of net profit (50K / 100K / 150K).
| LFA size | Daily Loss Limit |
|---|---|
| $50,000 | $2,000 |
| $100,000 | $3,000 |
| $150,000 | $4,500 |
At a tradable $10,000 or below the limit drops to $2,000 (5 contracts); at $5,000 or below, to $1,000 (3 contracts); below $1,000 the account is liquidated. Payouts need 5 winning days of $150+, up to 50% of the balance with no cap; after 30 such days, up to 100% once a day. The API "isn't available on Live."
Sources, checked 2026-10-08: Live Funded Account Parameters, Topstep Payout Policy
Topstep's Daily Loss Limit
Optional in the Combine and the XFA, automatic in the LFA. It measures net P&L, realized and unrealized, from 5 PM CT to 3:10 PM CT. Hitting it flattens you until 5 PM CT: "Triggering it is not a rule violation." A limit added at checkout is fixed and carries into your XFA. Topstep's case for it: "Over 63% of traders have lost account in a single day." Switch it off in the check above and the sample's Thursday fails at −$2,150, the locked limit.
Our daily loss limit calculator at a $50,000 baseline and 2% matches it on a red day ($300 realized and $250 open down leaves $450); on a green day it stays conservative, and it doesn't know the 5 PM CT reset.
Source, checked 2026-10-08: Daily Loss Limit in the Trading Combine and Express Funded Account
Rules that apply to every account
- Hours: "All positions must be closed by 3:10 PM CT every weekday." Avoid opening positions after 3:08 PM CT, when Risk Managers start flattening; trading resumes at 5:00 PM CT. "No swing trading. No Forex." (When and What Products Can I Trade?)
- News: "Topstep doesn't require you to flatten positions during economic releases," and slippage losses aren't refunded (Economic Releases). Prohibited: "Purposefully trading your full Maximum Position Size directly into a scheduled major news event" (Prohibited Trading Strategies).
- CPI releases: for 5 minutes either side, no new opening trades in equity-index minis (ES, NQ, RTY, YM, NKD) or GC, SI, HG and PL; micros are capped at 3 / 6 / 9 contracts on 50K / 100K / 150K. Standing caps on 2026-10-08: CL at 3 / 6 / 9; SI, HG and PL at 0. (Risk Adjustments)
- Hedging: long and short "the same or correlated instrument across multiple accounts — such as MES/ES, MNQ/NQ" is prohibited (Understanding Hedging), as is account stacking.
- Costs: TopstepX commissions per round turn, exchange fees included: ES $3.78, MES $1.22, NQ $3.78, MNQ $1.22 (Commissions and Fees). ACH and wire payouts cost $30: a $500 ACH request arrives as $420 after the 10% split and the fee (Payout Policy).
All checked 2026-10-08.
Prices on 2026-10-08
| Item | 50K | 100K | 150K |
|---|---|---|---|
| Combine, Standard path (per month) | $49 | $99 | $199 |
| Combine, No Activation Fee path (per month) | $95 | $149 | $229 |
| Reset, Standard / No Activation Fee path | $49 / $95 | $99 / $149 | $199 / $229 |
| XFA activation fee, Standard path (one time) | $149 | $149 | $149 |
| Back2Funded reactivation | $599 | $699 | $829 |
Paths can't be changed after purchase. A Daily Loss Limit added at checkout takes $10 / $20 / $30 off a No Activation Fee Combine and $50 off a Back2Funded reactivation. Depth-of-market data is $38 a month; taxes are added at checkout. Source: Topstep Pricing and Payment Questions, checked 2026-10-08.
Where do Topstep's own pages disagree?
- 55% of what? "Below 55% of your Profit Target" (Combine parameters), "at or below" it and "55% of your total profit" (consistency page), "below 55% of total profits" (overview). All lead to best day ÷ 0.55. Stay under 55%.
- When a day locks. The consistency page locks the Combine's best day at 3:10 PM CT; the payout policy locks XFA days "at 4:00 PM CT."
- The Daily Loss Limit discount. The pricing page lists three products; the Daily Loss Limit page names two.
- Live closure. Below $1,000 the LFA "may be immediately liquidated" in one place and "will be liquidated immediately" in its FAQ.
Not published or not covered
- A Combine minimum day count: there's none, but the 55% rule means "as few as two days."
- A Live consistency rule, or a loss-limit figure beyond the $0 floor and the $1,000 closure line; when, or whether, the Risk Team calls you up.
- Topstep Labs "drops," such as the $50K Static Drawdown Combine launched in October 2026 (a static $2,000 limit, a $4,000 target, a $149 one-time fee): "Every drop is limited; when it's gone, it's gone." (Topstep Labs, checked 2026-10-08.)
Compare Apex Trader Funding (a threshold that stops at the start plus $100, a 50% payout rule) and Lucid Trading; mechanics in prop-firm rules, decoded and the consistency rule; all on the prop firm rules hub.
Where we sit
We're not affiliated with Topstep and earn nothing if you buy from it. We sell the Prop Firm Challenge Toolkit, a TradingView indicator that tracks daily-loss, drawdown and target buffers in dollars from the rule numbers you enter; check its presets against the tables above. Topstep's dashboard is the source of truth.
Disclosure
Every rule is quoted or summarized from the linked Topstep page as read on 2026-10-08. The films and the check use invented trades under Topstep's published rules: not a forecast, and no view on whether an account is worth buying. If a row no longer matches Topstep's pages, email support@pulltrade.app and we'll correct it in public.
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Frequently asked questions
When does the Topstep daily loss limit reset?
At 5 PM CT. The Daily Loss Limit measures net P&L, realized and unrealized, across the trading day from 5 PM CT to 3:10 PM CT; hitting it flattens your positions and stops trading until 5 PM CT, but it isn't a rule violation. It's optional in the Trading Combine and the Express Funded Account and automatic in the Live Funded Account.
Is Topstep's Maximum Loss Limit trailing or static?
Trailing, end of day: it rises with your highest end-of-day balance, never moves down, and locks permanently once it reaches your starting balance. It updates once a day but is monitored in real time, with realized and unrealized P&L both counting. On the Trading Combine it's $2,000, $3,000 or $4,500 for 50K, 100K or 150K.
What is Topstep's consistency rule?
In the Trading Combine, your single best day must stay at or below 55% of the profit target; if it goes over, the target becomes your best day ÷ 0.55, so on a 50K Combine keep your best day under $1,650. Topstep says 55% is a hard line, not rounded and with no buffer. In the Express Funded Account only the Consistency path has one: your largest day can't exceed 40% of your total net profit.
Why do some summaries say Topstep's consistency rule is 50%?
They predate the current rule: on 2026-10-08 Topstep's help center gave 55% of the profit target and described the old buffer as quiet padding on top of a 50% target. Its own pages also word the line in several ways, from below 55% of the profit target to at or below it to below 55% of total profits, so treat 55% as a line to stay under.
Can you trade news on Topstep?
Yes: Topstep doesn't require you to flatten positions during economic releases, but purposefully trading your full Maximum Position Size directly into a scheduled major news event is prohibited. For 5 minutes either side of CPI releases there are no new opening trades in equity-index minis or GC, SI, HG and PL, and micros are capped at 3, 6 or 9 contracts on 50K, 100K or 150K.
Can you hold Topstep positions overnight or over the weekend?
No. All positions must be closed by 3:10 PM CT every weekday, and Topstep allows no swing trading. Avoid opening positions after 3:08 PM CT, when Risk Managers start flattening; trading resumes at 5:00 PM CT.
How do Topstep payouts work, and what is the profit split?
Payouts split 90/10. In the Express Funded Account each request is up to 50% of your balance, capped at $2,000 to $5,000 on the Standard path and $3,000 to $6,000 on the Consistency path (doubled for a limited time if you added a Daily Loss Limit at Combine checkout), with a $125 minimum and a $30 fee for ACH or wire. In the Live Funded Account a request can be up to 50% of the balance with no cap.
Does Topstep have minimum trading days?
Not in the Trading Combine, but the 55% consistency rule means you need at least two days. In the Express Funded Account, the Standard path needs 5 winning days of $150 or more net P&L per payout and the Consistency path 3 trading days; the Live Funded Account needs 5 winning days of $150 or more per payout.
