Topstep is the largest futures-focused retail prop firm — the futures-market equivalent of what FTMO is for forex and CFD trading. Since 2012 Topstep has run its Trading Combine evaluation program specifically for CME futures products (E-mini S&P 500, Micro E-mini, crude oil, gold, Treasury bonds, and other CME-listed contracts). Passing the Combine grants a Topstep Funded Account with the firm's capital, keeping 100% of the first $10K in profit and 90% thereafter.
This piece covers the Topstep Trading Combine end-to-end: account tiers, product coverage, rulebook mechanics, funded-account terms, and how Topstep compares to forex-focused prop firms.
What the Trading Combine actually is
Topstep's Trading Combine is a two-step evaluation structured as a demo-account challenge on Topstep's proprietary simulator:
Step 1 (Combine) — hit a profit target within a specified daily-and-total-drawdown envelope. Trade CME futures products only. Meet the Combine's minimum-trading-day requirement.
Step 2 (Funded Account preparation) — demonstrate consistent post-Combine trading over ~5-10 additional trading days. Confirms the passing result wasn't a one-off.
Pass both steps → issued a Topstep Funded Account where Topstep provides the trading capital and you keep 100% of the first $10K in profits, then 90% thereafter with a payout structure.
Unlike FTMO or FundedNext (which trade forex, CFDs, and crypto), Topstep is exclusively futures. Every Combine and Funded Account trades regulated CME futures products only.
Account sizes and fees
Topstep runs three main account tiers (fees are monthly subscription — Topstep uses a subscription model rather than one-time evaluation fee like FTMO):
| Account size | Monthly fee | Profit target | Trailing max drawdown |
|---|---|---|---|
| $50,000 | ~$165 | $3,000 | $2,000 |
| $100,000 | ~$325 | $6,000 | $3,000 |
| $150,000 | ~$375 | $9,000 | $4,500 |
The monthly subscription model differs from most other prop firms:
- Pay monthly during the Combine. If you don't pass in 30 days, pay again for another 30 days.
- Reset available anytime. Break a rule → pay a reset fee to continue.
- Once funded, monthly fee applies to the Funded Account. $135-165/month depending on account size, offsetting the firm's operational cost.
Topstep also periodically offers promotional pricing (50-75% off first month) that makes the initial evaluation notably cheap.
The rulebook — CME futures specifics
Four constraints define the Combine:
1. Profit target — hit the account-tier-specific target ($3K on $50K account, $6K on $100K, etc.) via net trading profit.
2. Trailing Maximum Drawdown (Trailing MDD) — the single most-important rule. Starts at account size minus max drawdown ($50K account − $2K trailing = $48K floor). As account equity increases, the floor moves up. The floor never moves down — a strong week that lifts the floor stays lifted even if you subsequently give back some profit.
Trailing drawdown is stricter than static drawdown. A trader who hits +$3K by day 10, then gives back $2.5K by day 20, is now at $50.5K account balance with the trailing floor at $51K — instant failure even though the account is still above starting balance. See Drawdown rules explained for the mechanics.
3. Minimum trading days — must actively trade at least 5 days during the Combine.
4. No holding through closed market — futures positions must close before end of trading session or before session close on Friday for weekend hold. Some Topstep programs restrict weekend holding entirely.
Additional constraints:
- Only tradable CME products — Topstep specifies the exact CME futures contracts eligible each Combine cycle. E-mini S&P (ES), Micro E-mini (MES), crude oil (CL), gold (GC), Treasury bonds (ZB), and select others.
- Position sizing limits — maximum contract count per position depending on account size (e.g. 4 ES contracts on $50K account, 10 ES contracts on $100K).
- News trading permitted — futures traders regularly hold through economic releases; Topstep does not restrict this.
- No time limit within reason — the monthly subscription model effectively means you can extend the Combine as long as you keep paying the monthly fee, though most traders target 30-day pass.
The Funded Account
Pass the Combine → issued a Topstep Funded Account.
Payout structure:
- First $10K in profits: 100% to you (Topstep's distinctive feature — this is more generous than FTMO's 80/20 on all profits from the first dollar)
- Above $10K: 90% to you, 10% to Topstep
Payout mechanics: minimum $500 profit balance required before payout eligibility. Payout requests processed within 5-7 business days. Payment via ACH (US) or wire (international).
Scaling plan: after 4 payouts on a Funded Account, eligible to scale to a larger account tier or to pyramid multiple Funded Accounts.
Loss rules on Funded Account: same trailing MDD structure. Breach → Funded Account terminated (reset options available).
Topstep vs FTMO — futures vs forex
The two firms occupy adjacent but distinct niches:
| Dimension | Topstep | FTMO |
|---|---|---|
| Primary market | CME futures (regulated) | Forex, CFDs, crypto (offshore) |
| Products | ES, MES, CL, GC, ZB, others | Currency pairs, gold, oil, crypto, indices |
| Regulatory framework | US CFTC-regulated futures | Offshore CFDs |
| Pricing model | Monthly subscription | One-time evaluation fee (refunded on pass) |
| Profit split | 100% first $10K, then 90% | 80% from first dollar |
| Drawdown | Trailing MDD | Static + daily loss |
| Time horizon | Day trader / short-swing focus (futures rules) | Any horizon (24/5 forex) |
| Founded | 2012 | 2015 |
Pick Topstep if: you trade CME futures specifically (E-mini S&P, oil, gold, bonds), you value the 100% profit split on the first $10K, you're a day trader who fits the futures session structure.
Pick FTMO if: you trade forex or CFDs, you want the largest sector-wide payout track record, you value the two-step credential weight. See FTMO Challenge guide.
Traders who want exposure to both markets often maintain accounts at both firms.
What makes Topstep's Funded Account distinctive
The 100% profit split on the first $10K is Topstep's signature feature. On other major prop firms:
- FTMO: 80% split from the first dollar → keep $8,000 of a $10,000 profit
- FundedNext: 80% split from the first dollar → keep $8,000 of a $10,000 profit
- Topstep: 100% split on first $10K → keep $10,000 of the first $10,000 profit
For funded traders averaging $2,000-$5,000/month in profit, this compounds meaningfully — Topstep pays $600-1,500 more per month than the equivalent 80% split for the first several months of a Funded Account's life.
Once above $10K in cumulative profits, Topstep's 90% split remains slightly better than the industry-standard 80%.
How to pass the Trading Combine
Four rules that distinguish Combine passers:
1. Respect the trailing drawdown at all times. Trailing MDD is the specific mechanic that catches most Topstep failures. Traders who understand static drawdown but not trailing often fail their first Combine because they don't grasp how quickly the floor moves up.
2. Trade smaller than you think you need to. Topstep's contract-count limits allow larger positions than most traders should actually use during the Combine. Two contracts on ES is often enough; four contracts amplifies losing days too aggressively.
3. Front-load the minimum trading days. Meet the 5-minimum-day requirement in the first 10 days of the Combine. This leaves buffer time for the profit target push in the second half without racing against both the profit target AND the minimum-days rule.
4. Understand the session structure. Futures sessions close daily; overnight positions carry gap risk on economic releases and Asia-open catalysts. Traders who close all positions before US session close (typically 4:00-5:00 PM ET depending on product) avoid a common failure mode.
For the general prop-firm-challenge playbook, see How to pass a prop firm challenge.
Related surfaces
- /exchanges/topstep — live Topstep product listings
- /tournaments/challenges — all currently-live prop firm challenges
- Prop firm challenge — the complete 2026 guide — cornerstone explainer
- FTMO Challenge guide — forex/CFD comparison
- FundedNext Challenge guide — one-step alternative
- One-step vs two-step prop firm challenges — Topstep runs a variant two-step format
- No time limit prop firms — Topstep's monthly-subscription model has a related but different flexibility
- Cheapest prop firm challenges 2026 — Topstep during promo periods
- Drawdown rules explained — critical for Topstep's trailing MDD
- Top prop firms by payout track record — Topstep ranks strongly on futures
- Futures trading tournaments — the market Topstep specializes in
- How to pass a prop firm challenge — general playbook
Topstep is the anchor of the futures side of the retail prop firm sector. If you trade CME futures — and specifically the intraday index-futures and commodities that dominate the retail futures space — Topstep is the reference operator. The 100% profit split on the first $10K plus the multi-year payout track record makes it structurally hard to beat for the specific niche it serves.