Topstep rules, explained

Topstep sells its program as "one rule and two objectives," and in the Trading Combine that's true: don't hit the Maximum Loss Limit, reach the profit target, and keep your best day inside the consistency target. It gets more complicated after you pass. The Express Funded Account (XFA) starts at a $0 balance, offers two payout paths, and adds a scaling plan.

Everything below was checked against Topstep's help center on Oct 10, 2026. Topstep changes rules and pricing often, so confirm your account's rules in your dashboard before you trade.

The three stages at a glance

• Trading Combine. A monthly-subscription evaluation. Pass it and you earn an XFA.
• Express Funded Account (XFA). A simulated funded account that starts at a $0 balance. This is where you take payouts and build the track record Topstep's Risk Team uses to decide on a call-up.
• Live Funded Account (LFA). Real capital, by invitation only. When you're called up, all of your XFAs close.

The Trading Combine

The numbers

Micros and minis count at a 10:1 ratio toward the position limit. There's no time limit for passing. The Combine rebills every 30 days until you pass or cancel, and it can't be paused.

The one rule: the Maximum Loss Limit

The Maximum Loss Limit (MLL) is an end-of-day trailing drawdown. On a 50K Combine your balance starts at $50,000 and the MLL starts at $48,000. Each day you close at a new high, the MLL moves up to $2,000 below that closing balance. It never moves down, and once it reaches your starting balance ($50,000) it locks there permanently.

Two details catch people:

• It trails on closing balances but is enforced in real time. Unrealized P&L counts. If an open trade touches the MLL for a moment, you're liquidated, even if the fill comes back slightly above the line.
• It locks once a 50K closes at $52,000 ($103,000 on a 100K, $154,500 on a 150K). Until then, every green close raises your floor.

Trailing drawdown, explained covers the mechanics in more depth. A Combine breach doesn't cancel the subscription. The account just can't pass until you buy a Reset.

Objective 1: reach and maintain the profit target

Hit the target for your size, and still be at or above it when the account is evaluated. You can't pass in one day. Two trading days is the minimum.

Objective 2: the 55% consistency target

Your best single day has to stay at or below 55%. Go over and the account doesn't fail. Instead, your profit target rises to best day ÷ 0.55.

Worked example on a 50K: your best day is $1,800. $1,800 ÷ 0.55 = $3,273, so that's your new target, and no other day can beat $1,800 on the way there. If a later day makes $2,200, that becomes your best day and the target jumps to $4,000.

Topstep also spells out a few details:

• 55% is a hard line. There's no rounding and no buffer (the old 50% rule had hidden padding).
• Losing days don't reset your best day.
• You can't fix it the same day. The day locks at 3:10 PM CT, and more profit that session just makes the best day bigger.

A Personal Daily Profit Target in TopstepX Risk Settings can stop you before you cross the line. For pacing strategy, see The consistency rule, explained.

The Daily Loss Limit is optional

A daily loss limit isn't required in the Combine or the XFA. You can add one at checkout:

| Account | DLL if added | |---|---| | 50K | $1,000 | | 100K | $2,000 | | 150K | $3,000 |

Hitting a DLL is not a rule violation. Trading just pauses for the rest of the session. A checkout DLL is fixed and carries into your XFA. A Personal DLL set later in Risk Settings can be loosened in the moment, which defeats the point. Topstep currently rewards a checkout DLL with discounts on some products and, for a limited time, doubled XFA payout caps (more below). See Daily loss limit vs. max loss limit, explained.

Fees: Combine, reset and activation

Topstep sells two paths. The Standard path, shown above, adds a one-time activation fee for every XFA you earn. The No Activation Fee path costs more each month ($95 / $149 / $229 for 50K / 100K / 150K) and charges nothing when you pass. Resets cost the same as a month on your path, so a reset at Topstep is no cheaper than starting fresh (Reset vs. new evaluation). You can't change the path or the account size after you buy.

The Express Funded Account (XFA)

When you pass, the Combine subscription cancels and you activate an XFA. Combine profits don't carry over.

A $0 balance and a drawdown that ends at zero

An XFA starts at a $0 balance, and the 50K/100K/150K label is buying power. On a 50K, the MLL starts at -$2,000, trails up on closing balances, and locks at $0 once your balance reaches $2,000. Breaching it permanently closes the account.

If you lose an XFA before your first payout, Back2Funded lets you reactivate it up to two times at the same size and payout path ($599 / $699 / $829 for 50K / 100K / 150K).

The scaling plan

In the XFA you don't get full size right away. Your max position size depends on your balance:

| 50K XFA | | 100K XFA | | 150K XFA | | |---|---|---|---|---|---| | Below $1,500 | 2 lots | Below $1,500 | 3 lots | Below $1,500 | 3 lots | | $1,500–$2,000 | 3 lots | $1,500–$2,000 | 4 lots | $1,500–$2,000 | 4 lots | | Above $2,000 | 5 lots | $2,000–$3,000 | 5 lots | $2,000–$3,000 | 5 lots | | | | Above $3,000 | 10 lots | $3,000–$4,500 | 10 lots | | | | | | Above $4,500 | 15 lots |

Limits are in mini equivalents. New size doesn't unlock mid-session, and a payout that drops you a tier drops your size too.

Two payout paths, and you pick once

At activation you choose a payout path. It can't be changed later.

| | XFA Standard | XFA Consistency | |---|---|---| | To request a payout | 5 winning days of $150+ net (don't have to be consecutive) | 3 trading days (at least 1 trade each) and largest day ≤ 40% of total net profit | | Max per request | 50% of balance, capped at $2,000 / $3,000 / $5,000 | 50% of balance, capped at $3,000 / $4,000 / $6,000 | | After a payout | Need to be net profitable since the last payout (first payout exempt) | Consistency calc and day count reset to zero | | Profit split | 90/10 | 90/10 |

Caps are for 50K / 100K / 150K. Other payout details:

• Your first payout sets the MLL to $0 permanently, so whatever balance is left becomes your entire cushion. Topstep recommends waiting until the MLL has reached $0 first.
• The request day doesn't count toward the next cycle. The minimum request is $125.
• Doubled caps (limited time): adding the DLL when you buy a new Combine doubles the per-request caps, up to $12,000 on a 150K Consistency XFA.
• You can hold up to 5 active XFAs at once.

For how payout gating works across firms, see Payout buffer and days to payout, explained.

The Live Funded Account

Topstep's Risk Team decides who gets called up, and all your XFAs close when it happens. In Live:

• 20% of the transferred balance (minimum $10,000) is tradable right away. The rest is held in reserve and unlocks 25% at a time each time you hit your size's profit target.
• A Daily Loss Limit is mandatory: $2,000 / $3,000 / $4,500. It tightens if your tradable balance falls to $10,000 or less.
• Payouts need 5 winning days of $150+ per cycle, with no dollar cap. After 30 winning days, you can take payouts daily.
• If the balance drops below $1,000, the account closes.

Inactivity, trading hours and prohibited strategies

• Inactivity: XFAs and Live accounts with no trading activity for more than 30 days may be closed, and they can't be put on hold. The Combine has no inactivity rule, but it keeps rebilling until you pass or cancel.
• Trading day: 5:00 PM CT to 3:10 PM CT the next day. Be flat by 3:10 PM CT, or by the product's earlier close.
• Prohibited: account stacking (blowing accounts and rotating to new ones), trading full max size into a scheduled major news event, exploiting SIM fills, hedging across accounts, and using multiple Topstep profiles. Automation and trade copiers are allowed in the Combine and XFA, at your own risk.

The mistakes that fail Topstep accounts

• Watching closed P&L. The MLL is enforced on open P&L.
• Not pushing to the lock. Until a 50K closes at $52,000, every green day raises your floor.
• One monster Combine day. It raises your target, and trading more that session makes it worse.
• Picking the wrong XFA path. Big-day traders struggle on the 40% Consistency path. Steady grinders may get paid faster on it.
• Oversizing in the XFA. A 50K XFA under $1,500 allows 2 lots, not 5.
• Taking a first payout too early. It locks the MLL at $0 on a thin balance.

Track it against your account

Save Topstep's numbers as a rule set in Tradervana and attach it to each Combine and XFA. With TopstepX connected (Pro, in beta; here's how), you get:

• Daily loss and drawdown room, meaning how far you are from the MLL and from your DLL if you added one, updated as trades sync. The MLL figure is an estimate built from your closed trades, so check TopstepX when you're close
• Consistency warnings when your best day grows too large a share of your profit, plus the biggest single day you can still take without crossing your limit
• Tilt warnings when a losing streak builds or you're closing in on your daily limit
• Inactivity alerts before a funded account hits Topstep's 30-day idle limit
• A payout tracker that weighs what you've spent on Combines, resets and activation against what you've actually been paid
• And more

Not ready for auto-sync? The free journal stays free, and you can import a TopstepX CSV and track accounts by hand. See the Topstep trading journal page for how it fits together.

Start your free journal → Free to start, no card needed.

For how Topstep compares with Apex, Lucid, MyFundedFutures and Take Profit Trader, see Prop firm rules compared.

FAQ

Sources

All official Topstep pages, accessed Oct 10, 2026:

• Trading Combine Parameters
• What is the Maximum Loss Limit?
• Consistency at Topstep
• Daily Loss Limit in the Trading Combine and Express Funded Account
• Topstep Pricing and Payment Questions
• Trading Combine Subscriptions
• Express Funded Account Parameters
• What is the Scaling Plan?
• Topstep Payout Policy
• Live Funded Account Parameters
• Topstep Program Overview
• Prohibited Trading Strategies at Topstep
• Express Funded Account Rules
• Responsible Trading

Not financial advice. Futures trading involves substantial risk of loss. Topstep® and Trading Combine® are trademarks of Topstep LLC. Tradervana isn't affiliated with Topstep.

Related guides

• Trailing drawdown, explained
• Daily loss limit vs. max loss limit, explained
• The consistency rule, explained
• Prop firm rules compared
• How to sync your TopstepX account with Tradervana