Overview
Topstep is a futures-only firm and has been in the evaluation business for years - long enough that the Trading Combine format itself became the template other firms copy. You pay a monthly subscription while you work through the Combine, then move onto a funded step with the firm's drawdown structure attached.
The platform side is unusually integrated: funded accounts run on TopstepX, the firm's own environment, with risk limits enforced inside the platform rather than left to a broker statement. Payouts follow a published cadence, and the first profits threshold lets traders keep 100% of early gains before the standard split kicks in.
Key Features
- Monthly subscription pricing instead of a one-time evaluation fee
- Futures markets only - CME index, energy, metal and grain contracts
- Proprietary TopstepX environment with risk limits built into the platform
- Early-profits threshold at 100% before the standard profit split begins
Topstep at a glance
| Topstep | |
|---|---|
| Model | Trading Combine (monthly subscription), futures only |
| Markets | CME-group futures: index, energy, metal and grain contracts |
| Profit split | 100% of initial profits up to the published threshold, then the standard split |
| Platform | TopstepX (firm's own platform) |
| Best for | Futures day traders who want a subscription-priced route to capital |
Pricing & Accounts
Topstep charges a recurring Combine subscription, so the cost of getting funded depends on how many months the evaluation takes - a slow path costs more than a fast one. Plan pricing scales with the account size you pick; the current table lives on the official site.
Who Is It For?
Traders who already trade futures (ES, NQ, CL and friends), traders who prefer a monthly subscription over a large one-time fee, and anyone who wants the platform's risk controls enforcing the rules for them.
FX-only traders should look elsewhere - there is no currency program here - and traders who dislike recurring charges may find a one-time evaluation elsewhere cheaper if they pass on the first attempt. Month-count the subscription against the alternative before committing.
Our Verdict
Topstep is FOR futures traders who want a subscription-priced, platform-enforced evaluation at a firm with a long public record. The honest tradeoff: monthly costs compound while you learn the Combine, so the model punishes slow progress more than one-time-fee rivals do.
How We Review Topstep
We track Topstep's Combine pricing, rulebook revisions and payout announcements against our offers hub and comparison rows, re-checking whenever the published terms change. Thresholds and split details are quoted from the firm's own payout policy.
Related pages
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Topstep legitimate?
The firm publishes its rules and operates a public program, which is verifiable on its own site; always confirm the current payout terms there before buying a challenge, and read recent trader reports alongside this review.
How does Topstep work?
Trading Combine (monthly subscription), futures only - you buy in under those terms, then trade the firm's capital subject to its drawdown and payout rules; the current rulebook on the official site is binding.
What split and fees does Topstep charge?
Fees are the monthly Combine subscription shown in the pricing table on the official site; early profits pay at 100% up to the published threshold, then the standard split applies.
Who should skip Topstep?
Currency and CFD traders, and anyone who expects to spend many months evaluating - subscription pricing makes a slow Combine genuinely expensive. Futures-only is a hard boundary here.
Last updated: 2026-10-20