Learn

FTMO vs The5ers: Which Prop Firm Is Better in 2026?

The incumbent futures ladder against the daily-payout challenger - Topstep's Combine-Express-Live structure and MyFundedFutures' Builder-Rapid-Pro menu, compared strictly from what topstep.com and myfundedfutures.com publish about their own programs.

Key takeaways

  • Reviewed: updated and reviewed by the Prop Desk on 2026-10-03.
  • Topstep runs three stages (Trading Combine, Express Funded, Live Funded); MFF runs Evaluation, Sim Funded and an invitation-only live step across four plans.
  • Both firms publish participation statistics: Topstep discloses its 2025 funnel, MFF prints completion, payout and promotion percentages in its own disclaimers.
  • Payout cadence separates them day to day - MFF pays Rapid daily with 75%+ auto-approved in seconds, Topstep pays Express rewards on a 3-5 day flow with up to $12,000 in as little as 3 days.

At a glance

Every cell below was copied from the firms' own sites on the date of this article - their program pages, plan tables and published rules, as displayed at the time of writing. Evaluation terms in this category are revised frequently, so treat this as a structural snapshot and confirm current values on both official sites.

DimensionTopstepMyFundedFutures
CompanyTopstep runs its simulated side through TopstepTrader LLC and its live side through TopstepFunded LLCMyFunded Futures, LLC (site copyright 2023-2026), branded MFFU
StructureThree stages: Trading Combine, Express Funded Account, Live Funded Account, plus Back2Funded reactivationThree stages: Evaluation, Sim Funded, live capital invitation from the Risk Team
Account sizesLive starting balances up to $150,000 with dynamic risk expansionFour plans sized $25K, $50K, $100K and $150K
Evaluation termsTargets set inside the Combine purchase flow by account size; no published deadline on the CombinePlan grid publishes minimum days to pass: 1, 2, 4 and 2 across Builder, Rapid, Rapid EOD and Pro
Drawdown modelRules differ by stage, with maximum-loss limits ending an attemptEOD trailing on Builder, Rapid EOD and Pro; intraday on Rapid
Reward share90% at the Express stage90/10 on Rapid, 80/20 on Builder and Pro, up to 90% at the live stage
Payout speedUp to $12,000 in as little as 3 days; 3-5 day flow after Express unlock; no payout denialsDaily on Rapid, every 48 hours on Builder, bi-weekly on Pro; 75%+ auto-approved in under a second
ConsistencyConsistency calculator and violation alerts published as tooling; Combine rules apply per stage50% consistency on Builder only; published as None on Rapid, Rapid EOD and Pro
Live capitalThirty winning live days of $150 or more unlock the full balance and daily payoutsRisk Team may invite consistent traders to a live brokerage account, subject to eligibility, with splits up to 90%
PlatformsTopstepX, built with ProjectX Trading LLC; sessions run roughly 23 hours a dayTradovate and Quantower
MarketsFutures across US exchanges with roughly 23-hour sessionsCME Group futures only (CME, CBOT, NYMEX, COMEX) in the simulated environment; separate 24/7 perps company
Published results2025 funnel: 16.8% of Combines completed, 51.8% advanced at least once, 0.71% moved Express to Live19.97% of evaluations completed, 39.2% of Sim Funded traders earned a payout, 4.2% promoted to live
Trust signalsTrustpilot 4.4 from roughly 18,000 reviews displayed on-siteTrustpilot 4.9 marked Excellent on-site; $250M+ paid to traders

Company backgrounds

Topstep is one of the category's defining brands and behaves like it. The firm publishes its funnel with unusual candor - in 2025, 16.8% of Trading Combines were completed, 51.8% of traders advanced at least once, about a third of funded-level traders took a payout, and 0.71% progressed from Express to Live. It operates its simulated side through TopstepTrader LLC and its live side through TopstepFunded LLC, and its Trustpilot badge reads 4.4 from roughly 18,000 reviews.

MyFundedFutures is the newer, price-forward operator. The MFFU brand advertises $250M+ paid to traders, a 4.9 Trustpilot mark labeled Excellent, a 90/10 split on its Rapid plan and $0 activation fees, and it publishes its own funnel in the disclaimers: 19.97% of evaluation participants completed their objectives, 39.2% of Sim Funded traders earned at least one payout, and 4.2% were promoted to a live funded account. Both firms run simulated environments and disclose the simulation on-site.

Program design: a ladder against a menu

Topstep's ladder has three rungs and each one changes the rules. The Trading Combine decides advancement, with targets set inside the purchase flow for the size you select and no published deadline. The Express Funded Account keeps you simulated while the 90% share and payout requests apply. The Live Funded Account introduces real money with starting balances up to $150,000, risk that expands dynamically with performance, and a clear unlock condition - thirty winning live days of $150 or more grant the full balance and daily payouts. Back2Funded is the reactivation path after a maximum-loss event.

MyFundedFutures replaces the ladder with a menu. Builder is the easiest path to a first payout with a one-day minimum and 50% consistency; Rapid is the headline product with daily payouts, intraday drawdown, no consistency rule and a 90/10 split; Rapid EOD keeps daily payouts on an end-of-day trailing drawdown over four minimum days; Pro targets the highest payout potential with bi-weekly cadence and 80/20. All four are one-time payments with no activation fee, and the dashboard upgrades a passing trader into the Sim Funded stage immediately.

The numbers each firm publishes

Topstep publishes statistics rather than parameter tables. Its how-it-works documentation describes stage mechanics - advancement rules, the Express payout window, the live day-count system - while exact Combine targets sit in the purchase flow for the chosen size. The firm hands you a funnel report: the 2025 disclosures above tell you the odds before you buy.

MFF hands you a spec sheet instead. The plan grid lists promotional and regular prices - Builder $92 against $153, Rapid $125 against $209, Rapid EOD $135 against $225, Pro $159 against $265 - alongside minimum days to pass, profit targets (the displayed $50K examples show $3,000), drawdown type, payout cadence, split and consistency. Promotions rotate; the site currently advertises 40% off any plan with a code and 50% off a first evaluation, so treat the displayed prices as promotional snapshots rather than permanent tariffs.

Drawdown mechanics and daily rules

Topstep differentiates rules by stage: maximum-loss limits apply at each simulated stage and end an attempt when breached, with a consistency calculator, violation alerts and analytics published as supporting tooling. The Combine has no published deadline, which removes calendar pressure from the evaluation decision.

MFF attaches the drawdown model to the plan you buy. Builder, Rapid EOD and Pro run an EOD trailing drawdown; Rapid runs an intraday drawdown of the kind day traders prefer; consistency reads 50% on Builder and None on the other three. The choice is visible in the grid before purchase rather than revealed stage by stage.

Reward share, fees and payout terms

Topstep pays 90% at the Express stage and advertises up to $12,000 in as little as three days, with a 3-5 day flow after the Express unlock and a no-payout-denials promise. There is no recurring subscription framing in the material reviewed here - the Combine is bought for the size you select, and Back2Funded handles reactivation after a breach.

MFF splits by plan - 90/10 on Rapid, 80/20 on Builder and Pro - and treats cadence as the product: daily payouts on Rapid, every 48 hours on Builder, bi-weekly on Pro, with more than 75% of payouts auto-approved in under one second. Fees are one-time with $0 activation, and the funnel statistics above quantify how often traders actually reach those payouts.

Markets, platforms and rulebooks

Topstep is futures-only on TopstepX, built with ProjectX Trading LLC, with sessions running roughly 23 hours a day - near-around-the-clock coverage for index, currency and other futures traders. The ecosystem around the platform includes Training Camp, TopstepTV, the Octagon competition with a monthly share of $250,000 in performance bonuses, and Topstep Brokerage.

MFF restricts participants to standardized futures on CME, CBOT, NYMEX and COMEX inside its simulated environment and explicitly prohibits equities, equity options, cryptocurrencies, CFDs and OTC products. It connects through Tradovate and Quantower, answers support 24/7 in Discord, and runs its separate 24/7 perpetuals product through Funding Perpetuals Holdings, Inc., a different company whose results do not apply to MyFunded Futures.

Ecosystem, growth and support

Topstep's growth machinery is the deepest of the two: the Octagon bonus program, TopstepTV, Training Camp, a consistency calculator, violation alerts and analytics upgrades surround the core stages, and the live unlock rule is written out explicitly - thirty winning days of $150 or more. The published funnel is itself part of the ecosystem, setting expectations before purchase.

MFF keeps its ecosystem focused on the funded-stage transition. Traders hit targets, click Upgrade in the dashboard, and receive the Sim Funded account immediately with no waiting and no activation fee. The Risk Team may then invite consistent traders to a live brokerage account with real capital subject to eligibility, with splits up to 90%, and community support runs 24/7 in Discord.

Which firm fits which trader

Topstep fits the trader who wants an established ladder with a published odds report, near-23-hour sessions on its own platform, a 90% Express share, a clear live-capital unlock and the surrounding content machine. The three-stage design suits traders who like distinct rule sets per stage and a documented path to real capital.

MFF fits the futures trader who optimizes for payout frequency and plan choice: a one-day builder, a daily-payout rapid with no consistency rule, a bi-weekly pro, zero activation fees and an instant dashboard upgrade. If cadence and entry price matter more than platform-owned infrastructure, the four-plan menu is the lighter starting point.

Editorial note

dangcash may earn a commission when you follow a link from this page. Compensation does not influence which firm is portrayed more favorably in any section above - the figures come from each company's published pages, and the official links are included so you can audit them yourself.

Related pages

Frequently Asked Questions

Which is better, Topstep or MyFundedFutures?

Neither is universally better. Topstep leads on published funnel transparency, its own TopstepX platform, a 90% Express share and an explicit live-capital unlock. MFF leads on payout cadence, plan variety, zero activation fees and a lower-friction upgrade into the funded stage. Match the structure to how you like rules to be published - per stage or per plan.

How long do I get to pass?

Topstep publishes no deadline on the Trading Combine. MFF publishes minimum days to pass per plan - 1 on Builder, 2 on Rapid, 4 on Rapid EOD, 2 on Pro - as minimums rather than maximum windows. Neither firm reviewed here imposes a published expiration on the evaluation in the material cited; confirm on their sites.

Which firm pays out faster?

MFF publishes the faster cadence: daily payouts on Rapid with 75%+ auto-approved in under a second, every 48 hours on Builder. Topstep advertises up to $12,000 in as little as 3 days on a 3-5 day Express flow. For routine high-frequency payouts, MFF has the clearer published claim.

Do either publish success rates?

Yes, both. Topstep discloses its 2025 funnel - 16.8% of Combines completed, 51.8% advanced at least once, 0.71% moved Express to Live. MFF publishes 19.97% evaluation completion, 39.2% of Sim Funded traders earning a payout and 4.2% promoted to live. Each figure comes from the firm's own site.

Which platforms do they use?

Topstep runs TopstepX, built with ProjectX Trading LLC, with sessions of roughly 23 hours a day. MFF connects through Tradovate and Quantower, and separately offers a 24/7 perpetuals product through a different company. Platform preference is a legitimate tiebreaker between two futures-only firms.

Is there an activation fee?

MFF publishes $0 activation fees on any plan with one-time payments. Topstep's material reviewed here frames the Combine as a one-time purchase for the selected size without a separate activation line. Verify current pricing on both official sites before buying.

Last updated: 2026-10-03