Firm profile · as of 29 October 2026
Topstep
What Topstep itself publishes about rules, costs and payouts – every item links to the firm's page, with a date. No rating, no overall score.
- Status
- operating
- Commission for PropCrab
- no, no partner agreement
- Data as of
- not yet checked by a human
Key facts
- Founded
- 2012
Launch of Topstep Trader in 2012.
topstep.com - Markets
- Futures
- Platforms
- TopstepX
The Express Funded Account runs on TopstepX (ProjectX).
topstep.com- Instruments
- – not documented
- Identity check (KYC)
- other timing
Identity verification after the first purchase, required before the second purchase (new accounts, resets).
help.topstep.com - Paying for the challenge
- Card, Google Pay, Apple Pay
Visa, Mastercard, American Express, Discover; no PayPal.
help.topstep.com - Payout methods
- – not documented
- Refunds
- Generally no refunds. 14-day satisfaction guarantee only for the very first Trading Combine (max one monthly payment, not passed). Forgotten renewal: report within 28 days with no trading. No refunds on resets, activation fee, Back2Funded.help.topstep.com
- Minimum age
- 18+help.topstep.com
Red Flags & Green Flags
Red Flag or Green Flag? Every call follows fixed criteria and shows its source. What our sources cannot answer stays "Unclear". Flags are never added up – there is no score.
- Unclear
Is the firm on a regulator's warning list?
A documented check against the warning lists is not on record for this firm yet.
- Unclear
Was there a documented payout stop, sales stop or closure (24 months)?
No such event is documented in our sources. That is not proof there was none.
- Unclear
Do rule changes apply to new purchases only?
No dated rule change with a cut-off is recorded for this firm yet.
- Green Flag
Rules fully visible without logging in.
Target, daily loss and max loss of every programme on sale are on the firm's public pages.
help.topstep.com - Unclear
Does the firm name its operating company with seat and registration number?
We did not find a registration number for the operating company on the pages fetched.
- Green Flag
Discloses whether accounts are simulated or live.
The Express Funded Account is a simulated account of TopstepTrader LLC (starts at USD 0, size = buying power). A Live Funded Account with TopstepFunded LLC capital is a possible later step.
topstep.com - Green Flag
Country exclusions and KYC timing are visible before buying.
Country list public (32 countries excluded). KYC: Identity verification after the first purchase, required before the second purchase (new accounts, resets).
help.topstep.com - Unclear
Can payouts be received without crypto?
Payout methods not recorded.
- Green Flag
Refund terms are public.
Generally no refunds. 14-day satisfaction guarantee only for the very first Trading Combine (max one monthly payment, not passed). Forgotten renewal: report within 28 days with no trading. No refunds on resets, activation fee, Back2Funded.
help.topstep.com - Unclear
Do the terms carry a date or version?
We do not record the date or version of the terms as a field yet.
The criteria
The criteria come from our transparency check. A Red Flag needs a documented fact – a missing item is never a Red Flag.
Red Flag
- Named on an official regulator warning list (exact name match). A listing is not proof of wrongdoing.
- Documented payout stop, sales stop or closure (firm or group company) in the last 24 months.
- Documented retroactive rule change for accounts already bought, in the last 24 months.
- Rules not fully visible without logging in or buying.
- No operating company with name and seat named in the terms.
Green Flag
- Rules fully visible without logging in.
- Operating company published with name, seat and registration number.
- Terms carry a date or version.
- Rule changes apply to new purchases only, with a cut-off date; no documented retroactive change in 24 months.
- Country exclusions and KYC timing are visible before buying.
- Payouts possible in other ways than crypto.
- Discloses whether accounts are simulated or live.
- Refund terms are public.
We show the firm's age as a fact, not as a flag.
Challenges & rules
The essentials of each programme at a glance. Every rule with its source and date, every account size, older rule versions and the question "I bought on …" are on the programme's own page.
Trading Combine (Standard Path)
Futures evaluationFutures
As of 29 October 2026 – 5 November 2026
- Account sizes
- USD 50K–150K3 sizes
- List price
- USD 49 per month – USD 199 per month
- Cost per 1,000 of buffer
- USD 77.33 – USD 99.00
Rules for purchases from today
- Profit target phase 1
- 50K: USD 3,000 · 100K: USD 6,000 · 150K: USD 9,000
- Daily loss · Phase 1
- none
- Maximum loss · Phase 1
- 50K: USD 2,000 · 100K: USD 3,000 · 150K: USD 4,500 · trailing (end of day)
- Profit split
- 90 %
- First payout
- After 5 winning days of USD 150+ (Standard) or 3 trading days with 40% consistency (Consistency path).
Trading Combine (No Activation Fee Path)
Futures evaluationFutures
As of 29 October 2026 – 5 November 2026
- Account sizes
- USD 50K–150K3 sizes
- List price
- USD 95 per month – USD 229 per month
- Cost per 1,000 of buffer
- USD 47.50 – USD 50.89
Rules for purchases from today
- Profit target phase 1
- 50K: USD 3,000 · 100K: USD 6,000 · 150K: USD 9,000
- Daily loss · Phase 1
- none
- Maximum loss · Phase 1
- 50K: USD 2,000 · 100K: USD 3,000 · 150K: USD 4,500 · trailing (end of day)
- Profit split
- 90 %
- First payout
- After 5 winning days of USD 150+ (Standard) or 3 trading days with 40% consistency (Consistency path).
Availability by residence
Know before you click whether you may buy at all. Per the firm; the country list can change.
| Residence | Per the firm |
|---|---|
| Switzerland (CH) | accepted On neither country list. help.topstep.com |
| Germany (DE) | restricted Germany: Express Funded Account possible (up to USD 200,000 total payouts), but no Live Funded Account. help.topstep.com |
| Austria (AT) | accepted On neither country list. help.topstep.com |
| United States (US) | accepted US firm; US citizenship not required. help.topstep.com |
| United Kingdom (GB) | – not documented |
Countries excluded per the firm: 32 · Show list
Afghanistan, Algeria, Angola, Belarus, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Congo - Kinshasa, Côte d’Ivoire, Cuba, Haiti, Iran, Iraq, Kenya, Kosovo, Lebanon, Libya, Mali, Morocco, Myanmar (Burma), Nicaragua, Nigeria, North Korea, Pakistan, Russia, Somalia, South Sudan, Sudan, Syria, Türkiye, Ukraine, Venezuela, Yemen
Applies to citizens and residents; plus Crimea and occupied regions. Per Topstep the list can change at any time.
help.topstep.comDirect link to the firm
Paid challenge on a simulated account · the fee is usually lost when a rule is broken · firms are generally not supervised
Companies & supervision
Who sells you the challenge? A supervised group company does not make the challenge itself supervised.
TopstepTrader, LLC
- Role:
- Operator
- Seat:
- United States
- Supervision:
- no supervision named
TopstepFunded LLC
- Role:
- Affiliated company
- Seat:
- United States
- Supervision:
- no supervision named
Topstep Brokerage LLC
- Role:
- Regulated group company
- Seat:
- United States
- Register:
- NFA ID 0567079
- Supervision:
- Introducing broker registered with the CFTC, NFA member (as stated by the firm)
ProjectX Trading LLC
- Role:
- Data or platform provider
- Seat:
- United States
- Supervision:
- no supervision named
TopstepTrader LLC operates the Trading Combine and Express Funded Account (simulation). The brokerage is a separate regulated offer for own money; it does not make the challenge regulated.
topstep.comWarnings and events
Documented events and rule changes, newest first.
Data breach
According to Finance Magnates on 5 January 2026, Topstep told some users by letter that files containing personal data may have been accessed without authorisation between 8 September and 16 October 2025; the letter links this to a DDoS attack on 8 September 2025. Topstep Support then wrote on X that Topstep's systems had not been breached and that a small number of traders who reused passwords from other, breached sites were affected. According to the letter, affected users get free credit monitoring.
financemagnates.comData breach
A sample notification letter from Topstep (January 2026, published by ClassActionU) describes a credential-stuffing attack on 14 December 2025, discovered on 15 December 2025: attackers may have accessed accounts with credentials stolen elsewhere. Possibly affected for some users: name, contact and profile information, date of birth, phone number, government ID numbers, tax information and Social Security numbers. According to the letter, Topstep forced password resets for the affected accounts, offers free credit monitoring and is working on further safeguards such as mandatory multi-factor authentication.
classactionu.org
On our warning list
Graveyard entries related to this firm:
- ProjectX (platform provider) (Industry event, 17 November 2025): According to prop firms quoted by Finance Magnates, ProjectX continues exclusively for Topstep.
Change log
2 documented changes, newest first.
Firm-wide
According to Finance Magnates on 5 January 2026, Topstep told some users by letter that files containing personal data may have been accessed without authorisation between 8 September and 16 October 2025; the letter links this to a DDoS attack on 8 September 2025. Topstep Support then wrote on X that Topstep's systems had not been breached and that a small number of traders who reused passwords from other, breached sites were affected. According to the letter, affected users get free credit monitoring.
source is a third party (press or regulator), not the firm.
Source
Firm-wide
A sample notification letter from Topstep (January 2026, published by ClassActionU) describes a credential-stuffing attack on 14 December 2025, discovered on 15 December 2025: attackers may have accessed accounts with credentials stolen elsewhere. Possibly affected for some users: name, contact and profile information, date of birth, phone number, government ID numbers, tax information and Social Security numbers. According to the letter, Topstep forced password resets for the affected accounts, offers free credit monitoring and is working on further safeguards such as mandatory multi-factor authentication.
source is a third party (press or regulator), not the firm.
Data gaps
We looked for these and did not find them on the firm's pages, or could not fetch them automatically. So they show as "–", never as 0.
Cap table for 100K not unambiguous (one cell missing).
programs.*.funded.payoutCap (100K)
Checked: help.topstep.com
Payout methods not on the fetched pages.
payments.payout
Product list (CME contracts) not captured.
instruments
Rule on holding past session close not confirmed.
programs.*.trading.overnight
No correction to this profile so far. Go to the corrections log
Are Topstep accounts simulated?
Simulated, possibly live later. The Express Funded Account is a simulated account of TopstepTrader LLC (starts at USD 0, size = buying power). A Live Funded Account with TopstepFunded LLC capital is a possible later step. Per the firm, as of 29 October 2026.
Can I use Topstep from Switzerland, Germany or Austria?
Switzerland: accepted (On neither country list.); Germany: restricted (Germany: Express Funded Account possible (up to USD 200,000 total payouts), but no Live Funded Account.); Austria: accepted (On neither country list.). Per the firm, as of 29 October 2026.
Do I get the Topstep fee back?
Generally no refunds. 14-day satisfaction guarantee only for the very first Trading Combine (max one monthly payment, not passed). Forgotten renewal: report within 28 days with no trading. No refunds on resets, activation fee, Back2Funded. Per the firm, as of 29 October 2026.
What is the profit split at Topstep?
Trading Combine (Standard Path): 90 %; Trading Combine (No Activation Fee Path): 90 %. "Funded" means here what the firm itself states below. Per the firm, as of 29 October 2026.
All sources
Every page an item on this profile comes from. Fetched and re-checked on the dates shown.
- Topstep LLC: Notice of Data Breach, sample letter (January 2026), copy published by ClassActionUclassactionu.org · PDF ·
- Finance Magnates: Some Topstep Users' Details Exposed (05.01.2026)financemagnates.com · press ·
- Daily Loss Limithelp.topstep.com · help centre ·
- Identity verificationhelp.topstep.com · help centre ·
- Pricing and paymenthelp.topstep.com · help centre ·
- Am I eligible to trade with Topstep?help.topstep.com · help centre ·
- Refund policieshelp.topstep.com · help centre ·
- Maximum Loss Limithelp.topstep.com · help centre ·
- Consistency at Topstephelp.topstep.com · help centre ·
- Payout policyhelp.topstep.com · help centre ·
- Home (footer disclosures)topstep.com · website ·
- About ustopstep.com · website ·
- Express Funded Account rulestopstep.com · terms ·
The sources of a programme's full rules, every size and its older versions are on its own page:
Trader reviews
Reviews of Topstep by readers, read before publication. Self-reported, not verified.
How many reviews are approved is always up to date on the firm's review page.