Topstep rules by account size (50K, 100K, 150K): Trading Combine targets, loss limits and XFA payouts

Topstep describes the Trading Combine as a simulated account with one rule and two objectives. The rule: do not let your balance hit or go below the Maximum Loss Limit. The objectives: reach and maintain your Profit Target, which is $3,000 on 50K, $6,000 on 100K and $9,000 on 150K, and meet the Consistency Target. The Combine is a monthly subscription that rebills every 30 days from your sign-up date, with no time limit for passing; the firm says you cannot pass in one day but can pass in as few as two. When a Combine passes, the account closes, its subscription auto-cancels and you activate the Express Funded Account (XFA) from your dashboard. The status update can take up to 30 minutes, and if you pass on a Friday the XFA cannot be traded until markets reopen at 6 PM ET Sunday. Combine profits do not carry over to the XFA. Account sizes cannot be changed after purchase; a refund is reviewed only within 28 days and with no trading activity. There is no limit on the number of Combines you can hold, but every account must sit under one Topstep profile. Level 1 data is included; Level 2 depth of market is a $38/month add-on. Automated strategies and trade copiers are allowed with conditions, and Topstep makes no exceptions for errant trades.

What this means for you: Pick your size carefully: it cannot be changed after purchase, and Combine profits do not carry over to the XFA.

Your single best day must stay at or below 55%. Both help pages headline it as 55% of your Profit Target (the parameters page says below, the consistency page says at or below), while the consistency page's formula and worked examples divide Best Day Profit by Total Profit. The two readings coincide when you finish exactly on target, which is why the best-day recommendations are 55% of each target: less than $1,650 on 50K, less than $3,300 on 100K and less than $4,950 on 150K. Exceeding 55% does not fail the account. Instead the Profit Target rises to Best Day divided by 0.55. Topstep's example: a $1,800 best day on a 50K makes the target $3,273, and a later $2,200 day raises both the best day and the target, to $4,000. Three traps follow. First, 55% is a hard line with no rounding and no buffer; the old buffer was quiet padding on top of a 50% target and is gone. Second, losses never reset your best day: if a losing day pulls total profit down to $1,000, the ratio still uses the old best day. Third, you cannot repair an increase on the same day, because every dollar earned before the 4:10 PM ET lock adds to that day's total and pushes the target higher; the remaining profit must be earned on a separate trading day. Topstep's passing example is a $1,600 best day against $3,000 total profit, 53%. On TopstepX a Personal Daily Profit Target can liquidate or lock you out at a dollar amount you choose, which is the firm's suggested way to stop a day before it breaks the ratio.

What this means for you: To pass on the original target, keep your best day under $1,650 on 50K, $3,300 on 100K or $4,950 on 150K.

The Maximum Loss Limit (MLL) is $2,000 on 50K, $3,000 on 100K and $4,500 on 150K, and Topstep says it cannot be adjusted for any account. It updates at the end of each trading day but is monitored in real time on realized and unrealized P&L; if net P&L touches it at any moment the account is liquidated immediately. It rises as your end-of-day balance grows, never moves down, and locks permanently once it reaches your starting balance. The firm's Combine example: balance $50,000 and MLL $48,000; make $500 on day 1 and the MLL trails to $48,500; lose $500 on day 2 and the MLL stays at $48,500. The 100K and 150K starting floors in the table are our subtraction of the MLL from the full account size, following the firm's statement that the Combine starts at the full size with the MLL that amount below. In the Combine a breach liquidates you for the rest of the day and makes the account ineligible for funding until you Reset; the subscription keeps rebilling and you can still practice trade. In the XFA the balance starts at $0 and the 50K, 100K or 150K label is buying power, so the MLL starts at -$2,000, -$3,000 or -$4,500, trails upward and locks at $0 once your balance reaches the MLL amount; the firm's 50K example makes $500 on day 1 (MLL -$1,500) and $1,500 on day 2, reaching a $2,000 balance, where the MLL locks at $0. An XFA breach closes the account: the MLL page says permanently closed, the XFA parameters page says liquidated and closed at the end of the day. Back2Funded lets you reactivate up to 2 times at the same size and payout policy, with the MLL back at its starting value. Slippage does not save you: liquidation fires by market order, and in Topstep's example a touch at $47,750 against a $48,000 limit still counts even though the final balance was $48,050. Our arithmetic: the MLL is two-thirds of the profit target on 50K ($2,000 against $3,000) but half of it on 100K and 150K, so the larger sizes give less loss room relative to the target. Our Topstep Maximum Loss Limit explainer walks through the mechanics.

What this means for you: Your loss room is $2,000, $3,000 or $4,500 below your best end-of-day balance, open trades included; once the floor reaches your starting balance it stops moving.

The Daily Loss Limit (DLL) is optional in the Trading Combine and the XFA and automatic in the Live Funded Account. You can add it at checkout when buying a Combine or when activating or reactivating an XFA: $1,000 on 50K, $2,000 on 100K and $3,000 on 150K. A checkout DLL is fixed with no later changes, carries into your XFA when you pass, and leaves every other rule and objective in place. When net P&L hits or exceeds it during the trading day (6 PM ET to 4:10 PM ET), open positions are flattened, pending orders are cancelled and no new trades are allowed until 6 PM ET the next session. Topstep calls this a forced break, not a rule violation, and the account stays eligible for funding; its example is a $150K Combine with a $3,000 DLL auto-liquidated at -$3,000 and back the next day. The payout policy describes the same state as a Temporary Violation that lifts at the start of the next session, after which you can request a payout if the other requirements are met. Topstep's own statistic is that over 63% of traders have lost an account in a single day. Adding a DLL at checkout also earns a Responsible Trading Discount of $10 (50K), $20 (100K) or $30 (150K) off the No Activation Fee Combine, recurring monthly, and $50 off a Back2Funded reactivation, plus the limited-time doubled payout cap covered below. If you skip it at checkout you can set a Personal Daily Loss Limit (PDLL) in Risk Settings, fixed or trailing on realized or unrealized gains, with Do Nothing, Liquidate or Liquidate and Block as the action; manual limits can be changed or removed, which the firm says makes it easier to rationalize bad habits. Topstep will not remove or adjust any DLL or PDLL for you; a Liquidate and Block PDLL or locked risk settings stay fixed until the next session.

What this means for you: A checkout DLL caps a bad day at $1,000, $2,000 or $3,000 without failing you, and cuts the No Activation Fee price by $10, $20 or $30 a month.

Maximum position size in the Combine is per account: 5 contracts or 50 micros on 50K, 10 contracts or 100 micros on 100K and 15 contracts or 150 micros on 150K, with micros and minis counted at a 10:1 ratio. You are never required to trade the maximum. In the XFA the fixed cap is replaced by the Scaling Plan, which sets your max contracts from your current balance and never raises them mid-session. The XFA starts at a $0 balance, and the help article's chart lists the tiers in lots, which are mini-contract equivalents (1 lot is 1 mini or 10 micros): 50K is 2 lots below $1,500, 3 lots from $1,500 to $2,000 and 5 lots above $2,000; 100K is 3 lots below $1,500, 4 lots from $1,500 to $2,000, 5 lots from $2,000 to $3,000 and 10 lots above $3,000; 150K has the same 3, 4 and 5 lot steps, then 10 lots from $3,000 to $4,500 and 15 lots above $4,500. The firm's example is a $50K XFA on a 2-lot plan holding 2 minis, 20 micros or any combination equal to 2 minis. Our reading of the chart: a 100K and a 150K XFA have the same limits until the balance passes $4,500, and each size reaches its Combine cap of 5, 10 or 15 contracts only at its top tier. The chart does not say which tier applies at exactly a band edge, such as $2,000 on 50K; the Risk Settings page on TopstepX shows the contracts available for your next session. Micro Silver counts 5:1 against Silver and as 2 of any other micro, and Micro Bitcoin and Micro Ether are capped at mini-equivalent lot sizes. Position errors corrected in under 10 seconds are ignored; leave them on for 10 seconds or more and the account may be reviewed. Topstep is a day-trading futures program: all positions must be closed by 4:10 PM ET every weekday, open orders begin to cancel at 4:10 PM ET and Risk Managers begin flattening at 4:08 PM ET, trading reopens at 6:00 PM ET, the week opens Sunday at 6:00 PM ET and closes Friday at 4:10 PM ET, and there is no swing trading and no forex. Trades placed after 6:00 PM ET count toward the next trading day. CBOT grains and CME livestock have shorter hours, including a CBOT pause from 8:45 AM to 9:30 AM ET when no orders are accepted. The permitted list covers CME equity index futures and their micros, FX futures, NYMEX energy, COMEX metals, CBOT grains and treasuries; products marked with an asterisk carry restrictions described in the Prohibited Conduct page.

What this means for you: Size your XFA trading to its starting lots, not the Combine cap: 2 lots on 50K, 3 on 100K and 150K. Be flat by 4:10 PM ET every day.

There are two subscription paths and they cannot be changed after purchase. On the 50K that is $49/month (Standard path) or $95/month (No Activation Fee path); the 100K is $99 or $149 and the 150K $199 or $229. The Standard path adds a $149 Activation Fee charged once per XFA earned; the No Activation Fee path charges nothing when you pass. Our arithmetic, not the firm's, at list prices and before any discount: the monthly gap is $46 on 50K, $50 on 100K and $30 on 150K, against the one-time $149 fee, so the No Activation Fee path is cheaper only if you pass within 3 months on 50K, 2 months on 100K or 4 months on 150K; every reset is priced per path too, which widens the gap. A Reset returns the balance, MLL, Consistency Target and trading days to day one and costs the same as a month: $49 Standard path or $95 No Activation Fee path on 50K, $99 or $149 on 100K, $199 or $229 on 150K. You can reset at most 2 times per account each day, and a reset pushes the rebill date out 30 days from the reset purchase date. Every monthly rebill adds 1 Reset Credit, tied to the account size and type (Standard, No Activation Fee or DLL); credits issued on or after 12/11/2025 expire 1 year after they are added. Payments already processed are not refunded or prorated, and your dashboard must show passed before the rebill date to avoid another charge. Cancelling is final: no resubscribe and no reset on that subscription. If you lose an XFA before your first payout, Back2Funded reactivation costs $599 on 50K, $699 on 100K and $829 on 150K within 30 calendar days of closure. Referral codes give a new trader 15% off the first purchase, promo codes apply to the first month only, and VAT, GST or sales tax is added at checkout where applicable.

What this means for you: At list prices the No Activation Fee path wins only if you pass within 3 months on 50K, 2 on 100K or 4 on 150K; after that, Standard plus the $149 fee costs less.

When you activate the XFA you choose Standard or Consistency and cannot change it later; you can hold up to 5 active XFAs and mix sizes and paths. Standard needs 5 winning days of $150+ net P&L, not necessarily consecutive, each locking at 5:00 PM ET, plus positive net profit of at least $0.01 since your last payout, with the first payout exempt. Consistency needs 3 trading days with at least 1 trade and largest day at or below 40% of total net profit, not rounded; the firm's example is a $2,000 best day needing $5,000 total. Both paths pay 90/10, let you request 50% of the account balance and cap each request by size: Standard $2,000 on 50K, $3,000 on 100K and $5,000 on 150K; Consistency $3,000, $4,000 and $6,000. On 50K that means 50% of balance up to $2,000 Standard or $3,000 Consistency, doubled to $4,000 or $6,000 with a DLL added at Combine checkout (limited time). The doubled caps run $4,000 / $6,000 / $10,000 on Standard and $6,000 / $8,000 / $12,000 on Consistency and apply only to new Combine purchases with a DLL added at checkout from 4:30 PM ET on Tuesday, June 2nd; the article gives no year, and June 2 fell on a Tuesday in 2026. A DLL added at XFA activation or before the release does not qualify, and Topstep says it will announce the expiry on its social channels. After each payout the MLL is set to $0 permanently (it stays at $0 if already there), the 5-day or 3-day count restarts, the consistency calculation resets, and the trading day of the request does not count toward the next cycle; a request after 6:00 PM ET belongs to the next trading day, so a 6:59 PM ET Monday request makes Tuesday the excluded day. Topstep recommends reaching a balance where your MLL is already at $0 before taking payouts. Funds are deducted immediately and you can keep trading; hitting the MLL after the deduction does not affect that payout. A payout that drops you to a lower Scaling Plan tier reduces your max contracts. Traders who joined the new dashboard before January 12, 2026 receive 100% of their first $10,000 in lifetime profits before the 90/10 split applies. The Live Funded Account has no payout cap and unlocks daily payouts after 30 winning days.

What this means for you: Choose Standard or Consistency at activation for good: Standard needs 5 winning days of $150+, Consistency needs 3 days with your best day at or below 40%, and each request is capped by size.

The minimum payout is $125 and requests are made in the dashboard during CME hours, Sunday 6 PM ET to Friday 6 PM ET, with internal approval taking 1-3 business days. A W-9 (US) or W-8BEN (non-US) is submitted with the request, and payouts go only to a bank account in your own name. Methods: Prop-to-Brokerage (US only, same day if requested by 1 PM ET, no fee), Aeropay (US banks only, instant after approval if your bank supports real-time payments, no Topstep fee), Wise (China, Canada and the UK only, 1-3 business days, no Topstep fee; unclaimed funds are cancelled after 7 calendar days), ACH (US banks only, 1-3 business days, $30) and Wire/SWIFT (international, 5-10 business days, $30). Topstep's example: a $500 ACH request minus $50 for the 10% split minus the $30 fee pays $420. Copy-trading links are disabled while a payout processes. What the twelve help pages do not say: which Scaling Plan tier applies at exactly a band edge, a minimum number of Combine trading days beyond the statement that you can pass in as few as two, whether exactly 55% passes (the consistency page says at or below, the parameters page says below, and the recommendations say less than), the year of the doubled-cap offer and its end date, commission rates, and the Live Funded Account parameters, which sit in a separate article. Topstep publishes its times in Central Time; we converted them to Eastern Time, one hour later. Where this guide says the firm does not state something, ask Trader Support rather than assuming.

What this means for you: Plan for a $125 minimum and 1-3 business days of approval; ACH and wire cost $30, while the other methods carry no Topstep fee.

Topstep limits new positions around Tier 1 releases such as CPI, PPI, the FOMC rate decision and press conference, and Non Farm Payroll (Topstep's Risk Adjustments article, read on 19 October 2026). Topstep added the Producer Price Index (PPI) to its Tier 1 list on 19 October 2026; its table shows PPI at 8:30 AM ET with the same 8:25 to 8:35 AM ET window as CPI and NFP (the PPI row first read 8:25 to 8:30 AM ET and Topstep corrected it later the same day). In the 10-minute window there are no new mini positions on equity index and metals from 5 minutes before to 5 minutes after the release (ES, NQ, YM, RTY, NKD, GC, SI, HG, PL), and micros capped at 3 on a 50K Trading Combine (1 on 25K, 6 on 100K, 9 on 150K). Pending orders do not fill during the window and new ones meant to fill in it cannot be placed, while TP/SL brackets that reduce or close a position are accepted. Other products such as energies, rates and FX are unaffected. TopstepX enforces the limits automatically, and Topstep emails you and shows a platform banner before each event. Express Funded Accounts have their own table that combines this cap with the Scaling Plan.

What this means for you: If you trade MNQ or MES on a 50K Combine, plan for at most 3 micros and no new minis from 5 minutes before to 5 minutes after CPI, PPI, FOMC and NFP; check Topstep's banner or email for the exact window.

Topstep's TopstepX API Access article (read on 18 October 2026) says custom bots are allowed through the TopstepX / ProjectX API, with no high-frequency trading: you can build automated strategies, connect third-party tools and execute trades through TopstepX, and you remain responsible for how your bot behaves. API Access is billed separately from your Topstep subscription, and Live Funded Accounts cannot trade through the API because the API Gateway is built for the simulated environment. A rule violation counts the same whether it comes from manual trading or third-party automation.

What this means for you: You can run your own bot on Topstep's simulated accounts through the TopstepX API (billed separately), as long as it isn't high-frequency; once you reach a Live Funded Account the API is off.

Topstep's TopstepX help article (updated 25 September 2026, read on 18 October 2026) describes a built-in Trade Copier that mirrors trades from a Lead account to one or more Follower accounts. Copy trading is allowed with the built-in TopstepX Trade Copier on Trading Combine and Express Funded Accounts; Live Funded Accounts cannot use the Trade Copier. The Lead account must have the lowest Maximum Position Size in the group: running a 50K, 100K and 150K, the 50K is your Lead. While a Follower is linked you can't trade it directly. Turning the copier off mid-trade flattens all Follower accounts, and if the Lead hits its Daily Loss Limit or is auto-liquidated, the Followers are flattened with it. Followers are unlinked automatically when you submit a payout request, and fill prices and timing can differ slightly between accounts. The article does not cover third-party copiers or copying another person's trades, so this guide gives no verdict on those.

What this means for you: You can copy your own trades across Trading Combines and XFAs with TopstepX's built-in Trade Copier; put the smallest account as Lead, and expect it to stop once you reach Live Funded.

• Topstep: Trading Combine Parameters
• Topstep: What is the Maximum Loss Limit
• Topstep: Consistency at Topstep
• Topstep: Daily Loss Limit in the Trading Combine and XFA
• Topstep: When and What Products Can I Trade
• Topstep: What is the Scaling Plan (includes the tier chart)
• Topstep: Pricing and Payment Questions
• Topstep: Trading Combine Subscriptions
• Topstep: What is a Reset
• Topstep: Express Funded Account Parameters
• Topstep: Express Funded Account Activation
• Topstep: Payout Policy
• Topstep: Risk Adjustments: High Risk/High Volatility
• Topstep help: TopstepX API Access
• Topstep help: TopstepX (Trade Copier section)

Last checked 2026-10-15.