TopStep Trader Review for 2024

Topstep is of of the best futures funding opportunity. It offers a risk-free way to trade live capital in many asset classes. Topstep makes trading an identity by transforming it from an activity into an identity through a mindset shift, clear rules, and a unique approach to success.

Trading is a way of life, a set of rules of conduct, and a mindset toward all aspects of your day. Topstep is passionate about helping customers achieve real, repeatable success in the financial market. Trading is much more than an activity. We have seen the results of people who don’t follow the rules and the mentality. They fail. This is not the way for the faint-hearted, but it is proven to make traders professional.

While TopStep has been offering both Futures and Forex Trader Funding programs, it has recently abandoned Forex Trader Funding program and is only offering Futures. Company has perhaps realized its stronger side and is focusing on it.

How Does Topstep Trader Work?

TopStep Trader programs seem to be different from others due to quite a few factors. First one is how long they have been around (over 10 years now). Next, the founders of TopStep are traders themselves and know what it takes to succeed in the trading world. This alone has helped them build out the frameworks necessary for new traders to have the highest chance to become successful.

TopStep trading exam or Trading Combine is a two-step process where traders prove they can follow trading rules and risk management parameters necessary to help develop cornerstone skills for any profitable trader. Upon completing Topstep Trader Combine, traders will be presented with multiple Funded Account options.

Topstep has recently revamped its program to allow skilled traders to achieve the funding stage as quickly as eight days. Previous funded programs required two steps with a minimum of 10 trading days in each step. If markets are not ideal for your trading system's success, no worries, you can trade as many days as you would like as long as no trading rules are broken.

How does Topstep Trading Combine Work?

The Combine is a two-step trading exam; you need to meet profit goal requirements while following all the rules in each step. There are three different program sizes 50k, 100k, 150k. There is no maximum days of trading set by TopStep, however there is a minimum of 5 trading days that you must accomplish in order to qualify for funding. Also, your best day cannot exceed more than 40% of total profits made.

TopStep Trading Combine Step 1

Prove Profitability

Profit Target - profit amount that needs to be reached to advance to the second step of trader funding combine. You can take as long as you need to reach this goal and advance.

In the first step, you can trade maximum position size right away, either all in a single futures product or across multiple instruments if you would like. You do not have to use maximum leverage at all times and can trade as few as one contract. 

Daily loss limit - your losses for a single day can not exceed the daily loss limit (open loss + trading commissions). If you exceed the maximum loss limit, you cannot qualify for the second step of the real time simulated accounts for trading and have the option to reset or start over.

Very important TopStep features END OF DAY drawdown, meaning the Drawdown does not trail until the trading day is complete. This is a significant advantage over loss limit trails opened and closed P&L intraday programs. Daily Drawdown is designed to preserve capital. Having a bad day in the markets happens to absolutely everyone.

Top Step Trader experienced traders behind the program feel it is important to have a daily loss limit. Walking away for the day when things aren't working is an important skill to develop. It is not uncommon for a trader who starts the day poorly to chase or make up losses, frequently by abandoning trading strategies and taking unnecessary risks.

Often, positions come back when taking on too much risk and leverage because the account is in the red, bad habits get reinforced. For the sake of new traders - we hope that they never have to experience the crushing feeling of giving up days, weeks, or career of gains and going into deep red because of a position that started with a single ill-advised contract entry.

With the Daily loss limit, especially new traders start to develop risk management and learn to walk away from bad days. Step 1 is pretty straightforward: start establishing good habits and building profits. Upon reaching the profit goals of the first step, you will be automatically advanced to Step 2 after the end of the day.

Trading Combine Step 2:

Manage Risk

Step two builds on what was started in the first step seeking to learn more about what it takes to be a steady risk manager and profitable Trader.

In step two, you start with the same virtual balance as the first step. You have the same profit target of 3k, 6k, or $9000 based on your selected account size.

There is no longer a minimum required several days to trade or deadline. Can trade as long as necessary to achieve the profit objective. The funded account can be achieved in as little as three days. Traders have to ensure that no trading day in the second step accounts for more than 40% of the profits.

40% best day profit rule - measures traders' ability to manage risk and make repeated profits before heading into a live funded account. Topsteptrader team believes setting a daily earnings goal gets you in the mindset of a professional trader. It is not considered a rule violation if the best day exceeds 40%; the Trader has to keep Trading and accumulating profits until the best day accounts for less than 40% of profits.

Weekly Drawdown - maximum account trader is allowed to lose in a calendar week; this is another large loss prevention measure allowing traders to mentally recover from losses and give it another chance next week. Step 2 weekly loss limit is EOD - updated at the end of the trading day.

Economic Releases - TopStep requires traders in Step 2 to be flat for major economic releases. There is a calendar of major new releases provided and updated by the trading company. Having positions during the 1 minute before thru 1 minute after economic release is considered a rule violation. Significant market spikes can occur during FOMC meeting minutes or Crude Oil inventory releases.

It is best to learn to be flat for these events until further in Trading. Typically liquidity significantly dies up, and any stop losses can be magnified by very significant slippage. It is best to learn early on in a trading career to avoid having positions during very volatile and low liquidity situations.

Scaling Plan - you are advised and required not to use the full available leverage right away. TopStep team believes it is best to increase profits before upping the leverage. Therefore, the number of contracts available to trade is updated at the end of each day until the maximum allowed leverage is unlocked halfway to a profit goal.

Complete both steps within the rules, and congratulations! You are a TopStep Funded Trader! Funded traders have been paid out around $4,000,000 in profit sharing for 2021.

Thing to note: you can buy Trading combine with a credit card, however, you cannot fund a trading account with them.

TopStepTrader Rules

These rules will help you reduce risk, increase discipline and improve consistency. At TopStep Trader, there is a famous acronym... JFTFR, which simply means: "Just Follow The F-ing Rules." A very simple mantra to follow which should be helpful at becoming a Funded Trader with TopStep.

A HOLISTIC APPROACH

A trader is not just someone who trades. You must have a consistent routine throughout the day. Trading Combine helps you develop the disciplined mindset necessary to sustain success.

Manage your downside

Professional traders limit how much they can lose in a given period. So your account won't be ruined by bad trades.

Protect your profits

Your equity should always equal the size of any trades you make. This balance can be maintained by using our scaling plan and position limits.

Reduce your risk

You don't have to trade all the time; just because you can do so does not mean you should. To avoid large losses, traders must be aware of and prepared for volatility and illiquidity.

THE RESET

We know that trading robots are not perfect. The Reset allows you to start again in your current Step if you violate a rule of the Trading Combine. A Reset costs money and is intended to help you be more disciplined. Live markets are less accepting.

TopStep Trader First Payout Bonus

TopStep's First Payout Bonus will give you additional capital to invest in yourself. You can use it to register for classes, buy trading books, or bank it. The prop firm is proud of your achievements and is hoping that this bonus will allow you to continue your journey toward becoming the best trader possible.

How can I get this bonus?

• Send your first payout request to a funded account.
• You will receive confirmation that your bonus equal to last month's subscription payment is on its way (typically processed within 3-5 days).

This is just one of the many bonuses Topstep has in store for you, so it's never been better to get started on your trading journey. What's even better is that you do not need to be a first-funded account member to qualify for the bonus. You will receive the bonus for every funded account, but only the first payout will qualify you to get the trader bonus. The first payout is available if you create a trading combination and get a new level of funded account.

Once the Funding Team has confirmed that the funds have been transferred from the trading account, the bonus will be processed within 3-5 business days. If you have used a discount code to purchase, as a bonus, you will receive the same discounted amount if a discount code is used for the last month's subscription payments.

To receive the trader bonus, there is no minimum payout. Reminder: Any payouts made before your Trailing Max Drawdown is $0 will be automatically adjusted to $0, and you will receive a payout. Do I get the First Payout Bonus if I break a rule in my fund level account? The payout policy requirements have been satisfied if your end balance was greater than the starting balance.

Is Top Step Trader legitimate?

TopStep Trader Google Reviews

On Google, TopStep Trader has 51 reviews (at the time of the writing), and is averaging 4.1/5 rating. Prop firms location is showing as in Downtown Chicago near the Chicago Loop, on Des Plaines Street.

After reading their Google Reviews, we realized quickly that most of the bad reviews are written by people who either blew their accounts, didn't pay subscription fees and therefore weren't able to keep their accounts, or didn't follow the rules (for instance, traded 100s of contracts).

TopStep Trader Reviews on Trustpilot

On Trustpilot, TopStep Trader prop firm is looking a bit better. With a score of 4.3 out of 5 and the total count  of reviews at 1,374, the company truly shows the legitimacy and longevity in trader funding industry. Only 5% of the reviews are 1 star reviews, and 73% of reviews are 5 star, followed by 16% of reviews being 4 star.

TopStep Trader Overall Rating by Online Prop Trading

Not only is TopStepTrader legitimate, but they are also a pioneer in the futures-funded trader industry. In 2012 Patak Trading Partners had a vision of providing new traders with tools to work on their skills and develop trading systems and discipline without taking on the full risk of the high leveraged futures industry. That is when the journey of Patak Top Step Trader started.

For a decade, Patak Partners have innovated in the trader funding space bringing traders new and constantly improving products. The program was so successful it has made it on the list of 5000 America's fastest-growing companies. Happy teams lead great companies.

Home of the Trading Combine has earned multiple best places to work awards. TopStep is now 60+ employees strong. They are operating in downtown Chicago offices and paying out millions in trader profits to funded traders worldwide. They are the most legitimate trading exam company in the USA.

• See more of The Best Funded Trader Programs for 2023

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Read more about the risks associated with funded trading.