Head-to-head
18th Street Trading vs Topstep
18th Street Trading vs Topstep covers the two firms side by side on the facts recorded in their profiles, profiled by proprietarytrading.com.
Profit splits, evaluation fees, payout cadence, supported assets, and trading rules for 18th Street Trading and Topstep. Data pulled live from our firm listings.
Quick verdict
Topstep is best for
traders who prefer Evaluation and a Chicago, USA-based firm.
Full Topstep profile →Watch flags · risk only
Public risk notes we've recorded on the firm record. Not a judgement of fit — just things to verify before committing capital.
- Topstep
recent trader complaints regarding platform stability, lack of phone support
Cost to first payout
Cost to first payout
What it actually costs to reach payout — a normalized estimate built from each firm's lowest published evaluation cost, monthly fees, and first-payout window. Estimates, not guarantees. Each card shows the assumptions used.
18th Street Trading
Not enough structured fee data published to estimate a cost-to-first-payout figure for this firm.
Topstep
estimateApprox. total
$49
to reach first payout eligibility
Approx. time
15days
from sign-up to first eligible request
- Start cost
- $49
- Monthly fee
- None
How we estimated this
- Evaluation path: lowest published one-time evaluation fee.
- Adds ~10 calendar days for evaluation completion (most firms require ≥5 minimum trading days).
- Firm advertises no monthly fee.
- Source — eval fee: Trading Combine $49/$99/$199 per month (Standard) or $95/$149/$229 (No Activation Fee) for $50K/$100K/$150K; monthly: Combine is a monthly subscription until you pass or cancel; Standard path adds a one-time $149 XFA activation fee, No Activation Fee path $0. No monthly fee on funded accounts.; first payout: XFA Standard: 5 winning days of $150+; XFA Consistency: 3+ trading days with best day within 40% of profit. Up to 50% of balance per request, capped by size; $125 minimum..
Trade-offs
Where each firm is weaker
No firm wins on every axis. These are the most meaningful drawbacks of each option — derived from the same structured fields shown in the table, never invented.
18th Street Trading trade-offs
No structural disadvantages versus the other firm based on the fields we track.
Topstep trade-offs
No copy trading
Forbids copy / algo bridges. 18th Street Trading permits them.
Open risk note
Watch flag on file: recent trader complaints regarding platform stability, lack of phone support
Decision guide
Best for your trader type
- Highest profit share
Tie
Both pay 90%.
- Copy & algo traders
Copy trading is permitted.
- Fastest payouts
Each time the XFA payout requirement is met (5 winning days Standard / 3 days Consistency); daily, uncapped after 30 winning Live days payouts.
| Attribute | 18th Street Trading Evaluation · est. 2026 | Topstep Evaluation · est. 2012 |
|---|---|---|
| Cost | ||
| Evaluation fee | Varies by plan size | Trading Combine $49/$99/$199 per month (Standard) or $95/$149/$229 (No Activation Fee) for $50K/$100K/$150K |
| Monthly fee | None | Combine is a monthly subscription until you pass or cancel; Standard path adds a one-time $149 XFA activation fee, No Activation Fee path $0. No monthly fee on funded accounts. |
| Evaluation required | Yes | Yes |
| Instant funding | No | No |
| Capital | ||
| Profit split | 90% | 90% |
| Max allocation | $150,000 | $150,000 |
| Account sizes | $25K, $50K, $100K, and $150K Funded Futures Plans | $50K, $100K, $150K |
| Scaling | Traders progress through four performance-based phases within their selected plan. Each successfully completed phase unlocks a defined payout and advancement to the next phase. After completing Phase 4, the trader transitions to a Live Funded account. | Scale via larger Combine accounts; no automatic in-account scaling. Up to 5 funded accounts. |
| Payouts | ||
| Frequency | Payout available after each successfully completed Phase; Live Funded payouts: first on request, then every 30 calendar days. | Each time the XFA payout requirement is met (5 winning days Standard / 3 days Consistency); daily, uncapped after 30 winning Live days |
| First payout | Eligible immediately after successfully completing Phase 1 and meeting the 25% consistency requirement. | XFA Standard: 5 winning days of $150+; XFA Consistency: 3+ trading days with best day within 40% of profit. Up to 50% of balance per request, capped by size; $125 minimum. |
| Assets | ||
| Futures | Yes | Yes |
| Stocks | No | No |
| Options | No | No |
| Forex | No | No |
| Crypto | No | No |
| Trading rules | ||
| News trading | Yes | Yes |
| Overnight holding | No | No |
| Weekend holding | No | No |
| Copy trading | Yes | No |
| Technology | ||
| Platforms | DXFutures, Volumetrica, Rithmic, TickBlaze | NinjaTrader, Quantower, Sterling, TradeStation, TradingView, Tradovate, TSTrader |
| Data feed | — | CME Group (real-time included) |
| Company | ||
| Headquarters | Las Vegas, Nevada, United States | Chicago, USA |
About 18th Street Trading
Las Vegas futures prop firm with $25K–$150K performance-based plans and a path toward live funded capital.
Full 18th Street Trading profile →Trust & stability
Reputation and rule-change activity
Two added decision signals: a weighted reputation score from independent review sources, and a 90-day view of structural rule-change activity where monitored sources are available.
Reputation
Not enough independent rating sources to compute a canonical score yet.
Rule Stability
last 90d- Last change
- —
- Type
- —
- Sources monitored
- —
- Status
- No changes detected in monitored sources
Weekly diff of the firm's published rule pages (terms, rules, FAQ, legal). "No changes detected" only means none of the monitored monitored sources changed — other surfaces (Discord, email, dashboards) are not covered. "Limited" or "unavailable" means our monitor cannot reach enough sources to make an honest call.
Reputation
Not enough independent rating sources to compute a canonical score yet.
Rule Stability
last 90d- Last change
- —
- Type
- —
- Sources monitored
- —
- Status
- No changes detected in monitored sources
Weekly diff of the firm's published rule pages (terms, rules, FAQ, legal). "No changes detected" only means none of the monitored monitored sources changed — other surfaces (Discord, email, dashboards) are not covered. "Limited" or "unavailable" means our monitor cannot reach enough sources to make an honest call.
Frequently asked
Common questions
- Which has a higher profit split — 18th Street Trading or Topstep?
- 18th Street Trading pays 90%; Topstep pays 90% of trader profits once funded. Both firms offer the same profit share.
- Is 18th Street Trading cheaper to start than Topstep?
- 18th Street Trading: evaluation from Varies by plan size. Topstep: evaluation from Trading Combine $49/$99/$199 per month (Standard) or $95/$149/$229 (No Activation Fee) for $50K/$100K/$150K.
- Which pays out faster — 18th Street Trading or Topstep?
- 18th Street Trading payouts: Payout available after each successfully completed Phase; Live Funded payouts: first on request, then every 30 calendar days.. Topstep payouts: Each time the XFA payout requirement is met (5 winning days Standard / 3 days Consistency); daily, uncapped after 30 winning Live days. First-payout eligibility: 18th Street Trading — Eligible immediately after successfully completing Phase 1 and meeting the 25% consistency requirement.; Topstep — XFA Standard: 5 winning days of $150+; XFA Consistency: 3+ trading days with best day within 40% of profit. Up to 50% of balance per request, capped by size; $125 minimum..
- What's the maximum allocation at 18th Street Trading vs Topstep?
- 18th Street Trading scales up to $150,000. Topstep scales up to $150,000.
- Can I trade news at 18th Street Trading or Topstep?
- 18th Street Trading: permits news trading. Topstep: permits news trading.
- Can I hold positions overnight at 18th Street Trading or Topstep?
- 18th Street Trading: does not allow overnight holds. Topstep: does not allow overnight holds.
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