Head-to-head
DayTraders.com vs Topstep
DayTraders.com vs Topstep covers the two firms side by side on the facts recorded in their profiles.
Profit splits, evaluation fees, payout cadence, supported assets, and trading rules for DayTraders.com and Topstep. Data pulled live from our firm listings.
Quick verdict
DayTraders.com is best for
traders who want to skip the evaluation; copy-trading setups.
Full DayTraders.com profile →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.
DayTraders.com is roughly $44 cheaper to reach a first payout than Topstep, based on published fees alone.
DayTraders.com
estimateApprox. total
$5
to reach first payout eligibility
Approx. time
—
from sign-up to first eligible request
- Start cost
- $5
- Monthly fee
- —
How we estimated this
- Instant-funding path: lowest published activation cost.
- Source — eval fee: Per account plus a flat $5 activation fee. Pricing builder example (29 Oct 2026): 25K EOD $80. S2F (no evaluation) $370–$825 per the firm's prop-trading guide.; monthly: Lifetime (one-time) and Monthly billing options; first payout: Pro: after 8 Qualifying Days and a balance minimum (e.g. 50K: request at $52,600 or more), min $500. S2F: 10 Qualifying Days and the cycle profit target. Live: once the drawdown locks at the starting balance, min $500, above a $1,000 buffer..
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.
DayTraders.com trade-offs
No structural disadvantages versus the other firm based on the fields we track.
Topstep trade-offs
Slower to funded
Requires passing an evaluation before payouts. DayTraders.com offers instant funding as an alternative path.
No copy trading
Forbids copy / algo bridges. DayTraders.com permits them.
Decision guide
Best for your trader type
- Highest profit share
90% vs —%
- Fastest to funded
Offers instant funding.
- Biggest scaling ceiling
Up to $150,000.
- News traders
Allows trading through news events.
- 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 | DayTraders.com Evaluation + Instant Funding · est. 2023 | Topstep Evaluation · est. 2012 |
|---|---|---|
| Retail accessibility | Open to retail traders via evaluation | Open to retail traders via evaluation |
| Cost | ||
| Evaluation fee | Per account plus a flat $5 activation fee. Pricing builder example (29 Oct 2026): 25K EOD $80. S2F (no evaluation) $370–$825 per the firm's prop-trading guide. | Trading Combine $49/$99/$199 per month (Standard) or $95/$149/$229 (No Activation Fee) for $50K/$100K/$150K |
| Monthly fee | Lifetime (one-time) and Monthly billing options | 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 | Yes | No |
| Capital | ||
| Profit split | 100% (simulated Pro/S2F accounts; Medium flag: moving to live is the firm's choice, and excess simulated balances are then generally forfeited) or 80% (Live) | 90% |
| Max allocation | $25K–$300K (Static $25K–$150K; S2F $25K–$150K; Live Core $50K, Edge $150K, Ultra $300K) | $150,000 |
| Account sizes | $25K–$300K (Static $25K–$150K; S2F $25K–$150K; Live Core $50K, Edge $150K, Ultra $300K) | $50K, $100K, $150K |
| Scaling | Up to 15 simulated funded accounts (no more than 5 EOD and 5 S2F); up to 5 live accounts with one tradeable at a time. Live scaling is discussed with the Risk Team. | Scale via larger Combine accounts; no automatic in-account scaling. Up to 5 funded accounts. |
| Payouts | ||
| Frequency | Per payout cycle on simulated accounts (8 Qualifying Days on Pro, 10 on S2F); Live accounts can request on business days once the drawdown has locked. Paid via Plane. | Each time the XFA payout requirement is met (5 winning days Standard / 3 days Consistency); daily, uncapped after 30 winning Live days |
| First payout | Pro: after 8 Qualifying Days and a balance minimum (e.g. 50K: request at $52,600 or more), min $500. S2F: 10 Qualifying Days and the cycle profit target. Live: once the drawdown locks at the starting balance, min $500, above a $1,000 buffer. | 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 |
| Overnight holding | — | No |
| Weekend holding | — | No |
| Copy trading | Yes | No |
| Technology | ||
| Platforms | Rithmic, Onyx, Quantower | NinjaTrader, Quantower, Sterling, TradeStation, TradingView, Tradovate, TSTrader |
| Data feed | Rithmic | CME Group (real-time included) |
| Company | ||
| Headquarters | Las Vegas, NV | Chicago, USA |
About DayTraders.com
US futures prop firm from Las Vegas with Trail, Static and EOD evaluations from $25K to $300K, a no-evaluation S2F account and an S2L path to a live account at an 80/20 split.
Full DayTraders.com profile →About Topstep
Futures-focused funded trader program with a combine evaluation. Its Trading Combine evaluates traders on simulated CME futures accounts.
Full Topstep 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 — DayTraders.com or Topstep?
- Topstep pays 90% of trader profits once funded.
- Is DayTraders.com cheaper to start than Topstep?
- DayTraders.com: offers instant funding (no evaluation). 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 — DayTraders.com or Topstep?
- DayTraders.com payouts: Per payout cycle on simulated accounts (8 Qualifying Days on Pro, 10 on S2F); Live accounts can request on business days once the drawdown has locked. Paid via Plane.. 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: DayTraders.com — Pro: after 8 Qualifying Days and a balance minimum (e.g. 50K: request at $52,600 or more), min $500. S2F: 10 Qualifying Days and the cycle profit target. Live: once the drawdown locks at the starting balance, min $500, above a $1,000 buffer.; 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 DayTraders.com vs Topstep?
- DayTraders.com scales up to $25K–$300K (Static $25K–$150K; S2F $25K–$150K; Live Core $50K, Edge $150K, Ultra $300K). Topstep scales up to $150,000.
- Can I trade news at DayTraders.com or Topstep?
- DayTraders.com: policy unconfirmed. Topstep: permits news trading.
- Can I hold positions overnight at DayTraders.com or Topstep?
- DayTraders.com: policy unconfirmed. Topstep: does not allow overnight holds.
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