Head-to-head
Apex Trader Funding vs Topstep
Apex Trader Funding 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 Apex Trader Funding and Topstep. Data pulled live from our firm listings.
Quick verdict
Apex Trader Funding is best for
traders prioritizing profit share (100% vs 90%); scaling toward larger allocations (up to $300,000); copy-trading setups.
Full Apex Trader Funding profile →Quick verdict
Topstep is best for
traders who prefer Evaluation and a Chicago, USA-based firm.
Full Topstep 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.
Topstep is roughly $118 cheaper to reach a first payout than Apex Trader Funding, based on published fees alone.
Apex Trader Funding
estimateApprox. total
$167
to reach first payout eligibility
Approx. time
17days
from sign-up to first eligible request
- Start cost
- $167
- Monthly fee
- —
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).
- Source — eval fee: One-time fee per evaluation (30-day access, no rebill, no resets); Intraday from $167 (25K), EOD and No Activation Fee options cost more; frequent up-to-90%-off codes; monthly: None on current products: one-time evaluation plus a one-time PA activation fee on Standard plans ($0 on No Activation Fee plans). Monthly-billed Legacy accounts are back for a limited time.; first payout: 5 qualifying trading days meeting the daily profit minimum ($100-$350 by size on EOD PAs), $500 minimum payout, 50% consistency, safety net = drawdown + $100.
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.
Apex Trader Funding trade-offs
Slower payouts
Payout cadence is Up to weekly: request after every 5 qualifying trading days (EOD PA: max 6 payouts per account) versus Each time the XFA payout requirement is met (5 winning days Standard / 3 days Consistency); daily, uncapped after 30 winning Live days at Topstep.
Topstep trade-offs
Lower profit split
Pays 90% versus 100% — 10 points less of every funded dollar.
Lower scaling ceiling
Scales to $150,000 vs $300,000 at Apex Trader Funding — caps long-term capital growth.
No copy trading
Forbids copy / algo bridges. Apex Trader Funding permits them.
Decision guide
Best for your trader type
- Highest profit share
100% vs 90%
- Biggest scaling ceiling
Up to $300,000.
- 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 | Apex Trader Funding Evaluation · est. 2008 | Topstep Evaluation · est. 2012 |
|---|---|---|
| Retail accessibility | Open to retail traders via evaluation | Open to retail traders via evaluation |
| Cost | ||
| Evaluation fee | One-time fee per evaluation (30-day access, no rebill, no resets); Intraday from $167 (25K), EOD and No Activation Fee options cost more; frequent up-to-90%-off codes | Trading Combine $49/$99/$199 per month (Standard) or $95/$149/$229 (No Activation Fee) for $50K/$100K/$150K |
| Monthly fee | None on current products: one-time evaluation plus a one-time PA activation fee on Standard plans ($0 on No Activation Fee plans). Monthly-billed Legacy accounts are back for a limited time. | 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 | 100% | 90% |
| Max allocation | $300,000 | $150,000 |
| Account sizes | $25K, $50K, $100K, $150K (limited-time Legacy accounts also offered up to $300K) | $50K, $100K, $150K |
| Scaling | Up to 20 Performance Accounts; tier-based contract and daily-loss-limit scaling inside PAs; trade copier allowed across accounts. | Scale via larger Combine accounts; no automatic in-account scaling. Up to 5 funded accounts. |
| Payouts | ||
| Frequency | Up to weekly: request after every 5 qualifying trading days (EOD PA: max 6 payouts per account) | Each time the XFA payout requirement is met (5 winning days Standard / 3 days Consistency); daily, uncapped after 30 winning Live days |
| First payout | 5 qualifying trading days meeting the daily profit minimum ($100-$350 by size on EOD PAs), $500 minimum payout, 50% consistency, safety net = drawdown + $100 | 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 | Rithmic, Tradovate, WealthCharts, NinjaTrader, TradingView, Quantower | NinjaTrader, Quantower, Sterling, TradeStation, TradingView, Tradovate, TSTrader |
| Data feed | Rithmic / Tradovate (CME real-time) | CME Group (real-time included) |
| Company | ||
| Headquarters | Austin, USA | Chicago, USA |
About Apex Trader Funding
Futures-focused funded trader program using NinjaTrader and Rithmic. Popular for low-cost evaluations and frequent discount promotions. Evaluations and funded Performance Accounts (PA) are simulated; a separate live program is invitation-only.
Full Apex Trader Funding 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 — Apex Trader Funding or Topstep?
- Apex Trader Funding pays 100%; Topstep pays 90% of trader profits once funded. Apex Trader Funding pays a higher share to the trader.
- Is Apex Trader Funding cheaper to start than Topstep?
- Apex Trader Funding: evaluation from One-time fee per evaluation (30-day access, no rebill, no resets); Intraday from $167 (25K), EOD and No Activation Fee options cost more; frequent up-to-90%-off codes. 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 — Apex Trader Funding or Topstep?
- Apex Trader Funding payouts: Up to weekly: request after every 5 qualifying trading days (EOD PA: max 6 payouts per account). 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: Apex Trader Funding — 5 qualifying trading days meeting the daily profit minimum ($100-$350 by size on EOD PAs), $500 minimum payout, 50% consistency, safety net = drawdown + $100; 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 Apex Trader Funding vs Topstep?
- Apex Trader Funding scales up to $300,000. Topstep scales up to $150,000.
- Can I trade news at Apex Trader Funding or Topstep?
- Apex Trader Funding: permits news trading. Topstep: permits news trading.
- Can I hold positions overnight at Apex Trader Funding or Topstep?
- Apex Trader Funding: does not allow overnight holds. Topstep: does not allow overnight holds.
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