What are the differences between Accounts?

The Trading Combine & Express Funded Account are both simulated trading accounts while the Live Funded Account is a brokerage account that trades on the live markets. Because of this, there are some differences across the accounts that Topstep offers:

Rules

Trading Combine®

Express Funded Account™

Live Funded Account™

Trailing Maximum Drawdown

Calculated: End of day

Based on: Net P&L

Calculated: Intraday 

Based on: Net P&L

Scaling Plan

 

Updated automatically at the End of the Day.

 

Not updated automatically. Please contact us to adjust the Scaling Plan.

Commissions & Fees

Commissions and Fees align with what you will be charged while trading in the real markets in a Live Funded Account.

Dependent on your platform & products traded.

View more information

Holiday Trading Hours

Trading is allowed on shortened days due to US holidays. See the holidays with early closes here.

Depending on the specific holiday, traders may or may not be able to trade. We will communicate any varying hours as the specific holiday approaches.

For more information, please see this article.

Costs

  • Monthly subscription ($165-$375) 
  • Any necessary resets ($99)

No added costs!

  • CME Exchange Data Fees ($116-$122/month for each exchange you are trading)
  • Platform subscription costs (click here for more information) 
  • Commissions and fees (deducted from your Live Funded Account balance) 

Click here to learn more.

 

Rules

Trading Combine: The Trailing Max Drawdown is calculated using the end of trade day Net P&L during the Trading Combine while in a SIM environment.  The Scaling Plan will also update automatically at the end of the day once your trade report is updated. 

Live Funded Account: Similar to the way the Daily Loss Limit is calculated intraday in the Trading Combine® once in the Live Funded Account, the Trailing Max Drawdown is also liquidated intraday (based on unrealized P&L). This means if you reach one of these limits at any point during the trading day, you will break a rule, and you will be locked out of your account immediately.

The Scaling Plan levels are not automatically updated in the Live Funded Account as they do in the Trading Combine® and Express Funded Account. A trader will need to contact us to have their max position size adjusted.

Commissions Calculation on Rithmic Platforms

Trading Combine®: Fees and Commissions will be included in your P&L. You can use your P&L to get an accurate count of your P&L for the day.

Live Funded Account: Fees and Commissions are not included in your P&L. You will need to be aware of these costs. You will need to either reference the 'Total Commissions' column or compare the difference between your Account Balance (your current balance) and Cash on Hand (your balance at the start of the trading day).

Holiday Trading Hours 

Trading Combine: Traders can participate in the markets according to the CME Group trading hours.

Live Funded Account: Depending on the specific holiday, traders may or may not be able to trade. We will communicate any varying hours as the specific holiday approaches. For more information, please see this article.

Trading during prohibited times will result in the suspension of the Live Funded Account.

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