Topstep vs Tradeify

Topstep suits futures day traders who expect to pass quickly, want low commissions and are happy to trade on its own TopstepX platform, since the Standard path starts at $49 a month. Tradeify suits traders who prefer a one time fee with no activation charge, want to keep NinjaTrader, TradingView or a Rithmic platform, or run an automated strategy they wrote themselves. Both firms use an end of day trailing drawdown, so the decision mostly comes down to cost structure, payout style and platform.

All prices are list prices at the time of review in September 2026. Both firms run frequent discounts, so the price at checkout is often lower.

Topstep vs Tradeify at a glance

The table compares the Topstep 50K Trading Combine on the Standard path with the Tradeify Select 50K evaluation, whose funded stage offers a choice of Flex or Daily payouts.

Rules and drawdown

Both firms set a $2,000 maximum loss on a 50K account and trail it from the end of day balance, so open profit during the session does not drag the floor upwards. The detail differs. In the Topstep Combine the Maximum Loss Limit rises with each new end of day high, is enforced in real time on open and closed profit, and locks for good once it reaches the $50,000 starting balance. Tradeify’s limit also trails the highest end of day balance and is enforced in real time, but it locks at $50,100 once the balance has cleared the drawdown by $100, and on Select Flex it also locks when the first payout is requested. The mechanics are set out in trailing vs static drawdown and futures prop firm drawdown rules.

The daily loss limit is optional at Topstep. If chosen, it is $1,000 on 50K and flattens positions for the rest of the session without failing the account. Tradeify Select has no daily limit in the evaluation; after passing, Select Daily adds a $1,000 limit and Select Flex has none. Tradeify’s cheaper Growth plan, at $145, does carry a $1,250 daily limit on 50K but has no consistency rule in the evaluation and can be passed in one day.

Consistency is where the evaluations differ most. Topstep caps the best day at 55% of total profit, so the Combine takes at least two days. Tradeify Select caps it at 40% and needs at least three days, or two with a paid 50% add on that lifts the 50K price to $205. Once funded, Select has no consistency rule, while Topstep applies a 40% target only on its Consistency payout path.

Day to day rules also differ. Topstep positions must be flat by 3:10 pm Central time, which is 4:10 pm Eastern, while Tradeify allows trading until 4:45 pm Eastern. Topstep allows news trading but bans taking the full maximum position directly into a scheduled major release. Tradeify places no restriction on news, although on funded accounts more than half of all trades, and more than half of all profit, must come from positions held longer than 10 seconds. The 50K Combine allows 5 minis or 50 micros; Tradeify allows 4 minis on 50K, and Select funded accounts start at 2 and scale to 4.

Pricing, resets and activation fees

Topstep sells the Combine as a monthly subscription that rebills until the trader passes or cancels, with one free reset credit at each rebill. On the Standard path the 50K costs $49 a month and a $149 activation fee is due on passing, so a trader who passes within the first month pays $198 and one who takes two months pays $247. The No Activation Fee path costs $95 a month, or $85 with the optional daily loss limit added at checkout, and has nothing to pay on passing. Level 1 CME data is included, and Level 2 costs $38 a month.

Tradeify charges once, with no subscription and no activation fee. Select 50K costs $165 and Growth 50K costs $145, however long the evaluation takes. Resets are extra, from $75 to $239 on Select and $60 to $215 on Growth depending on size, and all sales are final. Market data is free for non professional traders once the data agreement is signed.

Commissions also matter for active traders. Topstep lists $3.78 per round turn on ES and NQ and $1.22 on MES and MNQ. Tradeify lists $5.76 on ES and NQ and $1.82 on the micros.

Payouts

Both firms pay 90/10 on simulated funded accounts. Topstep’s Express Funded Account starts from a $0 balance, and each request can take up to half the balance, capped at $2,000 on the Standard path or $3,000 on the Consistency path for 50K. The Responsible Trading Advantage doubles those caps. The minimum request is $125, and US traders using Aeropay can receive approved payouts instantly if their bank supports real time payments; ACH and wire transfers carry a $30 fee.

Tradeify splits the choice at the funded stage. Select Flex pays up to 50% of total profit every five winning days, capped at $2,500 on 50K for accounts bought after 1 September 2026. Select Daily allows a request on any day once its buffer is cleared, paying up to twice the profit made since the last request and capped at $1,250 on 50K. Payments go through Rise, with Plane as an alternative, and three approved payouts qualify a trader for Tradeify Elite live accounts, which pay 80/20.

Both firms publish their own results. Topstep reports that 16.8% of Trading Combines were completed in 2025 and that 33.3% of traders who reached the funded level received a payout. Tradeify reports that 17.2% of Growth, Advanced and Select evaluations were completed between August 2025 and July 2026, and that 28.5% of funded traders received a payout.

Platforms and markets

Topstep centres on TopstepX, its own web platform with TradingView charts, and its help centre also covers a Quantower connection. Automation is possible through the TopstepX API at $29 a month, but not on Live Funded Accounts, and VPS, VPN and remote servers are banned. Markets cover CME Group futures across equity index, currency, energy, metals, interest rate, agricultural and micro crypto contracts.

Tradeify offers three connections at the same price: Tradovate, which works with NinjaTrader and TradingView; Rithmic, which supports Tradesea, Quantower, Sierra Chart and R Trader; and WealthCharts. Bots are allowed if the trader can prove sole ownership of the code, and copying trades in the same direction across a trader’s own accounts is permitted. Markets cover CME Group futures, with Level 2 and EUREX data as paid add ons on Tradovate.

Who should choose each firm

Choose Topstep if

• You expect to pass within a month and want the lowest entry price on the Standard path.
• You trade often enough for lower commissions per contract to matter.
• You are comfortable on TopstepX and want payouts that US banks can receive instantly through Aeropay.

Choose Tradeify if

• You want a one time fee with no rebilling and no activation charge.
• You use NinjaTrader, TradingView, Sierra Chart or another Rithmic platform.
• You run your own automated strategy, or you want the option of daily payout requests on Select Daily.

Full details sit on each firm’s profile and in the Topstep review and Tradeify review. To set either firm against others, use the comparison table, browse more head to head comparisons such as Tradeify vs My Funded Futures, or see the futures prop firms hub.