Topstep Trading Combine Rules Explained

The Topstep Trading Combine is a monthly subscription evaluation with one rule and two objectives. The rule is the Maximum Loss Limit, an end of day trailing floor of $2,000, $3,000 or $4,500 that locks at the starting balance. The objectives are a profit target of $3,000, $6,000 or $9,000 and a consistency target that keeps the best day at or below 55% of total profit, so the Combine takes at least two days.

How the Trading Combine works

The Combine comes in three sizes, each a simulated futures account. There is no time limit: the subscription rebills every 30 days until the trader passes or cancels. Passing closes the Combine and its subscription, and the trader can then activate an Express Funded Account. Profit made in the Combine does not carry over.

The Maximum Loss Limit

The Maximum Loss Limit starts below the starting balance by the amounts above. It rises with each end of day balance, never moves down, and locks permanently once it reaches the starting balance. It is recalculated at the end of the day but monitored in real time on both realised and unrealised profit and loss. If the account touches it at any moment, positions are liquidated and the Combine cannot pass until it is reset. Slippage on the exit does not undo the breach.

The consistency target

Topstep divides the best single day by total profit. If the result is above 55%, the target rises to the best day divided by 0.55. There is no rounding and no buffer, and a losing day does not reset the best day. Extra profit made on the same day as the best day only makes that day bigger, so the shortfall has to be earned on later days. A day’s figure locks at 3:10 pm CT.

Other rules

Topstep is a day trading programme. All positions must be flat by 3:10 pm CT each weekday, the trading day runs from 5:00 pm CT to 3:10 pm CT, and there is no weekend or overnight holding. Micros and minis count at a ratio of ten to one against the position limit. The optional daily loss limit is soft: hitting it flattens positions and stops trading until the next session without failing the account. Prohibited strategies include trading the full maximum position size into a scheduled major news event, placing orders outside the best bid or offer, account stacking and exploiting simulated fills.

Worked example

The figures below describe a made up 50K Combine. They illustrate how the rule and objectives interact.

On day 2 the open loss took the account to $49,000, only $100 above the $48,900 floor. The day closed down only $400, but a slightly larger swing would have ended the Combine regardless of the close. On day 3 the calculation gave $50,200, but the limit stopped at the $50,000 starting balance. The $1,700 day also broke the $1,650 recommendation, so the target rose from $3,000 to $1,700 divided by 0.55, which is $3,091. Day 4 took total profit to $3,100, the best day became 54.8% of it, and the Combine passed. The consistency rule calculator and drawdown calculator run the same checks for other figures.

Costs and payout terms

The Combine has two price paths, fixed at purchase. The prices below were listed on topstep.com on 1 October 2026.

On a 50K, a trader who passes in one month pays $198 on the Standard path and $95 on the No Activation Fee path. The Standard path only works out cheaper for a trader who needs four or more monthly payments, because its lower price takes that long to make up the $149 fee. A reset costs the same as a month, pushes the rebill date back 30 days and is limited to two per account per day, and each rebill adds one free reset credit. Level 1 data is included, and Level 2 costs $38 a month. Once funded, Topstep pays 90% on qualifying payouts, covered in Topstep Express Funded Account explained. Firms change their terms often, so confirm the current version before buying.

Topstep publishes its own results. From January to December 2025, 16.8% of Trading Combines started were completed, 51.8% of individuals who entered at least one Combine reached the funded level in at least one of them, and 33.3% of individuals at the funded level received a payout.

How it compares with Topstep’s funded stages

The Combine is the only stage that can be reset. A breached Express Funded Account can only be restored through Back2Funded for a fee. For how Topstep compares with other futures firms, see Topstep vs Tradeify, My Funded Futures vs Topstep and the Topstep review.

Common mistakes

• Watching only the close. The limit is checked on open profit and loss throughout the day.
• Chasing the target on a big day. Profit above the best day recommendation raises the target, and adding more on the same day makes it worse.
• Holding past 3:10 pm CT. Risk managers start flattening at 3:08 pm CT.
• Letting the subscription run. A Combine that is not passed before the rebill date is billed again.
• Loading the maximum size into news. It is a listed prohibited strategy.

Checklist

• Choose the price path before buying; it cannot be changed.
• Write down the floor each morning and the room to it.
• Set a personal profit cap near the best day recommendation.
• Flatten before 3:10 pm CT every day.
• Note the rebill date and plan resets around it.
• Decide whether to add the daily loss limit at purchase.

For the wider context, see end of day drawdown explained and how to pass futures prop firm evaluations.