Topstep vs Tradeify
Disclosure: "Visit" links go to each firm's official site. We may earn a commission later if a firm approves our affiliate application; the comparison does not change.
 TopstepfuturesOfficial site ↗ | $49/mo50K · Trading Combine — Standard Path | 6% | −4% | Trail + lock | — | up to 90% | 3 d | Not stated |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 TradeifyfuturesOfficial site ↗ | $9925K · Growth Evaluation | 6% | −4% | EOD trail | none | up to 90% | 5 d | Allowed |
"—" means the firm's pages we read did not state it. Max DD and target are percent of the starting balance for the main program; dollar rules are converted using the account size named on the firm's page.
The main difference is the evaluation path
Topstep’s regular Trading Combine is a one-step evaluation with monthly billing. You choose a lower monthly fee with a funded activation fee, or a higher monthly fee without activation charges. Both paths use an end-of-day trailing loss floor that locks at your starting balance. There is no minimum time requirement to pass, but a consistency rule limits how much profit can come from your best day.
Tradeify Growth and Select are one-time evaluations without activation fees. Growth has no evaluation consistency requirement and can be passed in 1 trading day; Select has 40% consistency and normally requires at least 3 trading days. Tradeify Lightning skips evaluation but has payout consistency rules. Topstep also offers one-time Labs challenges. These paid challenges use simulated accounts; most traders do not pass, and the fee is usually lost after failure. Funded accounts are also simulated at most firms.
Compare recurring fees with one-time fees
As listed in October 2026, Topstep Standard costs $49 per month for 50K, $99 for 100K, and $199 for 150K, plus $149 once per Express Funded Account earned. The No Activation Fee Path costs $95, $149, and $229 per month for those sizes, respectively, with $0 activation. Subscriptions rebill until you pass or cancel, so the first payment is not necessarily your total fee.
As listed in October 2026, Tradeify Growth costs $145 one-time for 50K, $255 for 100K, and $369 for 150K. Select costs $165, $265, and $369 one-time for the same sizes. Neither charges activation fees. Topstep Standard’s lower initial price does not establish a lower total cost: duration and activation matter.
As listed in October 2026, Topstep Labs Static costs $75 one-time for 25K or $149 for 50K; Freedom costs $499 one-time for 250K. Both Labs programs have free funded activation and a 90-day lifespan. Tradeify’s 25K Growth and Select cost $99 and $109 one-time, respectively. Lightning costs $309 one-time for 50K without an evaluation. Most Topstep fees are non-refundable; Tradeify makes all sales final.
End-of-day floors still apply during open trades
A loss floor is the account value you cannot touch without breaching the account. Topstep’s regular Combine allows $2,000 of maximum loss on 50K, $3,000 on 100K, and $4,500 on 150K. Its floor rises with end-of-day balance, never moves down, and locks when it reaches the starting balance. Realized and unrealized profit and loss count toward enforcement: touching the maximum loss limit triggers a violation and immediate liquidation.
Tradeify Growth, Select, and Lightning also update their trailing floors at the end of the day. Enforcement is intraday: if net liquidation value, including open-position value, touches the floor, the account immediately fails even if it later recovers. The stated maximum loss is $1,000 on 25K Growth and Select, and $2,000 on 50K Lightning. The pages provided do not state Growth or Select maximum loss amounts for larger sizes, or a floor-lock level.
For positions held during a session, end-of-day calculation does not mean you can dip below the floor temporarily. Topstep Labs Static instead has a fixed floor: its 50K account has a $2,000 maximum loss limit and a $4,000 profit target. Regular Topstep’s stated 50K target is $3,000.
Topstep’s regular Combine daily loss limit is optional; a limit selected at checkout cannot be changed later. Hitting it forces a session break rather than a rule violation. Tradeify Growth has mandatory soft daily limits of $600, $1,250, $2,500, and $3,750 for 25K through 150K: trading stops for the day without failing the account. Select has no evaluation daily loss limit.
Payout eligibility depends on the path
Topstep’s regular paths pay the trader 90% on qualifying payouts. Its pages advertise requests in as little as 3 days, but the Standard payout path requires 5 winning days of at least $150. Confirm which conditions apply to your payout path rather than assuming the shorter timing applies. After the first Express Funded payout, the loss floor becomes $0, so the remaining balance determines your loss cushion.
Tradeify pays traders 90% on Growth, Select, and Lightning simulated funded accounts from the first payout; Elite Live uses an 80/20 split. Growth requires 5 profitable trading days between requests, with size-specific minimum profits that the provided pages do not state. Lightning requires 5 trading days between requests. Select offers Daily or Flex policies, but detailed timing is not stated here, and the choice is permanent. The provided Topstep Labs facts do not state a profit split.
Check consistency and holding restrictions
Topstep’s regular Combine limits the best trading day to a percentage of total profits, but the pages provided do not state that percentage. Labs Static and Freedom list a 55% consistency target. Tradeify Growth has no evaluation consistency rule; Select uses 40% during evaluation only, removed once funded. A 50% Select add-on permits passing in 2 trading days. Lightning uses progressive payout consistency of 20%, then 25%, then 30%.
Tradeify permits news trading and personal bots, but prohibits high-frequency trading bots. All positions must close before the daily market close, ruling out overnight and weekend holding. It also prohibits opposing positions within or across accounts on the same instrument or product group. Each account must trade at least once per week to remain active.
Topstep’s pages read for this comparison do not state news, weekend-holding, or automated-trading permissions. Missing information is not permission; confirm before using those strategies. Express Funded traders must follow CME holiday schedules. We read the official pages in October 2026; confirm current rules before paying a fee.
Match the rules to your trading style
- Topstep if you prefer a regular evaluation floor that eventually locks at the starting balance; the provided Tradeify pages do not state a lock level.
- Topstep if you want a fixed loss floor through Labs Static and can accept its mandatory daily limit and 90-day lifespan.
- Tradeify if your profits concentrate in a single day: Growth has no evaluation consistency requirement and permits passing in 1 trading day.
- Tradeify if you want one-time Growth or Select fees without activation charges, while meeting the weekly activity requirement.
- Tradeify if you need explicit news-trading permission or personal non-HFT bot permission, and you can close positions daily.
Questions people ask
Is Topstep cheaper than Tradeify?
As listed in October 2026, Topstep Standard 50K starts at $49 per month, while Tradeify Growth 50K costs $145 one-time. Topstep Standard also charges $149 to activate each earned Express Funded Account, and monthly billing continues until passing or cancellation. A lower initial fee does not necessarily mean a lower total fee.
Can you pass Tradeify or Topstep in one day?
Tradeify Growth explicitly permits passing in 1 trading day and has no evaluation consistency rule. Select normally requires at least 3 trading days. Topstep’s regular Combine has no minimum time requirement, but its consistency rule still applies.
Does end-of-day drawdown protect open trades from a breach?
No. End-of-day describes when the trailing floor updates, not when it is enforced. Both firms monitor account value during trading, and touching the maximum loss floor can breach the account.
Can you hold trades overnight or over the weekend?
Tradeify prohibits overnight holding and requires positions to close before the market closes each day, so weekend holding is not allowed. The Topstep pages read for this comparison do not state weekend-holding permission. Confirm Topstep’s applicable rules before keeping positions open.