Topstep Combine Rules 2026 — What Changed in January
The Topstep Combine passes in a minimum of two trading days, because the consistency rule caps your best day at 50% of the profit target. The larger 2026 change is financial: the "keep 100% of your first $10,000" arrangement now applies only to accounts opened before 12 January 2026.
If you signed up this year expecting that deal, you do not have it.
By the end of this you will know the current Combine rules, what the January change costs you in real money, and the payout cap most traders do not discover until they try to withdraw.
Figures verified against Topstep's own help centre on 12 August 2026.
The change most comparison sites have not updated
Topstep's 100%-of-first-$10,000 profit split applies only to traders who joined the new Topstep dashboard before 12 January 2026. Everyone after that is on a standard 90/10 split from the first dollar.
On your first $10,000 of profit that is the difference between $10,000 and $9,000. Not ruinous — but it is still being advertised as a live benefit across a large part of the comparison web, and you should not choose a firm based on a promotion that has already closed.
Topstep remains an excellent firm and the most-searched name in futures prop trading. Buy it for the rule set, which is genuinely good, not for that headline.
The second detail worth knowing before you plan around it: Express Funded payouts are capped at 50% of your account balance per request. Live Funded Account payouts are not capped.
Topstep Combine rules: the consistency rule that never fails you
Topstep's consistency rule confuses more traders than any other, and the confusion is always the same. Breaking it does not fail your account. It raises the amount you need to earn.
Your best day must be no more than 50% of the profit target — $1,500 on a 50K account. The rule is inclusive, so a day landing exactly on $1,500 passes.
Note that it measures against the *target*, not against your total profit. Several firms — Lucid, TPT, TradeDay — measure against total profit instead, which behaves differently once you overshoot. Topstep's version is the more forgiving of the two.
Two Combines, one decision
| No daily loss limit (default) | With daily loss limit (discounted) | |
|---|---|---|
| 50K daily limit | None | $1,000 |
| 100K daily limit | None | $2,000 |
| 150K daily limit | None | $3,000 |
| Price | Standard | Discounted |
| Funded payout caps | Standard | Currently doubled |
Both share identical targets and drawdowns: 50K needs $3,000 with $2,000 of room, 100K needs $6,000 with $3,000, 150K needs $9,000 with $4,500.
Hitting the daily loss limit on the discounted version is a soft breach — you are flattened and locked out until the next session, but the account survives. For most traders that is a feature, not a cost, and it comes with a cheaper fee and doubled payout caps. The default no-limit version is the right buy only if your strategy genuinely needs to recover within a session.
Worked example — 50K Combine
Target $3,000, drawdown $2,000, best day capped at $1,500.
The fastest legal pass is $1,500 + $1,500. Because the rule is inclusive, two equal days at exactly the cap is the official fastest route. You cannot do it in one day at any account size.
If you post a $2,400 day, you have not failed. Your target rises to twice that day — $4,800 — and you keep trading. Understanding that is the difference between quitting and passing.
Want the fastest legal way to pass Topstep?
The calculator applies these exact rules — your minimum number of days, what you need to make each day, the contracts to use, and the odds you actually make it. Free, no signup.
Check my fastest path →Who this suits
- Traders who want the most established name in futures prop trading
- Anyone who prefers a consistency rule measured against the target rather than total profit
- Traders who want the choice of an enforced daily stop at a lower price
Who should look elsewhere
- Anyone who needs a one-day pass — Topstep structurally cannot do it
- Traders who joined expecting the 100%-of-first-$10,000 split
- Anyone planning large single withdrawals from an Express Funded account, given the 50% cap
Frequently asked
Does Topstep still pay 100% of your first $10,000?
Only for traders who joined the new Topstep dashboard before 12 January 2026. Accounts opened after that date are on a standard 90/10 split from the first dollar. Many comparison sites still show the old terms.
Does breaking Topstep's consistency rule fail your account?
No. It raises your profit target instead. Your best day must stay at or below 50% of the target; exceed it and the target rises to twice that day's profit. The account is not failed and you keep trading.
How fast can you pass the Topstep Combine?
Two trading days. The consistency rule caps your best day at 50% of the profit target, and because the rule is inclusive, two equal days at exactly the cap is the fastest legal pass. One day is not possible at any account size.
Verified against Topstep's own help centre on 12 August 2026. Firms change rules without notice — confirm in your own dashboard. Plan your pass in the free calculator or read the full Combine rules.
Get funded faster
Pick your firm, challenge and account size. The calculator shows the fewest days to pass, what you need each day, and where the drawdown sits. Every rule read from the firm's own documentation and re-checked weekly.
Open the calculator →All Topstep rules →Running more than one account?
Track every prop firm account in one dashboard — what you have spent, what you have been paid, your strike rate and your real cost per funded account. Free, and your data stays in your own browser.
Open the tracking dashboard →