They sell different markets. FTMO is the pick for forex, gold and index CFDs, with a one-time fee and a static 10% max loss on its 2-Step. Topstep trades CME futures only and bills monthly. If you trade futures, compare Topstep with FTMO Futures: Topstep costs $49 a month against $119 and publishes its pass rate. I read both firms' pages on 8 October 2026 and didn't buy from either.
FTMO vs Topstep at a glance
FTMO gets two columns because it sells two different things. All numbers are for a 50K account.
| FTMO 2-Step $50K | FTMO Futures Growth 50K | Topstep 50K Combine | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Market | Forex, indices, commodities, stocks and crypto as CFDs | CME futures | CME futures |
| Billing | €345 once | $119 a month | $49 a month |
| Activation fee | None | None | $149, or $0 on the $95-a-month plan |
| Steps | Two | One | One |
| Profit target | 10%, then 5% | $3,000 | $3,000 |
| Max loss | 10%, static | $2,000, end-of-day trailing | $2,000, end-of-day trailing |
| Daily loss limit | 5% | None in the evaluation | Optional, $1,000 |
| Minimum days | 4 per phase | Not found | 2 in practice |
| Consistency rule | None | Best day at most 40% of profit, evaluation only | Best day at or below 55% of profit in the Combine |
| Profit split | 80%, 90% after scaling | 90% | 90% |
| First payout | Day 14 after your first funded trade | 4 qualifying days of $150+ | 5 winning days of $150+ |
| Platforms | MT4, MT5, cTrader, TradingView | NinjaTrader, Tradovate, TradingView | TopstepX, Quantower |
| Funded at once | $400K in total | 3 accounts | 5 accounts |
| Fee refund | May be refunded with your first reward | Not found | Up to one month, within 14 days, on your first Combine |
| Pass rate published | No | No | Yes |
FTMO's CFD rules are from its trading objectives, and its futures rules from the futures comparison table and futures rules. Topstep's are from its Combine parameters and pricing articles.
FTMO also sells a 1-Step CFD challenge, which is the closest CFD match to a one-step futures plan. A $50K 1-Step costs €319. It has one phase with a 10% target, a 3% daily loss limit and a 10% max loss that trails the end-of-day balance. Your best day can be at most 50% of the total of your profitable days, in the challenge and for every reward. It pays 90% from the first reward, and its fee is never refunded.
Why Topstep bills monthly and FTMO doesn't
FTMO's CFD challenge is a product you buy once. You pay €345 for a $50K 2-Step and there is no time limit. FTMO says the fee "may be refunded with the first Reward withdrawal" (fee refund), and its terms let it offer FTMO Points as the form of that refund. If you fail, you buy another one.
Topstep's core Combine is a subscription. It rebills every 30 days until you pass or cancel (subscriptions). If you break a rule you don't buy a new account. You pay for a reset, which costs the monthly price again and pushes the rebill date out 30 days. When you pass, the Standard plan charges a one-time $149 activation.
So Topstep is cheap if you pass fast and gets dearer every month you don't. FTMO costs more up front and nothing while you take your time.
Topstep has also sold one-time Combines in limited drops it calls Topstep Labs. The October 2026 drop was a $50K Static Combine for $149 with a static $2,000 loss limit and a 90-day life (Topstep Labs). Its Labs page lists that drop under past drops, and I couldn't confirm any is on sale today.
FTMO's own futures product works like Topstep's. FTMO Futures is "based on a recurring monthly subscription, not a one-time fee" (futures billing).
FTMO Futures vs Topstep
This is the like-for-like comparison. Both are one-step futures evaluations with an end-of-day trailing drawdown that locks at the starting balance, a 90% split, and a daily flatten at the same moment: 4:10 p.m. ET at FTMO is 3:10 p.m. CT at Topstep.
| FTMO Futures Growth 50K | FTMO Futures Pro 50K | Topstep 50K Standard | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Monthly price | $119 | $139 | $49 |
| Reset | $109 | $129 | $49 |
| Activation | None | None | $149 |
| Max drawdown | $2,000 | $3,000 | $2,000 |
| Daily loss, evaluation | None | $1,000, ends the account | Optional $1,000, pauses the day |
| Daily loss, funded | $1,000, pauses the day | $1,000, ends the account | Optional $1,000, pauses the day |
| Consistency, evaluation | Best day at most 40% | Best day at most 50% | Best day at or below 55% |
| Contracts | 5 in the evaluation, 2 to start once funded | 5 in the evaluation, 2 to start once funded | 5 in the Combine, then a scaling plan |
| Days per payout | 4 of $150+ | 5 of $200+ | 5 of $150+ |
| Cap per request | $2,500, and at most 50% of profit | $5,000, up to 100% of profit | $2,000, and at most 50% of balance |
| Funded accounts | 3 | 3 | 5 |
| News trading | Allowed in every phase | Allowed in every phase | Allowed. No new opening trades in equity-index or metals minis for 5 minutes either side of CPI |
| Live account | By invitation | By invitation | Risk Team call-up. 0.71% of Express traders in 2025 |
What stands out:
- Topstep is less than half the monthly price, and its activation fee only arrives if you pass. A reset at FTMO doesn't move your billing date, so a slow month costs the subscription and the resets.
- Against Topstep's Standard path, FTMO Futures Growth pays a day sooner and caps higher. Growth needs four qualifying days against five and caps a 50K request at $2,500 against $2,000. Topstep's optional Consistency path asks for three trading days under a 40% best-day rule and caps at $3,000. At least half of each FTMO request must be profit from the current cycle.
- Topstep's consistency rule is looser. 55% against 40% on Growth. Neither firm applies it to the funded account, though Topstep has an optional payout path with a 40% rule.
- FTMO Futures Pro is the stricter account. Its daily loss limit ends the account in both stages. Growth has no daily limit in the evaluation, and its funded limit only pauses the day, like Topstep's optional one.
- Platforms differ. FTMO Futures runs on NinjaTrader, Tradovate and TradingView. Topstep runs on its own TopstepX and on Quantower, and you can't connect a TradingView account to it.
Topstep doubles its payout caps if you added a daily loss limit when you bought the Combine: $4,000 on the Standard path and $6,000 on the Consistency path for a 50K. Its payout policy has labelled that "Limited Time" since 2 June 2026.
What a 50K account costs
Two failed attempts, a pass on the third, at list prices on 8 October 2026. The sums are mine, and the futures rows assume all three attempts fall inside the first billing month.
| Plan | First attempt | Two more attempts | Activation | Total to funded | Refunded later |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| FTMO 2-Step $50K | €345 | €690 | €0 | €1,035 | €345 may come back with the first reward |
| FTMO 1-Step $50K | €319 | €638 | €0 | €957 | No |
| FTMO Futures Growth 50K | $119 | $218, two resets | $0 | $337 | Not found |
| FTMO Futures Pro 50K | $139 | $258, two resets | $0 | $397 | Not found |
| Topstep 50K Standard | $49 | $98, two resets | $149 | $296 | No |
| Topstep 50K, no activation fee | $95 | $190, two resets | $0 | $285 | No |
I found no reset discount on FTMO's CFD pages, so each new attempt is priced at list. On those challenges, paying by PayPal, Skrill or crypto adds 3%. Cards are free.
Pass on the first attempt and the order changes. Topstep's no-activation plan costs $95, FTMO Futures Growth $119, Topstep Standard $198, the FTMO 1-Step €319 and the FTMO 2-Step €345, which FTMO says may be refunded. I didn't convert euros to dollars.
You can change the number of failed attempts in the prop firm calculator.
Drawdown rules
FTMO 2-Step. The max loss is 10% of the starting balance and never moves. On a $50K account the floor is $45,000 for the life of the account, which is my arithmetic. The 5% daily limit is measured on equity, open trades included, against your balance at midnight Prague time. Under terms dated 4 August 2026, FTMO also takes a 0.7% adjustment from the realised profit or loss of a position whose profit currency differs from the account's, when the position closes.
FTMO 1-Step. The 10% max loss trails your highest midnight balance, and the daily limit is 3%. FTMO's page states no level at which that floor locks.
FTMO Futures and Topstep. Both trail the end-of-day balance by a fixed dollar amount and lock for good once the floor reaches the starting balance. Both enforce the floor in real time on equity. Topstep says it "makes no exceptions" (Maximum Loss Limit).
Topstep's funded Express account works from zero. The balance starts at $0 with the floor at -$2,000, and the floor locks at $0 once the balance reaches $2,000. After your first payout Topstep sets the floor to $0 wherever it was, so what you leave in the account is all the room you have.
A static floor is the easier rule to live with. A winning week moves you away from it. On a trailing account, the same week pulls the floor up behind you until it locks.
Payouts
| FTMO CFD | FTMO Futures | Topstep | |
|---|---|---|---|
| First payout | Day 14 after your first funded trade | After 4 or 5 qualifying days | After 5 winning days, or 3 on the Consistency path |
| Stated processing | Review 1–2 business days, payment 1–2 more | Not found | Approval 1–3 business days, then the method |
| Methods | Bank wire, Visa Direct, Mastercard Send, Skrill, crypto | Wise, Revolut bank wire, Visa Direct, Mastercard Send | Aeropay, ACH and Prop-to-Brokerage in the US. Wise for Canada, the UK and China. Wire elsewhere |
| Minimum | $20 by wire, $50 by crypto | $20 | $125 |
| Fees | No FTMO commission | Not found | $30 for ACH or wire. None for Aeropay or Wise |
FTMO's CFD figures are from its withdrawal FAQ, its futures methods from the futures payout FAQ, and Topstep's from its payout policy. "Not found" means I didn't find it on the pages I read. Not every FTMO Futures method is offered to US traders.
Topstep's fastest route is Aeropay, which is instant after approval at US banks that support real-time payments. FTMO's 2-Step keeps 20% of profit until you meet its Scaling Plan: four months funded, 10% net profit in that window and two paid rewards. Then it pays 90% and grows the balance by 25% every four months.
Take $2,000 of profit on a funded 50K account with the qualifying days met. FTMO Futures Growth lets you request half of it and pays 90%, so $900. FTMO Futures Pro lets you request all of it, so $1,800. Topstep's Standard path lets you request half the balance, so $900 again. That arithmetic is mine, from each firm's published share and cap.
Topstep pays no one in crypto. FTMO does, on its CFD accounts. None of these times is measured. They are what each firm publishes.
United States and Canada
US traders can't buy FTMO's CFD challenge on ftmo.com. They go through FTMO US at ftmo.oanda.com, where a $50K 2-Step costs $399 and the only payout method is a Revolut bank wire. FTMO US doesn't serve Arkansas, Delaware, Louisiana, Montana or South Carolina. FTMO Futures is sold to US residents on ftmo.com, with the same five states excluded. Topstep has the most US payout options of the three: Aeropay, ACH and Prop-to-Brokerage.
Canadian traders can use both. Canada isn't on FTMO's CFD or futures restricted lists, and a CAD account caps total allocation at CAD 480,000. Topstep takes Canadians through a US-based sub-account and pays them through Wise in 1–3 business days with no Topstep fee.
What each firm tells you about your odds
Topstep prints its results in its site footer. In 2025, 16.8% of Combines were passed, 51.8% of the people who tried got funded at least once, 33.3% of funded traders received a payout, and 0.71% of Express traders were moved to a live account (disclosures).
FTMO publishes no pass rate. It gives a lifetime total, "$650 million in rewards" by its own count, and 4.5M+ customers. You can't turn those into odds. Figures such as "8 to 10%" for FTMO appear on other sites without an FTMO source.
Both firms call the funded account simulated. FTMO provides "demo accounts with fictitious funds" (disclosure). I put the pass and payout rates I found in prop firm pass rates.
Which to pick
Pick FTMO's 2-Step if you trade forex, gold or index CFDs. Topstep doesn't offer them. You get a static floor, no time limit, and a fee that FTMO says may be refunded with your first reward. Take the Swing account if you hold over the weekend or through news.
Pick Topstep if you trade futures and want the lowest monthly price, an instant transfer after approval at US banks that support real-time payments, and a firm that publishes how many of its traders pass and get paid.
Pick FTMO Futures if you trade futures on NinjaTrader, Tradovate or TradingView, want to trade news freely, or want a payout after four days. You pay more than twice Topstep's monthly price for it.
In my comparison of four prop firms I rated FTMO 4.5 out of 5 and Topstep 4.4, on a published rubric that weights payout reality, rule fairness, cost and disclosure. They lead different markets, so the scores don't settle this choice. Your market does. For Topstep against the other big futures firm, see Apex vs Topstep.
See FTMO's current prices → · See Topstep's current prices →
Disclosure: both links go through il.ly/go/ redirects to each firm's own site. Neither carries a referral code today. If I join an affiliate program, the link will, and I may earn a commission.
FTMO vs Topstep FAQ
Is FTMO or Topstep cheaper?
Topstep is cheaper to start, at $49 a month against €345 for an FTMO $50K 2-Step. FTMO says that fee may be refunded with your first reward, and it never bills again. In my fee sums with two failed attempts, Topstep totals $296 and FTMO €1,035, of which €345 may come back.
Can US traders use FTMO?
Yes, through FTMO US at ftmo.oanda.com for CFDs. A $50K 2-Step costs $399 there against €345 on the global site, and Revolut bank wire is the only payout method. FTMO Futures is sold on ftmo.com. Five states are excluded from both.
Does FTMO offer futures?
Yes. FTMO Futures is a one-step evaluation on CME futures, billed monthly from $119 for a 50K Growth account, on NinjaTrader, Tradovate and TradingView.
Does Topstep offer forex?
No. Topstep's help center says "No Forex". It trades CME futures only, including FX futures.
Which pays out faster, FTMO or Topstep?
On futures, FTMO Futures Growth lets you request after four qualifying days and Topstep after five winning days, or three trading days on its Consistency path. An FTMO CFD account waits until day 14. Topstep states 1–3 business days of approval and FTMO 1–2 business days of review plus 1–2 for payment on CFD accounts. None of these is a measured time.
Why does Topstep charge a monthly fee?
Its evaluation is a subscription that runs until you pass or cancel. FTMO's CFD challenge is a one-time purchase with no time limit. FTMO Futures is monthly too.
Can I move from a funded account to a live one?
At Topstep, a Risk Team review decides, and 0.71% of Express traders were called up in 2025. FTMO Futures offers its Live Funded account by invitation only. FTMO describes its CFD accounts as demo accounts with fictitious funds.
How many funded accounts can I hold at FTMO and Topstep?
FTMO caps CFD accounts at $400,000 in total per trader before scaling, and FTMO Futures at three Sim-Funded accounts. Topstep allows up to five active Express Funded Accounts.
Does FTMO have a free trial?
Yes, on its CFD challenges. FTMO offers a 14-day free trial of each one, and you can repeat it.
