Topstep

3.7(14,989)

Mixed

What helps: a long track record. What to watch for: 8 confirmed rules worth reading (news trading restriction, account stacking, flipping / windfall, copy trading & ea (bot) rules, group trading / signal copying, vpn / multi-identity policy, inactivity rule, mandatory stop-loss / risk rules).

This score is about trust and reputation: how traders rate the firm, how long it has run futures accounts, and how many restrictive conduct rules sit in its terms. It is not a rating of how good or generous its accounts are, so a firm with excellent accounts can still land in the middle here.

See Topstep's accounts

Score breakdown

Reputation30 / 40

Trustpilot rating of 3.7 out of 5.

Rule safety0 / 40

Confirmed: news trading restriction, account stacking, flipping / windfall, copy trading & ea (bot) rules, group trading / signal copying, vpn / multi-identity policy, inactivity rule, mandatory stop-loss / risk rules.

Track record20 / 20

Trading futures since 2012, about 14 years.

Restrictive rules confirmed (8)

News trading restrictionLow
Applies on 24 of 24 researched accounts.
What this rule means
Account stackingHigh
Explicitly named "Account Stacking": repeatedly hitting the Maximum Loss Limit in one account, then switching to another to repeat high-risk attempts until a large win occurs, also referenced as "excessive purchases of Trading Combines or Resets." Separately bans intentionally depleting a live funded account to force its own failure.

What this rule means

Flipping / windfallHigh, judgement call

Topstep bans deliberately running a live funded account into the ground to force its own failure, and separately bans trading full maximum size straight into a scheduled news release. Both are judged on the pattern of the trading rather than a hard numeric limit, which is what puts them in this category.

What this rule means

Copy trading & EA (bot) rulesModerate

Bans "unfair technology": software, AI, ultra-high-speed systems, or mass data entry used to gain an unfair advantage on the platform.

What this rule means

Group trading / signal copyingModerate

Bans coordinated trading: performing trades in concert with others (including unconnected accounts or third parties) to pool risk, hedge aggregate positions, or run the same/opposite strategy simultaneously. Explicitly extends this to trading with friends and family: no coordinated group trading, even among people you know.

What this rule means

VPN / multi-identity policyModerate

VPNs, proxy services, TOR, and geo-location obfuscation are explicitly not permitted (an Error 403 while using one is the system catching it). Also bans trading on behalf of others (including sharing incentives via a business arrangement) and account-sharing, even among friends/family. Requires identity verification (IDV), can re-check at any time, and closes any new profile created after a ban with no refund.

What this rule means

Inactivity ruleLow

The Express Funded Account closes after 30 days without a trade; the Live Funded Account closes after 90 days without a trade.

What this rule means

Mandatory stop-loss / risk rulesHigh, judgement call

Bans purposefully trading your full Maximum Position Size directly into a scheduled major news event.

What this rule means