FTMO vs Topstep: One-Time Fee vs Monthly Subscription

Futures traders and forex traders shopping for a funded account keep landing on the same two names, and then trying to compare them head to head as if they were interchangeable. They aren’t. The choice between FTMO and Topstep is settled before you ever look at fees or splits, by one question: what do you trade? FTMO is built around forex, indices, and CFDs; Topstep is futures and nothing else. Get that right and the rest — a one-time refundable fee versus a monthly subscription, an 80%-rising split versus 90% from dollar one — is a secondary tradeoff about pace and cost. Both are evaluations, not brokerage accounts. You’re buying a shot at trading the firm’s capital, not opening a regulated account.

What everyone compares vs. what actually matters

The pitch is nearly identical on both sites: pass an evaluation, get funded, keep most of the profit. What actually separates FTMO and Topstep is narrower and more decisive than the marketing suggests.

First, the tradable market. FTMO covers forex, indices, commodities, and CFDs; Topstep is futures-only — index, energy, and rate contracts, no forex, stocks, or crypto. That single fact eliminates one of them for most traders before any other line item.

Second, how you pay. FTMO’s evaluation is a one-time fee that’s refunded once you’re funded. Topstep’s Trading Combine is a monthly subscription you keep paying until you pass. That’s the difference between a fixed cost and a running meter.

Third, whether there’s a clock. FTMO imposes no time limit on completing the challenge. Topstep’s monthly billing is a soft clock — every month you don’t pass is another charge.

Cost: one refundable payment vs. a running monthly meter

FTMO charges a single upfront evaluation fee scaled to account size — as of early 2026, roughly €79-€89 for a $10K account up to about €999-€1,080 for a $200K account, depending on the one-step or two-step path. The detail that defines the model: that fee is reimbursed with your first payout once you pass. Succeed and the evaluation was effectively free; fail and it was the cost of the attempt. There’s no recurring bill and no time pressure.

Topstep’s Trading Combine is a monthly subscription — roughly $49/month for a $50K account, $99 for $100K, and $149 for $150K — plus a one-time $149 activation fee when you pass and get funded. The entry point is low and you can cancel anytime, but you pay every month until you clear the Combine, which builds in exactly the time pressure FTMO’s model avoids.

So the honest answer to “which is cheaper” is: Topstep is cheaper to start and cheaper if you pass fast, while FTMO is effectively free if you pass at all because the fee comes back. A trader who grinds for months pays Topstep repeatedly; a trader who never passes loses FTMO’s fee once. FTMO scores 4.5 on fees and value, Topstep 4.4 — close, reflecting the same “only cheap if it goes your way” reality from two different directions. Edge: FTMO for anyone who values a refundable, no-clock structure; Topstep for the lowest entry cost and a fast passer.

Rules and payouts: an 80%-rising split vs. 90% from dollar one

FTMO’s standard path asks for a 10% profit target in the Challenge and 5% in Verification, at least four trading days in each, while staying inside a 5% daily loss and 10% overall loss limit — with no time limit. Pass both phases and you trade at an 80% split by default, rising to 90% through the Scaling Plan, with account size scaling up to $2,000,000. Payouts can be requested after a minimum of 14 days from your first trade.

Topstep’s Combine sets profit targets of about $3,000 ($50K), $6,000 ($100K), and $9,000 ($150K) inside daily-loss, maximum-loss, and consistency rules. Clear it and you move to a funded account paying 90/10 from the first dollar for new sign-ups, with early-payout caps that loosen as you build a track record.

The split comparison cuts both ways. Topstep starts higher — 90% from dollar one versus FTMO’s 80% — so a trader who cashes out steadily early keeps more at Topstep. But FTMO’s documented scaling path to a 90% split and a $2M account rewards the trader who compounds and grows. FTMO scores 4.6 on platform and 4.5 on tradable markets against Topstep’s 4.5 and 4.0, the assets gap reflecting Topstep’s deliberate futures-only scope. Edge: Topstep for the better early split; FTMO for the larger scaling ceiling and broader markets.

Trust and track record: two category benchmarks

Neither firm is a regulated broker — true of every name in this category, and worth repeating: you’re buying an evaluation, the capital at risk during the eval phase is simulated, and the real question is whether the firm keeps paying reliably. On that measure both are the benchmarks for their niches. FTMO, operating since 2015, publishes its rules in detail and has the longest, most-trusted track record in forex-oriented funding; it scores 4.8 on regulation and trust, the highest in our Prop Firms category. Topstep, operating since 2012, has paid out over $1 billion to traders and is the established name in futures funding; it scores 4.7. Both profit from the many who don’t pass — that’s the model — but both are transparent about the rules going in. Edge: even; each leads its own market.

Education, support, and the day-to-day

FTMO offers responsive multi-language support, a polished dashboard with detailed analytics, and educational tools that genuinely help traders prepare — among the most refined onboarding in the category, scoring 4.5 on support and experience. Topstep’s edge here is coaching: structured education, performance tracking, and an active community built to help traders actually pass rather than just sell evaluations, scoring 4.6. If you’re newer and want hands-on help clearing the evaluation, Topstep has a slight edge; if you want polish and breadth, FTMO delivers. Edge: Topstep, narrowly, on structured coaching.

Who should pick which

Choose FTMO if you trade forex, indices, or CFDs, want a one-time fee that’s refunded when you pass, value having no time limit hanging over the attempt, and like a documented scaling path to a 90% split and a $2M account.

Choose Topstep if you trade futures, want the lowest entry cost and a 90/10 split from the first dollar, and want genuine coaching to help you pass — provided a monthly fee and its built-in time pressure don’t bother you.

Avoid both if you want to trade your own capital in a regulated brokerage account — this isn’t that — or if you can’t respect hard daily and overall loss limits, or if you’re not prepared to treat the fee as the price of an attempt rather than a guaranteed win. Most people who attempt evaluations don’t pass, and both firms profit from that. For the full field and how we score it, see our prop firms hub and the methodology on how we rate.

Bottom line

FTMO and Topstep are the two most trusted names in funded trading, and they barely compete — FTMO owns forex-oriented funding with a one-time refundable fee and no clock, Topstep owns futures funding with a low monthly entry and a 90/10 split from dollar one. Your market picks one for you; your pace and how you value coaching settle the rest. Both are evaluation products, not brokerage accounts, and the fee buys an attempt, not a payout. Decide what you trade first, then whether a refundable one-time fee or a cancel-anytime monthly plan fits how fast you expect to pass — that’s the whole decision.