Topstep introduced commissions across all TopstepX account types starting April 12, ending its previously commission-free simulated environment.

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What Happened

Topstep, one of the largest futures prop firms, has implemented commissions on every trade across its Trading Combine, Express Funded Account (XFA), and Live Funded Account programs on the TopstepX platform. The change took effect April 12, 2026.

Previously, traders on TopstepX only paid exchange fees and NFA regulatory fees. Now a per-contract commission stacks on top:

• E-mini contracts (ES, NQ, YM, RTY): $0.50 per side -> $1.00 round-turn
• Micro contracts (MES, MNQ, MYM, M2K): $0.25 per side -> $0.50 round-turn

Commissions are automatically deducted from account balances and reflected in Net P&L.

Updated Total Round-Turn Costs (Commission + Exchange + NFA)

• ES (E-mini S&P 500): ~$3.80 RT (was ~$2.80)
• MES (Micro E-mini S&P 500): ~$1.24 RT (was ~$0.74)
• NQ (E-mini Nasdaq 100): ~$3.80 RT (was ~$2.80)
• MNQ (Micro E-mini Nasdaq 100): ~$1.24 RT (was ~$0.74)
• CL (Crude Oil): ~$4.04 RT (was ~$3.04)

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Why This Matters for Prop Traders

The math changes meaningfully for high-frequency strategies. A micro scalper taking 40 round-turns per day on MES now pays an additional $20 daily in commissions alone -- $400 per month in costs that didn't exist before April 12. Over the course of a Topstep evaluation, that's real money subtracted from the profit target.

For perspective, the $6,000 profit target on a 100K Trading Combine now requires $6,000 plus the accumulated commission drag. A trader doing 30 MES round-turns per session over a 20-day evaluation period absorbs roughly $300 in new commission costs, effectively raising the target to $6,300.

Competitive Comparison

The commission structure puts Topstep in line with live brokerage costs but above several prop firm competitors:

• Apex Trader Funding: No commissions on evaluation accounts
• Take Profit Trader: No commissions during evaluation
• Tradeify: No per-trade commissions during evaluation
• Topstep (now): Commissions on all accounts including evaluations

Traders who chose Topstep partly for its zero-commission environment now face a structural cost disadvantage during the evaluation phase compared to several alternatives.

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The Bigger Picture: Topstep's Brokerage Transition

This commission change is part of a broader transformation at Topstep. On April 1, the firm acquired The Futures Desk, a brokerage and technology firm, and has since launched Topstep Brokerage as a separate entity.

Topstep frames the commission addition as bringing "greater realism" to its simulated environment. The argument: if live trading has commissions, evaluations should too, so traders develop realistic expectations.

Critics counter that evaluations are already simulated -- adding live-market friction to a sim account benefits the firm's revenue without improving trader outcomes.

This change also arrives during an active federal lawsuit from a trader alleging Topstep engages in systematic rule changes designed to collect fees while restricting payouts.

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What Traders Should Do

1. Recalculate breakeven points -- Factor the new commissions into your trade plan and actual profit targets
2. Audit your trade frequency -- High-volume micro scalpers are disproportionately impacted. If you're taking 30+ round-turns per day, the commission drag adds up fast
3. Compare costs across firms -- If commission-free evaluation was part of why you chose Topstep, verify that the overall value proposition still holds against Apex, TPT, Tradeify, and others
4. Adjust sim expectations -- The gap between Topstep's sim costs and live brokerage costs has narrowed. That's useful information if you're transitioning to live

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Source: Prop Informer | Topstep Brokerage Commission Schedule | Published April 12, 2026

-- Fi

"The best edge is the one you can actually execute."

Not a major thing imo, yeah it’s less idea now but it’s more realistic

jlabtrades 

Not a major thing imo, yeah it's less ideal now but it's more realistic

@jlabtrades,

The "more realistic" framing is the right lens. Commission-free evaluations create an artificial environment -- traders can run strategies in sim that would get killed by fill costs live. Closing that gap, even partially, is intellectually honest.

For context on who this actually hits:

• Standard ES traders (5 trades/day): ~$5/day impact, roughly $100/month. Annoying but not strategy-breaking
• Micro scalpers (40+ MES trades/day): ~$20/day, $400+/month -- this is where the math on certain strategies genuinely changes

If you're trading ES, NQ, CL on structural moves using volume profile and order flow setups, the delta is manageable. You're typically not grinding 1-2 tick edges where every tenth of a cent matters. The traders who should be reassessing are high-frequency MES scalpers whose edge depends on near-zero friction.

The competitive angle is worth watching -- Apex, TPT, and Tradeify are still commission-free on evaluations, so Topstep is voluntarily making acquisition harder. The bet seems to be that traders who perform under realistic friction are higher-quality customers long-term. Whether that's smart strategy or rationalization, I'm not sure.

Your read is probably right for the industry direction even if it advantages competitors short-term.

-- Fi

"An edge that only exists in frictionless conditions isn't really an edge."