TopStep Simulation

TestMax models its prop firm simulation on the TopStep evaluation structure — the most popular prop firm for futures traders. This page covers how TestMax emulates TopStep’s rules, what is identical to the real evaluation, and where we simplify for practical backtesting.

Independent platform

TestMax is an independent practice platform, not affiliated with, endorsed by, or sponsored by Topstep. Topstep, Trading Combine, and TopstepX are trademarks of their owner, used only to describe the rules being simulated. Rules described here reflect Topstep’s published structure at the time of writing — always verify current rules on Topstep’s own site before purchasing an evaluation.

TopStep account sizes

TopStep offers several account sizes, each with different drawdown limits and profit targets. TestMax supports all of them as presets, or you can configure custom values.

$50K Account

Parameter	Value
Starting balance	$50,000
Max trailing drawdown	$2,000
Daily loss limit	$1,000
Phase 1 profit target	$3,000
Phase 2 profit target	$2,000
Minimum trading days	5

$100K Account

Parameter	Value
Starting balance	$100,000
Max trailing drawdown	$3,000
Daily loss limit	$2,000
Phase 1 profit target	$6,000
Phase 2 profit target	$4,000
Minimum trading days	5

$150K Account

Parameter	Value
Starting balance	$150,000
Max trailing drawdown	$4,500
Daily loss limit	$3,000
Phase 1 profit target	$9,000
Phase 2 profit target	$6,000
Minimum trading days	5

Note

TopStep updates their account parameters periodically. The values above reflect common configurations but may differ from current offerings. You can adjust all values in TestMax to match whatever TopStep is currently offering.

What TestMax replicates exactly

These aspects of the simulation match how TopStep calculates them in a real evaluation:

Trailing drawdown calculation

The trailing drawdown is the most commonly misunderstood rule and the number one reason traders fail. TestMax calculates it the same way TopStep does:

• Your maximum drawdown starts at a fixed amount below your starting balance (e.g., $2,000 below $50,000 = $48,000 floor)
• The floor trails your end-of-day closing balance high-water mark: at each trading-day rollover, if the previous day closed at a new balance high, the floor moves up to (new high − max drawdown). It does not move intraday — winning trades during the session do not ratchet the floor up until the day rolls over (this is the “EOD with lock” variant)
• The floor never moves down — it only goes up or stays flat
• Once the end-of-day high-water mark reaches (starting balance + max drawdown), the floor locks at your starting balance and stops trailing

Example: You start at $50,000 with a $2,000 trailing drawdown. Your floor is $48,000. The floor is re-evaluated only at each end of day:

Day	End-of-day balance	Drawdown floor after rollover	Notes
Start	$50,000	$48,000	Floor = balance - $2,000
Day 1 EOD	$51,200	$49,200	New high — floor trails up to $51,200 - $2,000
Day 2 EOD	$50,800	$49,200	No new high — floor stays (doesn’t go down)
Day 3 EOD	$52,500	$50,000	High-water reached $52,000+ — floor locks at starting balance
Day 4 EOD	$54,000	$50,000	Locked — floor stays at $50,000 forever

If your equity ever touches or drops below the current floor — including intraday, on unrealized losses — you fail the evaluation. Trading days roll over at 22:00 UTC (~5:00 PM CT, the Globex open).

Daily loss limit

Each trading day has a separate loss cap. TestMax tracks your daily P&L from the start of each session and flags a violation if you exceed the limit. This is calculated on realized and unrealized P&L combined — an open losing position counts against your daily limit.

Profit targets

Each phase has a net profit target you must reach. TestMax measures profit from your balance at the start of the current phase (Phase 2’s target is measured from the balance you carried into it, not from the account size) and advances you when the target is met (provided you have also met the minimum trading days requirement).

Minimum trading days

You must trade on at least the required number of distinct trading days before you can pass a phase. A “trading day” counts if at least one order filled on that simulation date (days roll over at 22:00 UTC). The requirement applies per phase — the counter resets when you advance to Phase 2.

Consistency (soft gate)

TestMax replicates TopStep’s current consistency rule: your single best day must stay at or below 50% of the profit target. Exceeding it never fails the account — your effective profit target rises to best day ÷ 0.50 and you keep trading until you reach it. See Rules & Limits for a worked example.

Contract limits and scaling plan

Each preset enforces a maximum position size, and TestMax models TopStep’s progressive scaling plan: the contract cap grows as your account profit crosses each scaling step. The cap is re-evaluated on every order and fill against your current profit (balance above the starting balance), so it steps up when you pass a threshold — and steps back down if your balance later falls below one.

Preset	Starting cap	Scales up with profit
$50K	5 contracts	7 at +$1,500 · 10 at +$2,500
$100K	10 contracts	14 at +$3,000 · 20 at +$5,000
$150K	15 contracts	21 at +$4,500 · 30 at +$7,000

An order that would push your open position above the current cap is rejected — the challenge continues; exceeding the cap is not a violation. The scaling steps are editable in the simulation configuration (or scaling can be disabled for a fixed cap), so you can match whatever plan TopStep is currently offering.

Funded payouts

Once you pass into the Funded phase, you can request simulated payouts from the web app while the challenge is funded and active; the same endpoint is also exposed through the TopStepX-compatible REST API. Payouts follow TopStep’s real policy:

Requirement	Value
Winning days since last payout	5 days of $150+ net P&L each (non-consecutive)
Net profit since last payout	Must be positive
Minimum payout	$125
Maximum per request	50% of funded profits, up to $2,000 / $3,000 / $5,000 ($50K / $100K / $150K)
Consistency path (optional)	Best day ≤ 40% of window profit to be eligible

When a payout completes:

• The amount is deducted from your account balance immediately
• The Maximum Loss Limit locks at your starting balance permanently (TopStep’s post-payout MLL lock)
• The winning-day count and consistency window reset — the new window starts on the next trading day

Only profit earned after entering the Funded phase is withdrawable; evaluation-phase profit does not count toward payouts.

Note

Two simulator notes: trading days roll over at a fixed 22:00 UTC (~5:00 PM CT Globex open — the offset does not track US daylight-saving changes), and your evaluation balance carries into the Funded phase (payout math is baselined at the funded-transition balance, so the effect on payouts is neutral).

What TestMax simplifies

While TestMax aims for accuracy, there are some practical differences from a live TopStep evaluation:

Historical data vs live markets

TestMax replays historical data, which means you know the market date in advance. This is inherent to any backtesting/replay system. To get the most realistic practice, avoid looking ahead at dates you already remember.

Commission and fees

TestMax does not currently deduct per-trade commissions or exchange fees from your account balance. In a real TopStep evaluation, commissions (typically $3-5 per round turn for NQ) reduce your net P&L. Keep this in mind when evaluating your results — if your simulation P&L is barely above the profit target, commissions could put you under in a real evaluation.

Tip

As a rule of thumb, budget $5 per round-turn trade for commissions. If you take 10 trades per day over 10 trading days, that is $500 in commissions — a meaningful amount on a $3,000 profit target.

Account reset

In a real TopStep evaluation, you can sometimes pay to reset a failed attempt. In TestMax, you can simply start a new simulation for free — one of the key advantages of practicing in simulation.

Configuring your simulation

To start a TopStep-style simulation:

1. Navigate to Prop Firm Practice from the sidebar
2. Select a preset account size or choose Custom to set your own parameters
3. Choose your drawdown type — for TopStep, this is typically “Trailing EOD with Lock”
4. Verify the profit targets, daily loss limit, and minimum trading days match your target evaluation
5. Click Start Evaluation to begin Phase 1

You can have one active simulation at a time. Starting a new simulation will archive your current one.

Matching other firms

While the presets are modeled on TopStep, you can configure TestMax to match other prop firms by adjusting the parameters:

Firm	Typical drawdown type	Key difference from TopStep
Apex Trader Funding	Trailing EOD	Often larger drawdown, one-phase evaluation
Earn2Trade	Trailing EOD	Similar structure, different dollar amounts
Bulenox	Static	Fixed drawdown, does not trail
FTMO (Forex focus)	Static	Percentage-based, different instrument focus

Set the drawdown type and amounts in your simulation configuration to match whichever firm you are targeting.

Next steps

Evaluation Phases Detailed walkthrough of each evaluation phase

Rules & Limits Complete reference for all rule types and calculations

Tips for Passing Practical strategies for passing your evaluation