Apex vs Topstep: compare the account rules before you pay.
The account label is not your risk budget. Start with the loss limit and payout rules. If you use automation, check permission and platform support before buying an evaluation.
Reviewed October 2, 2026. New Apex products and legacy accounts have different rules. Your account agreement controls.
Apex is not a destination for unattended YMI bots.
Apex's current User Agreement prohibits scripts or bots that place, change, or cancel orders without the trader's personal review and approval at the time. Its prohibited activities policy also excludes automated trading. Manually configured protective orders and permitted copying of manually entered trades are different from a strategy placing its own entries. A NinjaTrader connection does not override these rules.
New account comparison
| Rule | Apex new products | Topstep |
|---|---|---|
| Evaluation sizes and targets | $25K / $50K / $100K / $150K. EOD targets: $1,500 / $3,000 / $6,000 / $9,000. | $50K / $100K / $150K Trading Combine. Targets: $3,000 / $6,000 / $9,000. |
| Drawdown | Choose EOD or Intraday trailing. EOD evaluation also has a daily loss limit. These are separate controls. | Maximum Loss Limit applies. An optional Daily Loss Limit is separate; it does not replace the MLL. |
| Consistency | No evaluation consistency rule. New PA payout policy requires your best day below 50% of net profit in the payout window. | 55% Trading Combine target. XFA Consistency payout path uses 40%. XFA Standard has winning-day requirements instead. |
| Payout qualification | New EOD PA: five qualifying profitable days plus safety-net, consistency and account-size requirements. Not simply five days with any trade. | XFA Standard: five $150+ winning days and positive net profit since the last payout (first payout exempt). Consistency: three trading days plus the 40% objective. Caps depend on account and DLL selection. |
| Payout split and limits | New EOD PA pays 100% of approved reward requests, with size-dependent caps and a maximum of six payouts per PA. | Current policy uses a 90/10 split. Older-account exceptions and per-request XFA caps belong to the exact account policy. |
| Trading environment | Evaluation and PA are simulated. A possible later live invitation is a separate stage. | Trading Combine and XFA are simulated. Live Funded Account is a separate stage. |
| Automation and platform | No automated strategy orders under the current agreement. Verify the purchased platform for manual trading. | Current program uses TopstepX. Custom API automation is permitted in simulated accounts under platform rules, excluding HFT. ProjectX API is unavailable for Live Funded Accounts. Order flow must originate on your personal device; VPS, VPN and remote order servers are prohibited. |
Separate evaluation from payout rules.
An evaluation pass does not prove payout eligibility. Apex introduces PA scaling and consistency after evaluation. Topstep's 55% Combine target and 40% XFA Consistency objective belong to different stages. An unusually large day can increase the Combine profit you need; it does not turn the XFA Standard path into a 40% account.
For a hypothetical $50K Topstep Combine, a $1,800 best day requires total profit of at least $1,800 / 0.55, or about $3,273, rather than the original $3,000 target. Losing days do not erase that best day.
Keep legacy Apex rules separate.
Apex distinguishes legacy products from the new program launched in March 2026. Legacy PA rules include their own contract scaling, maximum adverse excursion and risk/reward restrictions. Do not apply a new EOD payout table to a legacy account. Check the product name and agreement before changing a trading plan.
TopstepX API access is also not NinjaScript support. YMI Marty and KPL Bot run in NinjaTrader 8 desktop. This page does not establish a TopstepX version or connection for those bots. Topstep permits private servers for research, storage and read-only work that cannot transmit or trigger orders.
Official rules used for this review
Build the process before buying the account.
Use the daily KPL map to define a trade manually. If automation is your goal, confirm the exact provider permits it and validate the setup in SIM. Education cannot guarantee a pass or payout.