Does Topstep offer CFDs?
No. If you have a forex background, Topstep’s alternative is CME FX futures (e.g. 6E, 6B), not spot/CFD FX. There are no fractional lots — the smallest position is one micro contract with a fixed dollar value per tick.
Two limits — and DLL may be optional
Topstep’s hard rule is the Maximum Loss Limit (MLL): $2,000 / $3,000 / $4,500 on 50k / 100k / 150k. It trails with end-of-day highs (monitored in real time including unrealised) and locks when it reaches starting balance.
The Daily Loss Limit is optional on the Trading Combine and Express Funded Account. If you add it at purchase, official parameters are $1,000 / $2,000 / $3,000. Hitting DLL flattens you for the session — it is not the same as blowing the MLL. Live Funded Accounts use a required DLL (see Topstep Help).
Work it backwards. If you enabled a $1,000 DLL and want three losers to fit, ceiling per trade is about $333 before costs. After a profitable run, put remaining distance to the MLL into Remaining distance to breach if that number is tighter than your daily field.
Contract cap (official): 5 minis / 50 micros on 50k, 10/100 on 100k, 15/150 on 150k. Consistency target: best day under 50% of profit target.
Why the tight daily limit changes your stop placement
On a tight daily limit, stop distance and position size trade off directly against each other:
- ES has a $12.50 tick value. A 12-tick stop risks $150 per contract — 15% of a $1,000 day on a single contract.
- MES has a $1.25 tick value. The same 12-tick stop risks $15 per contract, so ten micros equal one mini and you can actually build or trim a position.
This is the real argument for micros on a Topstep-style account: not that they are safer, but that they let you keep the stop where the chart says it belongs instead of tightening it to fit the account. A stop placed to satisfy a risk limit rather than market structure gets hit for reasons that have nothing to do with your idea being wrong.
The consistency problem
Many funded programs include some form of consistency requirement — a rule that no single day can account for too large a share of your total profit. Size volatility works against you here even when you are winning. If one oversized day makes most of your profit, you can pass the numbers and still fail the review. Steady size across sessions is not just risk management on these accounts; it is a pass condition. Check your specific program's rule and treat consistent sizing as a requirement, not a preference.
Open calculator
Presets use optional DLL + official max contracts and MLL as of the verification date above. Confirm your Combine or funded account’s live numbers on Topstep Help before trading.
Common questions
Can I trade spot gold (XAUUSD) on Topstep?
Not as a spot or CFD instrument. The futures equivalents are GC (full-size gold) and MGC (micro gold), if allowed on your product. Note the difference in scale: they are contracts with fixed tick values, not variable lot sizes, so a gold trade that felt small as 0.10 lots may not be available at that granularity here.
Why does the calculator suggest fewer contracts than my broker's margin allows?
Margin tells you the maximum you can hold. It has no relationship to what you can afford to lose. On a prop account the daily loss limit is far more restrictive than margin, so margin capacity is a ceiling you should never be anywhere near.
Should I use the same size after I get funded?
Usually not. Funded accounts frequently run different limits and sometimes different leverage from the evaluation. Re-size on day one of the funded account rather than carrying over evaluation habits — see the funded leverage trap.