A side-by-side breakdown of Apex Trader Funding and Topstep — profit splits, payout speed, drawdown rules, platforms, and a clear verdict on which firm wins for which trader profile.
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Editorial verdict · checked Jul 28, 2026
Apex wins on evaluation speed, choice and headline split: its new products can pass in 1 day, offer Intraday or EOD trailing drawdown, apply no evaluation consistency rule and pay 100% of approved Sim Funded requests. Topstep wins on payout access, pricing clarity and longevity: its shortest XFA route begins at 3 trading days with a $125 minimum, all 6 current price paths are verified, and the firm has operated since 2012. The hard Apex trade-off is the PA lifecycle — 5 qualifying days, a $500 request minimum and closure after 6 approved payouts.
Winning value on each row is marked. Ties are flagged. Empty cells mean we don't have that data point yet.
Scored out of 5 by Trustpilot users, not by us. Where Trustpilot has pulled a firm's aggregate rating we say so rather than leaving a blank.
Pick Apex if you are a manual futures day trader who wants a 1-day evaluation, no evaluation consistency rule and a choice between intraday and end-of-day trailing risk. The $50K EOD path is the most balanced rule set on paper: a $3,000 target, $2,000 maximum loss and $1,000 session DLL. Confirm the live fee first because Apex’s selector and coupon prices change dynamically.
Pick Topstep if a $125 payout minimum, a 3-day shortest payout path, transparent pricing and no fixed 6-payout account closure matter more than Apex’s 100% headline split. Topstep is also the clear fit for approved automation users and traders who value a firm operating since 2012 over Apex’s faster 2026 product path.
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