Payout Court · compare

Alpha Futures vs Topstep

Case file

Alpha Futures

Futures

NRNo verdict yet

  • 0 of 10 weighted receipts
  • 0 of 5 senders
  • 8 of 8 rule facts

Case file

Topstep

Futures

NRNo verdict yet

  • 0 of 10 weighted receipts
  • 0 of 5 senders
  • 8 of 8 rule facts

On 25 Oct 2026, Alpha Futures and Topstep differed on 5 of 8 rules checked for both: Payout frequency (Alpha Futures: Up to 4 payouts a month: a request every 5 winning days of $200+ (Direct accounts use a withdrawal profit target instead), Topstep: Express Funded Account: a payout request after every 5 winning days of $150+ net P&L (count restarts after each request); Live Funded Account: daily payout access after 30 winning days); Profit split (Alpha Futures: 90%, Topstep: 90/10 (trader keeps 90%)); EAs and bots (Alpha Futures: Not allowed, Topstep: Allowed with conditions); Weekend holding (Alpha Futures: Allowed with conditions, Topstep: Not allowed); Account, device and IP rules (Alpha Futures: VPS allowed; VPNs that hide or change your IP address are not, Topstep: VPNs, proxies, TOR and other identity-masking services not permitted).

Receipts: Alpha Futures 0, Topstep 0.

Last checked

Which fits you

  • If you copy trade: Alpha Futures (allowed with conditions), Topstep (allowed with conditions).
  • If you run EAs: Alpha Futures (not allowed), Topstep (allowed with conditions).
  • If you trade the news: Alpha Futures (allowed with conditions), Topstep (allowed with conditions).
  • If you hedge: neither firm's rules allow it.
  • If you hold trades over the weekend: Alpha Futures (allowed with conditions), Topstep (not allowed).

Read each rule before you buy.

The docket · 8 rules, each from the firm's own pages

Side by side

Highlighted rows: the two firms' rules differ.

RuleAlpha FuturesTopstep
Payout frequency DiffersUp to 4 payouts a month: a request every 5 winning days of $200+ (Direct accounts use a withdrawal profit target instead)
Traders have the ability to pay themselves up to 4 times a month. Request every 5 winning trading days of $200 profit, or more

help.alpha-futures.com · checked

Express Funded Account: a payout request after every 5 winning days of $150+ net P&L (count restarts after each request); Live Funded Account: daily payout access after 30 winning days
After you request a Payout, your winning day count restarts. You'll need 5 new winning days before you're eligible to request your next Payout.

help.topstep.com · checked

Profit split Differs90%
All withdrawal requests are the amount that will be removed from your trading account, trader received 90% of this request.

help.alpha-futures.com · checked

90/10 (trader keeps 90%)
90/10 profit split — you keep 90%

help.topstep.com · checked

Copy trading Allowed with conditions: Allowed only when a single user copies between their own Alpha Futures accounts
Copy trading in general is permitted as long as it is a single user executing the trades, and it is the single individual listed on the Alpha Futures Accounts.

help.alpha-futures.com · checked

Allowed with conditions: A trade copier may duplicate your trades across multiple accounts
You can also use a trade copier to duplicate trades across multiple accounts.

help.topstep.com · checked

EAs and bots Differs Not allowed: AI, bots and automated trading prohibited on all account types; semi-automated signals allowed if trades are placed manually
The use of AI, bots, and other automated trading mechanisms is strictly prohibited across all account types.

help.alpha-futures.com · checked

Allowed with conditions: Automated strategies allowed with conditions; no support or exceptions for malfunctions; scalping algorithms exploiting SIM fills prohibited
Can I use automated trading strategies? Yes, with conditions.

help.topstep.com · checked

News trading Allowed with conditions: No restrictions on Evaluation and Advanced Qualified accounts; Direct, Standard and Zero Qualified accounts cannot execute orders 2 minutes before or after high-impact news
no orders may be executed within 2 minutes before or 2 minutes after high impact news events.

help.alpha-futures.com · checked

Allowed with conditions: News trading allowed, but purposely trading full maximum position size into a scheduled major news event is a prohibited strategy
Purposefully trading your full Maximum Position Size directly into a scheduled major news event.

help.topstep.com · checked

Hedging Not allowed: Hedging across accounts, or long/short correlated contracts on one account, prohibited in Evaluation and Qualified phases
"Reverse Trading" or Hedging, meaning going short on one account, and long on the other is strictly prohibited at Evaluation and Qualified Phase.

help.alpha-futures.com · checked

Not allowed: Cross-account hedging prohibited (long and short the same or correlated instrument across accounts)
Cross-account hedging is prohibited at Topstep.

help.topstep.com · checked

Weekend holding Differs Allowed with conditions: Overnight holding allowed only on live accounts; sim accounts must close by 4:20 PM EST
Trades do not need to be closed by 4:20pm EST (like they do on sim accounts). Swing trading/holding overnight is indeed permitted

help.alpha-futures.com · checked

Not allowed: No overnight or weekend holding; all positions closed by 3:10 PM CT each weekday
Can I swing trade or hold positions overnight? No. All positions must be closed by 3:10 PM CT each weekday.

help.topstep.com · checked

Account, device and IP rules DiffersVPS allowed; VPNs that hide or change your IP address are not
The use of VPS is permitted in your trading, however the use of VPN attempting to hide or change you IP address is not.

help.alpha-futures.com · checked

VPNs, proxies, TOR and other identity-masking services not permitted
Do not use a VPN. VPNs, proxy services, TOR, geo-location obfuscation, and other identity-masking services are not permitted at Topstep.

help.topstep.com · checked

Payout receipts compared

Alpha Futures: 0 receipts forwarded to us, 0 denials. Topstep: 0 receipts forwarded to us, 0 denials.

A tier needs 10 weighted receipts from 5 different senders within 180 days. Until then the verdict is "No verdict yet". How the tiers work

Share of receipts forwarded to us, not of all payouts. People forward denials more often than approvals, so absolute numbers run high; compare firms with each other, not with zero.

Rule changes in the last 90 days

None detected in the last 90 days.

FAQ

Does Alpha Futures or Topstep allow copy trading?

Alpha Futures' own rules say allowed with conditions: Allowed only when a single user copies between their own Alpha Futures accounts. Topstep's own rules say allowed with conditions: A trade copier may duplicate your trades across multiple accounts.

Does Alpha Futures or Topstep allow EAs and bots?

Alpha Futures' own rules say not allowed: AI, bots and automated trading prohibited on all account types; semi-automated signals allowed if trades are placed manually. Topstep's own rules say allowed with conditions: Automated strategies allowed with conditions; no support or exceptions for malfunctions; scalping algorithms exploiting SIM fills prohibited.

Does Alpha Futures or Topstep allow news trading?

Alpha Futures' own rules say allowed with conditions: No restrictions on Evaluation and Advanced Qualified accounts; Direct, Standard and Zero Qualified accounts cannot execute orders 2 minutes before or after high-impact news. Topstep's own rules say allowed with conditions: News trading allowed, but purposely trading full maximum position size into a scheduled major news event is a prohibited strategy.

Does Alpha Futures or Topstep allow hedging?

Alpha Futures' own rules say not allowed: Hedging across accounts, or long/short correlated contracts on one account, prohibited in Evaluation and Qualified phases. Topstep's own rules say not allowed: Cross-account hedging prohibited (long and short the same or correlated instrument across accounts).

See also