Overview
In the Live Funded Account® (LFA), you're responsible for 3 costs:
Professional Market Data, round-turn commissions, and your platform license.
The Trading Combine® (TC) covers most of these for you — the LFA doesn't.
1. CME Professional Market Data
To trade live, you must subscribe to Professional Market Data from the exchanges. Topstep collects these fees monthly via credit card and passes them directly from the exchange — Topstep does not profit from these fees.
This one's on us! Topstep covers 1 exchange for all LFA Traders.
Default: CME data covered
Takes effect at your next billing cycle
If you want a different exchange covered: contact the Live Accounts & Funding Team
Fees for additional exchanges still apply and are billed on the 26th of each month
Data fee: $133 per exchange, per month
Exchange | Products Covered |
CME | ES, MES, NQ, MNQ, RTY, M2K, NKD, 6A, 6B, 6C, 6E, 6J, 6S, E7, HE, LE, GE |
NYMEX | CL, QM, NG, QG |
COMEX | GC, SI, HG |
CBOT | ZC, ZW, ZS, ZM, ZL, YM, MYM, ZT, ZF, ZN, ZB, UB, TN |
To trade all permitted products in the LFA, you'd need all 4 exchanges = $540/month total. With 1 exchange covered by Topstep, you're at $399/month out of pocket for all 4.
Why are data costs higher than a personal brokerage?
In the LFA, you're classified as a Professional Trader by the exchange. Professional fee structures are higher than Non-Professional. Your personal brokerage account is likely classified as Non-Professional.
How to reduce data costs:
Start with 1 exchange subscription (Topstep covers it — you pay $0 for that exchange)
Add more exchanges as your account grows
Start your LFA on the 1st of the month — the exchange does not pro-rate data fees (no partial months)
☝️ Important: If you want to start on the 1st, still make your initial data payment during onboarding. Your data subscription won't start immediately — you'll be asked your preferred start date.
2. Round-Turn Costs
Round-turn costs are deducted directly from your brokerage account balance. In the Trading Combine®, a $3.70/lot simulated fee is charged to emulate these real-world costs.
Commissions & Fees: $0.72–$2.04 (go to brokerages)
Exchange Fees: $2.46–$4.30 (set by exchange, vary by instrument)
Examples (round turn):
E-mini S&P 500 (ES): $3.80
E-mini NASDAQ 100 (NQ): $3.80
Crude Oil (CL): $1.54
Gold (GC): $4.24
Full breakdown by platform and product: TopstepX™ Commissions and Fees
3. Platform License or Subscription
In the Trading Combine®, Topstep covers platform fees for many supported platforms. In the Live Funded Account®, you are responsible for your own platform license cost.