Earn2Trade vs Topstep (2026): The Two Education-First Firms, Honestly Compared
Quick verdict: Choose Topstep if you want the better funded economics and platform — a 90/10 split with the first $10K at 100%, the TopstepX/TradingView experience, and an in-house funded program with fourteen years of history. Choose Earn2Trade if you want the more honest preparation — a genuinely rigorous evaluation (the firm voluntarily publishes its own ~8.9% pass rate), bundled structured education, and a funding offer that's guaranteed on passing, with a published live-capital progression. These are the two firms that treat trader development as the product. Topstep polishes the funded experience; Earn2Trade hardens the trader.
Last verified: June 11, 2026 — prop firm rules change frequently; always confirm final terms at checkout.
At a Glance
| Earn2Trade | Topstep | |
|---|---|---|
| Founded | 2017 (US) | 2012 (US) |
| Evaluation | Gauntlet Mini (or Trader Career Path) — subscription, no end date | Trading Combine — subscription |
| 50K evaluation terms | $3,000 target · $2,000 EOD trailing drawdown · $1,100 daily loss limit · 6 contracts via progression ladder | Profit target with trailing max drawdown; no daily loss limit (removed 2024) |
| Minimum days | 10 trading days | None fixed; consistency math effectively requires multiple days |
| Consistency rule | 30% in evaluation (a big day doesn't fail you — keep trading until it's under 30% of total); removed on all funded accounts | Combine: best day ≤50% of target, exceeding raises the target; funded: best-day cap applies |
| Contract scaling | Progression ladder — limits rise with balance; exceeding locks the day, doesn't fail you | Standard per-size limits |
| Funded structure | Guaranteed offer from a partner trading firm; LiveSim first (≈$139 activation), Live after $5,000 profit | In-house: Express Funded → Live |
| Profit split | 80/20 | 100% of first $10K, then 90/10 |
| Minimum payout | $100 | Weekly cadence; Benchmark-Day gates on early withdrawals |
| Pricing (50K) | ~$170/mo (Gauntlet Mini) | $49–$149/mo + $149 activation |
| Published transparency | ~8.9% pass rate; ~18% of funded traders reached at least one withdrawal — self-published | Long payout history; no equivalent published pass-rate data |
| Overnight holds | No; approved trading times only | No; flat by 3:10 PM CT |
| Platforms | NinjaTrader, R | Trader Pro and others |
The Core Difference: Who Publishes the Hard Numbers
Every prop firm says it wants traders to succeed. Earn2Trade is nearly alone in publishing the numbers that make that claim testable: roughly 8.9% of its evaluations passed in 2025, and about 18% of funded traders went on to take at least one withdrawal. Read those numbers the right way — they're not a warning, they're the honest base rate of this entire industry that other firms simply decline to disclose. A firm that volunteers its own funnel data is making a different kind of promise than one that markets pass-anecdotes.
That transparency matches the evaluation's design. The Gauntlet Mini is deliberately hard to luck through: ten minimum trading days, a $1,100 daily loss limit on the 50K (most modern competitors have dropped daily limits entirely), a progression ladder that caps your contracts until your balance earns more, and the 30% consistency rule. You cannot pass it with one hot session. What you get for passing is also different in kind: a guaranteed funding offer from Earn2Trade's partner trading firm, a LiveSim stage, and a defined transition to live capital after $5,000 in profit — real firm capital, not an indefinite simulation.
Topstep's design philosophy puts the rigor later and lighter. The Combine has no daily loss limit and no fixed minimum days; its consistency math (a day over 50% of the profit target raises the target) enforces multi-day proof without dictating a count. The funded program is where Topstep's fourteen years show: weekly payouts with a deep history behind them, Benchmark-Day seasoning gates, and the best split in this comparison — your first $10,000 at 100%, then 90/10, against Earn2Trade's flat 80/20.
So the trade is explicit. Earn2Trade front-loads difficulty and honesty, then pays you a thinner split. Topstep makes getting funded more forgiving and pays you better once you're there — with gates instead of gauntlets.
Rules That Surprise People
At Earn2Trade: the progression ladder counts micro contracts 10-to-1 against your limit, and exceeding it locks your account for the day (it doesn't fail you — but a locked day during a hot streak stings). Each evaluation account requires its own email address if you run multiples. On funded accounts, five consecutive trading days of unscheduled absence terminates the account, and data fees are yours to pay. The consistency rule, however, is evaluation-only — once funded, it's gone on all accounts.
At Topstep: the target-recalculation mechanic is the classic surprise — traders who "almost passed" with one big day discover the finish line moved. On the funded side, the 50%-of-share withdrawal cap until thirty Benchmark Days means early profits partially stay parked, and the hard 3:10 PM CT flat rule is non-negotiable. Also worth knowing: Topstep disclosed a December 2025 credential-stuffing incident affecting roughly 1,900 users and offered identity monitoring — not a trading-rules issue, but part of an honest trust picture.
Cost Reality
Both are monthly subscriptions, so the question is months-to-pass times monthly rate. Topstep's $49–$149 range undercuts Earn2Trade's ~$170 on the popular 50K tier, and Earn2Trade's ten-day minimum guarantees you can't pass inside a few sessions even if your trading would allow it — which makes a single-month pass less likely than at Topstep. Stack the funded-side fees too: Topstep's $149 activation versus Earn2Trade's ~$139 LiveSim activation. With the PropFirmV code taking 50% off Earn2Trade, the monthly gap inverts — a discounted Gauntlet Mini runs cheaper than most Topstep tiers at list. Model your realistic timeline in the True Cost Calculator.
One more cost lens: Earn2Trade bundles genuine structured education (its Beginner Crash Course and journaling curriculum) into the subscription. If you'd otherwise pay for a trading course, the evaluation fee is doing double duty; if you wouldn't, it's overhead.
Choose Earn2Trade if…
- You want preparation that's honest about base rates — and a firm confident enough to publish its own
- A guaranteed funding offer and a defined path to live capital matter to you
- You value bundled structured education rather than marketing content
- The discounted entry (50% off) fits your budget better than list-price alternatives
Choose Topstep if…
- Funded economics decide it for you — 100% of your first $10K beats 80/20 decisively
- You want the best platform experience in futures prop
- You'd rather prove consistency through Topstep's flexible math than a fixed 10-day minimum
- Fourteen years of payout history is your trust threshold
Choose neither if you need overnight holding or daily payouts — both firms are day-trading-only with weekly-or-slower withdrawal rhythms; see the comparisons page for faster-payout alternatives.
Current Verified Offer
Earn2Trade: 50% off with code V — claim the offer. Note this firm's code is V, not V1. Final pricing is always confirmed on Earn2Trade's site.
Topstep: no PropFirmV code at this time. We don't display placeholder codes — see the discounts page for everything currently verified.
FAQ
Is Earn2Trade harder to pass than Topstep? Structurally yes: a fixed 10-day minimum, a daily loss limit, a contract progression ladder, and a 30% consistency rule versus Topstep's lighter-touch Combine. Earn2Trade's own published ~8.9% pass rate reflects that design honestly.
Does Earn2Trade have a consistency rule on funded accounts? No — the 30% rule applies during evaluations only and is removed on all funded accounts. Topstep, by contrast, applies best-day math in both phases.
Who actually funds you after passing Earn2Trade? A partner proprietary trading firm extends a guaranteed offer. You start on LiveSim (one active at a time) and transition to live capital after $5,000 in profit; up to three funded accounts are permitted with the partner.
Which has the better profit split? Topstep: 100% of your first $10K and 90/10 after, versus Earn2Trade's 80/20. Earn2Trade's counterweights are the guaranteed offer, education bundle, and live-capital progression.
Related: Earn2Trade review · Topstep review · TradeDay vs Topstep · True Cost Calculator