Topstep Copy Trading Rules 2026: The Copier, the Bots and the Live Wall

We are a competing prop firm, so read our comparison at the end with that in mind. Everything before it is Topstep’s own documentation, linked at the bottom.

Yes, Topstep allows copy trading, and it ships its own copier inside TopstepX. You can copy across unlimited Trading Combines and up to 5 Express Funded Accounts, and bots are allowed through the TopstepX API. Two limits decide everything: no opposite positions across accounts, which Topstep detects in real time, and no copier or API on the Live Funded Account.

Does Topstep allow copy trading?

Yes, and the copier is part of its own platform. TopstepX includes a Trade Copier that mirrors trades from a Lead account to one or more Follower accounts, so you do not need third-party software to run the same trades across your accounts.

The same help center page sets its scope in one line: “Trade copying is only available for Trading Combine® and Express Funded Account® accounts.” Hold on to that sentence; it decides how far a copy grid can go at Topstep.

How many Topstep accounts can you copy trade?

As many Combines as you like, up to 5 Express Funded Accounts, and one Live Funded Account.

Five 150K accounts add up to exactly $750K, so the buying power cap and the five-account cap meet at the top size. If you pass a Combine while already holding five XFAs, the new XFA goes on hold until one closes. Shoulder Tap accounts are limited to one XFA.

How the TopstepX copier behaves

The copier has rules of its own, and most surprises come from them rather than from the trading rules:

• The Lead must have the lowest Maximum Position Size in the group. Topstep’s example: run a 50K, a 100K and a 150K, and the 50K leads.
• The Lead takes the Followers with it. If the Lead hits its Daily Loss Limit or is liquidated, every Follower is flattened. If it hits its Maximum Loss Limit, it is violated and you must unlink the Followers to trade them.
• Switching the copier off mid-trade flattens all Followers immediately.
• A payout request unlinks the Followers automatically, and a Scaling Plan mismatch removes a Follower at the start of the trading day.
• A connected Follower cannot be traded directly. Remove it in Settings first.

The hedging alarm: what Topstep detects in real time

Cross-account hedging is the rule that ends copy setups at Topstep. Topstep defines it as going long and short the same or a correlated instrument across multiple accounts at the same time, such as ES and MES or NQ and MNQ. Its own example: long 5 ES on an XFA, short 5 ES on a Combine.

Topstep publishes its enforcement ladder in full:

Three details matter for copy traders. Hedging is tracked at the trader level, so a warning follows you into newly purchased accounts. A brief or unintentional overlap is still prohibited. And on copiers, Topstep writes that its system accounts for temporary opposite positions created by copy trading software, but you remain fully responsible: if a hedged position meets its criteria of size, duration and intent, enforcement applies.

The policy covers the Trading Combine, Express and Live accounts. Practice accounts are excluded from detection.

Copying other traders and other firms

Your copier has to stay inside your own accounts. Topstep’s Prohibited Conduct lists “coordinated trading”: trading in concert with others, including unconnected accounts or third parties, to pool risk, hedge aggregate positions, or trade the same or opposite strategy simultaneously. Trading on behalf of others is prohibited as well.

Sanctions under Prohibited Conduct range from a warning and the deletion of a trading day to a reset, permanent closure, or the delay or denial of a payout, depending on severity and history.

Copying your own trades to your accounts at another firm is not addressed in Topstep’s help center. Ask Topstep before you build around it.

Bots: allowed through the API, from your own computer

Topstep allows automated trading in the Combine and the XFA, with no help from Topstep and no exception for malfunctions. For custom bots, the route is the TopstepX API, powered by ProjectX.

The VPS rule is the one bot traders trip on. A private server may store data, backtest, log and display a read-only dashboard, but it cannot place, modify or cancel orders, or relay them for you. Running automation on a VPS can lead to suspension or removal from the program.

Tradeify draws the line elsewhere: a VPS is allowed for trading once you have logged in normally, but a bot must be provably yours and cannot run at other firms. Our Tradeify copy trading rules compare.

The Live wall: where the copy grid ends

Everything above stops at the call-up. When Topstep moves you to a Live Funded Account, all your Express Funded Accounts are closed, and you can hold only one LFA.

• No copier: Live Funded Accounts cannot use the Trade Copier.
• No bot: the API is not available on Live, so automated strategies are not possible there.
• No new XFAs: you can keep Combines, but a passed Combine cannot become an XFA while the LFA is active.
• Not your timing: the call-up is decided by Topstep’s Risk Team, which, in its words, is watching your tape.

One page muddies this. Topstep’s LFA parameters page ends with a tip that you can duplicate trades across multiple accounts using a trade copier, while its TopstepX page states that Live Funded Accounts cannot use the Trade Copier. We go by the platform page, which is the specific one.

For everything else about the account, our Topstep Live Funded Account guide covers the call-up and the capital rules.

Topstep vs Phidias on copy trading

Both firms give you a copier inside the platform, TopstepX at Topstep and DeepCharts at Phidias, and Topstep’s hedging alarm deserves credit: it warns before it punishes. The difference is what happens at live.

On account count, we allow more funded accounts: up to 15 across three families against Topstep’s 5 XFAs.

Where we differ most is the destination. On Express to Live, you reach the target on the CASH account, click Switch to Live, and the fixed bonus payout converts the account to a LIVE account. That conversion is an Express to Live rule; on our Fundamental and Premium accounts, moving to LIVE is discretionary. If you copy trade on Phidias, our DeepCharts trade copier guide walks through the setup.

See Phidias accounts and pricing

Test: is your copy setup safe on Topstep?

Four questions on which accounts you copy to, whether they always hold the same side, what places the Lead’s trades and where you want it to end. No email.

Topstep copy trading: frequently asked questions

Does Topstep allow copy trading?

Yes. TopstepX has a built-in Trade Copier that mirrors trades from a Lead account to one or more Follower accounts. It works on Trading Combine and Express Funded Accounts only. Hedging across accounts and coordinated trading with others are prohibited.

How many Topstep accounts can you copy trade?

There is no limit on Trading Combines. You can hold up to 5 active Express Funded Accounts at a time, and Topstep’s XFA FAQ allows trading across them with a trade copier up to $750K of buying power. A Live Funded Account is limited to one, and it cannot use the Trade Copier.

Can you copy trade on a Topstep Live Funded Account?

No. Topstep states that Live Funded Accounts cannot use the TopstepX Trade Copier, and you can only hold one Live Funded Account. When you are called up to live, all your Express Funded Accounts are closed.

Does Topstep allow bots and automated trading?

Yes, in the Trading Combine and Express Funded Account. Custom bots are allowed through the TopstepX / ProjectX API, which costs $29 a month or $14.50 with Topstep’s code, subject to platform rules and the ban on high-frequency trading. Orders must come from your personal device: VPNs are banned outright, and a VPS or remote server cannot place orders. Automated strategies are not possible on the Live Funded Account.

What is a hedging violation at Topstep?

Holding long and short positions at the same time on the same or a correlated instrument across accounts, such as ES and MES or NQ and MNQ. Topstep detects it in real time. A first attempt brings a warning with a short window to close the positions; repeated attempts lead to liquidation, a ban for the rest of the trading day after excessive attempts, and possibly permanent closure with no payout and no appeal.

Can a trade copier cause a hedging violation at Topstep?

Yes. Topstep says its system accounts for temporary opposite positions created by copy trading software, but you remain fully responsible for everything across your accounts. If a hedged position meets its criteria of size, duration and intent, enforcement applies.

Can you copy trade Topstep with another prop firm or another trader?

Copying with other traders is prohibited: Topstep’s Prohibited Conduct bans coordinated trading, including trading the same or opposite strategy simultaneously with others. Topstep’s help center does not address copying your own trades to accounts at another firm, so ask Topstep before setting it up.

Do I need the TopstepX copier, or can I use a third-party copier?

TopstepX includes its own copier. Third-party tools can connect through the ProjectX API at your own risk: Topstep and ProjectX do not endorse any external vendor, and a rule violation counts the same whether it comes from manual trading or third-party automation.

How does Phidias compare on copy trading?

Phidias allows copy trading within its account limits: up to 5 CASH Premium, 5 CASH Fundamental and 5 Express to Live accounts per person, company or internet connection, with third-party copier software at your own risk. On Express to Live, the payout at the target converts the account to a LIVE account.