Neither firm dominates this comparison. The decision comes down to which constraint matters most to you: entry cost, drawdown model, or payout terms.
Set up in 2023 by a Dutch team and operated out of Dubai, BrightFunded keeps its rulebook short: no consistency rule, no time limit, static drawdown on both 2-Step plans. The model leans instead on paid add-ons — fee refund, 90% split, waived minimum days — and the first payout only lands 30 days after the first trade.
Criteria won: 8 / 33
Founded in Chicago in 2012, Topstep is the oldest futures prop firm. It charges a monthly subscription rather than a one-off ticket, with a 6 % target and a trailing drawdown that locks once the starting balance is cleared. Its 90 % profit split and first withdrawal after five winning days are among the best in the segment.
Criteria won: 8 / 33
Cheapest evaluation for a 100 K account.
BrightFunded
€477
Topstep
$99
| Full comparison | BrightFunded | |
|---|---|---|
| Trust | ||
| Score | 76/100 | 77/100 ✓ |
| Trustpilot | — | 3.6/5 |
| Founded | 2023 | 2012 ✓ |
| Headquarters | AE | US |
| Pricing | ||
| Entry price | €47 ✓ | $49 |
| Price for a 100 K account | €477 | $99 ✓ |
| Refundable fee | No | No |
| Reset price | — | — |
| Account sizes | 200 K ✓ | 150 K |
| Rules | ||
| Steps | 2 | 1 ✓ |
| Profit target | 8 % | 6 % ✓ |
| Max daily loss | 4 % | — |
| Max total drawdown | 8 % ✓ | 4 % |
| Drawdown type | Static ✓ | Trailing (end of day) |
| Time limit | Unlimited | Unlimited |
| Consistency rule | No ✓ | 50 |
| Min trading days | 5 | 2 ✓ |
| Payouts | ||
| Profit split | 80 % | 90 % ✓ |
| Max profit split | 100 % ✓ | 90 % |
| First payout | 30 days | 5 days ✓ |
| Payout frequency | First payment 30 days after the first trade, then every 2 weeks; weekly and bi-weekly add-ons available | On request: Express Funded Standard after 5 winning days at $150+; Express Funded Consistency after 3 trading days with a 40% consistency target |
| Payout methods | — | wise and bank |
| Scaling plan | Yes | Yes |
| Max allocation | 400 K ✓ | 150 K |
| Trading | ||
| Platforms and instruments | mt5, ctrader, dxtrade | ninjatrader, tradovate, rithmic |
| Instruments | fx, indices, metals, energy, crypto ✓ | futures |
| Leverage | Forex 1:100, gold and commodities 1:40, indices 1:20, crypto 1:5 (identical on evaluation and funded accounts) | — |
| News trading | Yes | — |
| Weekend holding | — | No |
| Expert Advisors | — | — |
| Copy trading | Restricted | — |
| Scalping | — | — |
| Hedging | — | — |
Choose BrightFunded if… BrightFunded opens at €47 against $49 for Topstep, a moderate gap on the smallest account. At the reference size of 100 K the comparison is €477 for BrightFunded against $99 for Topstep. The headline fee is rarely the real cost, though: what matters is the price of a reset after a failed attempt, whether the fee comes back on the first payout, and whether an activation fee appears when you move to a funded account. Compare those three lines in the table above before deciding on price alone.
BrightFunded applies a static drawdown capped at 8 %, with a 4 % daily limit. Topstep applies a trailing (end of day) drawdown capped at 4 %. This is the single most consequential difference between the two. A static drawdown is measured once, from the starting balance, and never moves; a trailing drawdown follows your equity upward, so a winning streak raises the floor you can no longer fall below. Intraday trailing is stricter still, because it tracks unrealised peaks reached inside the session — profit you never actually banked can permanently raise your loss threshold.
BrightFunded keeps 100 % of profits, allows a first withdrawal after 30 days, then pays First payment 30 days after the first trade, then every 2 weeks; weekly and bi-weekly add-ons available. Topstep keeps 90 % of profits, allows a first withdrawal after 5 days, then pays On request: Express Funded Standard after 5 winning days at $150+; Express Funded Consistency after 3 trading days with a 40% consistency target. Payout frequency deserves as much attention as the split itself: a slightly lower share paid every two weeks compounds faster than a headline percentage locked behind a monthly cycle and a long first-withdrawal delay.
BrightFunded is the only one of the two to offer mt5, ctrader, dxtrade. Topstep covers ninjatrader, tradovate, rithmic, which its rival does not. Platform choice is not cosmetic: order execution, available order types and the reliability of your automation all depend on it, and switching mid-evaluation is rarely possible.
Topstep has been running since 2012, 11 years longer than BrightFunded. Our trust pillar scores them 66/100 and 80/100, which weighs age, corporate transparency and public payout evidence. In an industry with no financial regulator overseeing these evaluations, longevity and a verifiable payout history are the closest thing to a guarantee.
No discount code is published without being checked on the firm’s own website. An unverified deal does not appear here.
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