Bulenox vs Topstep: which prop firm is better in 2026?
Neither firm dominates this comparison. The decision comes down to which constraint matters most to you: entry cost, drawdown model, or payout terms.
Bulenox
Futures · Trustpilot 4.7/5
Bulenox is a futures-only firm run from Delaware since 2022. Accounts are sold as renewable monthly subscriptions, $145 to $325 for $25,000 to $150,000, payouts clear every Wednesday, and the first $10,000 goes entirely to the trader. It holds 4.7/5 across 1,761 Trustpilot reviews, but a 40% consistency rule gates withdrawals and drives recurring complaints.
Criteria won : 5 / 33
Topstep
Futures · Trustpilot 3.6/5
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 : 5 / 33
Pricing at equal account size
Cheapest evaluation for a 100 K account.
Bulenox
$215
Topstep
$99
Full comparison
| Criterion | Bulenox | Topstep |
|---|---|---|
| Trust | ||
| Score | 81/100 ✓ | 77/100 |
| Trustpilot | 4.7/5 ✓ | 3.6/5 |
| Founded | 2022 | 2012 ✓ |
| Headquarters | US | US |
| Pricing | ||
| Entry price | $145 | $49 ✓ |
| Price for a 100 K account | $215 | $99 ✓ |
| Refundable fee | — | No |
| Reset price | $78 | — |
| Account sizes | 150 K | 150 K |
| Rules | ||
| Steps | 1 | 1 |
| Profit target | 6 % | 6 % |
| Max daily loss | — | — |
| Max total drawdown | — | 4 % |
| Drawdown type | Hybrid | Trailing (end of day) ✓ |
| Time limit | Unlimited | Unlimited |
| Consistency rule | — | 50 |
| Min trading days | 0 ✓ | 2 |
| Payouts | ||
| Profit split | 90 % | 90 % |
| Max profit split | 100 % ✓ | 90 % |
| First payout | 10 days | 5 days ✓ |
| Payout frequency | hebdomadaire (traitement le mercredi) | Sur demande : Express Funded Standard après 5 journées gagnantes à 150 $+ ; Express Funded Consistency après 3 journées de trading avec cible de consistance 40 % |
| Payout methods | bank, wire, paypal, and wise ✓ | wise and bank |
| Scaling plan | — | Yes |
| Max allocation | 150 K | 150 K |
| Trading | ||
| Platforms and instruments | ninjatrader, rithmic, quantower | ninjatrader, tradovate, rithmic |
| Instruments | futures | futures |
| Leverage | — | — |
| News trading | Yes | — |
| Weekend holding | No | No |
| Expert Advisors | Yes | — |
| Copy trading | Yes | — |
| Scalping | Yes | — |
| Hedging | — | — |
Choose Bulenox if…
- You expect to stay funded long enough for the split to matter: 100 % against 90 % at Topstep.
- You need a platform Topstep does not offer: quantower.
Choose Topstep if…
- Cash flow matters to you: the first withdrawal comes after 5 days rather than 10.
- You need a platform Bulenox does not offer: tradovate.
- Your budget is the binding constraint: the entry ticket starts at $49, below Bulenox.
Our analysis
Payout terms compared
Bulenox keeps 100 % of profits, allows a first withdrawal after 10 days, then pays hebdomadaire (traitement le mercredi). Topstep keeps 90 % of profits, allows a first withdrawal after 5 days, then pays Sur demande : Express Funded Standard après 5 journées gagnantes à 150 $+ ; Express Funded Consistency après 3 journées de trading avec cible de consistance 40 %. 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.
Platforms and instruments
Bulenox is the only one of the two to offer quantower. Topstep covers tradovate, 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.
Trust and longevity
Topstep has been running since 2012, 10 years longer than Bulenox. On Trustpilot they sit at 4.7/5 and 3.6/5 respectively. Our trust pillar scores them 77/100 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.
Entry cost
Topstep opens at $49 against $145 for Bulenox, a substantial gap on the smallest account. At the reference size of 100 K the comparison is $215 for Bulenox 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.
Risk rules side by side
Bulenox applies a hybrid drawdown. 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.