Topstep Copy Trading Rules: What the TopstepX Copier Allows
Topstep allows copy trading only with the TopstepX Trade Copier on Combine and Express Funded accounts. See the limits, hedging rules and what to check first.
By Tom Lin, Head of IT Published · 4 min read
Topstep allows copy trading, but only through the Trade Copier built into TopstepX, and only on Trading Combine and Express Funded Accounts. You can copy up to five Express Funded Accounts, Topstep detects hedges across accounts in real time, and its API rules say trading must start from your own device, which leaves little room for cloud copiers. Rules checked on October 24, 2026, against Topstep’s own help center.
What Topstep says about copy trading
TopstepX includes a Trade Copier that mirrors a Lead account to one or more Follower accounts. Topstep’s help center limits it to two account types:
“Trade copying is only available for Trading Combine® and Express Funded Account® accounts.”
Source: TopstepX, Topstep Help Center
Three details from the same page shape how you set it up:
- Express Funded Accounts can be copied up to $750,000 in buying power, which is five accounts.
- When you request a payout on an account, Topstep unlinks that account’s followers automatically.
- Live Funded Accounts are where Topstep’s pages disagree. The TopstepX article says the Trade Copier isn’t available on them, while the Live Funded Account parameters page mentions duplicating trades with a copier. Ask Topstep before you copy on a Live account.
Third-party copiers and automation
Topstep allows custom automated strategies and bots through the TopstepX / ProjectX API, a paid add-on, on Trading Combine and Express Funded Accounts. The conditions are no high-frequency trading, no VPS, and no support from Topstep if your tool malfunctions. Automation isn’t possible on Live Funded Accounts, because the API isn’t available there.
The condition that matters most for outside copiers is this one:
“All trading activity must originate from your personal device.”
Source: TopstepX API access, Topstep Help Center
Topstep says VPS, VPN and remote servers may not place, modify, cancel, route or relay orders. A cloud copier places orders from its own servers, so it doesn’t fit that rule as written. Topstep doesn’t name cloud copiers directly, and it doesn’t endorse any vendor. If you want to use anything other than the built-in copier, get Topstep’s answer in writing first.
Hedging across accounts
Topstep prohibits cross-account hedging: holding a long in one account and a short in another, in the same or correlated instruments such as ES and MES or NQ and MNQ. It detects hedges in real time. Enforcement escalates from a warning with time to close the hedge, to automatic liquidation and a rule violation.
Topstep also warns that copy-trading tools can create hedges you didn’t intend, for example when a follower misses an exit and the lead account then reverses. Check that every follower is flat whenever the lead is flat. Source: Understanding hedging, Topstep Help Center
Copying with other traders or firms
Topstep’s prohibited conduct rules ban trading in concert with others, including unconnected accounts or third parties, to pool risk, hedge aggregate positions, or trade the same or opposite strategy at the same time. Copying another trader, or letting someone copy you, falls under that rule.
Copying your own trades to an account at another prop firm isn’t addressed. Source: Prohibited conduct, Topstep Help Center
Account limits
| Account | Limit |
|---|---|
| Trading Combine | No limit |
| Express Funded Account | Up to 5 active or pending (1 for Shoulder Tap holders) |
| Copied Express Funded Accounts | Up to $750,000 buying power (5 accounts) |
Source: Express Funded Account parameters, Topstep Help Center
Platforms, and where Copygram fits
Topstep’s help center documents TopstepX, which is built on ProjectX with TradingView charts included, and Quantower through TopstepX for Trading Combine and Express Funded Accounts. API access is a paid ProjectX add-on. The Express Funded Account rules mention platforms other than TopstepX, but the help center doesn’t document them.
Copygram doesn’t connect TopstepX or ProjectX accounts today, so it can’t be used with Topstep. For Topstep, the built-in TopstepX Trade Copier is the documented option.
Checklist before you copy at Topstep
- Use the TopstepX Trade Copier, on Trading Combine or Express Funded Accounts only.
- Keep to five Express Funded Accounts, or $750,000 in buying power.
- Keep every follower in the same direction as the lead, and flat when the lead is flat.
- Expect followers to be unlinked when you request a payout, and check positions before you relink them.
- Don’t run any copier or bot on a VPS or remote server.
- Ask Topstep before copying on a Live Funded Account.
What we couldn’t confirm
- Whether Live Funded Accounts can use any copier: two Topstep pages disagree.
- Whether older third-party platforms such as NinjaTrader, Tradovate or Rithmic are still available to new accounts.
- Whether copying your own trades to an account at another firm is allowed.
FAQ
Can I use a third-party copier with Topstep?
Topstep allows third-party tools only through the paid ProjectX API, at your own risk, and requires all trading to start from your personal device. It doesn’t name any third-party copier as approved, so ask Topstep before you connect one.
How many accounts can I copy at Topstep?
Up to five Express Funded Accounts, or $750,000 in buying power, with the TopstepX Trade Copier. Trading Combines aren’t capped.
Does Copygram work with Topstep?
Not today. Copygram doesn’t connect TopstepX or ProjectX accounts. The prop firm rules table shows every firm we’ve checked, including the ones Copygram can connect.
