Head to head
Topstep or Lucid Trading: which one actually costs less
On a 50K account, the order between Topstep and Lucid Trading changes with the path you take. A page that announces “the cheapest” without saying which path it assumed has picked that path for you.
This comparison is written neither by Topstep nor by Lucid Trading. No link on this page is paid for — the methodology explains how to check, and links to the firms’ sites go through a page that says so.
Total cost across three paths
| Path | Topstep | Lucid Trading | Cheaper |
|---|---|---|---|
| Passed first time | $170 | $146 | Lucid Trading $24 apart |
| Three resets before passing | $394 | $416 | Topstep $22 apart |
| A year of funded account | $170 | $146 | Lucid Trading $24 apart |
A total marked “≥” is a minimum: an amount is missing — sometimes because the firm does not publish it, sometimes because we have not recorded it. Each firm's guide says which. A minimum cannot be ranked against a firm price, and the column says “undetermined” rather than pick one.
The answer depends on the scenario, and that is the point
The three rows above are the same calculation along three paths. Where both totals are firm, the column names the cheaper of Topstep and Lucid Trading; where one is a floor, it answers “undetermined” rather than compare a minimum against a price.
What actually separates Topstep from Lucid Trading
The table above compares what you pay to get in. This one compares what decides the rest — the funded-account rules, and the 50K evaluation rules.
| Rule | Topstep | Lucid Trading |
|---|---|---|
| Profit target (50K) | $3,000 | $3,000 |
| Maximum drawdown (50K) | $2,000 | $2,000 |
| Funded-account drawdown | end-of-day | end-of-day |
| Profit split | 90/10 | 90/10 |
| Consistency at payout | 40% | 40% |
| Daily loss limit (50K) | none | $1,200 |
| Minimum trading days (50K) | 2 | 1 |
| Maximum contracts (50K) | 5 mini / 50 micro | 4 mini / 40 micro |
| Trading through news | yes | yes |
Platforms. 1 shared (Quantower) · only on Topstep: ProjectX · only on Lucid Trading: ATAS, NinjaTrader, Rithmic, Sierra Chart, TradingView, Tradovate.
Lucid Trading sets a $1,200 daily loss limit on the 50K; Topstep publishes none. A daily limit closes the day at a threshold hit intraday, independently of the overall drawdown.