🏆#Topstep
7 articles
How to Automate Trading at a Futures Prop Firm: 3 Routes — NinjaTrader, TradingView, and APIs — and the Steps to Get a Bot Running on FTMO Futures (September 2026)
To automate trading at a futures prop firm, you can't use an MT5 EA — you need NinjaTrader's NinjaScript, a TradingView alert plus a relay service, or a given firm's API. This article covers the differences between the three approaches, which firms support which one, the exact steps the site owner took to get a NinjaTrader bot running on an FTMO Futures evaluation account, the coding pitfalls that trip people up (bar timing, time zones, forced liquidation, contract months), and the terms-of-service traps to watch for.
[September 2026] Expected Value Summary: 5 Futures Prop Firms Where Self-Built Bots Are Allowed — TradeDay and Topstep Win at Zero Edge, Bulenox/Topstep/Tradeify Win With Edge
A summary comparing $50K accounts at 5 futures prop firms where automated trading is allowed 'self-built only, with conditions' (Bulenox, Tradeify, TradeDay, The Trading Pit, Topstep), run through identical Monte Carlo simulations. At 0.30 lots, one micro gold trade per day, over 1 year: at zero edge, TradeDay Quick Pay Intraday (+$2,522) and Topstep (+$2,519) are tied for the top. At 'medium' edge, Bulenox Qualification (+$25,529), Topstep (+$24,982), and Tradeify Select Daily (+$24,218) lead. None of them reach Category A's (fully automated OK) leader, FTMO Futures Pro (+$4,836 at zero edge). The Trading Pit is the only one that explicitly allows VPS; TradeDay and Topstep ban it.
[Beginner's Guide] Futures Prop Rules Explained From Scratch: Contracts, Trailing DD, Consistency, Activation Fees, and Trading Hours
A table-based breakdown of US futures prop rules (Topstep, FTMO Futures, The5ers Futures, and others), aimed at FX traders. Covers how contracts map to lots, the difference between EOD trailing and intraday trailing, consistency rules, monthly fees and activation fees, all forced-close times in JST, and contract counts for gold futures (GC/MGC).
[September 2026] I calculated Topstep's expected value — it loses to FTMO Futures at the same lot size; you only win by sizing up big with no daily loss limit
Ran a full year of Monte Carlo simulation from Topstep's Trading Combine through the Express Funded Account to payouts. Confirmed the monthly fee, resets, activation fee, max loss, and withdrawal conditions on the official help center on September 23, 2026. At $50K and 0.30 lots, zero edge comes out to +$2,519/year — about half of FTMO Futures Pro. Without a daily loss limit you can size up to 0.50 lots and flip the result, but that needs 25–39 resets a year. Also compares with/without the activation fee, Standard vs. Consistency, and with/without a daily loss limit.
FTMO Futures vs Topstep: FTMO Wins on Expected Value, Topstep Wins on Monthly Cost. If You're Running a Bot, VPS Access Is the Deciding Factor [September 2026]
We re-confirmed the rules on both the futures prop leader Topstep and FTMO Futures, which entered the market in September 2026, on September 23, 2026, and compared them. The monthly fee is less than half at Topstep, but running the same lot size through evaluation to payout for a year gives FTMO Futures Pro the higher expected value ($50K, zero edge: +$4,836 vs. +$2,519). Covers activation fees, the fact that you can only withdraw 50% of the balance, an optional daily loss limit, resets that shift your billing date, VPS eligibility, and running a bot on a live account.
[September 2026 Edition] A Full Review of Automated-Trading Rules Across 28 Futures Prop Firms - Where Can You Actually Run a Bot, EA, or Copy Trade?
We reread the official help centers and terms of 28 US futures prop firms on September 21-22, 2026, and sorted their automated-trading policies into five tiers: fully automated OK / self-built only with conditions / semi-automated only / banned / not addressed. Bulenox has switched to banning commercial and shared bots, Lucid allows them, Apex now explicitly bans automated trading on all accounts, and Tradeify requires a live video of you activating the code yourself. Covers firms that ban VPS, how each firm defines HFT (100-300 trades/day, 10-second holds), and firms that have shut down or stopped selling accounts. We've also added the two big FX firms that entered futures - FTMO Futures (allows algos) and The5ers Futures (bans algos).
[May 2026 Edition] 7 Best Futures Prop Firms for Japanese Traders — With Coupon and Discount Codes
A curated comparison of 7 firms: Apex, Topstep, MyFundedFutures, Take Profit Trader, Lucid Trading, Bulenox, and Tradeify. Covers monthly billing vs. one-time purchase, profit splits, payout conditions, and the latest coupon codes from a Japanese trader's perspective.