Topstep vs Apex vs TopOneFutures — What to Track in Each

Topstep vs Apex vs TopOneFutures — What to Track in Each

Not all prop firm evaluations are the same. The rules are different, the drawdown structures are different, and the things that will get your account pulled are different.

If you're using a trading journal — and you should be — your journal needs to reflect the specific firm you're trading with. Generic tracking isn't enough. Here's what to log for each of the three main futures prop firms.

Topstep

Topstep uses a trailing maximum drawdown during the evaluation phase. This is the detail that catches traders out.

The trailing drawdown follows your highest account balance, not your starting balance. So if you start with a $50,000 account and run it up to $52,000, your max drawdown floor rises with it. Get back to $49,500 and you've breached — even though you're technically above where you started.

What to track in your journal for Topstep:

- Your highest account balance to date (update this after every profitable session)
- Current trailing drawdown floor (highest balance minus the drawdown threshold)
- Daily loss limit — Topstep enforces this separately from the max drawdown
- Whether you hit your personal stop-out before reaching either limit

Write these three numbers at the top of your journal page before every session. Don't rely on the platform dashboard alone — by the time you're reading a number on a screen, you may already be reacting rather than planning.

Apex Trader Funding

Apex is known for running frequent promotions and offering multiple account sizes. Traders often run several Apex accounts simultaneously, which creates its own tracking challenge.

Apex uses a static maximum drawdown — it's calculated from your starting balance and doesn't trail. That's actually simpler to manage than Topstep's model, but Apex's daily loss limits are firm and there's no flexibility on breach.

What to track in your journal for Apex:

- Which account you're trading (if you run multiple — note the account number or nickname)
- Starting balance and static drawdown floor for that account
- Daily loss limit specific to that account size
- Cumulative P&L for the evaluation period (Apex has a minimum profit target)

If you're running more than one Apex account, give each one its own journal section or use a separate page per account per day. It's easy to mentally blur the limits between accounts when you're trading them back to back.

TopOneFutures

TopOneFutures is newer to the market but has gained traction with competitive pricing and straightforward rules. The evaluation structure is relatively clean — but like all firms, the rules are only simple if you've actually read them and written them down.

What to track in your journal for TopOneFutures:

- Daily loss limit and end-of-day balance
- Total drawdown remaining
- Any consistency requirements — some firms want to see that your profit isn't concentrated in one or two outsized days
- Session start and end times (trading outside market hours or in low-liquidity windows is where small accounts get hurt)

The consistency angle is worth taking seriously. If your evaluation journal shows you hit your profit target in two lucky sessions and ground sideways for the rest, that's a funded account waiting to blow up. Track your day-by-day profit distribution so you can see whether you're trading consistently or just getting lucky.

 The One Thing All Three Have in Common

Every single prop firm will remove your funding if you breach the rules. Doesn't matter if it was one bad trade, one revenge session, or a slow drift across three sessions that you didn't notice until it was too late.

The journal habit that protects you across all three firms is the same: **write your critical numbers before you open a position, not after**.

That means your drawdown floor, your daily limit, and your personal stop-out (which should always be tighter than the firm's limit) are on paper in front of you before the market opens. Not on a screen in another tab. On paper, in front of you.

That's what the DMC Trading Journal is designed for — a structured daily layout that puts the numbers that matter front and centre before you start trading.

See the DMC Trading Journal →