Written by Charges and what customers buy
FTMO’s CFD fee FAQ, checked on 4 October 2026, states that the fee covers the platform and technical infrastructure as well as the simulated evaluation and the associated applications (FTMO).
Topstep’s Express Funded Account parameters page, checked on the same date, states that there is no monthly subscription after passing, with one activation unless the No Activation Fee Trading Combine option was selected (Topstep).
Customer prices and financial statements are different documents, and one cannot be read off from the other in either direction.
Simulated results versus live trading
Topstep’s Express Funded Account operates in a simulated environment, yet real-money rewards can be based on simulated results; the later Live Funded stage is distinct (Topstep).
Monetary debits appearing in a simulated profit and loss statement are not automatic cash payments from the customer, nor are they automatic cash revenue for the firm. Published pricing terms do not disclose how any firm allocates cash internally, so simulated figures cannot be treated as evidence of either outgoing payments or incoming revenue.
A hypothetical revenue and cost ledger
The following ledger is entirely hypothetical with invented inputs, not actual pricing or results.
| Ledger line | Amount |
|---|---|
| Purchases: 200 at $100 | $20,000 gross fee receipts |
| Assumed operating costs | $9,000 |
| Assumed paid rewards | $7,000 |
| Remaining before other costs and tax | $4,000 |
Refunds, payment processing costs and other charges change the result, and no inference follows about actual pass rates, payout reserves or profitability. The ledger is structural: gross fee receipts are one number, and several further numbers sit between them and any residual.
A user-side cost example, equally hypothetical: a $100 purchase plus a $50 retry plus a $25 optional upgrade equals $175 spent before any reward. Your own ledger should record every payment, including resets, renewals and activations, because these accumulate quietly.
What published prices cannot tell you
Published prices are customer charges. They are not evidence of private cash allocation or of internal costs. From pricing alone you cannot infer pass rates, reserves, audited revenue shares, motives or solvency. Pricing alone also cannot establish that failed traders fund winners, that simulated spread markups are pure profit, or that broker ownership guarantees capital support. No definitive legal or scheme characterisation follows from the figures presented here. Fee and rule verification, as described in our methodology, is a different exercise from independent confirmation of trading conditions or receipt of payments, and one should not be mistaken for the other.
Practical evidence checks before paying
- Identify the exact contracting company and the account stage, since evaluation, funded-simulated and live stages differ. See account types.
- Record dated fee and refund terms, including which fees are refundable and when.
- Total every payment: purchase, renewal, reset, activation and optional add-ons.
- Save the rule and version record in force at purchase, because parameters change.
- Read the published reward conditions, including objectives and agreement requirements, and how reward conditions work in practice. See how payouts reach you and how challenges work.
- Distinguish firm-reported payout totals, trader screenshots and documented independent receipts as three different evidence classes.
- Treat reviews as useful leads, not proof of reserves.
- Bank proof can show one payment occurred, not capacity to pay all claims.
Uncertainty here is practical rather than alarming: it should sharpen your purchasing decision, not produce vague warnings. For background, see what is a prop firm.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does a simulated account mean rewards are fake?
Whether a reward was actually paid cannot be established from the simulated environment alone. A promised contractual reward and a documented bank receipt are separate things, and each requires its own verification before any conclusion about real payments is drawn.
Are challenge fees refunded?
Whether a refund is available depends on your contract, the account version and the conditions you accepted. Passing an evaluation is not automatically followed by a refund. See the FTMO CFD fees and refund FAQ for the firm's own published wording.
Can a profit split prove the firm is sustainable?
No. A published split describes how an eligible reward would be divided, not the reserves behind it. It says nothing about operating costs, payout history across all customers or audited solvency. Treat the split as a contract term, and look to documented payment evidence and your own cost ledger when judging value.
