Top Tier Trader - Prop Firm Review
- Top Tier Trader is now TX3 FUNDING (TX3 Funding FZCO, Dubai); the old domain redirects
- 85% on 1 Phase, 80% elsewhere – Instant Pro pays just 50%; 90% is a paid add-on
- TRAILING drawdown on the 1 Phase and both Instant products; only 2-Phase is static
- Expert Advisors are banned outright – all trades must be executed manually
- $100 minimum payout on 1 Phase; refund policy and help centre disagree on timing
Important: Top Tier Trader is now TX3 Funding. The brand has been retired. Visiting toptiertrader.com redirects to tx3funding.com, and the Trustpilot listing has been merged into the TX3 profile. If you are researching Top Tier Trader, TX3 Funding is the firm you would actually be buying from — and this review covers it under that name.
Last reviewed: 13 July 2026. Checked against TX3 Funding’s official terms, help centre, refund and cancellation policies and live checkout. Figures below reflect the products on sale at the time of review; prop firm rules change often, so always confirm on the firm’s own pages before you buy.
TX3 Funding (formerly Top Tier Trader): the short version
- What it is: Top Tier Trader no longer exists — the firm is now TX3 Funding FZCO, Dubai. The old domain redirects. Unregulated, and all trading is simulated.
- The split: 85% on the 1 Phase, 80% elsewhere — and Instant Pro pays just 50%. The advertised 90% is a paid add-on.
- The drawdown: trailing on the 1 Phase and both Instant products. Only the two 2-Phase challenges are static.
- The catch: Expert Advisors are banned outright — all trades must be executed manually. Instant accounts carry consistency rules of just 10–15%.
- Cost: one-time fee. The refund policy says the fee returns on your 1st payout; the help centre says your 3rd. News trading costs extra.
- Best for: manual discretionary traders taking a 2-Phase challenge for its static drawdown.
Firm Overview
The firm formerly known as Top Tier Trader now trades as TX3 Funding, operating from TX3 Funding FZCO, a UAE free-zone company, with governing law in Dubai and arbitration at the Dubai International Arbitration Centre. Its business is now split across two domains — forex at tx3funding.com and futures at tx3futures.com — with an affiliated broker, TX3 Markets.
There is no regulator, and the terms say so in terms most firms would not put in writing:
“TX3 is not registered or licensed with the SEC, CFTC, FINRA, NFA, ESMA, DFSA, or any other regulator.” … “All trading within the platform is simulated using virtual funds. No live trades are executed.”
That is worth holding against the product pages, which describe TX3 as “backed by the regulated broker” and “a leading, regulated CFD broker you can trust”. The regulated status, whatever it amounts to, attaches to the affiliate broker — not to the entity you contract with. And no licence number or regulator is named for that broker anywhere on the site.
The Product Line – And The Drawdown Nobody Mentions
| Programme | Profit target | Daily DD | Max DD | Drawdown type | Base split |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 Phase | 10% | 3% | 6% | TRAILING | 85% |
| 2 Phase Flex | 10% then 5% | 5% | 10% | Static | 80% |
| 2 Phase Pro | 10% then 5% | 5% | 10% | Static | 80% |
| Instant Standard | None | 3% | 5% | TRAILING | 80% |
| Instant Pro | None | 2% | 5% | TRAILING | 50% |
This is the correction most reviews of this firm still need. The 1 Phase and both Instant products use a trailing drawdown that follows your equity high-water mark. TX3’s own help centre is explicit: “the drawdown trails your highest equity point… the trailing drawdown continues to apply once you move into a funded account.” Only the two 2-Phase challenges are genuinely static.
Note also that the daily drawdown on every plan is measured against balance or equity, whichever is higher — the trader-unfriendly version, because it locks your floating profit in as the reference point.
Instant Pro pays 50%. Not 80%, not 90%. It is the cheapest way in at $250, and it is the worst split on the site.
The 90% Split Is An Add-On
The forex page advertises “up to 90% of simulated profits”. The help centre is clearer: “Profit Split: 80% standard, or 90% with the Higher Profit Share add-on.” It sits on the page under a heading that says, plainly, “Explore All Our Add-ons”.
It is not earned, not a tier, and not included. Neither is news trading, weekend holding on Pro, double leverage, or the hybrid drawdown option — all five are paid add-ons.
Expert Advisors Are Banned Outright
Third-party reviews of this firm routinely say EAs are allowed “with limits”. They are not allowed at all:
“TX3 Funding Forex does not support the use of Expert Advisors (EAs) or automated trading systems on any of our trading platforms… You cannot use APIs… All trades must be executed manually.“
Copy trading and signal services are banned too. If you trade an algorithm, this firm is not an option, and no add-on changes that.
The HFT detection thresholds are also unusually tight — an account is flagged at two or more executed trades within any three-second window, on a rolling basis, and order splitting counts toward it. A fast manual scalper can trip this without running anything automated at all.
The Consistency Rules Are Severe On Instant
Consistency applies at the funded stage, and it blocks payouts rather than failing the account. The thresholds scale sharply:
- 1 Phase: 50%
- Pro: 40% up to $50k, tightening to 30% at $100k, 25% at $200k and 20% at $300k
- Instant Standard: 15%. Instant Pro: 10%.
A 10% rule means no single day may account for more than a tenth of your total profit. On a small account that is close to unachievable without a long, grinding series of near-identical sessions. TX3’s own wording — “you must continue trading until the ratio falls below 50% before requesting a payout”, and “recovering losses does not count as new profits” — tells you how it plays out in practice.
Two further rules worth knowing. On funded Pro accounts, no single position or group of positions may lose more than 3% — breach it and the account is gone: “a breach is immediate and final. Even if the market later recovers, the account remains disqualified.” And a 30-day inactivity rule fails the challenge permanently, with “no refunds… even if no trades were ever placed”.
Fees, Refund and Payouts
The fee is a rebate rather than a refund — and TX3’s own two pages disagree about when you get it.
The refund policy page: the fee is refunded “together with your first monthly withdrawal.”
The help centre: “You will receive a full refund of your challenge fee with your third payout… Refunds are not issued automatically after passing the challenge.”
First payout or third payout is a material difference, and both statements are live today. Assume the third and treat anything sooner as a bonus.
| Payout term | 1 Phase | Flex | Pro |
|---|---|---|---|
| First payout | 3 days after first trade | 10 days | On demand |
| Cycle | Every 3 days | Every 7 days | Any time |
| Minimum | $100 | 2% profit | 2% profit + consistency |
| Processing | Within one business day after risk checks; no weekend processing | ||
| Methods | Bitcoin, USDT (ERC-20), Rise — not Wise, despite the product page | ||
Payouts are capped at 10% of the initial balance on Pro, and you pay any transaction fees yourself. The terms reserve the right to “delay or deny payouts” pending review, and to “freeze accounts, delay payouts, or terminate access at its discretion“.
The forex page’s claim that payouts run “through Wise, which allows up to 15 payment options” is not supported anywhere in the help centre, which lists only crypto and Rise.
Trading Rules
- Expert Advisors, bots, APIs, copy trading: all prohibited. Manual execution only.
- News trading: banned on every plan, in both phases, unless you buy the add-on. Blackout is five minutes either side of red-folder events.
- Weekend holding: permitted on 1 Phase and Flex. On Pro it requires a paid add-on — without it, positions are force-closed from 3pm EST on Friday.
- Minimum trade duration: “a majority of trades” are expected to last at least 1-2 minutes. The wording is vague and enforcement is discretionary.
- Prohibited: grid trading, martingale, latency and reverse arbitrage, tick scalping, order stacking, HFT.
- Minimum trading days: 3 to 10 depending on the plan — despite a badge on the forex page reading “No Min. Trading Days”.
- Platforms: MatchTrader, MetaTrader 5 and A-Trader.
Company Information
- Entity: TX3 Funding FZCO, a UAE free-zone company. No trade licence number or registered street address is published on the site
- Former brand: Top Tier Trader. The domain redirects to tx3funding.com and the Trustpilot profiles have been merged
- Governing law: Dubai, UAE, with arbitration at the DIAC. Note the cancellation policy separately states the governing law is the USA — two live documents, two different jurisdictions
- Regulation: none. The terms state TX3 is not registered or licensed with any regulator, and that all trading is simulated
- Trustpilot: 3.4 out of 5 from around 4,300 reviews, with 11% at one star. There is no consumer alert on the listing. The profile is marked as merged, so the score blends legacy Top Tier Trader reviews with TX3 ones
On reports of payout problems. There are consumer complaints on the Trustpilot listing alleging denied payouts and account deactivations following large withdrawal requests. We treat these as allegations, not established fact — we have not verified any individual case. What is verifiable is that the terms expressly permit TX3 to “delay or deny payouts” and to freeze accounts “at its discretion”, and the help centre confirms payouts “may be delayed if your account is under review”.
Who TX3 Funding Actually Suits
The payout mechanics on the 1 Phase are good: an 85% base split before any add-on, withdrawals every three days, a $100 minimum and one-business-day processing. For a discretionary manual trader who wants frequent small payouts, that is a genuinely competitive package.
But the constraints are heavy and they are not well advertised. Automation is banned entirely. Trailing drawdown applies to three of the five products, including the flagship 1 Phase. News trading and weekend holding on Pro both cost extra. The Instant products carry consistency rules of 10-15%, which are among the tightest in the market. And the firm’s own documents contradict each other on the refund date, the governing law and the payout methods.
Consider it if you trade manually and discretionarily, you take the 2 Phase Flex or Pro for their static drawdown, and you have priced in the add-ons you will actually need.
Avoid it if you run EAs or any automation, you are drawn to the 1 Phase without registering that its drawdown trails, you trade news, or you would be buying Instant Pro on price without noticing it pays 50%.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Top Tier Trader still operating?
Not under that name. Top Tier Trader is now TX3 Funding. The toptiertrader.com domain redirects to tx3funding.com, the Trustpilot listings have been merged, and the operating entity is TX3 Funding FZCO in Dubai. If you are researching Top Tier Trader, TX3 Funding is the firm you would be buying from.
Does TX3 Funding allow Expert Advisors?
No. EAs, bots, APIs and automated trading systems are banned outright — “all trades must be executed manually”. Copy trading and signal services are prohibited too. Third-party reviews that say EAs are allowed “with limits” are wrong.
Does TX3 Funding have a trailing drawdown?
Yes, on three of five products. The 1 Phase, Instant Standard and Instant Pro all trail your equity high-water mark, and the trail continues into the funded account. Only the 2 Phase Flex and 2 Phase Pro are static. If you want a fixed floor, take a 2 Phase challenge.
What is TX3 Funding’s profit split?
The base is 80%, or 85% on the 1 Phase. Instant Pro pays only 50%. The advertised 90% is a paid add-on called Higher Profit Share, not a tier and not earned.
When does TX3 Funding refund the challenge fee?
The firm’s own pages disagree. The refund policy says the fee is returned “with your first monthly withdrawal”; the help centre says “with your third payout“. Both are live. Assume the third payout and treat anything earlier as a bonus.
Can you trade news at TX3 Funding?
Not without paying for it. News trading is prohibited on every plan, in both the challenge and the funded phase, unless you buy the News Trading add-on. The blackout window is five minutes either side of a red-folder release, and the penalty is forfeiture of the profits made.
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