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TakeProfitTrader PRO Account Commissions Explained

Written by Paul

Published on

January 6, 2026

TakeProfitTrader PRO simulation accounts charge $5.00 per round trip for standard contracts (ES, NQ, etc.) and $0.50 per round trip for micro contracts (MES, MNQ, etc.), with these rates remaining fixed regardless of account size, trading volume, or performance.

These commissions are deducted automatically from your PRO account balance each time you complete a round trip (entry plus exit), and they're factored into your net profit before the 80/20 profit split is applied when you withdraw. Unlike some prop firms that charge exchange fees, data fees, and platform fees separately, TakeProfitTrader's commission rates are all-inclusive with no hidden per-trade costs beyond the stated $5/$0.50 rates.

Understanding how commissions impact your profitability is critical for calculating break-even points and determining whether your trading strategy can overcome the cost of execution in a simulation environment with higher commissions than live trading.

Quick heads-up: This article is based on my real experience with TakeProfitTrader and the info available when I published/updated this. Things change in prop trading — rules, payouts, promos, all of it.

For the absolute latest, check TakeProfitTrader´s website or their knowledge base.

PRO Commission Rates

Contract Type	Commission per Round Trip	Per Contract (Entry + Exit)
Standard (ES, NQ, RTY, YM)	$5.00	$2.50 entry + $2.50 exit
Micros (MES, MNQ, M2K, MYM)	$0.50	$0.25 entry + $0.25 exit

Round trip definition: One complete trade cycle (buy then sell, or sell then buy)

Example:

Buy 1 MES at 5,000 → Sell 1 MES at 5,010 = 1 round trip = $0.50 commission

How Commissions Are Deducted

Automatic deduction: Every time you complete a trade, commission is subtracted from your PRO balance

Example trade:

Starting balance: $50,000
Buy 1 ES at 5,000.00
Sell 1 ES at 5,010.00
Gross profit: $125 (10 points × $12.50 per point)
Commission: -$5.00
Net profit: $120

New balance: $50,120

You see: Balance increased by $120 (the commission was already deducted)

Commissions by Trading Style

Scalper (10-30 Round Trips Per Day)

Profile: Holds positions 30 seconds to 5 minutes, targets 2-5 ticks

Monthly volume: 300 round trips

Standard contracts (ES):

300 × $5.00 = $1,500/month in commissions

Micro contracts (MES):

300 × $0.50 = $150/month in commissions

Break-even calculation:

To net $2,000/month profit after commissions on MES:

Required gross: $2,000 + $150 = $2,150

Impact: Commissions eat 7% of profits for scalpers

Day Trader (3-8 Round Trips Per Day)

Profile: Holds positions 15 minutes to 2 hours, targets 10-20 ticks

Monthly volume: 100 round trips

Standard contracts (ES):

100 × $5.00 = $500/month in commissions

Micro contracts (MES):

100 × $0.50 = $50/month in commissions

Break-even calculation:

To net $3,000/month profit after commissions on ES:

Required gross: $3,000 + $500 = $3,500

Impact: Commissions eat 14% of profits for day traders

Swing Trader (1-3 Round Trips Per Week)

Profile: Holds positions overnight to several days, targets 50+ ticks

Monthly volume: 12 round trips

Standard contracts (ES):

12 × $5.00 = $60/month in commissions

Micro contracts (MES):

12 × $0.50 = $6/month in commissions

Break-even calculation:

To net $4,000/month profit after commissions on ES:

Required gross: $4,000 + $60 = $4,060

Impact: Commissions eat 1.5% of profits for swing traders

Key insight: Lower frequency = lower commission impact

Why PRO Commissions Are Higher Than PRO+

PRO simulation: $5.00 per RT (standard), $0.50 (micro)
PRO+ live: $1.29-1.50 per RT (standard), $0.25-0.35 (micro)

Difference: PRO charges 3-4× higher commissions

Why?

Simulation environment costs: TPT pays for sim infrastructure, data feeds, platform licensing
No exchange rebates: In live trading, brokers get rebates from exchanges for providing liquidity. Sim trading doesn't generate rebates.
Incentive to upgrade: Higher commissions in PRO encourage profitable traders to move to PRO+ where commissions are lower

Is this fair?

Debatable. Some traders argue PRO should have lower commissions since there's no real execution cost. Others accept it as the price of trading without psychological pressure.

What's Included in PRO Commissions

Included:

Platform access (NinjaTrader, Tradovate, etc.)
Simulated market data
Order execution (sim fills)
Trade reporting and tracking

NOT included (separate costs):

Monthly Test/PRO subscription ($102-170/month)
Reset fees if you violate ($449-1,499)
Withdrawal fees (which are $0, but clarifying for completeness)

Bottom line: The $5/$0.50 commissions are your only per-trade cost.

Calculating Your Profitable Edge After Commissions

Formula:

Win rate × Average win - Loss rate × Average loss - (Trades per month × Commission per RT) > 0

Example:

Your stats:

Win rate: 60%
Average win: $75 per trade
Loss rate: 40%
Average loss: $50 per trade
Trades per month: 100
Commission: $0.50 per RT (MES)

Math:

Expected value per trade = (0.60 × $75) - (0.40 × $50) = $45 - $20 = $25 per trade

Commissions per trade: -$0.50

Net expected value: $25 - $0.50 = $24.50 per trade

Monthly profit: 100 trades × $24.50 = $2,450

After 80/20 split: $2,450 × 0.80 = $1,960 take-home

Commission Impact on Profit Split

Critical understanding: Commissions are deducted BEFORE the profit split

Example:

Gross profit: $5,000
Commissions: -$500
Net profit: $4,500
Your 80%: $3,600
TPT's 20%: $900

Not:

Gross profit: $5,000
Your 80%: $4,000
Commissions: -$500
Your take-home: $3,500

Order matters: Commissions → Profit split → Withdrawal

For details: PRO Profit Split

Do Commissions Vary by Account Size?

No. All PRO accounts pay the same commissions regardless of size.

Account Size	Standard RT	Micro RT
$25,000	$5.00	$0.50
$50,000	$5.00	$0.50
$150,000	$5.00	$0.50

Some traders expect discounts for larger accounts. TakeProfitTrader doesn't offer that.

Comparing PRO Commissions to Other Prop Firms

Prop Firm	Standard RT	Micro RT
TakeProfitTrader PRO	$5.00	$0.50
Apex Trader Funding	$5.00	$0.50
TopOneFutures	$4.00	$0.40
MyFundedFutures	$5.00	$0.50

Analysis: TakeProfitTrader's PRO commissions are standard for the industry. Not the cheapest (TopOneFutures), not the most expensive (some firms charge $6-7).

Can You Negotiate Lower Commissions?

No. TakeProfitTrader does not offer custom commission rates.

Alternative: Upgrade to PRO+ for 70-75% lower commissions ($1.29-1.50 instead of $5.00)

Caveat: PRO+ has psychological pressure of live trading. Lower commissions don't help if you underperform.

Tax Treatment of PRO Commissions

Are commissions tax deductible?

Yes. Commissions are a business expense.

How to claim:

Schedule C (Self-Employment) → Line 10 (Commissions and Fees)

Example:

Gross trading income: $20,000
Commissions paid: $2,000
Net income: $18,000

You pay taxes on: $18,000 (not the full $20,000)

For complete tax guidance: TakeProfitTrader Taxes

Strategies to Minimize Commission Impact

Strategy 1: Trade Micros

MES commission ($0.50) is 10× cheaper than ES ($5.00)

Strategy 2: Reduce Trade Frequency

100 trades/month × $5 = $500
50 trades/month × $5 = $250
Savings: $250/month

Strategy 3: Increase Win Rate

Higher win rate = fewer losing trades = fewer total trades needed to reach profit goal

Strategy 4: Focus on R-Multiple

Target 2R or 3R trades instead of 1R. Fewer trades needed to reach monthly profit target = lower commissions.

Strategy 5: Scale to Multiple Accounts

5 accounts × $50/month commissions (micros) = $250 total
Better than 1 account × $1,500/month (standard contracts scalping)

Common Commission Misconceptions

Myth 1: "Commissions are charged per contract, not per round trip"

False. TakeProfitTrader charges per round trip (complete trade cycle).

Myth 2: "You can avoid commissions by not withdrawing profits"

False. Commissions are deducted from your PRO balance immediately after each trade, whether you withdraw or not.

Myth 3: "Commission rates decrease as you become more profitable"

False. Rates stay fixed at $5/$0.50 regardless of performance.

Myth 4: "TakeProfitTrader adds hidden fees on top of commissions"

False. The $5/$0.50 rates are all-inclusive. No exchange fees, data fees, or platform fees are added per trade.

Bottom Line

TakeProfitTrader PRO simulation accounts charge fixed commissions of $5.00 per round trip for standard contracts and $0.50 for micros, deducted automatically from your account balance after each completed trade and factored into net profit before the 80/20 split is applied. These rates remain constant regardless of account size, trading volume, or performance, and include all execution costs with no hidden per-trade fees beyond the stated rates. PRO commissions are 3-4× higher than PRO+ live trading ($1.29-1.50 standard, $0.25-0.35 micro) because simulation environments don't generate exchange rebates and TPT uses higher commissions as incentive for profitable traders to upgrade.

Commission impact varies dramatically by trading style—scalpers trading 300 round trips monthly pay $1,500 in commissions on standard contracts (eating 20-30% of gross profits), while swing traders doing 12 round trips monthly pay only $60 (1-2% of gross). Understanding your commission burden is critical for strategy development, with most successful PRO traders either reducing trade frequency, trading micros exclusively, or planning to upgrade to PRO+ once consistently profitable to capture the 70% commission savings available in live trading.