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TakeProfitTrader Commissions on Test and PRO Accounts

Written by Paul

Published on

January 6, 2026

Every trade you make at TakeProfitTrader costs $5 per round trip for standard contracts, $0.50 for micros. These commissions are deducted from your account balance automatically, and they add up fast—20 round trips in a day on MES = $10 in fees, 100 round trips in a week = $50.

Commission structure differs slightly between Test, PRO, and PRO+ accounts, and understanding the real cost of your trading frequency is critical for staying above buffer requirements and maximizing withdrawals. This breakdown covers commission rates by account phase, how they're calculated, how they affect your profit targets and drawdowns, and realistic cost scenarios based on trading style.

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.

Commission Structure by Account Phase

Account Phase	Standard Contracts	Micro Contracts
Test	$5.00 per round trip	$0.50 per round trip
PRO	$5.00 per round trip	$0.50 per round trip
PRO+	Varies by platform	Varies by platform

Test and PRO accounts: Fixed $5/$0.50 commissions regardless of which platform you use (NinjaTrader, TradingView, Tradovate).

PRO+ accounts: Commission structure depends on your broker (Tradovate) and platform. Typically $1.29-$2.50 per round trip for live trading, which is lower than Test/PRO sim rates.

What "Round Trip" Means

A round trip = one entry + one exit.

Examples:

Single contract:

Buy 1 MES at 4500, sell 1 MES at 4505 = 1 round trip = $0.50 commission

Multiple contracts:

Buy 3 ES at 4500, sell 3 ES at 4505 = 3 round trips = $15 commission ($5 x 3)

Scaling in/out:

Buy 2 MNQ at 16500
Sell 1 MNQ at 16510 (partial exit)
Sell 1 MNQ at 16515 (final exit)
Total: 2 round trips = $1.00 commission ($0.50 x 2)

Important: Commission is charged per contract, not per trade. If you trade 10 MES contracts in one order, that's 10 round trips = $5 in commissions when you exit.

How Commissions Affect Profit Targets in Test

Your Test account requires a 6% profit target. Commissions are deducted from your balance, so they reduce your net progress toward the target.

Example: $50K Test Account

Profit target: $3,000 (6% of $50,000)

Scenario:

You make $3,200 in gross trading profit
You execute 40 round trips on MES (40 x $0.50 = $20 in commissions)
Net profit: $3,200 - $20 = $3,180
Result: You pass ($3,180 > $3,000 target)

But if you overtrade:

You make $3,200 gross profit
You execute 500 round trips on MES (500 x $0.50 = $250 in commissions)
Net profit: $3,200 - $250 = $2,950
Result: You fail ($2,950 < $3,000 target)

Key lesson: Overtrading kills Test accounts. The commission drag on 200+ round trips can be the difference between passing at $3,050 and failing at $2,980.

How Commissions Affect Buffer in PRO

In PRO accounts, you need to build a buffer before you can withdraw. The buffer requirement is:

Buffer formula: Account balance + Total drawdown

For a $50K PRO account:

Starting balance: $50,000
Max trailing drawdown: $2,000
Buffer requirement: $50,000 + $2,000 = $52,000

You must reach $52,000 (after commissions) before you can withdraw.

Commission impact example:

Week 1:

You make $2,500 gross profit
You trade 60 round trips on MES = $30 in commissions
Net profit: $2,470
Balance: $52,470 (above buffer, can withdraw $470)

Week 2 (overtrading):

You make $2,500 gross profit
You trade 300 round trips on MES = $150 in commissions
Net profit: $2,350
Balance: $52,350 (above buffer, but you made $120 less due to overtrading)

The difference: $150 in commissions = $150 you can't withdraw. Over 10 weeks, that's $1,500 left on the table.

Commission Costs by Trading Style

Let me show you realistic commission costs based on how often you trade.

Scalper (10-30 trades/day, 200-600 round trips/month)

Platform: NinjaTrader with MES/MNQMonthly round trips: 400 on MESMonthly commissions: 400 x $0.50 = $200/month

Impact on a $50K PRO account:

If you make $2,000 gross profit per month
After commissions: $1,800 net
Commission drag: 10%

Day Trader (2-5 trades/day, 40-100 round trips/month)

Platform: TradingView with MESMonthly round trips: 60 on MESMonthly commissions: 60 x $0.50 = $30/month

Impact on a $50K PRO account:

If you make $1,500 gross profit per month
After commissions: $1,470 net
Commission drag: 2%

Swing Trader (1-2 trades/day intraday, 20-40 round trips/month)

Platform: Tradovate with ESMonthly round trips: 30 on ESMonthly commissions: 30 x $5 = $150/month

Impact on a $100K PRO account:

If you make $3,000 gross profit per month
After commissions: $2,850 net
Commission drag: 5%

The pattern: The more you trade, the higher your commission percentage. Scalpers pay 8-15% of gross profits in commissions. Swing traders pay 3-6%.

Micros vs Standard Contracts: Commission Efficiency

Should you trade micros or standard contracts? It depends on your account size and trade frequency.

Commission comparison (same dollar exposure):

Option A: 10 MES contracts

Commission: 10 x $0.50 = $5 per round trip
Profit per tick: 10 x $1.25 = $12.50

Option B: 1 ES contract

Commission: 1 x $5 = $5 per round trip
Profit per tick: 1 x $12.50 = $12.50

Same exposure, same commission cost. So why use micros?

Micros win for:

Smaller accounts ($25K-$50K) where 1 ES is too much leverage
Scaling into positions (enter 3 MES, add 3 more, add 3 more = better average)
Testing new strategies with lower risk

Standard contracts win for:

Larger accounts ($100K+) where position management is simpler
Lower total contract count (10 MES = more clicks than 1 ES)

My approach: I trade micros exclusively on $50K PRO accounts because I can scale in/out with 2-3 contract increments. On $100K accounts, I switch to standard contracts because managing 30+ micros gets tedious.

Hidden Commission Costs (Time Wasted)

Most traders focus on dollar cost but ignore time cost of commissions.

Scenario:

You're scalping MES. Your average profit per trade is 3 ticks ($3.75 per contract). Commission is $0.50 per round trip.

Net profit per trade: $3.75 - $0.50 = $3.25

Commission percentage: 13.3% of gross profit

Now let's say you make 20 trades per day:

Gross profit: 20 x $3.75 = $75
Commissions: 20 x $0.50 = $10
Net profit: $65

You worked for 4+ hours to make $65, but $10 of it went to commissions. That's 13% of your time spent just paying fees.

Solution: Increase your average win per trade to 5-6 ticks. Now your profit is $6.25 per trade, commission is still $0.50, so commission percentage drops to 8%.

PRO+ Commissions (Live Trading)

Once you're invited to PRO+, you're trading live through Tradovate. Commission rates depend on your platform:

Tradovate desktop/web:

Standard contracts: $1.29-$1.50 per round trip
Micros: $0.25-$0.50 per round trip

NinjaTrader (with Tradovate connection):

Standard contracts: $1.29 per round trip (Tradovate rate)
Micros: $0.25 per round trip
Plus NinjaTrader license fee if using live ($600-$1,200 one-time or $60-$120/month lease)

Why PRO+ commissions are lower: You're trading live markets through a regulated broker. Real brokerage commissions are cheaper than prop firm sim rates because the broker makes money from other sources (interest on margin, data feed subscriptions, etc.).

Example:

PRO account (sim):

100 round trips on MES = $50 in commissions

PRO+ account (live):

100 round trips on MES = $25 in commissions

You save 50% on commissions in PRO+. This matters when you're doing 200+ trades per month.

Do Commissions Count Toward Drawdown?

Yes. Commissions reduce your account balance, which affects your trailing drawdown.

Example:

You have a $50K PRO account. Starting balance: $50,000. Max trailing drawdown: $2,000 (minimum balance $48,000).

Day 1:

You make $500 gross profit
You pay $10 in commissions
New balance: $50,490
New trailing minimum: $48,490 (trails up)

Day 2:

You lose $400
You pay $20 in commissions (from the trades that lost)
New balance: $50,070
Trailing minimum: still $48,490
Distance to violation: $50,070 - $48,490 = $1,580 remaining

Day 3:

You lose $1,600
You pay $15 in commissions
New balance: $48,455
You've violated (below $48,490 trailing minimum)

The $15 in commissions on Day 3 pushed you below the trailing threshold. Without that commission cost, you'd be at $48,470—still violating but less obvious.

Lesson: In PRO accounts with intraday trailing drawdown, commissions accelerate violations. Every $5 or $0.50 you pay in fees brings you closer to the limit.

Tax Implications of Commissions

Commissions are deductible trading expenses for tax purposes.

How it works:

Your annual 1099-NEC from TakeProfitTrader shows your gross withdrawals. You report commissions paid as business expenses on Schedule C (if filing as trader) or as investment expenses.

Example:

Total withdrawals from PRO: $20,000
Commissions paid during the year: $1,200
Net trading income: $18,800

You pay taxes on $20,000 but deduct $1,200 as a business expense, so your taxable income is effectively $18,800.

Keep records: Your TakeProfitTrader account statement shows commission totals. Export your monthly reports and save them for tax season.

Commission Optimization Strategies

Strategy 1: Trade fewer times with higher conviction

Instead of 20 scalp trades per day (20 x $0.50 = $10/day), take 5 high-probability trades (5 x $0.50 = $2.50/day). If your win rate and average win stay the same, you save $7.50/day in commissions = $150/month.

Strategy 2: Use limit orders instead of market orders

Limit orders don't save commissions directly, but they save slippage. One tick of slippage on MES = $1.25 lost. That's worse than the $0.50 commission. Better fills = more net profit = fewer trades needed to hit targets.

Strategy 3: Batch your exits on multi-contract trades

Instead of:

Exit 1 MES at target (+3 ticks)
Exit 1 MES at target (+3 ticks)
Exit 1 MES at target (+3 ticks)(Total: 3 clicks, 3 commissions)

Do this:

Exit all 3 MES at target in one order(Total: 1 click, 3 commissions but faster execution)

This doesn't reduce commission cost, but it reduces execution risk and management time.

Common Commission Mistakes

Mistake 1: Not tracking commission totals

You think you made $1,500 this week, but after commissions you actually made $1,350. Track both gross and net profit in your trading journal.

Mistake 2: Overtrading to "make back" commission costs

You pay $50 in commissions and think "I need to make that back." So you take 10 more trades, pay another $25 in commissions, and now you're down $75. Commissions are a cost of business—accept them, don't chase them.

Mistake 3: Ignoring commission impact on Test target

You hit $2,980 profit in Test and think you're close to passing. But you've paid $50 in commissions already, so you need another $70 in gross profit to pass. Budget for commissions when planning your Test.

Mistake 4: Using standard contracts on small accounts to "save commissions"

Trading 1 ES on a $50K account to avoid paying $5 for 10 MES is a false economy. The $5 commission savings doesn't matter if the 1 ES contract violates you due to overleveraging.

Bottom Line

TakeProfitTrader charges $5 per round trip for standard contracts (ES, NQ, CL, etc.) and $0.50 per round trip for micro contracts (MES, MNQ, etc.) in both Test and PRO accounts. Commissions are deducted from your balance automatically, reducing your net progress toward profit targets in Test and delaying buffer achievement in PRO. For scalpers trading 200+ round trips per month, commissions can consume 10-15% of gross profits, while swing traders with 30-50 round trips pay only 3-5% in commission drag. PRO+ accounts (live trading) have lower commissions ($1.29-$1.50 per round trip) through Tradovate brokerage rates.

Commissions count toward drawdown calculations, so high trading frequency accelerates your risk of violation. The most effective commission optimization strategy is reducing trade frequency and increasing average profit per trade—not trying to avoid commissions by overtrading to make them back.