Max Contracts is a risk setting in TopstepX that lets you cap how many contracts your account can have in play at one time for a given symbol. Once a cap is set, any order that would push you past it is rejected before it reaches the market.
This setting was previously called Contract Limits. The name has changed, and how it works has not.
What You'll Learn
What Max Contracts does and how to set it in Risk Settings
How your total is calculated, including open positions and working orders
Why buy side and sell side are counted separately for each symbol
Why an order can still be rejected even when you are within your Max Contracts setting
What Max Contracts Does
Max Contracts is a cap you set for yourself, per symbol. If you set Max Contracts to 3 on NQ, TopstepX will reject any NQ order that would take you beyond 3 contracts on that side of the market.
Caps are set per symbol and are independent of each other. A cap on NQ has no effect on what you can do in ES.
How Your Total Is Calculated
Two things count toward your Max Contracts setting for a symbol:
Your open position in that symbol
Your working orders in that symbol
Both are added together. This means unfilled orders sitting in the market consume room against your cap, not just the contracts you are currently holding.
Buy side and sell side are counted separately. The cap is applied independently to each side of the market. With Max Contracts set to 3 on NQ, you could have 3 contracts working on the buy side and 3 on the sell side at the same time, because each side is measured on its own.
Bracket orders do not count. Take profit and stop loss orders attached to a position are excluded from the calculation, so protecting a position never uses up room against your cap.
Reducing exposure frees room. When a position is reduced or a working order is cancelled, that room becomes available again immediately.
How to Set Max Contracts
Open Settings in TopstepX and go to the Risk Settings page.
Find the Max Contracts section.
Enter the cap you want for each symbol you trade.
Save your settings.
Your settings stay in place until you change them.
Your Account Maximum Position Size Still Applies
Max Contracts is a setting you control. It sits on top of the maximum position size that applies to your account, and that maximum cannot be exceeded regardless of what you set.
This is why an order can be rejected even when it is within your Max Contracts setting. It also means a working order can be rejected at the moment it would otherwise be triggered, if filling it would take your account past its maximum position size at that time.
Your available margin determines what your account can support, and setting Max Contracts above that level does not raise it.
What Max Contracts Does Not Do
Max Contracts controls order size and quantity. It does not limit or prevent losses on the contracts you do hold, does not close positions for you, and does not indicate an appropriate size for any account. The caps you choose are your own decision.
Frequently Asked Questions
Why was my order rejected when I was still under my Max Contracts setting?
Confirm the working orders are accounted for, then confirm the total is within the max contract size limit put in place.
Do my stop loss and take profit orders count toward my Max Contracts setting?
No. While working entry orders still count (Buy stops, buy limits, sell stops, and sell limits waiting to be filled); bracket orders tied to a position are excluded from the Max Contracts calculation.
Is Max Contracts the same as Contract Limits?
Yes. Max Contracts is the current name for the setting previously called Contract Limits in TopstepX. The setting works the same way, and any caps you had already saved still carry over.
Need Help?
If you have questions about Max Contracts or about an order that was rejected, contact the Support Team and we'll be happy to help.