Have you traded crypto or are you may be thinking about giving it a shot? Well, who can blame you when there are such amazing opportunities out there. However, there is one major problem, crypto markets never sleep and most people need to catch some sleep from time to time.
This can lead to many traders going to bed and waking up only to discover they missed out on a huge market move and an amazing trading opportunity.
However, this isn’t a problem for some traders. Why is that? It’s because some use crypto trading BOTS.
In this blog post, I’ll explain what crypto trading bots are, go over the pros and cons of using them and compare the top trading BOTS side-by-side.
Are Crypto Trading Bots Worth It?
Let’s dive in.
What are crypto trading bots?
Now I’m just going to give you a bit of an overview of trading BOTS. what are crypto trading bots? These applications enable you to manage all crypto exchange account in one place.
They are computer programs that help you to buy and sell cryptocurrencies at the correct time. They simply trade on your behalf with a given set of instructions.
That might be something like buy X amount of Bitcoin if a certain price target is hit. Once those rule criteria are met, then the bots will automatically execute the trade you wanted.
What this means is that to use a crypto trading bot you will need to connect it to a crypto exchange account using something known as an API application program interface.
That API gives your trading BOTS the ability to place trades programmatically at the exchange the and the result, you can execute trades in your sleep.
Sound a bit scary? Well, it should. You’re essentially handing over access to your exchange account to a computer program.
What happens if there is compromised code in the bot or the company that made the crypto BOT turn out to be scammers? These are all very real concerns that you must be aware of.
Are the machines going to take over your Binance account? Have we unleash Skynet and opened Pandora’s box? Not exactly.
The good news is that you can set permissions for exchange API. You can also determine what particular API keys can do in your account.
A good idea for the crypto trading BOTS is you can set the ability to only write orders buy or sell but not to initiate a withdrawal.
You can also limit IP addresses. This means that any instructions must come from your IP address which is a good way to protect yourself against a scammy crypto trading bot.
Now you know what a trading bot is. I want to go over the pros and cons of using them and give you some cold hard truths
Pros & cons of crypto trading bots
Pros
- Round-the-clock operations. You’re only human. You have to sleep at some point. But cryptocurrency trading bots operate 24 hours a day, seven days a week, making potentially profitable decisions for you while you sleep.
- These BOTS enable you to trade 24/7 and execute trades in your sleep. That means you’ll never miss out on another trading opportunity ever again due to sleep.
- Trading BOTS helps take the emotion out of trading. You are simply setting the rule criteria or instructions in the bot and leaving those trades to execute if your criteria are met. That means you should be less susceptible to FOMO or panic.
- Faster responses and processing. Taking too much time to execute a trade can be a big problem when the crypto market is highly volatile. You could miss out if you take too long.
- They allow you to backtest your trading strategy. This means that a bot can take that strategy you’re using and apply it to all that historical crypto price data and tell you how successful it is. Say goodbye to trading in the dark.
- Finally, trading bots simplify trading. Yes, that mega six-screen trading setup is pretty darn expensive. Given that a crypto trading bot can access and simultaneously carry out multiple trades across multiple different exchanges and you only need a mere laptop to be on your trading a game.
Cons
However, all is not gravy when it comes to crypto trading BOTS I’m going to have to be straight up with you on the cons and shatter a few myths while I’m at it.
- Potential security weaknesses. Crypto trading bots conduct trades via APIs, allowing them to work automatically, with no manual input required.
- Many people seem to be under the illusion that trading BOTS are some form of magical money printing machine. Get one, switch it on and you make money all day long. Sorry. That’s not the case at all. With a bot you have to constantly tweak your trading strategy, that is work and it is certainly not a set and forget it money printer.
- There are a bunch of scams out there. Even if you find a legitimate one some are poorly coded that it’s going to be impossible for you to execute a single profitable trade.
- Some supervision is still required. While cryptocurrency trading bots automate a lot of repetitive tasks, you’ll still need to check in regularly.
You need to be very careful with crypto trading BOTS. If it sounds too good to be true then it probably is. It’s always good to assess your options even if you choose to use a different trading BOT other than the ones I’ll recommend later on.
If you see trading BOTS claiming to guarantee returns for low one-off pricing, please run for the hills. More than likely it’s a scam.
Another thing many people do not realize is that crypto BOTS need to be monitored. Do not expect to switch on a crypto trading bot and be laughing all the way to the bank.
The market is cyclical. Trends come and go all the time. A bot is not a substitute for being a smart trader.
To use crypto trading bots you will need to keep your funds on an exchange and if the exchange is hacked all your funds are gone.
With all that said I want to move on to my top crypto trading bot.
1. 3Commas
3Commas is one of the most popular BOTS out there with over 120,000 users and 60 million dollars in trade volume every day. It has a super intuitive interface packed full of detailed analytics and a ton of functions.
The bot also enables you to set stop loss and take profit targets and craft your trading strategies. I find 3Commas smart trading functionality particularly useful.
For example, you might want to buy Etherium with Bitcoin. However, on some exchanges when you make an audit you need to decide if you want to set a take profit or a stop loss.
You cannot always set both and that’s pretty damn inconvenient. However, with 3Commas that is something you can do. As well as set trailing stop losses easily and quickly.
This means if the market jumps up 5%, then the trailing stop loss and raises your stop-loss by 5%.
Some exchanges do allow you to set take profit levels and stop losses at the same time however if that trading pair you want to trade isn’t there then you don’t have to pass up that opportunity anymore.
On top of all that 3Commas offers backtesting, dollar cost averaging BOTS, a ton of different trading tools, a traders diary to keep all your trades in one place, and a developed signals marketplace that allows you to mimic and automate the trades given by the top signals providers.
3Commas has not forgotten about mobile users too. Just hit that App Store. The bot supports many exchanges, this includes the likes of Binance and Coinbase Pro.
What is the cost?
3Commas offers a free three-day trial and prices range from anywhere between $14.50 per month and $49.50. If you are not into futures trading then honestly, that plan for $25 is what you want.
On to the pros and cons, 3Commas has one of the best interfaces out there. It’s got copy trading, supports a ton of exchanges, and offers that sweet signals marketplace. On top of all that I cannot stress how useful that smart trading feature is.
Some cons here are 3Commas is probably not the best pic for inexperienced traders. If you’re an experienced trader looking for all the bells and whistles you need, look no further than 3Commas.
2. Bitsgap
Bitsgap is one of the best bitcoin trading bots that enables you to manage your crypto assets with ease. It is best known for its unique automated trading bot. Thousands of traders with different experience and skill sets are using Bitsgap daily to maximize returns by automating their trading.
This application can analyze more than 10,000 crypto pairs and detects coin with the shortest potential. It enables you to create your bot strategy with a few mouse clicks.
The algorithm implemented by Bitsgap is based on a simple and effective technique, called GRID. It distributes investment proportionally within a trading range predefined by a trader.
Each time the buy limit order is filled, a new sell order is placed by the bot right above that price. And vice versa, a new buy order is placed below any filled sell order. As long as the price stays within the borders of the trading range, the bot will be trading non-stop.
What about the features?
Bitsgap has a 14-Day Free Trial, a risk-free trading simulator in DEMO mode, and backtested Strategies for a quick bot start. It is also a cloud-based solution, so you don’t need to download anything and these trading bots are based on a transparent and efficient logic
Automated bots have all the risk-control features like Stop-loss, Trailing UP, Take profit, and several exit strategies. Bitsgap algorithm is designed to maximize profit from buying low and selling high each time the price swings.
3. Crypto Hopper
Crypto Hopper is a bot that provides expert trading tools without the need for coding skills. If you are into more advanced trading stuff like market making and exchange arbitrage, then this bot has you covered.
The Crypto Hopper marketplace also boasts a plethora of trading template strategies and signals to choose from. These signals allow you to subscribe to professional analysts around the world and Crypto Hopper uses these signals to trade.
However, be warned that not everything in the marketplace is free for all of you that want to access your trading bot on the go. The good news is that there is an Android and iOS app.
Crypto Hopper integrates with many crypto exchanges.
In terms of cost, Crypto Hopper offers a 7-day free trial. The basic plan will set you back 16 dollars per month and is ideal for more day traders.
If you’re into exchange arbitrage then you’ll be paying $41 per month and the market-making license is a cool 83 dollars per month.
What are the pros and cons of this bot?
On the pro side, it is super easy to setup keenly priced and the marketplace is great and there are good coin and exchange support.
If I was to have one gripe it would be that I cannot see who is behind the bots.
Who is Crypto Hopper for?
Almost anyone interested in using a pro-level crypto bot at a reasonable price.
4. Pionex
Pionex is one of the best crypto trading bots with 12 Free trading bots. Pionex is the exchange with the in-built crypto trading bot. It’s one of the best free trading bot platforms for cryptocurrency I’ve ever seen since 2017.
Users can automate their trading 24/7 without always checking the markets. It aggregates the liquidity from Binance and Huobi Global and is one of the biggest Binance brokers
It aggregates the liquidity from Binance and Huobi and provides a free trading bot upon it.
The trading bots on Pionex are easy to use. And mostly I prefer trading bitcoin with these trading bots. Bitcoin has a higher market cap, and it’s the center of the whole cryptocurrency.
Pionex is safe and has been granted the MAS and MBS licenses from Singapore, and the U.S.
What are the Pionex features?
Pionex provides 12 free trading bots for retail investors. It Leveraged Grid Bot provides up to 5x leverage. Grid Trading Bot allows users to buy low and sell high in a specific price range.
This bot provides one of the lowest trading fees compared to most of the major exchanges. The trading fee is 0.05% for maker and taker.
Another feature is the Spot-Futures Arbitrage bot which helps retail investors to make passive income with low risk. Also Smart Trade terminal allows traders to set up stop-loss, take profit, trailing in one trade.
5. Quadency
Quadency is a digital asset management application that provides an automated trading solution for both institutional and retail traders.
The best part of Quadency is the backtesting feature, with which you can do it based on data and numbers instead of shooting it in the dark. It’s also the most important feature for a crypto trading bot.
It streamlines the process of investing in cryptocurrencies. It’s always nice to know the performance upon history data before using your money with the crypto trading bot.
Quadency provides a good level of customer support.
Some of its features are: This app enables you to customize bots with ease and supports automated trading. You can easily connect Quadency with the best crypto exchanges the likes of Bittrex, Binance, and Kucoin.
Another feature that I cannot forget is providing a range of automated tools and advanced TradingView (social network) charting. It also offers varieties of trading bots that can be customized with ease.
Read: What is Bitcoin mining? a Supreme Guide
6. Shrimpy
Shrimpy is a social portfolio management tool and crypto trading platform that bursts onto the scene in 2018 and quickly gained a ton of popularity in the trading community.
The value proposition was simple. Provide as many top-of-the-line trading tools for the lowest price possible and that’s why they offer a good range of services for free.
What’s important to note is that Shrimpy is not designed for signals or indicators so it’s not the best tool for day traders, instead, it is a longer-term portfolio management tool that automates things like portfolio rebalancing, dollar-cost averaging, and stop losses.
That approach is perfect for anyone that wants to take a top-level view of their portfolio and wishes to automate the management of that.
Unlike other trading bots that provide almost every possible indicator signal and stat under the Sun, Shrimpy eliminates that complexity by focusing only on core long-term trading strategies like that dollar-cost averaging that I mentioned that makes things super easy for beginners and is why Shrimpy is normally the first crypto trading bot I recommend to friends interested in this sort of stuff.
Another important feature is social portfolio management. This enables you to take a bit of a backseat when it comes to managing your funds and allows you to select other traders to manage your portfolio for you.
You can also select the best traders on the platform and get a copy of their trading strategy without copy trading them. Honestly, that’s a great learning tool and one you should check out.
Also Shrimpy offers a pretty powerful backtesting tool. If you have that ultimate trading strategy that you want to put to the test then you can do so right here right now.
Shrimpy doesn’t have a mobile app. If that’s important to you then you should certainly weigh up
other options. The Shrimpy crypto trading bot is also supported on a ton of different exchanges. What’s the cost of all this?
Shrimpy offers a pretty extensive free plan that allows you to link unlimited exchanges to monitor your portfolio performances, blacklist assets, gives you access to an asset balance tracker, and more.
However, if you want to automate that portfolio management, backtest those trading strategies, or use Shrimpy social trading features, then you’ll need to opt for a paid plan that will set you back just $13 per month if you opt for the annual plan or $19 per month if you want to pay monthly.
Shrimpy does offer a Professional and an enterprise plan with more added features.
What are the benefits and drawbacks of Shrimpy?
They offer a heck of a lot of features entirely for free and the subscription fees are quite reasonable. If you want to automate things like portfolio rebalancing and dollar-cost averaging then Shrimpy is going to save you a lot of time.
The social trading feature is also ideal for anyone that wants to leverage the knowledge of top crypto traders that do nothing but eat sleep.
In terms of drawbacks. Shrimpy is not open-sourced so you’re going to have to trust the thousands of people using it that the code is good.
Also, there’s no mobile app that could be a deal-breaker for some.
Finally, Shrimpy does not provide the functionality that most active day traders will need. If that’s you then there are certainly better options out there on my list.
In my opinion, Shrimpy is a top option for long-term crypto holders who want to automate that portfolio management or want to copy trade from some of the best traders in the space.
7. Gun bot
Gun bot is a pretty damn popular crypto bot that is compatible with Mac, Windows, and Linux. You can run it on practically any computer.
When it comes to features Gun bot comes with numerous inbuilt trading strategies that include the likes of step game gain and ping pong. Those are all real trading strategies and I have not made them up.
Another cool thing is that you can customize your trading strategies in the Gun bot and the bot will execute those trades for you.
What about mobile support? Gun bot is pretty well mobile optimized and it supports a ton of top-tier exchanges.
How is the pricing for Gun bot?
This one differs from the rest which has a subscription-based model. Instead, Gun bot charges a one-time license fee.
The starter pack is 0.02 Bitcoin however, you’ll only be able to use the Gun bot to trade on one supporter’s exchange and access free trading strategies.
Gun bot standard offers access to all trading strategies however, you will still only be able to use the bot on one exchange that will set you back 0.05 Bitcoin.
Gun bot Pro is where things start heating up in the pricing stakes. It will set you back 0.075 Bitcoin however, you will be able to use the bot on three exchanges and you’ll get access to trading strategy backtesting too.
The bot also offers a wide range of add-ons and upgrades as well which are too numerous to cover in this post.
In terms of pros and cons, I like the variety of trading strategies on offer at Gun bot.
It’s also super easy to use and supports exchanges like Coinbase Pro.
However, the downside is that Gun bot feels relatively expensive with its one-off fee structure. Who is Gun bot for?
Anyone who wants a beginner-friendly crypto trading bot that intends to be trading crypto seriously for a long time.
8. TradeSanta
This trading bot is cloud-based and has a solid reputation with over 42,000 active users, 12,000 active trading BOTS and 1.7 million completed trades. I do want to give you a fair warning. It may take you a while to get used to some of the functionality.
When it comes to features TradeSanta offers a long bot template to use when you expect a crypto asset to rise in price, a short bot template when you think it will fall, and a custom template that gives you the freedom to leverage the full functionality of the bot.
In addition to all that TradeSanta offers you plenty of technical indicators. These include things like Bollinger signals, trade filters, and volume filters.
Another neat feature that I like is real-time tracking which enables you to monitor the bot’s progress on-the-go with transparent analytics and telegram notifications.
For those of you that are constantly glued to your phone don’t worry TradeSanta has also gotten covered with an iOS and Android app.
When it comes to exchanges TradeSanta supports HitBTC, Binance, Bittrex, and others.
Let’s talk about pricing. TradeSanta offers a 5-day free trial so you can jump in there and play around with the bots to see if it’s worth your hard-earned money. After that, you can use the free version which gives you access to just two bots and has a maximum monthly volume limit of $3,000.
On top of all that you’ll get access to an unlimited number of trading pairs. All TradeSanta strategies, telegram notifications, and general customer support.
The basic plan gives you access to everything the minimum plan offers while unlocking access to up to 49 BOTS and allowing you to run an unlimited amount of trade volume through the bot.
That will set you back $14 a month. This is honestly the plan I recommend for most people who choose to opt for TradeSanta.
You can upgrade to the HitBTC promo plan for another seven dollars per month. This gives you everything in the basic plan plus 0% trading fees on HitBTC.
The maximum plan on TradeSanta gives you access to everything the basic plan does plus the zero percent in trading fees on HitBTC and access to an unlimited number of bots. That will set you back a hefty $70 per month.
What are the pros and cons of TradeSanta? You should certainly have this bot on your shortlist if you want lots of automated trading options and are looking for an intuitive interface and reliable security measures.
The bot is also well suited to beginners dipping their toes into the crypto bot waters. Needless to say, automating your crypto trading with such a tool is going to give you bucket loads of time and there is a super active trading community to meet like-minded traders too.
However, there are drawbacks. It lacks support for some of the major high liquidity exchanges like Kraken and Kucoin and doesn’t support any decentralized exchanges.
It’s also not really suior taking advantage of arbitrage opportunities and its code is not open source.
Finally, who is TradeSanta for?
In my humble opinion, this bot is ideal for any crypto day trader that’s not interested in futures trading and envisions that they will take crypto bots seriously.
It’s also beginner-friendly so if you’re new to the world of crypto bots then this is a great place to start moving on.
9. Coinrule
Coinrule is an automated trading platform that enables you to trade for Binance, Kraken, Coinbase Pro, and more crypto exchanges. The template library includes over 150 pre-set rules that help beginners running the trading system that suits their needs.
The platform allows different trading strategies, including stop loss, take profit, and integrates the main technical indicators.
Coinrule is the best crypto trading bot for beginners. Its simple rules logic allows even less advanced traders to build their trading strategy in a minute. The user-friendly interface guides users in building the trading bot step-by-step.
The list of trading strategies that Coinrule allows is limitless and the company posts regularly new ideas in the Knowledge Base of the platform.
Coinrule offers real-time customer service.
Some of its features include: you can trade 24/7, provides military-grade encryption, it allows you to test rule performance on past data, you can set custom rules for trading, and most important it has a market indicator that helps you to allocate funds with ease.
Another interesting feature is the built-in Demo exchange. Traders can test their trading systems in a safe environment with a virtual allocation of coins. The Demo rules run on prices that come directly from Binance, risk-free.
10. Mudrex
Mudrex is one of the best crypto trading bots that enables you to build a strategy with ease. It enables you to figure out good and bad investments. Mudrex makes investing in crypto bots as simple as investing in a mutual fund.
This app allows you to choose between reward and risk that suit your need. Mudrex has over 7000 users and over 400 Mn USD traded on it.
They are very transparent about their info, have a wide variety of bots based on our risk appetite, and a pricing model that is by far the best we have seen. Y-combinator-backed Mudrex outshines everyone else on the list!
Mudrex does not build its bot but instead has a curated marketplace of bots created by pro traders. The best part about the platform is that all info regarding the performance of a bot is public and easy for users to understand.
They are backed by well-known VCs and angel investors and have a very active and engaged community. They are connected with 8 of the top exchanges for, example, Binance, Coinbase Pro, OKEX BitMEX, Deribit, Bybit.
Mudrex is one of the very few on this list who can support US customers as well.
In terms of features, it offers historical data to test the strategy, offers intuitive interface, and helps you to maximize your ROI.
11. Haasonline
Haasonline is one of the best crypto trading platforms that enables you to trade on more than 16 bots. Similar to the other trade bots mentioned, they offer your standard pre-built trading bots for strategies like arbitrage and market-making, and other tools.
HaasOnline is a paid crypto trading bot platform that is unlike any other. It offers 50+ technical indicators, insurances, and safeties that can be used to create complex strategies.
However, with the release of HaasScript, their scripting language, you can develop highly complex trading bots using a drag-and-drop designer or intelli-sense editor.
You also can backtest or paper trade your strategies before executing live trades on over 25 exchanges. The likes of Bitfinex, BitMEX, Bitstamp, CCEx, Bittrex, Binance, Deribit, Gemini, Huobi, Kraken, Ionomy, Coinbase Pro, HitBTC, CEX.io
Their current product is a locally hosted non-custodial trade server, which offers complete discretion and privacy, keeping prying eyes away from your trade data and strategies. They also plan to launch a cloud version for retail traders.
Some of its features include: it offers a tutorial to understand the platform, and it offers programmable script bots that are written in C.
You can integrate backtesting with Discord (VoIP) and Telegram application and this application offers a customizable dashboard.
One drawback is that there’s no free trial, but they do offer a discounted 14-day trial license. The price starts at rice: 0.017 bitcoin for three months.
Final Thought
That is my roundup of the best crypto trading bots on the market. As mentioned before one drawback of using these bots is having to keep your funds on an exchange which of course does have its risks but there is no getting away from that if you want to use them.
A good idea is if you’re going to be running trading bots, then I do recommend that you split your funds across more than one exchange. These bots support multiple exchanges which makes it easier to spread that risk.
If you’re going to be using a bot that is not on this list make sure that you do your research and extra suspicious of any bots that promise returns.
There have been several instances in the past where API Keys have been phished to conduct malicious trades so be aware of that.
Finally, if these crypto trading bots are used correctly, they can equip you with the tools to improve your trading game.
Now I know there was a lot to take in. I do want to hear your thoughts what do you think about crypto bots, are you using them and what do you think of my picks. Thanks for reading. Share if you found this article useful.
