Best Bitcoin Open Source Trading Bots

Whether you are an experienced cryptocurrency trader or if you are just finding your footing in Bitcoin or other digital assets, there’s a high chance that you have heard of open source trading bots.

As one of the fastest growing types of automated solutions, these programs are becoming super popular among traders of all types.

So what makes them so special, you ask?

First of all, these bots are available free of cost. Since they are open source, they are intended to be used by a larger community without any costs. This sets them apart from commercial license tools that require you to pay a steep fee in order to use their functions.

But despite not having any pricing labels on their service, these bots still come with some basic yet powerful features as well as security mechanisms. Reliable bots never ask you to share your exchange’s direct account access with them. Instead, they only access your account for trading on your designated exchange, and just require API access from your end.

This makes sure that even though you are not paying sky high prices in service fee, you are still getting a reliable service that isn’t going to rob you of your hard earned money.

These features have made crypto bots so sought after by new and old traders alike. Due to this, a handful of free solutions have come to the forefront in the past few years.

While this is good for traders who are short on funds or who don’t want to spend more money than their trading activities on the exchange, it also makes it difficult to make a choice between all of these options and find the best Bitcoin open source trading bots for your use.

🤖 What is the Best Open Source BTC Bot?

Developing a working bot is not a small feat. It requires an intense commitment in terms of time and resources. It also needs sufficient knowledge of programming languages as well as trading mechanisms. This is why, only a limited number of developers choose to make their solutions open source and have them available for free.

It is also prudent to note that almost none of these bots use a graphical user interface (GUI). Instead, they operate through a command-line interface. This also limits their usage to only those traders who know how to operate command-line programs with ease.

This means that unlike commercial license bots, there is not a plethora of free software available to choose from. Keeping this in mind, we have put together a comparative list of all credible free bot solutions. By going through the following information, you will be able to determine which bot is a perfect fit for you. 

👉 Don’t forget to check my results with other trading bot solutions. You will know more about the setup process and possible profit amounts.

Gekko

Gekko is perhaps the most popular open source cryptocurrency bot. Supporting 16 crypto exchanges, it has some powerful features and strategies attached to it.

With support for paper trading, backtesting, and profit and risk calculation, Gekko might just fulfill all your needs. With that being said, the limitations of some features such as the lack of a GUI might still cause you to upgrade to a commercial bot.

Pros

  • Well-defined tutorial/guide
  • Support for variety of exchanges
  • Large community
  • Various strategies

Cons

  • No GUI
  • Difficult to install and use

ZenBot

ZenBot is another popular bot that comes with a long list of features. With support for 12 different cryptocurrency exchanges as well as technical analysis and backtesting features, it packs a lot of power in its basic interface.

ZenBot also has a paper trading mode and comes with different strategies such as buy and sell stops as well as trailing profit stops. It can also generate comparative graphs for data visualization. And it boasts of a web-based dashboard as well. But like other software solutions, it could be difficult to run for novice users.

Pros

  • Detailed documentation
  • Support for various exchanges
  • Web-based dashboard
  • Support for plugin
  • Vast community
  • Varied strategies

Cons

  • No GUI
  • Difficult to use for novice traders

Catalyst

Catalyst is another popular program that’s considered one of the best open source Bitcoin bots. It supports 9 cryptocurrency exchanges for live trading. At the same time, it also has features such as backtesting and different trading strategies.

This bot is built with providing traders with room for development, which makes it easier for advanced traders to create their own algorithms. With that being said, installing and operating Catalyst can be a bit of a hassle if you are not familiar with advanced computing.

Pros

  • Detailed tutorial/guide
  • Support for various exchanges
  • Various strategies

Cons

  • No GUI
  • Difficult to install and use

Hummingbot

Hummingbot is considered one of the best Bitcoin bots due to its ability to work with both centralized and decentralized exchanges. In total, it covers 9 crypto exchanges. It also comes with various strategies, as well as additional features such as arbitrage and paper trading.

Hummingbot doesn’t have as large a community as the first three options on this list. But it still provides stellar features and essential security, which is what makes it a part of this list.

Pros

  • Detailed tutorial/guide
  • Support for various exchanges
  • Various strategies
  • Arbitrage trading

Cons

  • No GUI
  • Difficult to install and use
  • No backtesting

Freqtrade

Freqtrade is yet another popular option in cryptocurrency trading bots. It is mainly because it has a relatively easy to use interface while still supporting all essential features. It comes with out of the box support for Binance and Bittrex. But traders can add more exchanges through commands.

Freqtrade also comes with support for a ton of strategies while also giving you some cool options such as trading support through machine learning. This makes Freqtrade a beginner friendly bot that also comes with some latest technologies.

Pros

  • Easy to use
  • Advanced features
  • Different strategies
  • Extensive tutorial/guide

Cons

  • Limited community
  • Limited out of the box support for exchanges

As outlined above, most of these open source trading bots have similar pros and cons with only a factor or two setting them apart from each other. You can start by going with the most popular option first, which happens to be Gekko, and make your way towards trying other options if you find it too difficult to use.

👎 What Are the Cons of Open Source Bots?

One of the biggest disadvantages of free bots is that you need to run them through your computer. The reason is simple. In order to operate without costs, none of these bots run out of a cloud-based platform. This is why, they need your machine’s internet connectivity to operate as needed.

As defined earlier, these bots also prove to be quite difficult to use as compared to their GUI counterparts in commercial license bots. But if you have a good grasp on command line or if you don’t mind learning it, then they can be a good fit for you.


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📢 Conclusion

Open source bots are good if you want to test your hand at automated trading without paying any service fee to commercial solutions. But for an easier interface, dedicated support and effective solutions, it is good to check out web-based applications that come with their service fee requirements.

At the end of the day, the decision completely depends upon you. So take your time in using free bots, and then decide whether upgrading to a paid tool will be a good option for you.