What is a VPS in trading?

Why do traders use a VPS?

Because an Expert Advisor only runs while MetaTrader is open and connected. On a laptop, trading stops whenever the lid closes, the Wi-Fi drops or Windows restarts for an update. MetaQuotes puts the requirement for automated trading plainly: "constant connection to a trade server and uninterrupted power supply". A VPS supplies both.

What keeps working if MetaTrader closes?

Less than people assume. Stop loss and take profit orders sit on the broker's server and still trigger with your terminal closed, but everything the terminal does itself stops: new entries, early exits and trailing stops. MetaQuotes is explicit that a trailing stop "is executed in the trading platform rather than on the server", so "it will not work, unlike the above orders, if the platform is off". That gap is what a VPS closes.

Does a VPS make trading faster?

A little, and it matters less than advertised. A server close to your broker cuts the time an order takes to arrive by milliseconds, which is meaningful for high-frequency systems and close to irrelevant for a strategy that trades 1- to 15-minute bars. MetaQuotes says 96% of broker servers can be reached from its own hosting in under 10 ms. Uptime is still the real reason to pay for one.

MetaTrader's built-in hosting or a full VPS?

MetaTrader sells hosting from inside the terminal, under Tools, then Virtual Hosting, which MetaQuotes describes as "a service providing the round-the-clock operation of the trading platform". It runs a copy of your terminal with its charts, Expert Advisors and indicators, not a machine you control. When you move Expert Advisors across, "the automated trading function is automatically disabled in the local platform", so the same EA does not trade twice.

Choosing and setting one up is covered in our forex VPS guide.

Can you use a VPS on a prop firm account?

Read the firm's terms first, because rules differ. Topstep's are explicit: "All trading activity must originate from your personal device. The use of VPS, VPNs, and remote servers is prohibited", and "Running automation on a VPS can result in account suspension or removal from the program". Check before you move an evaluation account onto a server.

How do you check a VPS is doing its job?

Reboot it deliberately once, then confirm that MetaTrader relaunched, logged back in and the Expert Advisor reattached with its icon blue. Many people only find out that their VPS does not do this during the first unplanned restart. See MT5 disconnected on a VPS.