Free Crypto Trading Bots: 7 That Are Actually Free (2026)
A free crypto trading bot is real, but "free" rarely covers the whole bill. One well-known "free bot" deal for Crypto.com users ended on 15 June 2026, and the offer page still promises "no subscription required." This list keeps only bots whose bot layer costs $0 today, and it puts every hidden cost in one table.
TL;DR
- Three routes lead to a $0 bot layer: bots built into an exchange, open-source bots you host yourself, and bots funded by exchange referrals.
- Open source has the biggest community. Freqtrade has 55,023 GitHub stars under GPL-3.0 (GitHub, 4 October 2026). It costs nothing but your hosting.
- TradingView Hub is our product and costs $0 on new exchange accounts opened through its referral links. Your TradingView plan may not: indicator and strategy alerts need a paid plan.
- Free trials and freemium tiers aren't on this list. They end, or they cap what you can run.
Affiliate disclosure. The bot is free when you open your exchange account through our referral link. We earn a commission from the exchange, and that commission keeps the bot free for you without changing your trading fees. TradingView Hub is our own product and sits at #1 for that reason. Judge it by the same columns as the other six: software fee, trading fees, hosting, TradingView plan and how long "free" lasts.
How do you get a free crypto trading bot?
You get a free crypto trading bot through one of three routes: the bots built into an exchange, an open-source bot you run yourself, or a bot that the exchange pays for through a referral. Open source is the oldest route. Freqtrade, the largest of the three open-source projects here, has 55,023 GitHub stars and a GPL-3.0 license (GitHub, 4 October 2026).
Each route moves the cost somewhere else, so no free cryptocurrency trading bot is free of every cost. Exchange bots earn their keep through your trading fees. Open-source bots shift the cost to hardware, setup time and your own maintenance. Referral-funded bots are paid by the exchange's commission, so the deal holds only for accounts that came through the link.
So what isn't free? Several results for "trading bot free" are trials. A 7-day trial isn't free, and neither is a freemium tier that caps your bots or exchanges. That rules out the entry tiers of Coinrule, 3Commas and Cryptohopper.
If you're still unsure what a bot actually does, start with our guide on how crypto trading bots work and come back for the cost question.
The 7 free crypto trading bots, compared on cost
Seven bots pass the test, spread over three cost models: one referral-funded, three exchange-native and three open source. The table compares them on the five costs that decide what "free" means. Where the exchanges state it in writing, their bots add no bot fee. Crypto.com puts it plainly: "There are no additional fees for using the Grid Trading Bot" (Crypto.com Help Center, October 2026).
| Bot | Type | Software fee | Trading fees | Hosting | TradingView plan needed | How long free lasts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| TradingView Hub | Signal executor, cloud | $0 on referral accounts; Hyperliquid: builder fee per fill | Exchange's normal fees | None | Essential or higher for indicator and strategy alerts | Per account, no end date |
| Pionex | Exchange with built-in bots | $0 | 0.05% per trade, standard rate | None | None | As long as the exchange offers it |
| Bybit, Binance, OKX, KuCoin, Bitget bots | Built into the exchange | $0 on Bybit, KuCoin, Bitget; Binance, OKX: check fee page | Exchange's normal fees | None | None | As long as the exchange offers it |
| Crypto.com Exchange bots | Built into the exchange | $0 | Same as a limit or market order | None | None | As long as the exchange offers it |
| Freqtrade | Open source, Python | $0 | Exchange's normal fees | Your machine or a server | None | Forever (GPL-3.0) |
| Hummingbot | Open source, Python | $0 | Exchange's normal fees | Your machine or a server | None | Forever (Apache-2.0) |
| OctoBot | Open source, visual interface | $0 for self-hosted | Exchange's normal fees | Your machine or a server | Only for its TradingView connector | Forever (GPL-3.0) |
Verified as of October 2026; Binance and OKX bot fees unverified. Without a referral account, TV-Hub costs $23 for a single month, or $19 a month on the 6-month plan.
Which free crypto trading bots are actually free?
All seven cost $0 for software where verified, and each one has a catch. TV-Hub is free on five referral exchanges and on Hyperliquid through a builder fee of 0.01% per perps fill and 0.03% per spot fill (TV-Hub docs, October 2026). The exchange bots are free inside their own walls, and open source is free if you can run it.
1. TradingView Hub: free through exchange referral links
TradingView Hub executes your TradingView alerts on the exchange. The alert sends a trade command, and TV-Hub places the order with stop loss, take profit and position sizing. It's a free TradingView bot on the exchanges below.
How does the free part work? TV-Hub checks that your exchange account came through our referral link, then waives the subscription for that key for good (account and API key docs). On Bybit and Bitget the check runs automatically when you save the key. On Binance, OKX and KuCoin our team confirms the referral and activates the key by hand.
The exchange writes the referral when the account is created, so it usually can't be added to an existing account later. Bybit is the exception: you can still add our affiliate code within 14 days of sign-up.
The free model runs on these exchanges:
- Bybit.
- Binance, Spot and Futures.
- OKX.
- KuCoin, which makes it a KuCoin free trading bot without a monthly fee.
- Bitget.
- Hyperliquid, a decentralized exchange, works differently. There's no exchange account with an inviter, so you approve the TV-Hub builder fee once with your wallet. The key then needs no subscription, and you pay 0.01% per perps fill or 0.03% per spot fill on-chain. That's "free" with a small per-trade fee, not $0.
Coinbase Advanced isn't part of the free model. TV-Hub runs there on a paid subscription.
Demo accounts and testnets are free on TV-Hub for everyone, with or without a referral.
Set up the free model in four steps
- 1
Open a new exchange account through the referral link
Use one of the links above. An existing account can't be moved onto the referral.
- 2
Create an API key on the exchange
Allow trading, never withdrawals.
- 3
Add the key in TV-Hub
On Bybit, Binance and Bitget, TV-Hub checks the referral when you save the key. On OKX and KuCoin, our team activates the key by hand.
- 4
Connect a TradingView alert
Point the alert's webhook at TV-Hub and paste the trade command into the message.
The full Bybit walkthrough is in our guide to connect Bybit to TradingView. Per-exchange setup lives on the pages for Binance, OKX, KuCoin, Bitget and Hyperliquid.
The honest limits:
- It executes TradingView signals. There's no standalone grid bot that runs on its own. A signal can place DCA legs or a scaled order ladder, but the logic that repeats them has to live in your TradingView strategy.
- Indicator and strategy automation needs a paid TradingView plan (more on that below).
- Free applies only to new accounts opened through the link. Existing accounts pay $23 for a single month, or $19 a month on the 6-month plan, after a 7-day trial per exchange.
- Seven supported exchanges is fewer than some rivals offer.
2. Pionex: built-in bots inside the exchange
Pionex is an exchange built around its bots. Its help center says there are "no additional fees for using the bot" and lists a standard rate of 0.05% per trade, maker and taker (Pionex Help Center, Grid Trading Bot FAQ, October 2026). It earns from that fee instead of a subscription. The drawback: your bots only trade on Pionex, and you can't feed them your own TradingView strategy.
3. Exchange built-in bots on Bybit, Binance, OKX, KuCoin and Bitget
The big exchanges now ship their own grid and DCA bots. Bybit charges normal spot fees on filled grid orders, and "no other fees will be charged to create a Spot Grid Bot" (Bybit Help Center, October 2026). KuCoin calls its bot "totally free" and gives spot bots a 20% discount on the base fee rate (KuCoin Support).
Bitget's grid FAQ says grid bots pay the same fees as spot trading (Bitget Support, Spot Grid Trading Bot FAQ). Binance and OKX offer built-in bots too, so check their fee pages before you start.
These are the simplest free crypto trading bots to start with. The catch is the logic. You pick from preset bot types, and none of them runs a custom indicator strategy.
4. Crypto.com Exchange bots: DCA and Grid
The Crypto.com Exchange runs its own DCA and Grid trading bots. Its help center says neither bot adds a fee: you pay the same as for a limit or market order (Grid, DCA). If you searched for a Crypto.com trading bot or a Crypto.com grid bot and found an expired deal, this is the route that still works.
5. Freqtrade: open source, Python, self-hosted
Freqtrade is the most-starred of the three open-source bots here, with 55,023 stars (GitHub, 4 October 2026). It brings backtesting, a web UI, Telegram control and FreqAI for machine-learning models. Its own README recommends Python skills before you start, and that's the real price of admission.
6. Hummingbot: open source market making
Hummingbot is an Apache-2.0 framework for market making, arbitrage, grid and DCA strategies, with 20,303 GitHub stars (GitHub, 4 October 2026). It's built for developers who want exchange-level control, not for a first bot.
7. OctoBot: open source with a visual interface
OctoBot is a GPL-3.0 Python bot with a browser interface, grid and DCA strategies, and connectors for TradingView and AI models (GitHub, 6,677 stars on 4 October 2026). Self-hosted, it costs nothing. Its maker also sells cloud plans, and its AI connector calls OpenAI models, billed separately by OpenAI, or a local Ollama model.
What happened to free trading bots on Crypto.com?
The third-party deal ended, and the native bots stayed. Cryptohopper gave Crypto.com users its Explorer plan, which it valued at $29 a month, until the promotion ended on 15 June 2026 (Cryptohopper, offer banner, checked 4 October 2026). The Crypto.com Exchange still runs its own DCA and Grid bots with no added bot fee.
The lesson: a "free" deal between two companies lasts only as long as their contract. Exchange-built bots and open-source licenses don't carry that risk.
TV-Hub doesn't support Crypto.com. To run your own TradingView strategy, use an exchange from the free-model list above.
Is there a free AI trading bot?
Yes, but the AI part isn't what makes it free. "Free AI trading bot" draws 320 US searches a month, three times as many as "free crypto trading bot" (DataForSEO, October 2026). The free options are open-source bots with AI features, such as Freqtrade's FreqAI module. A chatbot alone can't execute a trade.
So which is the best AI trading bot free of charge? For most people, it's an open-source bot plus a chatbot like ChatGPT or Claude that drafts the strategy. The chatbot can't place an order or watch a position at 3 a.m., so you still need an execution layer.
Be careful with anything that sells "AI" as a profit machine. In January 2024 the CFTC warned that AI can't predict the market, and it named a bot-based scheme that took more than $1.7 billion in bitcoin from at least 23,000 people (CFTC customer advisory). Is a beginner better off with AI, then? A plain strategy on a demo account teaches more.
Is TradingView free for bot trading?
No, not for strategy bots. As of October 2026, TradingView's free plan includes 3 active price alerts and 0 technical alerts, with no webhook notifications. That means no indicator or strategy alerts, so bot automation needs a paid plan: technical alerts and webhooks start with Essential (TradingView pricing, checked October 2026, plus our own test on a Basic account).
From Europe, Essential shows at €12.95 a month on annual billing (4 October 2026); TradingView prices vary by local currency.
The free part is the TV-Hub side: the bot costs nothing through our exchange referral links. The TradingView plan stays a separate cost for every signal-driven bot, while the exchange-native and open-source bots here don't need TradingView at all. For the alert side, see our TradingView alerts setup guide.
How much does a free crypto trading bot really cost?
A free bot still costs trading fees on every fill, and signal-driven bots add a delay you can't see on the price list. We measured a median of 4.0 seconds from candle close to webhook delivery across 34,174 TradingView alerts in 24 days, and the US session ran 27% slower (TV-Hub latency study, August 2026).
Budget for these:
- Trading fees. A grid bot that fills 50 times a day pays 50 fees a day.
- Hosting and your time. Open-source bots need a machine that runs 24/7, plus updates when an exchange changes its API.
- The TradingView plan. Only for bots that act on TradingView alerts.
- Expiry. Promos end. Referrals and open-source licenses don't.
A worked example for Hyperliquid: 20 round trips of 500 USDT on perps are 40 fills. At a builder fee of 0.01% per fill, that's 40 × 0.05 USDT, or 2 USDT in TV-Hub fees for the month, on top of Hyperliquid's own fees.
Which free bot should you pick?
The best free crypto trading bot depends on what you want to automate.
| If you want to... | Pick |
|---|---|
| Run a grid or DCA bot with no setup | The built-in bots of your exchange, Pionex or Crypto.com |
| Run your own TradingView strategy | TradingView Hub on a referral account, plus a paid TradingView plan |
| Code your own strategy in Python | Freqtrade, or Hummingbot for market making |
| Use a visual interface and self-host | OctoBot |
| Learn without risk | Any demo account first. On TV-Hub, demo is free for everyone |
The exchange matters as much as the bot. Our comparison of the best crypto exchanges for TradingView covers fees, API limits and order types.
Run your TradingView strategy for $0 on the bot side
Open a new account through a referral link and the TV-Hub bot runs free on that exchange.
- Bybit
- Binance
- OKX
- KuCoin
- Bitget
- Hyperliquid: approve the builder fee once, then 0.01% per perps fill and 0.03% per spot fill replaces the subscription. The link adds 4% off Hyperliquid's own fees.
Demo trading is free for everyone, no referral needed. Details are in the free-model docs.
Start Free TrialHow the free model worksFrequently asked questions
Is there a completely free crypto trading bot?
Yes, for the bot layer. Open-source bots like Freqtrade cost nothing but hosting, exchange-built bots charge no bot fee, and TV-Hub is free on new referral accounts. Trading fees always apply, and signal-driven bots need a paid TradingView plan for indicator alerts.
Is there a free AI trading bot for beginners?
Not in the way ads suggest. AI tools can draft a strategy for free, but a beginner still needs an execution bot. Start on a demo account, which is free on TV-Hub for everyone. A January 2024 CFTC advisory warns that AI can't predict markets.
Does Crypto.com have free trading bots?
Yes. The Crypto.com Exchange offers native Grid and DCA bots, and its help center says neither charges an extra fee beyond normal trading fees. The Cryptohopper free plan for Crypto.com users ended on 15 June 2026. TV-Hub doesn't connect Crypto.com.
Can I use TradingView alerts with a free bot on the free TradingView plan?
Not in a useful way. As of October 2026, Basic has 3 price alerts, 0 technical alerts and no webhooks, so no indicator or strategy alert can fire. Bot strategies need Essential or higher. An emailed price alert covers price levels only and isn't usable for bots.
The free part is the bot: TV-Hub costs $0 through a referral account.
Can I make my existing exchange account free on TV-Hub?
Usually not. The exchange sets the referral when the account is created, and most exchanges don't let you change it later. On Bybit you can still add our affiliate code within 14 days of sign-up. Open a new account through the link, or run your existing account on a subscription: $23 for a single month, or $19 a month on the 6-month plan. See the account and API key docs.
Can ChatGPT make a trading bot?
It can write Pine Script or Python strategy code. It can't place or monitor trades. You still need a bot, such as Freqtrade on your own server or TV-Hub behind a TradingView alert, to execute what the code decides.
"Free" describes the bot layer, not trading: you still pay fees, your own time or a TradingView plan. Test any bot on a demo account first, because no bot guarantees a profit.