Top Forex Brokers that Offer a Free VPS Service
What is VPS?
“VPS” stands for Virtual Private Server. In Forex trading a VPS is used to keep a trader’s trading platform via a remote desktop connection, on its own dedicated server. In trading Forex or other financial instruments, all trades are then executed via this server. When automated trading, Expert Advisors (EAs) and trading robots became popular within the retail Forex trading space, VPS offerings started to appear as well.
A VPS uses an external server to manage a Forex traders’ trading connectivity ensuring that the MT4 (Metatrader 4) platform is running 24 hours a day and is not subject to downtime caused by electrical or computer problems. Therefore, many serious and sophisticated Forex traders use VPS technology to ensure that their Expert Advisors (EAs; Forex trading robots) can run non-stop.
What’s important when choosing a VPS Service provider?
There is a decent amount of VPS providers on the market that have tailored their offering towards the trading space. We recommend that a Forex trader checks on a couple of features before selecting a VPS service provider.
One essential element to watch out for is, if the VPS servers are optimized for Forex, stock, commodities, equities and derivatives traders and/or brokers. Most VPS service providers have their datacenters located closely to the major stock exchanges in London, New York, Tokyo, Singapore, etc. for ultra low latency and fast trade execution speeds.
Other contributing factors that leading VPS service providers offer for a powerful VPS service are:
- 100% uptime guarantee for stability in all trading systems
- High level of security
- Fast trade execution speeds
- VPS compatibility to popular trading platforms (such as MetaTrader (MT4/MT5) or cTrader)
- Live customer service and support team
- Remote Desktop Connection (RDP) software
What are the benefits of trading with a Forex broker that offer a VPS?
As highlighted above, a VPS is essentially another computer running hosted servers. The user interacts simply by logging in through any stable desktop computer or mobile device. One of the main benefits is that traders don’t need to keep their own Forex trading computer running at home 24/7, and that they don’t need to depend on their own internet or power connection in order for the Forex VPS to keep running – as this is ensured by the host.
Nowadays, many brokers offer VPS’s to their clients. Some brokers charge a fee where others may offer the VPS service “for free”. Brokers offering free VPS hosting usually have certain requirements that a trader needs to fulfil in order to be eligible to receive free VPS hosting.
Who are the best Forex brokers that provide VPS hosting?
With a strong global market presence and a well-established reputation as one of Australia’s largest online trading providers, the true ECN Forex broker IC Markets offers 4 of the world’s leading and best Forex VPS service providers:
As an example, IC Markets is directly connected via ON NET with Commercial Network Services (CNS). CNS is the industry leader of VPS’s for Forex traders. CNS utilizes native Microsoft Windows 2012 Hyper-V, SSD disks and SR-IOV for maximum performance and low latency connectivity. CNS is one of the few VPS solution providers to offer a 100% uptime guarantee and around the clock support. Latency between CNS and IC Markets is typically < 1ms. Forex VPS plans with CNS start from USD 35/month at IC Markets. The superb trading environment can be tested with a demo account option before upgrading to a live trading account.
Also available with IC Markets are Beeks FX VPS, Forex VPS and New York City Servers (NYC Servers). For NYC Servers monthly plans start already at USD 20/month.
As an example for one of the top Forex brokers offering free Forex VPS hosting, we found that VantageFX provides the best Forex VPS deal with only a 10 lots/month minimum trading requirement to receive free VPS hosting.
Conclusion for best VPS brokers
There is a range of decent brokers that offer VPS service but please feel free to check out our comparison table and ranking of above to help find the best Forex brokers that is best suited for your very own needs. If you need more in-depth information or if you are looking for more brokers to choose from then check out our detailed individual broker reviews and other comparison tables.