VPS for Expert Advisors
Your EA never sleeps. Its computer shouldn't either.
A VPS is a Windows computer in a data centre, a few milliseconds from your broker, that keeps MetaTrader running day and night. Close your laptop. Your trading carries on.
- 24/5the hours the markets are open, covered
- < 5 msfrom the broker, in the right data centre
- 2 GBis enough for one or two terminals
- 0nights your own PC has to stay on
Ready when you are
The VPS providers we use
ForexVPS
InterServer
Why traders move
Home PC or VPS?
Your home PC
- A power cut or a closed lid stops the EA
- Wi-Fi and broadband drop out, often unnoticed
- Windows restarts for updates in the night
- 30 to 250 ms from the broker, and it varies
- Shared with browsing, games and downloads
A VPS
- Backup power: it is simply always on
- Data-centre network with several connections
- You choose when it updates: at the weekend
- 1 to 5 ms from the broker, steady
- Runs MetaTrader and nothing else
Same Expert Advisor, same settings: all that changes is where it runs, and how fast its orders arrive.
Latency, in milliseconds
The ping race
How long an order takes to reach your broker and come back. Every millisecond is time for the price to move.
- Same data centre as the broker< 1–2 ms
- Same city1–5 ms
- Neighbouring country5–15 ms
- Another continent70–90 ms
- A home connection30–250 ms
See yours: MetaTrader shows the ping in its bottom right-hand corner. Click it and choose Rescan servers to connect to the fastest access point.
Location
Where the brokers are
Most brokers run their MetaTrader servers in a handful of financial data centres. Put your VPS in the same one, or the same city. Where you live does not matter.
Equinix, New Jersey: the hub for US and many global brokers.
Equinix, Slough: the busiest forex hub. Many brokers are here.
Close to London: a good second choice for European servers.
For brokers serving Asia and Australia from South-East Asia.
Asian brokers and liquidity, close to mainland China.
Equinix Tokyo: the hub for Japanese and Asian brokers.
- 1Ask your broker which data centre your server is in. Give them its name from MetaTrader, such as BrokerName-Live03.
- 2Measure it on a trial VPS: install MetaTrader, log in, read the ping.
- 3Keep the lowest steady figure, not the nearest city to you.
10-second sizing
Find your VPS
Tick what you run. We remember it on this device for next time.
Any reliable Windows VPS near your broker will do.
Choose a providerThe sizing table
| You run | Cores | Memory | SSD |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 or 2 terminals | 1–2 | 2 GB | 30–60 GB |
| 3 to 5 terminals, or a multi-pair EA | 2–4 | 4 GB | 60–80 GB |
| 6 to 10 terminals | 4+ | 8 GB | 100 GB+ |
Keep memory use under about three quarters. Back-test on your own computer, not on the VPS: the Strategy Tester takes every core.
At a glance
What each K3Bxn Expert Advisor needs
Know your options
Four kinds of VPS
Forex VPS
Inside or next to the brokers' data centres, with MetaTrader ready.
Best for speed: News Scalp, BreakoutGeneral Windows VPS
A hosting company's Windows server. You install MetaTrader.
Best value for trend EAs. Check its locationYour broker's free VPS
Offered to clients above a balance or a monthly volume.
Read the conditions: it can be withdrawnMetaTrader's built-in hosting
Copies your charts to a MetaQuotes server. You cannot sign in to it, and DLLs are not allowed.
We test on a full Windows VPS, and recommend oneWindows, not Linux. MetaTrader is a Windows program: choose Windows Server 2019 or later, or Windows 10 or 11.
Tonight, in about half an hour
Up and running in 8 steps
- 1
Order it
Pick the location next to your broker and the memory the picker gave you.
- 2
Connect
Remote Desktop Connection on Windows; Microsoft's Windows App on a Mac, iPhone or Android.
- 3
Change the password
To a long one of your own, used nowhere else.
- 4
Install MetaTrader
From your broker's website. Log in with "Save account information" ticked.
- 5
Check the ping
Bottom right-hand corner. Too high? Click it, Rescan servers.
- 6
Install the EA
As in our MetaTrader 5 or MetaTrader 4 guide, then activate the licence with the key you already have.
- 7
Make it start by itself
Windows+R, type shell:startup, put a MetaTrader shortcut in that folder. Set Windows Update's active hours.
- 8
Close the window
Close Remote Desktop. Never Shut down or Sign out: that stops MetaTrader.
Before you pay
Your checklist
Tick as you compare providers. It stays ticked on this device.
Your account is logged in there
Lock it down
A long, unique password for Windows on the VPS
Two-factor sign-in on your provider account
Windows updates, at the weekend
Only MetaTrader on it: no browsing, no e-mail
Never a "cracked" EA or tool: that is how malware gets in
Your Remote Desktop details are yours alone. We never ask for them
Quick answers
Questions
Does moving to a VPS use up a licence?
No. A K3Bxn licence is tied to your trading account number, not the computer. Install the EA on the VPS and enter the same key.
Can I run the EA on my PC and the VPS at once?
Not on the same account: every trade would be doubled. Run it in one place, and watch the account from the MetaTrader app on your phone.
What happens if the VPS restarts?
Open trades stay at the broker with their stop loss and take profit. When MetaTrader starts again, the EA picks them up: that is why step 7 matters.
How many EAs can one VPS run?
As many as its memory allows: several on different charts of one terminal, and one terminal per account. Use the picker above.
Do I need one for a demo account?
For a first look, no. To see a whole week, nights and news included, run the demo on the VPS you will use live.
Can I check on it from my phone?
Yes: the MetaTrader app shows the trades, and the Windows App opens the VPS itself.
Set it up tonight. Sleep on it.
Choose a provider, follow the 8 steps, and your Expert Advisor keeps working while you do not.