Exchange or bot: the first fork in the road
Two names in this group are exchanges that also sell automation. BingX lists itself as cex and covers 602 coins, with a bot tool on top. Pionex lists itself as cex with 283 coins and its own bot setup. The rest sit on top of an exchange account you already hold.
3Commas links to 9 exchange integrations and Cryptorobotics to 13, while integration counts in our listings run 6 to 25. EVA AI is filed in the same bot category as the rest of the field.
That choice drives everything after it, because it decides who holds your balance and where the fee lands. If an all-in-one venue appeals, start with the BingX review and the Pionex review, then read the cost sections below.
Trading fees: the number that decides small trades
An automated strategy pays the venue on every fill, so fees bite harder here than on a single purchase. BingX charges maker fees of 0.1% and taker fees of 0.1%. Pionex charges maker fees of 0.05% and taker fees of 0.05%, the cheaper side of that comparison on both maker and taker.
Both venues also offer derivatives, so a bot running perpetual futures adds to the fee bill rather than trimming it. If your strategy is spot only, compare the maker and taker figures before anything else on the pricing page.
Bot subscriptions are a separate line of spend. 3Commas entry pricing starts at $20 and Cryptorobotics at $13, with entry prices across our listings running €11.40 to €26.30. Divide the subscription by your typical trade size: a bot can easily cost more in fees than it saves.
Who holds your money
BingX describes its custody as custodial, which means the venue holds the balance rather than an outside custodian. Both BingX and Pionex publish proof of reserves, a published snapshot of what the venue says it holds for customers.
Pionex names Marketa Trading Inc. as the contracting entity and lists its headquarters as SG. Read the terms before funding, and check any regulator listing for yourself. Bot software decides what your bot does; the venue decides where the money sits while it waits.
Free plans and their ceilings
3Commas has no free plan, so a paid tier is the entry point. BingX, Pionex, Cryptorobotics and Gainium each offer a free plan.
Free does not mean unlimited. Gainium's free tier gives you 250 Bot Credits, single-pair bots on 4 exchanges. Cryptorobotics caps its free plan at a set number of stop-limit and OCO orders and limits bot trials and analytics access to short windows.
Use a free tier to learn the controls and the order types. Judge the paid tier on the limits that would block your strategy, not on the headline entry price.
Track record and coin coverage
3Commas lists the earliest founding year in this group at 2017. BingX lists 2018 and Pionex lists 2019. A venue or tool that has traded through more than one market cycle gives you more history to judge it on.
Coverage sets what your bot can actually trade. BingX lists 602 coins against Pionex at 283, and a bot wired to several exchanges multiplies that list again. The crypto trading bots ranking lines the options up side by side if you want the short version.
Devices and support
3Commas runs on web and mobile. Pionex runs on web, mobile app and API, the only listing here that names an API, which matters most if you plan to script the bot or feed it your own signals.
Support differs sharply across the group. 3Commas offers chat, help centre and community, BingX offers chat and help centre, Pionex offers email and community and Cryptorobotics offers help centre. A bot that stalls while holding an open position turns into a support question, so check the channel before you need it.
A shortlist to compare
Starting from cost: if you want the cheaper trading fee with an exchange bundled in, Pionex leads on maker and taker. If you want the widest coin list, BingX leads on coverage.
Starting from control: if you want to keep the account at your own exchange and connect several, the 3Commas review and the Cryptorobotics review are the ones to read. If you want a free tier that publishes its own allowance, the Gainium review is the one to read.
Whichever you shortlist, price it as a total: subscription plus trading fee plus the slippage your strategy causes. That sum, not any single figure, is the number your bot has to earn back.