Markets move around the clock, but you can’t watch the screen every minute. If you want to trade according to a plan without worrying about missing an opportunity, a trading bot can follow the rules you set and run automatically.

Trading bots come with free features, limited trials, and paid plans. Some require you to set up your own strategy; others let you choose a strategy created by someone else. On top of a platform subscription, some bots or strategies may have separate fees, and exchanges charge trading fees too.

What’s the difference between free and paid trading bots?

First, check what “free” actually means. Some platforms offer a free plan for researching strategies or running a limited number of bots. Others offer a trial that ends after a set period, after which you can decide whether to pay. A free platform does not mean it covers exchange fees, funding fees, or the money you trade with.

Paid plans usually give you more features and higher limits, such as longer backtesting periods, more backtests, more saved strategies, or the ability to run more bots. What is free and what requires payment varies by platform, so check each plan’s details.

Also separate the platform subscription from any strategy subscription. A platform plan generally covers features and usage limits; a bot or strategy with its own price may cost extra. Before paying, check the platform fee, any strategy fee, and trading costs separately.

How should you choose?

If you’re still learning about strategies or want to see how trading bots work, start by checking whether a free plan gives you enough room to configure and backtest. If you’re ready to trade live or have outgrown the free limits, compare paid plans by features, bot limits, and capital limits.

Before choosing a plan, work out how many bots you want to run and how much capital you plan to use. Then check which strategy features you need. A higher price does not mean higher returns, and backtest results do not guarantee future performance.

DCAUT as an example: free or paid?

Let’s look at how those differences apply to DCAUT. You can configure and backtest your own strategies or choose an existing strategy in the Bot Plaza. DCAUT focuses on enhanced DCA, which can set the spacing between additional orders based on market volatility.

So, does DCAUT charge a fee? It has a free plan and three paid plans: Plus at $49 per month, Premium at $99 per month, and Ultimate at $199 per month. You don’t need to pay as soon as you sign up: you can browse the Bot Plaza, configure a basic strategy, and run backtests first.

Is DCAUT expensive?

To be frank, DCAUT’s paid plans aren’t cheap. As of October 30, 2026, 3Commas listed its entry-level plan at $20 per month, while DCAUT Plus was $49 per month. DCAUT costs more at the entry level, but the features and limits differ, so price alone won’t tell you which is a better fit.

What are you paying for?

DCAUT does more than place orders using a fixed set of rules. You can configure a strategy, adjust additional-entry and exit conditions, and backtest it using historical market data. If you don’t want to start from scratch, you can choose an existing strategy in the Bot Plaza.

Its enhanced DCA strategy can set additional-entry spacing based on recent market volatility. Depending on your plan, you can also explore advanced indicators, official presets, and features such as trend-based take profit.

Whether those features are worth paying for depends on whether you need them. If you’re just exploring, start with the free plan. New users can also try the highest-tier Ultimate plan for 14 days. Users who meet the invited-account promotion requirements can receive Premium for free. A higher price doesn’t necessarily mean better returns.

1. DCAUT has four plans: start with what you need

The plans differ mainly in how much room you have to research strategies, how many bots you can run, and whether you can use advanced features. The prices below are regular monthly prices in US dollars.

The free plan includes 10 backtests per day, 3 saved strategies, and up to 90 days per backtest. It provides basic indicators and official presets, but does not support strategy import or export.

It does not include an allowance for running your own bots. The regular plan page separately lists 2 live Bot Plaza subscription slots with a combined initial capital limit of 1,000 USDT. These are separate limits, and the slots do not mean every paid bot is free to subscribe to.

Plus includes 20 backtests per day, 10 saved strategies, and up to 365 days per backtest. You can run 5 of your own bots with a combined initial capital limit of 5,000 USDT. The live Bot Plaza subscription allowance is also 5 bots and 5,000 USDT in total.

Indicators and official presets remain at the basic level, but strategy import and export are included. If the basic features cover your setup, you don’t need to jump to a higher plan just for bot slots you won’t use yet.

Premium includes 100 backtests per day, 30 saved strategies, and up to 2 years per backtest. You can run up to 20 of your own bots with a combined initial capital limit of 50,000 USDT. The regular paid plan also allows 20 live Bot Plaza subscriptions with a combined limit of 50,000 USDT.

It includes advanced indicators, advanced official presets, and strategy import and export. Premium may make sense if you need a longer historical period or plan to use features with plan requirements, such as trend-based take profit—not just because it lets you run more bots.

Ultimate has no plan limit on daily backtests, the length of a single backtest, or the combined initial capital for your own bots. You can save 100 strategies and run 100 of your own bots. It allows up to 40 live Bot Plaza subscriptions with no plan limit on their combined initial capital, and includes advanced features and strategy import and export.

It’s suited to users whose research or bot usage genuinely exceeds Premium’s limits. “Unlimited” applies only to the stated plan allowances; data availability, exchange restrictions, and your account balance still matter.

All three paid plans list low-latency order placement at the millisecond level, with Ultimate marked as the best tier. That does not mean every order will be filled within a fixed number of milliseconds; actual execution also depends on the network and exchange.

2. Not sure which strategy to use? Start with DCAUT’s free plan

You don’t have to start with a blank parameter sheet. Load a basic official preset and run a backtest without changing it to see how the strategy opened positions, added to them, and closed a trading cycle in past market conditions.

Take enhanced DCA, DCAUT’s main strategy, as an example. It sets the spacing between additional entries using recent market volatility. Reaching a price level alone isn’t enough: the condition for that level must also be met before another entry is placed. If later levels use larger amounts, make sure you have budgeted for them. A small first order can make it easy to underestimate the capital needed for the full cycle.

You can investigate all of this before committing real money. When backtesting, look at how many entries were reached, how much capital was used, and how far the account fell from its peak before looking at returns. Change one parameter at a time so it’s easier to see what caused a difference.

The free plan’s 90-day period cannot cover every market environment, but it gives you a way to learn the process. Once you know what you want to compare, decide whether you need more backtests and a longer period. There’s no need to pay for a plan before you reach that point.

3. Three reasons to consider upgrading

The free plan doesn’t include an allowance for running your own bots. If the basic configuration meets your needs and you’ve planned your capital, check whether Plus is enough.

For example, two of your own bots with 1,000 USDT each would fit within the Plus bot and capital limits. The 5,000 USDT limit is the combined initial capital across your bots, not 5,000 USDT for each bot. This example only explains the plan limits; it is not investment advice.

Enough bot slots are only part of the picture. If your strategy uses a feature restricted to a higher tier, you’ll still need the corresponding plan.

Ten backtests a day may be enough to learn the platform, but you may need more when comparing different starting points and parameters. Plus extends the period to 365 days; Premium allows up to 2 years and 100 backtests a day.

More backtests don’t have to mean searching for the prettiest result. Testing the same parameters from different starting points to see how they handle unfavorable conditions can be more useful than keeping only the best result.

The exit method also affects how an enhanced DCA cycle ends. With trend-based take profit, for example, once the configured activation point is reached, the strategy can continue waiting for the selected trend signal and decide whether to exit according to the price-protection settings, instead of selling as soon as a price is reached.

If those are the rules you want to research and use, choose Premium or Ultimate according to the feature’s plan requirements. Advanced features serve specific purposes; you don’t need to turn on every option just because it sounds more powerful.

Consider Ultimate when Premium’s research or running limits are genuinely no longer enough. Extra capacity does not automatically lead to better trading results.

4. Monthly, annual, or a one-time 360-day purchase?

Once you’ve chosen a plan, consider how long you intend to use it. If you’re still trying it out, compare monthly billing first. If you’re confident you’ll use it longer, consider the longer-term options.

Card payments are processed through Stripe and support credit or debit cards, with monthly and annual billing options. The annual page displays equivalent monthly prices of $41.59, $83.25, and $166.59, respectively, and indicates an annual discount.

“Equivalent monthly” does not mean you are charged every month. Before paying, check the total for the full term, currency, taxes, fees, and renewal date at checkout. Card subscriptions renew automatically. If you don’t want to continue, cancel the subscription separately; stopping a bot or closing the page won’t cancel it.

Cryptocurrency payments are one-time purchases for a set number of days. The current options are 30 and 360 days and do not renew automatically. The displayed 360-day totals are $490 for Plus, $990 for Premium, and $1,990 for Ultimate. Those are prices for the full term, not monthly prices, and should not be confused with the equivalent monthly prices for annual card billing.

Canceling renewal and requesting a refund are separate matters. Unused time generally is not automatically refunded on a prorated basis; individual cases are governed by the refund policy and applicable law.

5. Don’t want a monthly membership fee? Consider the invited-account option

If you want to use Premium long term without adding a fixed monthly expense, check whether you qualify for the invited-account promotion.

Start at the DCAUT invited-account promotion page, follow the invitation link for the relevant exchange, register an eligible account, and connect it to DCAUT through an API. Once the system confirms the invitation relationship, you can claim complimentary Premium. The promotion currently supports Binance, Bybit, OKX, and Bitget.

The complimentary plan includes 100 backtests per day, 30 saved strategies, backtests of up to 2 years, and 20 of your own bots with a combined initial capital limit of 50,000 USDT. Advanced indicators, advanced official presets, and strategy import and export are included too.

It also includes 5 free subscription slots for paid Bot Plaza bots, with a combined initial capital limit of 20,000 USDT. These promotion allowances are calculated separately; don’t assume they match all subscription limits of paid Premium.

This is one way to get DCAUT membership for free, but “free forever” has ongoing conditions: keep at least one eligible invited-account API connected, and use an eligible API for bot subscriptions and operation under the promotion. Creating another API key for an ordinary existing account does not automatically establish an invitation relationship.

If you already have an account at an exchange, don’t assume that using another email address or opening a subaccount will automatically qualify. Check eligibility first, then follow the step-by-step guide to getting Premium for free for the steps.

Even if you save on membership fees, you still provide your own trading capital and pay trading costs. Decide whether to run a bot based on your understanding of the strategy and your budget; there’s no need to use every available slot just because you have it.

6. Common questions about DCAUT pricing

The free plan lets you begin basic research but does not include an allowance for running your own bots. The 14-day Ultimate trial is a limited-time trial. The invited-account promotion provides complimentary Premium while you continue to meet its conditions. Eligibility and expiry depend on the information shown in your account.

Not necessarily. The membership fee pays for platform features and allowances; the listed price of a paid Bot Plaza bot is its subscription fee. Whether you pay extra depends on the bot and your account benefits. A Bot Plaza slot does not mean unlimited free subscriptions to every bot.

Yes. Membership does not provide trading capital or waive exchange fees, funding fees, or possible differences in execution price. Your funds stay in your own exchange account; paying for membership and funding trades are separate things.

No. The promotional benefit and your existing paid order are managed separately. If you don’t want to continue paying, check your billing and renewal settings and confirm the cancellation. Receiving complimentary membership does not mean your existing order has been refunded.

Higher tiers offer more tools and capacity; they do not guarantee better returns. Strategy settings, market movements, and execution costs can still affect profit or loss. Choose a plan based on the features you need, not how much you expect to earn.

If you’re still undecided, browse the Bot Plaza and run a backtest using a basic preset. These steps are free. Once you know what you need, check the subscription plans page. If you qualify for the invited-account promotion, you can also claim complimentary Premium and use the new user guide to learn how to get started.