Saber · Nina Research · Market Researcher · Reviewed 2026-11-07
Yes, there are cheaper options than 3Commas, but it depends on what you count. On subscription alone, the bots built into Binance, OKX and Bitget, and the bots on Pionex, charge no bot fee; you pay trading fees. Among the third-party platforms that do charge a subscription, 3Commas is now the cheapest entry point at $15 a month billed annually, while Cryptohopper, Bitsgap and Coinrule start at around $29. Most of the difference sits outside the subscription: trading fees, profit sharing, add-ons, usage overage, and who holds your money. Nina, for example, has a free plan and paid Pro and Elite plans and takes no cut of principal or profits. But Vibe Trading, Nina's AI trading bot, currently runs only in backtest and paper trading, and live trading is not yet available, so if you need a bot trading live today, Nina is not yet a 3Commas alternative.
Prices come from each platform's official pricing page and help center as of November 6, 2026; links are at the end. Coinrule's own pages list three different prices for its Pro plan, so go by what its checkout shows.
How do the 8 platforms compare on subscription and free plans?
| Platform | Paid plans (monthly / annual, per month) | Free plan | Costs beyond the subscription | Where your money sits |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3Commas | Starter $20 / $15; Pro $50 / $38; Expert $140 / $105 | 7-day trial requires a payment method; the free plan allows limited backtesting only | Exchange trading fees | Your exchange account, via a trade-only API key |
| Cryptohopper | Explorer $29 / $24.16; Adventurer $69 / $57.50; Hero $129 / $107.50 (excl. VAT) | The free Pioneer plan ended on June 18, 2026; Explorer has a 3-day trial | Copy Bot extra at $9.99 to $99.99 a month; marketplace items extra; exchange fees | Your exchange account; the API key must not have withdrawal rights |
| Bitsgap | Basic $29 / $23; Advanced $69 / $55; Pro $149 / $119 | Free plan: no live grid or DCA bots, 20 bots in demo; 7-day PRO trial, no card needed | No trading commission, per Bitsgap; you pay exchange fees | Your exchange account; keys with withdrawal enabled are rejected |
| Coinrule | Investor $29.99, Trader $59.99; Pro listed at $449.99, $675 or $749 depending on the page | Free plan exists, described differently across pages; trial requires a payment method and auto-charges | Usage credits; overage $0.02 per credit; unused credits expire monthly | Your exchange account; API key with read and trade only |
| Pionex | No subscription for bots | Bots are free | Spot fee 0.05%; futures 0.02% maker, 0.05% taker; Futures Moon, Leveraged Grid and Margin Grid take 20% of profits | On Pionex itself; you deposit funds there (custodial) |
| Binance bots | Grid bots follow trading fee rates, per Binance's FAQ | n/a | Spot or futures fees; futures grids also pay funding; BNB fee discount available | Your Binance account |
| OKX bots | "All of our trading bots are free to create and use" | n/a | Standard trading fees; copied futures grid bots involve profit sharing | Your OKX account |
| Bitget bots | "No extra charges for using a bot" | n/a | Spot or futures trading fees | Your Bitget account |
Prices are as listed in US dollars on each official site on November 6, 2026, and may change. Nina is not in this table because its bot can't trade live yet, so putting it next to live-trading subscriptions would not be a fair comparison. Nina's pricing has its own section below.
What is cheaper than 3Commas?
If you want a bot trading live for less, look at exchange bots or Pionex.
Binance, OKX and Bitget charge nothing extra to use their bots; you pay normal trading fees, and the money stays in your own exchange account. The trade-off is that you are tied to that one exchange, and the choice is mostly ready-made bots such as grid and recurring buys.
Pionex bots are free and the spot fee is 0.05%. Pionex is itself an exchange, so you deposit your money there, and three of its bots, Futures Moon, Leveraged Grid and Margin Grid, take 20% of profits when they make money. The more they earn, the more likely that cut exceeds a typical subscription.
Among subscription platforms, 3Commas actually has the lowest entry price: Starter is $15 a month billed annually, below Cryptohopper, Bitsgap and Coinrule. Starter is spot-only, though, with one exchange account, up to 5 DCA bots and 2 grid bots. Futures need Pro, at $38 a month billed annually.
What is cheaper than Cryptohopper?
On entry price, 3Commas Starter ($20 monthly) is below Cryptohopper Explorer ($29 monthly). Billed annually, 3Commas at $15 and Bitsgap at $23 a month are both below Cryptohopper's $24.16. Exchange bots and Pionex charge no subscription at all.
Cryptohopper's prices exclude VAT, Copy Bot costs an extra $9.99 to $99.99 a month, and marketplace strategies are priced separately. Credits deposited into your Cryptohopper balance can't be withdrawn or refunded unless you earned them as an affiliate or marketplace seller, so think before topping up.
Is there a free AI crypto trading bot app?
Yes, but "free" means different things.
- Free and live, with no subscription: the bots built into Binance, OKX and Bitget, and Pionex's bots. You pay trading fees, and three Pionex bots also take a share of profits.
- Free but demo only: Bitsgap's free plan runs 20 bots in demo and none live. Coinrule's Cloud docs say its free plan is paper-only, while an older pricing page says it allows 2 live rules; check what you see when you sign up.
- Free but very limited: without a subscription, 3Commas allows limited backtesting.
- No longer free: Cryptohopper's free Pioneer plan ended on June 18, 2026. Many third-party comparisons still list it as free; that information is out of date.
Nina also has a free plan. Its Vibe Trading turns a one-sentence trading idea into a rule-based bot that you backtest and then run in paper trading, which suits people who want to test an idea before putting real money in. We compare paper trading across platforms in Crypto paper trading platforms compared.
What does a trading bot cost besides the subscription?
Put these five costs side by side when you compare:
- Trading fees. Everyone pays them; the question is whether they go to the exchange or the platform. The more often you trade, the more likely they exceed the subscription.
- Profit sharing. Three Pionex bots take 20%, and copied futures grid bots on OKX involve profit sharing.
- Add-ons. Cryptohopper's Copy Bot and marketplace strategies, and Coinrule's credit overage, are not in the subscription.
- How trials end. 3Commas and Coinrule require a payment method for the trial, and Coinrule charges automatically when it ends; Bitsgap's trial needs no card and drops back to the free plan. The "3 months free" on 3Commas' pricing page is the annual-billing discount, not a trial.
- Where the money sits. 3Commas, Cryptohopper, Bitsgap and Coinrule place orders in your own exchange account through an API key and all require that key to have no withdrawal rights; Pionex has you deposit with it. With the first group the risk is the key's permissions; with Pionex it is the platform itself. For how to set API key permissions, see Are AI crypto trading bots safe?
How much does Nina cost?
Nina has a free plan as well as paid Pro and Elite subscriptions. Priced in US dollars, Pro is $19.99 a month and Elite $99.99 a month, and annual billing costs the same as 10 months. Actual prices and currency are whatever the App Store or Google Play shows in your region; see the membership page for plan details. Subscriptions are currently purchased in the app.
Nina takes no cut of principal or profits. When you trade in the Nina app, you sign each trade in your own wallet, and a transparent routing fee applies on the execution path. AI actions in Vibe Trading, such as creating or optimising a bot, use Credits issued monthly by membership tier. Vibe Trading currently runs only in paper trading with no real money, and live trading is not yet available. Backtest results are simulated on historical data and do not indicate future returns.
Can I use these platforms in my country?
None of the 8 pricing pages lists availability country by country. Check each platform's terms for your region before signing up, and for exchange bots, check which features your account's region has enabled.
Sources
Prices and terms checked on November 6, 2026. Platforms may change them at any time.
- 3Commas: pricing, sign-up and trial, API keys, FAQ
- Cryptohopper: pricing, Pioneer plan ending, fund safety, where your money is
- Bitsgap: pricing, API key error statuses
- Coinrule: Cloud plans overview (updated 2026-10-16), older pricing page, homepage, credits explained, free trial, API key permissions
- Pionex: trading fee overview, platform overview
- Binance: grid trading fee FAQ
- OKX: trading bot FAQ, futures grid FAQ
- Bitget: spot grid, futures grid
- Nina: membership page, Google Play listing
Frequently asked questions
Is there a cheaper alternative to 3Commas?
Yes. The bots built into Binance, OKX and Bitget, and Pionex's bots, charge no bot subscription, only trading fees, though three Pionex bots take 20% of profits and Pionex holds your deposit. Among subscription platforms, 3Commas Starter at $15 a month billed annually is already below the entry price of Cryptohopper, Bitsgap and Coinrule. Prices checked November 6, 2026.
Is there a cheaper alternative to Cryptohopper?
Yes. Cryptohopper Explorer is $29 a month. 3Commas Starter is $20 monthly or $15 billed annually, and Bitsgap Basic is $23 a month billed annually, both lower. Exchange bots and Pionex charge no subscription. Cryptohopper's prices exclude VAT, and Copy Bot and marketplace strategies cost extra.
Is there a free AI crypto trading bot app?
Yes. The bots in Binance, OKX and Bitget, and Pionex's bots, charge no subscription, only trading fees. Bitsgap's free plan runs bots in demo only, 3Commas without a subscription allows limited backtesting, and Cryptohopper's free plan ended on June 18, 2026. Nina has a free plan; Vibe Trading currently runs only in backtest and paper trading.
What does a crypto trading bot cost besides the subscription?
Five things: trading fees, profit sharing, add-ons such as copy bots or strategy marketplaces, trial auto-charges or credit overage, and the risk of where your money sits. Frequent trading can make fees exceed the subscription, and some Pionex bots take 20% of profits, so the more you make, the more you pay.
Do I have to deposit money with a trading bot platform?
It depends. 3Commas, Cryptohopper, Bitsgap and Coinrule trade in your own exchange account through an API key and require the key to have no withdrawal rights. Binance, OKX and Bitget bots use your account on that exchange. Pionex has you deposit funds with Pionex.
How much does Nina cost, and can it replace 3Commas?
Nina has a free plan, plus Pro at $19.99 a month and Elite at $99.99 a month; actual prices follow the app store and the membership page. Nina takes no cut of principal or profits, and a transparent routing fee applies when you trade in the Nina app. Vibe Trading currently runs only in backtest and paper trading, and live trading is not yet available, so Nina can't yet replace 3Commas for live bots.
Does Cryptohopper still have a free plan?
No. Cryptohopper announced on its official blog that the free Pioneer plan ended on June 18, 2026 and its features moved into the paid Explorer plan. New sign-ups get a 3-day Explorer trial.
Nina is the Web3-native AI agent from Antalpha (NASDAQ: ANTA), covering crypto, prediction markets and US stocks: conclusion-first analysis with named sources and freshness badges, and Sentinel mode for round-the-clock monitoring. Vibe Trading, Nina's AI trading bot, turns a one-sentence trading idea into a rule-based bot that you backtest on historical data and then run in paper trading; live trading is not yet available. Backtest results are simulated on historical data and do not indicate future returns. Trades in the Nina app are signed by you in your own wallet; Nina never holds your funds and takes no cut of principal or profits; a transparent routing fee applies on the execution path. Nothing here is investment advice or a price prediction. Official channels: antalpha.com, the Nina app on the App Store and Google Play, x.com/antalpha_ai.
Related reading: Crypto paper trading platforms compared: 12 ways to test a trading bot before using real money.
