Freqtrade scores 16 points above Pionex, led by custody, true cost, and capability. Pionex ranks #2 and Freqtrade #1 of 9 published trading bots. Every term of the gap is on the ledger below; the inputs are on the audit receipt.
PIPionex68
vs
Freqtrade84
Scores are out of 100; published scores fall within 41–99 · ranks #2 and #1 of 9
Freqtrade scores 16 points above Pionex, led by custody, true cost, and capability.
PIPionex #2 of 968
Freqtrade #1 of 984
Scores are out of 100; published scores fall within 41–99; a bar is empty at 41 and full at 99.
Why, term by termFreqtrade leads on 3 of 4 published criteria; Pionex on 0. The terms sum to the gap.
TermFreqtradePionexWeightPoints
Custody10/103/107.2+13.1for Freqtrade+6.7 of 32
True cost10/104/106.2+9.7for Freqtrade+5.0 of 32
Capability10/104/105.8+9.0for Freqtrade+4.6 of 32
FrictionScore dimension0.76.710−15.6for Pionex
Net of the terms+16.2
Criteria roundingThe criteria block is rounded to whole points before it is spread+0.2
Reproduced gap+16.4
Published gapAfter score rounding and bounds — see the note below8468+16.0
Weight is in points of the 86-point weighted total. Points are score points of the gap between the two.
FreqtradeScore 84Open-source Python bot that ships tooling to invalidate its own backtestsStrength: Python-literate self-hostersWatch-out: No company behind it — no support desk, no SLA, nobody to reimburse a strategy bugPionexScore 68Built-in bot exchange — trading bots without API-key setupStrength: Beginners trying bot trading without API-key setupWatch-out: Custodial — Pionex holds your funds while bots execute
Quick facts
At a glance
FactPionexFreqtrade
PricingSnapshotBuilt-in bots carry no separate subscription or activation fee. Every order a bot fills pays the trading fee for that market. The Pionex fee schedule lists spot maker 0.050% and taker 0.050%, leveraged tokens 0.100% and 0.100%, and futures maker 0.020% and taker 0.050%, with lower fees for VIP tiers. A completed grid cycle pays fees on both the buy and the sell fill, and perpetual futures add funding. Custodial: Pionex is the exchange, and its terms allow it to place user assets with external providers ‘to custody and safekeep all or part of your digital assets’. US users trade on Webot (formerly Pionex.US), whose fee page states taker 0.5% and maker 0.1%. The May 2025 multistate consent order previously cited could not be re-read at a primary source on 14 September 2026 and is not asserted here.Free and open source under GPL-3.0: no subscription, commission or licence key, and the FAQ states Freqtrade has no crypto token. Real total cost: a machine running 24/7 (the docs recommend a Linux cloud instance with at least 2GB RAM, 1GB disk and 2 vCPU), exchange trading fees, and the Python competence to build and maintain a strategy. Re-read 14 September 2026.
Asset coverageEditorialSpot pairs across major and mid-cap assets; 16 native bot typesSpot and futures algorithmic trading via your own exchange accounts
Region fitSnapshotus, europe, globalglobal
From the published criteria
Which should you pick?
PI
Pionex
68#2 of 9
Pick it when
Pionex leads on no published criterion; its edge is friction (6.7 vs 0.7 points). Pick it if that term is what you are buying.
Strength
Beginners trying bot trading without API-key setup
Tradeoff
Custodial — Pionex holds your funds while bots execute
Freqtrade
84#1 of 9
Leads
Pick it when
Pick Freqtrade if custody matters most — it scores 10/10 to Pionex's 3/10 there (weight 30).
Strength
Python-literate self-hosters
Tradeoff
No company behind it — no support desk, no SLA, nobody to reimburse a strategy bug
Self-identify in 10 seconds
Which one is actually for you?
PIPionex
Pionex leads Freqtrade on no published criterion
Choose it only if something outside the published criteria decides for you — your country, a funding rail, or custody.
PionexScore 68Built-in bot exchange — trading bots without API-key setupStrength: Beginners trying bot trading without API-key setupWatch-out: Custodial — Pionex holds your funds while bots execute
FreqtradeLeads
Choose Freqtrade if custody matters most
Custody: 10/10 against 3/10 for Pionex (weight 30)
True cost: 10/10 against 4/10 for Pionex (weight 26)
Capability: 10/10 against 4/10 for Pionex (weight 24)
FreqtradeScore 84Open-source Python bot that ships tooling to invalidate its own backtestsStrength: Python-literate self-hostersWatch-out: No company behind it — no support desk, no SLA, nobody to reimburse a strategy bug
Criterion by criterion
Scorecard
Published criteria · weight in points of 868 of 8 cells scored. Strength is read from the evidence file; the weight is the published one. Methodology
Custody
by 7 of 10weight 7.2 of 86Freqtrade leads
Pionex3/10 out of 10
Freqtrade10/10 out of 10
True cost
by 6 of 10weight 6.2 of 86Freqtrade leads
Pionex4/10 out of 10
Freqtrade10/10 out of 10
Capability
by 6 of 10weight 5.8 of 86Freqtrade leads
Pionex4/10 out of 10
Freqtrade10/10 out of 10
Reliability
weight 4.8 of 86Tie
Pionex6/10 out of 10
Freqtrade6/10 out of 10
Score dimensions
weights sum to 86
The published score is five dimensions, each weighted for the category. "Published criteria" is the criteria block above; the other four are the engine's own terms — availability, friction, trust record, measured data. Each bar is one side's points out of that dimension's maximum; the weight beside the name is its points of the 86-point weighted total. The published criteria above can fill 24 of the block’s 30.
Availabilityweight 20 of 86
Pionex20/20Freqtrade20/20
Tie
Published criteriaweight 30 of 86
Pionex9.8/30Freqtrade22.1/30
Freqtrade leads
Frictionweight 10 of 86
Pionex6.7/10Freqtrade0.7/10
Pionex leads
Trust recordweight 8 of 86
Pionex3.2/8Freqtrade3.2/8
Tie
Measured dataweight 18 of 86
Pionex8.3/18Freqtrade8.3/18
Tie
Decision rulePublished order
Choose Freqtrade unless the term Pionex leads on is the one you are buying.
Pionex leads on no published criterion; its edge is friction (6.7 vs 0.7 points). Pick it if that term is what you are buying.
The published order weighs every criterion the same way for everyone. To weigh them your way, run .
From the published order
Next best action
If this isn't your case
Other matchups worth comparing
How you can lose money here, and what the ranking scores
Liveness failure: the operator stops, censors you or loses data.
Scored by Operational reliability · 20% (Pionex 6/10, Freqtrade 6/10)
Custody failure: whoever holds the assets loses or withholds them.
Also scored, as cost, quality or a summary of several families: True cost of operation (26%), Strategy capability (24%).
Questions
Frequently asked questions
Freqtrade scores 16 points above Pionex, led by custody, true cost, and capability. Published scores, out of 100: Pionex 68 (rank 2 of 9 trading bots), Freqtrade 84 (rank 1 of 9).
Reviewed means both products compared here was read against its sources on or after that date; every ranked category is re-read at least every 45 days. Models research, extract and parse. A deterministic engine ranks. Every quote passes an adversarial refute pass.
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