Auto-Trading vs Manual Trading: Which Fits Your Lifestyle?

Crypto trading is one of those areas where control slips easily. The market is unpredictable, and traders are always on the lookout for ways to ease the stress. Some try to regain control by trading manually; others choose automated trading to set risk-management measures. 

The question is, which method — auto-trading or manual trading — can make you safe enough while helping you achieve profitability? Let’s find out!

What Is Manual Crypto Trading?

Manual trading means a trader makes all the decisions personally, from choosing pairs to executing buy and sell orders to monitoring market movements. Different methods come into play here: analyzing indicators, observing markets regularly, and sometimes, even relying on intuition. And while you can choose any amount of money to invest, the investment of time will always be substantial if you want to achieve significant results. 

Manual trading is a good fit for those who have flexible schedules to allocate enough time to trading, who enjoy market monitoring and can successfully resist FOMO (fear of missing out). Strong emotional control is also important, so if you have a solid strategy and follow it regardless of any transient circumstances, you may like to always be in control of each and every manual trade.

Popular Manual Trading Techniques

• Scalping — traders try to capture even minor price movements over very short time frames, such as minutes or hours, and benefit from quick decision making. 
• Day trading — the key aim is to open and close positions within a single trading day.
• Swing trading — in this case, traders hold positions for days or weeks to capture larger price swings.

What Is Auto-Trading?

Automatic trading uses various trading bots and algorithms to execute trades. You can set pre-determined rules or even follow someone else’s strategy automatically. The auto-trading system will monitor the market without your constant presence, react to price movements based on your instructions, open and close positions, and perform many other tasks on its own.

One of the best things about auto-trading is that you are not required to be glued to the screen and constantly make split-second decisions. Bots can automatically buy assets at regular intervals, sell at the price you select in advance, and use a variety of technical indicators to trade efficiently.

On platforms like Bitsgap, even traders without programming experience can set up bots due to the user-friendly interface. You can connect 15+ exchanges via API, and bots will execute trades while you maintain full custody of your funds.

So, whether you have limited screen time because of lots of commitments, just want to simplify the routine, or avoid mental exhaustion from 24/7 market monitoring, auto trading can be the right fit for you.

Algo Trading vs Manual Trading: Key Differences at a Glance

The choice between auto-trading vs manual trading depends on what you expect to get in terms of your stress levels and daily routines. Also, after exploring the differences, pros, and cons, you may want to diversify your approach.

Here are a few factors to consider:

Pros and Cons of Manual Trading

The first key advantage of manual trading over auto-trading is high flexibility, or situational awareness. You can change your tactic instantly due to any breaking news. Whether you’d like to shift the strategy mid-session or even suddenly exit the position based on your intuition, you can set your own rules and break them at any moment.

This leads to another benefit — your complete control over every step. You are the one who makes the call, and you don’t have to delve into logs of trading bots to find out why certain trades were executed. In some way, it gives you transparency that is psychologically reassuring.

However, such depth of analysis and control demands significant involvement, meaning the need for both time and effort. This, in turn, can lead to fatigue-caused errors, from miscalculating investments to simply clicking wrong buttons. Moreover, you may not consider all the quickly changing variables as precisely as a computer can.

Another thing to consider is emotional biases that may arise under pressure or simply on their own. You may experience FOMO (fear of missing out) regarding trading opportunities, mistake market correction for serious shifts, or, on the contrary, feel overconfident after a few successful streaks. Even experienced traders may face such struggles.

Pros and Cons of Auto-Trading

When comparing manual trading vs auto-trading, the main advantage is time savings. The market doesn't respect your schedule: moves can happen while you are sleeping, working, or simply taking a break. But once you figure out your strategy and set up your bots, they will execute trades without your presence. 

Also, since we mentioned emotional responsiveness in the case of manual trading, this point is out of question for crypto trading bots. They will execute your strategy consistently, never skipping trades because of tiredness or a worsened mood. For example, on Bitsgap, your DCA bot will buy assets with the set frequency, and COMBO bots will utilize both GRID and DCA strategies simultaneously.

However, it’s important to understand that there are no shortcuts or lazy ways to profit in crypto trading. Auto-trading still requires knowledge of the mechanics of existing strategies, attention to detail when analyzing bots’ actions, and readiness to learn how to configure bots correctly to reduce risks. 

Finally, since bots act based on programmed logic, you may need to intervene when something important happens in the market to avoid losses, or switch to manual trades in the case of any technical issues.

Bitsgap: Auto-Trading Without Losing Control

Bitsgap is an auto trading platform that bridges the gap between full automation and individual control: you can try manual trading through the Trading Terminal or set up multiple trading bots that follow various strategies. Some of the most popular bots include:

• DCA (Dollar-Cost Averaging) — your bot will automatically buy chosen assets at regular intervals regardless of their price, which averages the prices over time.
• GRID — your bot will place buy and sell orders at predetermined price levels to profit from volatility.
• COMBO — your bot blends GRID and DCA approaches for better diversification.

On visual dashboards, you can monitor bot performance in real time, including metrics like total profit, open positions, and more. You have full visibility into what your bots are doing step by step, and you can pause the bot, close positions, or adjust parameters whenever you wish. 

Risk management also remains in your hands. You can choose maximum investment amounts, define stop-loss levels, and set up take-profit targets, among others. However, if you want to get more practical experience or try out strategies you don’t want to automate yet, you can use the Trading Terminal. It allows you to trade on 15+ exchanges just like bots do, but you’ll be able to control every operation and make deep analysis and adjustments whenever you like.

How to Choose What’s Right for You?

Both manual trading and automated trading have advantages and disadvantages. So, to choose the most suitable one, ask yourself a few questions on the following topics:

• Time availability: How many hours can you realistically dedicate to trading? If the answer is less than 2-3 hours, auto-trading may be a better choice.
• Control level: Do you want to delegate routine tasks, or does the thought of allowing a bot to trade for you makes you anxious? Your comfort matters, so it can be beneficial to try both approaches and choose the most appropriate one.
• Time span: Are you ready to dedicate a lot of time to learning trading techniques and regularly analyzing the market? While auto-trading also requires crypto trading knowledge, you can set up simple bots in a few minutes and start trading faster.
• Experience level: How experienced are you as a trader? Beginners often benefit from starting with simple automated strategies (like DCA), then gradually incorporating manual trading as their skills develop.

In essence, one thing you should remember is that neither approach is universally superior. The right choice depends entirely on your preferences and expectations, and taking a hybrid approach may be the best solution for a couple of reasons:

• In manual trading, the high level of involvement keeps you deeply connected to market dynamics. You improve your pattern recognition skills and a nuanced understanding that only comes from hands-on experience. Then, you can apply this knowledge when configuring, customizing, and monitoring your bots.
• Combining strategies for different portfolio segments gives you higher flexibility. For example, dividing trades equally, or allocating 70-80% of capital to automated strategies for better organized processes and reserving 20-30% for manual trading allows you to capture unique opportunities.

Final Thoughts: Trading That Matches Your Lifestyle

The fundamental principle is simple: your trading approach should be convenient and fit your goals. The best strategy is the one you can execute consistently without sacrificing sleep, relationships, or mental health. 

The trend toward automation still keeps its momentum because algorithmic consistency often outperforms emotional decision-making, especially over longer timeframes. However, manual trading provides you with a high level of involvement and allows you to use exclusive tactics on your path toward profit.

Bitsgap has made sophisticated crypto trading strategies accessible to traders of all skill levels, removing technical barriers. Try Bitsgap’s demo mode today for automated and manual trades to test your strategies and find out which approach works for you better!