CFDs are complex instruments and come with a high risk of losing money rapidly due to leverage. Between 74–89% of retail investor accounts lose money when trading CFDs. You should consider whether you understand how CFDs work and whether you can afford to take the high risk of losing your money.
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Execution latency is the delay between clicking to trade and the order actually filling at the broker's server. Every millisecond of delay is a chance for the price to move against you — the difference between the price you saw and the price you got. Brokers advertise "ultra-fast execution", but you do not have to take their word for it. Here is how to measure it yourself using free tools.
What "execution latency" actually measures
There are two separate delays to understand:
- Network latency — how long a signal takes to travel from your machine to the broker's server and back. This is what a ping test measures, in milliseconds.
- Execution latency — how long the broker's system takes to accept, process, and confirm your order once it arrives. This is measured inside the trading platform, from order sent to order confirmed.
Both add up to the total delay you experience. A broker can have a fast server but be far from you (high network latency), or be close but process orders slowly (high execution latency). You want to check both.
Free tools and methods
1
Ping test to the broker's trade server
The simplest network check. Open a terminal and run ping to the broker's server hostname (found in the MT4/MT5 login dialog or their support docs). On Windows: ping servername; on Mac/Linux: ping -c 20 servername. Read the average round-trip time. Under 50 ms is excellent, 50–100 ms is fine for most traders, and above 150 ms is worth improving. Free web tools like ping.pe let you test from multiple global locations if you plan to use a VPS.
2
Read the MT4 / MT5 Journal and Experts logs
This is the most accurate free method. In MetaTrader, the Journal tab timestamps every order request and every server confirmation to the millisecond. Place a demo order, then open the Journal: the gap between "order sent" and "order placed/filled" is your real execution latency. Repeat 10–20 times across different sessions to get an average — a single sample is not reliable.
3
Use a broker's free demo account for timed order tests
Every reputable broker offers a free demo. Demo servers usually sit on the same infrastructure as live servers, so latency is broadly comparable (confirm this — some brokers separate them). Place market orders during both quiet and busy sessions (e.g. the London–New York overlap) and log the fill times from the Journal. Testing under load matters: a broker that is fast at 3am can slow to a crawl during a news release.
4
Free execution-monitoring scripts and EAs
Free community Expert Advisors and scripts (available on MQL5's code base) can automatically log the time between order send and confirmation across many trades, then export the results to a CSV. This removes human timing error and gives you a proper distribution — average, best, and worst-case latency — rather than a handful of manual samples.
5
Traceroute to see where the delay is
If your ping is high, a free traceroute (Mac/Linux) or tracert (Windows) to the broker's server shows each network hop and its latency, revealing whether the delay is your local connection, your ISP, or the distance to the server. If the distance is the problem, a low-cost or free-trial VPS near the broker's data centre can cut network latency dramatically.
Reading your results
| Metric |
Excellent |
Acceptable |
Investigate |
| Network ping to server |
< 30 ms |
30–100 ms |
> 150 ms |
| Execution latency (Journal) |
< 100 ms |
100–300 ms |
> 500 ms |
| Requotes / rejections |
None |
Rare, quiet markets |
Frequent, esp. on news |
These are general reference bands for retail CFD/forex trading, not guarantees. What counts as "fast enough" depends on your strategy — a scalper needs far tighter latency than a swing trader.
Watch for requotes and rejections
Latency is not only about speed — it is about honesty under load. If a broker frequently requotes you (offers a worse price after you click) or rejects orders during volatile periods, that is a form of slow, unreliable execution even if the ping looks fine. Log how often it happens during your demo tests.
Who should care most
- Scalpers and high-frequency traders — latency directly eats your edge; test thoroughly and consider a VPS near the broker's server.
- News traders — execution speed under load is critical; test specifically during scheduled releases.
- Swing and position traders — a few hundred milliseconds rarely matters; do not over-optimise for speed you will not use.
Execution speed is one factor among several. Pair these tests with our broker comparison and head-to-head reviews so you weigh speed against regulation, spreads, and withdrawal reliability rather than in isolation. See our Pepperstone vs IC Markets comparison for a worked head-to-head, and our order-type guide for EU day traders for the tools that pair with fast execution.
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