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📋 How We Compared: Quad Terminal (formerly Quadency), Bitsgap, and 3Commas evaluated on pricing, bot types, supported exchanges, ease of use, security track record, and which trader profile each platform suits best. Pricing and features verified April 2026.
Quad Terminal, Bitsgap, and 3Commas are three of the most searched crypto trading bot platforms — but they’re built for very different traders. Quad Terminal (the rebrand of Quadency) offers a free plan with AI-powered strategy building. Bitsgap is the pick for futures and grid bots across 17+ exchanges. 3Commas sits in the middle with DCA and SmartTrade tools, but carries a significant security flag you need to know about. Here’s how they compare in 2026.
⚡ TL;DR — Quad Terminal vs Bitsgap vs 3Commas
🟣 Quad Terminal (formerly Quadency): Free HODL plan (1 bot, $10K/mo limit), PRO $39/mo annual (10 bots, 20+ exchanges), Cody AI natural-language strategy builder — best for beginners and intermediate traders who want a low-cost, AI-assisted entry into automated trading.
🔵 Bitsgap: Basic $23/mo annual, COMBO futures bot (up to 10x leverage), LOOP bot (Jan 2025), GRID + DCA + BTD bots, 17+ exchanges including DEX — best for active traders who want the most bot variety and futures exposure.
🟠 3Commas: Free tier, Starter ~$14.50/mo annual, DCA + Grid + SmartTrade, 15+ exchanges, AI Assistant (2025) — ⚠️ Dec 2022 API breach (~$22M losses) + March 2026 Ninth Circuit class action reinstated.
📌 Bottom line: Quad Terminal wins on price. Bitsgap wins on bot depth and futures. 3Commas is functional but the security history is a real concern you shouldn’t ignore.
| Feature | Quad Terminal | Bitsgap | 3Commas |
|---|---|---|---|
| Formerly Known As | Quadency | Bitsgap | 3Commas |
| Free Plan | ✅ HODL (1 bot, $10K/mo) | ✅ 7-day free trial | ✅ Free tier (limited) |
| Entry Paid Price | $39/mo annual ($49 monthly) | $23/mo annual | ~$14.50/mo annual (~$29 monthly) |
| Exchanges | 20+ | 17+ (incl. DEX) | 15+ |
| Bot Types | DCA, Grid, Accumulator, MACD, Cody AI | GRID, DCA, COMBO, BTD, LOOP | DCA, Grid, SmartTrade, Copy |
| Futures / Leverage | ✅ Yes | ✅ COMBO (up to 10x) | ✅ Yes |
| AI Features | ✅ Cody AI (natural language) | ✅ AI Assistant | ✅ AI Assistant (paid plans) |
| Security Flag | None known | None known | ⚠️ Dec 2022 breach + 2026 lawsuit |
| Best For | Budget-conscious, AI-curious | Active traders, futures | DCA + SmartTrade users |
| Review | Quad Terminal Review | Bitsgap Review | 3Commas Review |
| ⚠️ Verify current pricing at each platform’s official site before subscribing. Past performance of any bot strategy doesn’t guarantee future returns. Not financial advice. | |||
What to Look For in a Crypto Trading Bot
- Bot variety (30%): DCA bots work in trending markets. Grid bots profit from sideways price action. COMBO/futures bots let you go long or short with leverage. The more strategies available, the more market conditions you can trade in.
- Exchange support (25%): A bot is useless if it doesn’t support the exchange you use. Check your exchange is on the official integration list — not just a marketing page — before subscribing.
- Pricing vs. features (20%): A cheaper plan that limits active bots can cost more in missed trades than a slightly pricier plan with no limits. Look at the bot count, not just the monthly fee.
- Security track record (15%): Any platform that has suffered an API breach or data leak deserves a dedicated look at what changed after the incident. “We fixed it” isn’t enough — ask what was encrypted before and after.
- AI and automation tools (10%): AI strategy builders and TradingView integration can meaningfully reduce setup time, but they don’t replace backtesting. Treat AI suggestions as a starting point, not a finished strategy.
Don’t optimize for: the longest bot list. A platform with 20 bot types sounds impressive, but if 15 of them need HaasScript-level configuration, they’re not accessible to most traders. Focus on the bots you’ll actually use.
How to Choose Between These Three
- Filter by budget: If you want to start for free and pay only when you’re ready to scale, Quad Terminal’s HODL plan is the only true free-forever option here. Bitsgap and 3Commas offer trials, not permanent free tiers.
- Filter by strategy type: Running DCA and grid strategies on spot markets? All three work. Need futures with leverage? Bitsgap’s COMBO bot (up to 10x) is the strongest option. Want TradingView webhooks? WunderTrading or 3Commas fit better.
- Filter by exchange: Quad Terminal covers 20+ exchanges. Bitsgap covers 17+ including DEX. 3Commas covers 15+. Check your specific exchange is supported before committing.
- Filter by risk tolerance for security: If the Dec 2022 API breach and the reinstated 2026 class action are dealbreakers for you, 3Commas is off the table. Quad Terminal and Bitsgap have no known breach history.
Skip this comparison if: you want a completely free bot with no subscription — Pionex has 16 built-in bots with zero monthly fees and only charges a 0.05% trading fee. See our best crypto trading bots guide for the full market view, or our Bitsgap alternatives roundup if you’ve already ruled out Bitsgap.
1. Quad Terminal (Formerly Quadency)
Quad Terminal — rebranded from Quadency in 2025 — is a multi-exchange trading platform that bundles automated bots, portfolio analytics, and an AI assistant called Cody into a single interface. The platform launched its QUAD token alongside the rebrand, giving holders early access to new features and governance rights.
- ✅ HODL plan is genuinely free: 1 live bot, $10K monthly trading limit, 20+ exchanges — real automated trading at $0/mo. Most competitors only offer paper trading on free tiers.
- ✅ Cody AI (2025): Converts natural-language instructions into executable trading strategies. Type “buy BTC when RSI drops below 30 and sell when it hits 60” and Cody configures it. Useful for traders who know what they want but not how to set it up.
- ✅ 20+ exchanges: Binance, Coinbase Advanced, Kraken, KuCoin, OKX, Gemini, Bitfinex, and more. One of the broadest exchange lists in this comparison.
- ✅ PRO plan is competitively priced: $39/mo annual ($49/mo monthly) for 10 bots and a $100K monthly trading limit. Cheaper than Bitsgap’s Basic plan for what you get.
- ⚠️ Trade-off: The QUAD token utility is largely aspirational — its market cap is tiny and liquidity is thin. The rebrand to “Quad Terminal” has confused some long-term Quadency users, and the community size is noticeably smaller than Bitsgap or 3Commas.
- 📌 Best for: Budget-conscious traders who want real live bots for free, plus the ability to upgrade when ready. Also fits traders who want to experiment with AI-assisted strategy building without committing to high monthly fees.
| Quad Terminal Plan | Price | Live Bots | Monthly Trading Limit |
|---|---|---|---|
| HODL (Free) | $0/mo | 1 | $10,000 |
| PRO | $39/mo annual ($49 monthly) | 10 | $100,000 |
| Institutional | Custom pricing | Unlimited | Unlimited |
| Verify current pricing at quadterminal.com. Annual billing saves ~20% vs monthly. | |||
2. Bitsgap
Bitsgap is a cloud-based trading platform founded in 2017 in Tallinn, Estonia. With 500K+ traders and a Trustpilot rating of 3.9/5, it’s one of the most established bot platforms in crypto. Its strongest differentiator is bot variety: five distinct automated strategies including the COMBO futures bot (up to 10x leverage) and the LOOP bot launched in January 2025.
- ✅ COMBO bot with up to 10x leverage: A leveraged futures grid bot for Binance and Bybit that lets you run Long or Short COMBO strategies. No other platform in this comparison offers this level of futures automation at the Basic plan price.
- ✅ LOOP bot (Jan 2025): Automatically reinvests profits from each completed grid cycle — designed for compounding gains in trending markets without manual intervention.
- ✅ DEX support: Integrates with Asterdex and EVEDEX alongside 15+ CEX platforms. Useful for traders who split between centralized and decentralized venues.
- ✅ Non-custodial since 2017 with no known breaches: Nine-year clean security record. API keys are stored encrypted; Bitsgap never has withdrawal access to your funds.
- ⚠️ Trade-off: The COMBO futures bot carries real liquidation risk if you’re not careful with leverage settings. The Basic plan ($23/mo) limits bot count and active pairs — you’ll likely need the Advanced plan ($69/mo) to run more than a couple of strategies at once.
- 📌 Best for: Active traders who want futures exposure with a leveraged grid bot, or anyone running multiple spot strategies across a wide exchange list. The 7-day free trial with no credit card required makes it easy to test before committing.
| Bitsgap Plan | Monthly (Annual) | Monthly (Monthly) | Key Feature |
|---|---|---|---|
| Basic | $23/mo | ~$29/mo | GRID + DCA bots, 17+ exchanges |
| Advanced | $69/mo | ~$86/mo | More bots, COMBO futures, LOOP |
| Pro | $119/mo | ~$149/mo | Unlimited bots, full suite |
| 7-day free trial, no credit card required. Verify current pricing at bitsgap.com. | |||
3. 3Commas
⚠️ Security Notice: In December 2022, 3Commas suffered an API key data breach affecting approximately 150,000 users and resulting in an estimated $22 million in stolen crypto. In March 2026, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit revived a class action lawsuit against 3Commas, ruling the case can proceed in California. 3Commas has since implemented additional security measures, but this history is material to any decision to trust the platform with your exchange API keys. Read the full security section before deciding.
3Commas is a Miami-based crypto trading platform launched in 2017. With 15+ exchange integrations, DCA and Grid bots, a SmartTrade terminal, and an AI Assistant launched in 2025, it’s a capable platform — but the December 2022 breach and the ongoing legal proceedings are facts every potential user should weigh.
- ✅ Free tier available: Limited bot access at no cost. Starter plan runs ~$14.50/mo on annual billing — one of the cheapest paid entry points for DCA automation.
- ✅ SmartTrade terminal: Lets you set Take Profit, Stop Loss, and Trailing Stop on a single trade simultaneously — useful for active position management on 15+ exchanges.
- ✅ AI Assistant (2025): Helps configure DCA bots on paid plans using market data analysis. QuantPilot (April 2026 waitlist) is a forthcoming AI trading layer — not yet broadly available.
- ✅ Sign Center (late 2025): Encrypted API key vault designed to reduce exposure in the event of future server-side attacks.
- ⚠️ Trade-off: The December 2022 breach is the biggest flag here. While 3Commas has added Sign Center and other security improvements, the March 2026 Ninth Circuit ruling means the class action is actively progressing. This isn’t resolved history — it’s ongoing litigation.
- 📌 Best for: Traders who specifically need the SmartTrade terminal or TradingView signal integration, have done their own security due diligence, and are comfortable with the documented breach history.
| 3Commas Plan | Monthly (Annual) | Monthly (Monthly) | Key Feature |
|---|---|---|---|
| Free | $0 | $0 | Limited bots, SmartTrade |
| Starter | ~$14.50/mo | ~$29/mo | DCA + Grid bots, 7-day trial |
| Pro | ~$49.50/mo | ~$99.99/mo | Unlimited bots, AI Assistant |
| Verify current pricing at 3commas.io. ⚠️ Review the December 2022 breach disclosure before connecting API keys. | |||
Bot Types: Head-to-Head
| Bot Type | Quad Terminal | Bitsgap | 3Commas |
|---|---|---|---|
| DCA Bot | ✅ Yes | ✅ Yes | ✅ Yes |
| Grid Bot | ✅ Yes | ✅ GRID bot | ✅ Yes |
| Futures / Leverage Bot | ✅ Yes | ✅ COMBO (up to 10x) | ✅ Yes (limited) |
| BTD (Buy the Dip) | ❌ | ✅ BTD bot | ❌ |
| Auto-Reinvest Bot | ❌ | ✅ LOOP bot (Jan 2025) | ❌ |
| AI Strategy Builder | ✅ Cody AI | ✅ AI Assistant | ✅ AI Assistant (paid) |
| SmartTrade Terminal | ✅ Yes | ✅ Yes | ✅ Yes |
| Copy Trading | ❌ | ❌ | ✅ Yes |
| TradingView Webhooks | ✅ Yes | ✅ Yes | ✅ Yes |
| Paper Trading | ✅ All plans | ✅ Yes | ✅ Yes |
| Backtesting | ✅ Yes | ✅ Yes | ✅ Yes |
Bitsgap leads on bot variety: the COMBO futures bot and the LOOP auto-reinvest bot are unique in this comparison. Quad Terminal’s Cody AI is the standout feature for traders who want to build strategies without manual configuration. 3Commas has the edge on copy trading, which neither competitor offers.
Exchange Support: Head-to-Head
| Exchange | Quad Terminal | Bitsgap | 3Commas |
|---|---|---|---|
| Binance | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ |
| Bybit | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ |
| Coinbase Advanced | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ |
| Kraken | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ |
| KuCoin | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ |
| OKX | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ |
| Gemini | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ |
| Bitfinex | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ |
| Gate.io | ✅ | ✅ | ❌ |
| BingX | ❌ | ✅ | ❌ |
| BitMart | ❌ | ✅ | ❌ |
| Bitstamp | ❌ | ✅ | ✅ |
| DEX (Asterdex/EVEDEX) | ❌ | ✅ | ❌ |
| Total (approx.) | 20+ | 17+ (incl. DEX) | 15+ |
| Exchange integrations are updated regularly. Verify current support at each platform’s official site before subscribing. | |||
Worth noting: Quad Terminal lists 20+ exchanges but this includes some smaller venues. Bitsgap’s 17+ includes DEX support (Asterdex, EVEDEX) — unique in this comparison. All three cover the major spot exchanges that most retail traders need: Binance, Bybit, Coinbase, Kraken, OKX, KuCoin.
Routing Verdict
| If You Need… | Best Pick | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Start for free with real live bots | Quad Terminal | HODL plan: 1 bot, 20+ exchanges, $0/mo forever |
| Futures automation with leverage | Bitsgap | COMBO bot up to 10x leverage on Binance + Bybit |
| Auto-reinvest grid profits | Bitsgap | LOOP bot (Jan 2025) — only platform here with this feature |
| AI strategy building from natural language | Quad Terminal | Cody AI converts plain-text instructions into configured bots |
| Copy trading | 3Commas | Only platform in this comparison with a copy trading feature |
| Widest bot variety | Bitsgap | 5 distinct bot types: GRID, DCA, COMBO, BTD, LOOP |
| Lowest cost paid plan | 3Commas | Starter ~$14.50/mo annual — but weigh security history first |
| Best security track record | Bitsgap or Quad Terminal | Neither has a known breach; 3Commas has documented 2022 incident + 2026 lawsuit |
| DEX / on-chain trading | Bitsgap | Asterdex + EVEDEX integration (others are CEX-only) |
| No single platform wins every category. Match your pick to your primary use case. | ||
⚠️ Risk Disclaimer: Crypto trading bots automate trades but don’t guarantee profits. Automated strategies can amplify losses in volatile markets, especially with leverage. Past bot performance doesn’t predict future returns. Never invest more than you can afford to lose. Always start with paper trading before deploying real capital.
🏁 Bottom Line — Quad Terminal vs Bitsgap vs 3Commas: For most traders, the choice comes down to two questions: do you need futures leverage, and does the 3Commas security history bother you? If you want futures automation, Bitsgap’s COMBO bot is the standout pick. If you want to start for free with a real live bot and Cody AI, Quad Terminal’s HODL plan is genuinely hard to beat at $0/mo. 3Commas has capable tools and the lowest paid-plan entry price, but the December 2022 breach and reinstated 2026 class action are not minor footnotes — they’re material facts every user should read before handing over their exchange API keys. None of these platforms guarantee profits. Start with paper trading.
Reviewed by: CoinCodeCap Editorial Team | Last updated: April 2026
The CoinCodeCap editorial team has covered crypto trading bots since 2018. Our reviews combine hands-on platform testing with verified pricing data, security history research, and SERP-based competitive analysis. We hold no equity in any of the platforms reviewed and earn affiliate commissions only if you sign up through our links — which doesn’t affect our ratings or editorial independence.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Quadency still active in 2026?
Yes, but it’s now called Quad Terminal. The platform rebranded from Quadency to Quad Terminal in 2025, adding a QUAD utility token and the Cody AI strategy builder. All existing Quadency accounts migrated to the new platform. The URL changed to quadterminal.com. Features, exchange integrations, and bot types remained largely the same through the transition.
Which is better for beginners — Bitsgap, 3Commas, or Quad Terminal?
Quad Terminal is the most beginner-friendly of the three. The HODL free plan gives you one real live bot on 20+ exchanges at zero cost — which means you can learn how automated trading works without spending anything. Cody AI reduces setup complexity by letting you describe your strategy in plain language. Bitsgap has a clean interface but no permanent free tier. 3Commas has a free tier but its interface can be overwhelming early on, and the security history warrants extra research for new users.
What happened with 3Commas in 2022 and 2026?
In December 2022, 3Commas confirmed it was the source of an API key leak affecting approximately 150,000 users, with an estimated $22 million in crypto stolen. The company had initially denied responsibility, blaming phishing attacks. In March 2026, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit reversed a lower court dismissal and revived a class action lawsuit against 3Commas. The case will proceed in California. 3Commas has since added a Sign Center (encrypted API key vault) and other security measures, but the litigation is ongoing as of April 2026.
Does Bitsgap work with DEX platforms?
Yes. Bitsgap integrates with Asterdex and EVEDEX in addition to its 15+ centralized exchange connections. This makes it the only platform in this comparison with native DEX support. Quad Terminal and 3Commas are CEX-only. If you trade on decentralized venues alongside centralized exchanges, Bitsgap is currently the strongest option of the three.
Is there a free crypto trading bot that actually works in 2026?
Quad Terminal’s HODL plan is one of the few genuinely free-forever options: one live bot, 20+ exchanges, real automated trading at $0/mo. Pionex is another — it has 16 built-in bots with no subscription fee at all, charging only a 0.05% trading fee. Both are legitimate platforms with real live trading on free tiers. Most other platforms (including Bitsgap and 3Commas) offer trials rather than permanent free access to live bots.
Related Articles
📋 Individual Platform Reviews
→ Quad Terminal Review — Full breakdown of the rebranded platform, Cody AI, and HODL plan
→ Bitsgap Review — COMBO bot, LOOP bot, pricing, and security deep-dive
→ 3Commas Review — Full DCA bot, SmartTrade, AI Assistant, and breach disclosure
📊 Related Comparisons
→ Bitsgap vs 3Commas vs Quad Terminal — Side-by-side feature deep-dive
→ Best Bitsgap Alternatives — Other bot platforms ranked if Bitsgap doesn’t fit
→ Best 3Commas Alternatives — Vetted alternatives if the breach history is a dealbreaker
⬆️ Full Guide
→ Best Crypto Trading Bots — Complete ranked list of all active bot platforms for 2026
