Freqtrade vs Passivbot: which trading bot wins in 2026?
Head-to-head on the facts that decide your money: custody model, pricing, features and scores - every number sourced in the linked reviews.
Short answer: Freqtrade wins overall (8/10 vs 7.2/10 in our weighted scores). Facts verified 2026-09-03.
 Freqtrade |  Passivbot | |
|---|---|---|
| Overall score (0-10) | 8 | 7.2 |
| Safety score | 8.5 | 8.5 |
| Custody model | Self-hosted (keys stay local) | Self-hosted (keys stay local) |
| IP whitelisting | no / unclear | no / unclear |
| Pricing model | Free | Free |
| Entry price | free | free |
| Free tier / trial | free tier | free tier |
| Exchanges | 9 | 5 |
| Grid bots | no / unclear | yes |
| DCA bots | yes | yes |
| TradingView signals | no / unclear | no / unclear |
| Futures | yes | yes |
| Backtesting | yes | yes |
| Paper trading | yes | yes |
| Open source | yes | yes |
| US available | yes | yes |
| Company | open-source community | enarjord / open-source community |
// Freqtrade at a glance
The reference open-source bot: free, auditable, keys never leave your machine - at the cost of Python skills and patience.
++ What works
- API keys stay on your own hardware
- Free and open source (GPL-3.0) with a large community
- Backtesting + hyperparameter optimization + FreqAI
- Dry-run paper mode for weeks before going live
-- What to watch
- Requires Python and command-line comfort
- Documentation is thorough but demanding
- No visual strategy builder - public strategies mostly fail live
- You own uptime, updates and VPS cost (~$5-20/mo)
// Passivbot at a glance
Public-domain (Unlicense) grid/martingale futures bot for Bybit, OKX, Binance, Bitget and Hyperliquid - raw power for developers, invisible for everyone else.
++ What works
- Truly public domain (Unlicense) - no license restrictions at all
- Battle-tested by its community on Bybit/OKX since 2020
- Backtesting + optimization of grid/martingale parameters
- Runs anywhere: VPS, home server, even a laptop
- No fees, no vendor, no lock-in
-- What to watch
- Config-file driven - zero GUI, developer skills required
- One strategy family only (grid/martingale futures)
- Martingale logic carries real drawdown risk - parameter discipline is everything
- Community support only (GitHub issues)
// FAQ
Which is safer, Freqtrade or Passivbot?
Custody models first: Freqtrade: self-hosted (keys stay local), Passivbot: self-hosted (keys stay local). If a platform needs your API keys, use IP-whitelisted trade-only keys and keep only working capital on the exchange - the 2022 key-leak lesson. Security incident history per platform is documented in each review.
Which is cheaper, Freqtrade or Passivbot?
Freqtrade costs free (free); Passivbot costs free (free). Compare against your volume: subscriptions are flat cost while per-trade fees scale with activity - the bot cost calculator shows your break-even.
Which has more features, Freqtrade or Passivbot?
Freqtrade: DCA futures AI backtest paper code . Passivbot: grid DCA futures backtest paper code . Feature parity matters less than the two or three you actually use - check the grid/DCA/TradingView flags in the table above.
Scores and facts: meta-reviews with dated sources - Freqtrade · Passivbot. Method: how we verify. More: all trading bots compared.