by Steve
Last Updated 07/02/26
The Trading Bot Tools I Use to Run My Bot
Disclosure: This post contains referral links. If you sign up through my links, I may earn a referral bonus at no extra cost to you. I only recommend apps I personally use.
These are the trading bot tools I rely on every single day. Everything on this page is something I actually use to build and run the Bot and Bull trading system. No fluff — just the tools that matter.
How I Chose These Trading Bot Tools
When you are building a trading bot with no team and a small budget, the trading bot tools you pick either save you or sink you. I did not choose any of these because they were popular — I chose them because each one solved a specific problem I hit while building Bot and Bull. Every tool here earns its place by doing one job well and staying out of the way. If a trading bot tool added friction or cost without pulling its weight, it did not make the list.
What to Look For in Trading Bot Tools
If you are assembling your own stack, focus on three things. First, an execution venue with a real API — without programmatic access, automation is impossible. Second, always-on infrastructure so your trading bot tools keep running when your laptop is closed. Third, a simple way to connect and monitor everything remotely. Get those three right and the rest is detail. The trading bot tools below cover all three, and they are the same ones I still use today.
Robinhood Where the bot lives and trades. Commission-free stocks and crypto, fractional shares, and an API that makes automation possible. If you’re building a trading bot, this is where to start. 👉 Sign up and we’ll both get a free stock
DigitalOcean The VPS where my bot runs 24/7. Simple, affordable cloud hosting perfect for running a Python script around the clock. A few dollars a month and it never goes down.
👉 Get started here. These are the trading bot tools I would pick again without hesitation.
Termius The SSH app I use to manage my server from my phone. If you’re running a bot on a VPS, you need a way to connect to it remotely. Termius makes it dead simple. 👉 Check out Termius
Learn Python Python is the language the bot is written in. Free to learn, beginner-friendly, and incredibly powerful for automation and trading. I recommend starting with Udemy — they have great beginner Python courses at affordable prices. 👉 Browse Python courses on Udemy These are the trading bot tools I would pick again without hesitation.
Steve is the founder of Bot and Bull. He personally uses every app reviewed on this site and only recommends what he genuinely believes in — no press releases, no paid placements.
Some links in this post are referral links, which means we both benefit when you sign up through them — at no extra cost to you. Bonus amounts, terms, and availability are set by each app and can change at any time. Always confirm the current offer before signing up. Terms apply.
A quick note on cost: none of these trading bot tools require a big upfront investment. The broker is free to use, the server runs for a few dollars a month, and the monitoring tools are either free or close to it. That was intentional. Part of the point of Bot and Bull is proving that a beginner can assemble a working stack of trading bot tools for less than the price of a monthly streaming bundle — and still run a real, automated strategy. Start small, keep the tools lean, and add only what genuinely earns its place.
Building Your Own Trading Bot Tools Stack
You do not need an expensive setup to get started — you need the right trading bot tools and a plan. If you are ready to put these trading bot tools together, follow my step-by-step guide on how to set up a Robinhood trading bot from scratch.