Latency and jitter are two different problems
Posted: Sat Oct 31, 2026 9:17 pm
A ping of 20 ms sounds great. But the number reported is usually an average, and averages hide the thing that causes trouble: variation.
Jitter is the variability in latency from one packet to the next. A connection with an average of 20 ms but swings between 5 and 150 is worse for trading than a steady 40.
Why it matters: orders sent at the wrong moment of a spike arrive late, and the time to fill becomes unpredictable. Fast-moving markets amplify this, since the price changes while the packet is in transit.
To measure jitter, run a continuous ping for several minutes and look at the maximum and standard deviation as well as the average. Better still, run it during the hours when the market is busiest.
Results often show that home connections have clear spikes, such as every 30 seconds when a background app syncs, or when someone else in the house streams video.
A steady 30 ms beats a spiky 10 ms, in nearly every situation that matters for scalping.
What do the ping logs show for max and standard deviation, not just the average?
Jitter is the variability in latency from one packet to the next. A connection with an average of 20 ms but swings between 5 and 150 is worse for trading than a steady 40.
Why it matters: orders sent at the wrong moment of a spike arrive late, and the time to fill becomes unpredictable. Fast-moving markets amplify this, since the price changes while the packet is in transit.
To measure jitter, run a continuous ping for several minutes and look at the maximum and standard deviation as well as the average. Better still, run it during the hours when the market is busiest.
Results often show that home connections have clear spikes, such as every 30 seconds when a background app syncs, or when someone else in the house streams video.
A steady 30 ms beats a spiky 10 ms, in nearly every situation that matters for scalping.
What do the ping logs show for max and standard deviation, not just the average?