Server location and ping: how much distance actually matters
Posted: Mon Nov 02, 2026 5:01 pm
Brokers often have trade servers in London, New York or other financial centres. Choosing a VPS near the server reduces ping, but the benefit depends on the trading style.
Rough scales:
How to check where the server is: ask support, or use traceroute from a VPS to the server address and look at the last hops. Ping from a VPS in different locations also shows which is closest.
A worked example of what to measure: compare slippage per trade from two locations. If the difference is negligible, the cheaper option is fine.
Do you know where your broker's server is?
Rough scales:
- Same data centre: around 1 ms.
- Same city: a few ms.
- London to Frankfurt or Amsterdam: around 10 ms.
- London to New York: around 70 ms.
- Home internet: varies widely.
How to check where the server is: ask support, or use traceroute from a VPS to the server address and look at the last hops. Ping from a VPS in different locations also shows which is closest.
A worked example of what to measure: compare slippage per trade from two locations. If the difference is negligible, the cheaper option is fine.
Do you know where your broker's server is?