Affiliate disclosure: 3Commas runs an affiliate program (revenue share plus a $15 bonus per paid user, paid in USDC) and we participate in it — if you subscribe through our links we earn a commission at no extra cost to you. This never affects scores: criteria are set out in our testing methodology, and the section on the 2022 incident below should make clear we don't soften copy for partners.
- Platform
- Web + iOS/Android apps
- Category
- Trading bot platform (SaaS)
- Pricing (July 2026)
- Starter $20/mo · Pro $50/mo · Expert $140/mo
- Automation
- Signal Bots, DCA/Grid bots, provider marketplace
- Fund custody
- None — connects to exchanges via API keys
- Affiliate program
- Yes — rev-share + $15/paid user (we participate)
- Risk level
- Moderate — API-key custody, 2022 incident on record
3Commas is legit and one of the most complete bot platforms you can rent: Signal Bots, DCA and Grid automation, mobile apps and a marketplace, from a reasonable $20/month. The asterisk is 2022, when leaked customer API keys were used to drain exchange accounts — a failure the company first handled badly, then fixed properly. Use it with withdrawal-disabled, IP-restricted API keys and it earns its 7.4. Just remember the platform automates strategies; it doesn't supply an edge.
What 3Commas is
3Commas is a software layer that sits between a trading strategy and your exchange account. You connect an exchange via API keys, then let its bots place the orders: DCA bots that ladder into positions, Grid bots that farm ranging markets, and Signal Bots that fire when an external trigger arrives — a TradingView alert, a webhook, or one of the third-party providers selling 3commas crypto signals through the built-in marketplace.
It's one of the big incumbents of the niche, with proper iOS and Android apps — still a rarity among bot platforms — and support for all the major exchanges. Crucially, it never holds your coins. Funds stay on your exchange; 3Commas only holds the keys that are allowed to trade them.
Pricing: the three tiers
As of this update, three subscription levels:
| Plan | Price (July 2026) | Best for |
|---|---|---|
| Starter | $20/mo | First DCA/Grid bots, small accounts |
| Pro | $50/mo | Multiple bots, Signal Bot workflows |
| Expert | $140/mo | High bot counts, heavier automation |
The math to run before subscribing is boring but decisive: fees are a fixed cost against a variable edge. A $50/month Pro plan is $600 a year — on a $3,000 account, your bots must clear 20% annually just to pay for the software, before exchange fees. On a $30,000 account the same plan costs 2%. Bot platforms make far more sense at four-figure-plus account sizes; we walk through the same arithmetic for subscriptions generally in are crypto signals profitable.
Signal Bots, DCA/Grid and the marketplace
Three distinct products live under one roof:
- DCA bots — the classic 3Commas tool. Buy, then ladder "safety orders" into drawdowns and exit at a take-profit. Smooths equity curves in choppy markets; stacks correlated exposure in real downtrends. Understand that trade-off before you size one.
- Grid bots — buy-low/sell-high inside a defined range. Profitable while price respects the range, holding a losing inventory when it breaks.
- Signal Bots + marketplace — execution for external strategies. Anyone can list signals for sale, which means quality is uneven by design: some providers publish coherent stats, others are marketing accounts with a Stripe button. Vet a marketplace seller exactly like a Telegram channel — demand loss-inclusive history, check it against independent numbers where any exist (our accuracy tracker covers the majors), and run the checklist in how to vet a signal provider.
One workflow note: Signal Bots consume webhooks and marketplace feeds, not Telegram messages. If your strategy source is a Telegram channel, Cornix is the purpose-built tool; 3Commas wins when the logic lives in TradingView or in its own bot templates.
The 2022 API-key incident — the part many reviews skip
In late 2022, attackers began draining exchange accounts that were connected to 3Commas. The company initially pointed to phishing; the explanation collapsed when a large database of customer API keys surfaced publicly, and 3Commas confirmed the keys had leaked from its side. Affected keys were revoked and rotated, and the episode remains the defining security event in the bot-platform niche.
Why still 7.4 with that on the record? Because it's history you can plan around — years of operation since, no comparable event — and because the mitigations are entirely in your hands:
- Create a dedicated API key for 3Commas — never reuse one across services.
- Disable withdrawal permissions on that key. A trade-only key can churn your account; it cannot empty it to an attacker's wallet.
- Whitelist IPs where your exchange supports it, and keep only working capital on the connected account.
A platform that had hidden the breach forever would be in our scam hub, not our reviews. 3Commas' initial communication was poor; its eventual disclosure and remediation were adequate. We price both facts in.
Performance: what can — and can't — be verified
There is no "3Commas win rate," and any review quoting one is measuring something else. The platform executes whatever strategy you or a marketplace seller supply; backtests and seller dashboards are not independent verification. What we can verify is operational: orders fire when triggers fire, ladders fill as configured, apps mirror the web terminal. That reliability is the product. The profit or loss belongs to the strategy — which is why the vetting above matters more than any feature list.
Who 3Commas suits
A good fit if: you already have a strategy — your own rules, TradingView alerts, or a vetted provider — and want reliable, mobile-friendly execution across exchanges; your account is large enough that $20–50/month is a rounding error; and you'll follow the API-key hygiene above without shortcuts.
Look elsewhere if: you're hoping the marketplace will hand you a profitable strategy off the shelf, your capital is small enough that fees eat the edge, or your entire signal flow lives in Telegram — that's Cornix territory. Beginners should read how to use crypto signals before automating anything.
Where it's strong
- Full toolkit: Signal Bots, DCA, Grid, marketplace in one place
- Real mobile apps — rare among bot platforms
- Non-custodial: funds never leave your exchange
- Entry price ($20/mo) is low for the feature set
- Post-2022 remediation and years of operation since
Where it isn't
- The 2022 API-key leak — and the slow initial disclosure
- Marketplace signal quality is unvetted and uneven
- No edge included: bots execute, they don't out-think markets
- Expert tier at $140/mo only pays off for heavy users
- DCA bots can stack losses in sustained downtrends
Alternatives worth comparing
- Cornix — the specialist for executing Telegram channel signals; narrower but sharper at that one job.
- Bitsgap — closest like-for-like rival on Grid/DCA automation and exchange coverage.
- Cryptohopper — the other veteran platform, with a bigger strategy marketplace and the same vetting problem.
Head-to-head: Cornix vs 3Commas. For the full field, see our signal bot ranking.
How we scored it: 7.4/10
Against our methodology: verified performance is scored on what a platform can prove — execution reliability — and 3Commas delivers there. Transparency takes the biggest deduction: the 2022 incident itself, and especially the phishing-first communication before confirmation. Value is strong at the $20–50 tiers. Risk practices land mid-range — non-custodial design and configurable keys are good; an unvetted marketplace is not. Support and mature mobile UX round it up to 7.4: infrastructure we'd use ourselves, with keys locked down.
3Commas FAQ
Is 3Commas safe to use after the 2022 API-key incident?
Safer than before, with caveats. Customer exchange API keys leaked in late 2022 and attackers drained connected accounts; the company eventually confirmed the breach and rotated keys. The practical protections are yours to apply: fresh keys used only for 3Commas, withdrawals disabled, IP restrictions on, and only working capital on the connected account.
How much does 3Commas cost in 2026?
Starter $20/month, Pro $50/month, Expert $140/month as of this update. Marketplace signal subscriptions are priced separately by each seller. Compare subscription costs across the niche in our paid signals ranking.
Does 3Commas generate its own trading signals?
Mostly no — it's execution infrastructure. DCA/Grid bots run rules you configure; Signal Bots act on TradingView alerts, webhooks or marketplace providers. The edge comes from whatever feeds the machine, so vet that source first.
Can 3Commas trade Telegram signals automatically?
Not natively — it doesn't parse Telegram messages. For a Telegram-first workflow use Cornix; use 3Commas when the strategy lives in TradingView or its own bot logic.
Which is better, 3Commas or Cornix?
Different tools: Cornix executes Telegram signals, 3Commas is a broader automation platform with DCA/Grid bots, a marketplace and mobile apps. Our Cornix vs 3Commas comparison goes feature by feature.
Crypto assets are volatile and largely unregulated. Automated bots — including everything built on 3Commas — can and do compound losses faster than manual trading when a strategy breaks. Never trade with money you cannot afford to lose, and never treat software fees as a purchase of profit.
We test crypto signal providers with real subscriptions and log every published call — entries, stops and targets — before scoring anyone. Read how we test →