Supported stock broker
Alpaca
API-first, commission-free trading for US stocks, ETFs, options and crypto.
Overview
About Alpaca
Alpaca is a developer-focused brokerage built around its trading API. Instead of a traditional desktop platform, everything — market data, order placement and account management — is exposed through clean REST and streaming endpoints, which makes it a natural fit for automated strategies.
AutoTrader connects to Alpaca with one-click OAuth (or manual API keys), so your strategies can place orders for US-listed stocks, ETFs and crypto pairs directly in your own account. Alpaca's free paper-trading environment mirrors the live API, letting you test any strategy with simulated money before you switch it to live.
Supported markets
What you can trade on Alpaca
The asset classes Alpaca offers, and popular symbols you can automate with AutoTrader.
Asset classes offered
- US stocks
- ETFs
- Options
- Spot crypto
Popular stocks & ETFs
- AAPL
- TSLA
- NVDA
- MSFT
- AMZN
- META
- SPY
- QQQ
Popular crypto markets
- BTC/USD
- ETH/USD
- SOL/USD
- DOGE/USD
- LINK/USD
- AVAX/USD
Symbols shown are examples. Exact availability depends on your country, account type and the broker's current listings.
Fees & accounts
Trading Alpaca: costs and where it's available
Fees and account types
Alpaca does not charge commissions on US-listed stock and ETF trades placed through its API, although small regulatory fees are passed through on sell orders. Crypto trades are priced differently, using a volume-tiered maker/taker fee schedule rather than zero commission, so check Alpaca's fee page for current rates at the time of writing.
There is no minimum deposit to open a cash account, and paper trading is free and does not require funding a live account at all. Margin accounts need a higher balance, and standard US pattern day trader rules apply to frequent day trading in margin accounts under $25,000, which is worth keeping in mind for fast intraday strategies.
Availability and regulation
Brokerage services are provided by Alpaca Securities LLC, a FINRA member broker-dealer whose customer securities accounts are covered by SIPC. Crypto trading is offered through a separate Alpaca crypto entity and is not available in every US state. Alpaca also accepts individual accounts from residents of many countries outside the US, though the list of supported countries and the documents required vary, so confirm eligibility during sign-up.
For automated trading
Automating Alpaca: strengths and limitations
Strengths
- The paper environment uses the same API as live trading, so a strategy you validate in paper mode behaves the same way when you switch it to your funded account.
- Crypto trades around the clock on Alpaca, which lets a server-side AutoTrader strategy keep working nights and weekends when the stock market is closed.
- OAuth support means you can connect without copying secrets, and you can revoke AutoTrader's access from your Alpaca account at any time.
- Commission-free stock and ETF orders make it practical to run strategies that trade frequently with modest position sizes.
Limitations
- Alpaca focuses on US-listed securities, so there is no access to non-US exchanges for stocks.
- Manual API keys carry full account access with no read-only or trade-only scopes, so key hygiene matters more than on brokers with permission toggles.
- Stock market orders only fill during market hours; a signal generated overnight on a stock will wait for the next session, and the opening price can differ from the signal price.
Get started
How to connect Alpaca to AutoTrader
- 01
The quickest route is the "Connect with Alpaca" button on AutoTrader's Exchanges page: sign in to Alpaca, review the requested access and approve it, and AutoTrader receives an OAuth token without you ever handling a secret.
- 02
For manual keys, log in to the Alpaca dashboard and first choose whether you are in your paper account or your live account, because each environment has its own separate key pair.
- 03
On the dashboard home screen, find the API Keys panel and click Generate New Keys (or Regenerate if keys already exist).
- 04
Copy the API Key ID and the Secret Key immediately. Alpaca shows the secret only once, so if you lose it you will need to regenerate, which invalidates the old pair.
- 05
Paste the key ID and secret into AutoTrader, marking the connection as paper or live to match the environment the keys came from. Alpaca keys do not have granular permission toggles, so treat them like a password and regenerate them if you ever suspect they have leaked.
Strategy ideas
Strategies that suit Alpaca
Momentum Trading Strategy
Alpaca's broad universe of liquid US stocks and ETFs gives a momentum strategy plenty of instruments to rotate through without paying per-trade commissions.
Read the strategy guide →Dollar-Cost Averaging (DCA) Strategy
Scheduled, fixed-amount buys of ETFs or crypto fit Alpaca well because small recurring orders are not eaten up by stock commissions.
Read the strategy guide →VWAP — Volume Weighted Average Price
VWAP-based entries suit intraday trading in high-volume US equities, which is where Alpaca's order flow is concentrated.
Read the strategy guide →FAQ
Alpaca automation: frequently asked questions
Is Alpaca paper trading really free?
Yes. Any Alpaca account gets a paper trading environment with simulated funds at no cost, and you do not need to deposit money to use it. It has its own API keys, so in AutoTrader you add it as a separate paper connection. Fills in paper are simulated, so live results can still differ slightly because of real-world liquidity and slippage.
Should I use OAuth or API keys to connect Alpaca?
OAuth is usually the better choice. You approve AutoTrader from inside Alpaca, no secret is copied around, and you can revoke access from your Alpaca account whenever you like. Manual API keys work just as well for placing orders but grant full account access, so store them carefully and regenerate them if they are ever exposed.
Can AutoTrader trade crypto on Alpaca on weekends?
Yes, if crypto trading is enabled on your Alpaca account and available in your state. Crypto markets on Alpaca run 24/7, and because AutoTrader strategies run server-side, a crypto strategy keeps evaluating signals and placing market orders at any hour. Stock and ETF strategies, by contrast, only get fills during US market sessions.
Does the pattern day trader rule affect automated strategies on Alpaca?
It can. US rules limit margin accounts with less than $25,000 in equity to a small number of day trades within a rolling five-business-day window. A strategy that opens and closes stock positions on the same day may hit this limit, so consider swing-style holding periods, a cash account, or crypto pairs if your balance is below the threshold.
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