Trade copier latency and slippage: what Copilink has measured

Every trade copier adds some delay, because each follower order is created after the leader's. Copilink has measured its own part of that delay:

Product	Measured	Sample	What it covers
Copilink for NinjaTrader 8	About 1.6 ms average	About 70 live and simulated trades, 5 followers	Leader event reaching Copilink to follower orders submitted to NinjaTrader
Copilink Standalone (Tradovate)	4.91 ms mean	2,171 follower-order events in 5 sessions	Leader event to follower work submitted by Copilink

Neither number is the time to a broker fill. After Copilink hands off the order, it still travels over the network, through the broker's checks and into the market. That part depends on your connection, the broker and market conditions.

What the measurements include

NinjaTrader 8 add-on. Tested on a desktop PC (AMD Ryzen 7 2700X, 16 GB of memory). The timer covers identifying the leader event, calculating each follower's size and submitting orders for all five followers to the local NinjaTrader core. The result is an average for that sample; no percentiles are published.

Standalone. The timer covers Copilink's own processing from the leader event to follower-order submission across measured Tradovate sessions. See the Tradovate benchmark method and data.

Both are defined in the measurement methodology.

Where copy delay actually comes from

A follower order goes through four stages:

1. Copier processing: noticing the leader order or fill and creating follower orders. This is what the numbers above measure.
2. Network: from your computer or server to the broker. A Chicago VPS keeps this short for CME futures.
3. Broker: risk checks, then acceptance or rejection.
4. Market: how quickly the order fills at the price you want.

In calm markets the whole trip is short enough that followers fill close to the leader. In fast markets the market stage dominates: price can move between the leader's fill and the follower's.

When you compare copiers, compare like with like: the same start and end points, hardware, number of followers, order types and sample size. Copilink has not run a side-by-side speed test of other products, so this page does not rank them.

Why speed matters more across many accounts

Every follower order makes its own trip. On a slow day, a small delay costs nothing. In a fast move, each extra moment can mean a worse fill on every follower, and small differences add up across ten or twenty accounts. Limit orders add another risk: a follower's limit at the leader's price may not fill at all if price has already moved away.

How to reduce slippage on copied accounts during news

News releases like NFP, CPI and FOMC cause slippage in two ways: spreads widen as liquidity pulls back, and price moves while your order is in transit. You can cut both:

• Go flat before high-impact releases and re-enter once the market settles. This is the simplest option, and many prop firms restrict news trading anyway.
• Wait out the first seconds. The widest spreads and fastest moves come immediately after the number. Waiting for the market to settle usually gives better fills.
• Use limit orders priced to fill, set slightly beyond the current price, rather than at a hopeful price. That caps your worst fill without much risk of missing the trade.
• Run close to the exchange. A Chicago VPS shortens the network part of the trip.
• Check each firm's news rule. Some require every account to be flat around listed events. See the prop firm rules directory.

What to check in your own setup

Test with your real broker route and account count. During a busy session, watch for rejected orders, followers that drift from the leader, and fills far from the leader's. Confirm each account at the broker. If problems appear, see the trade copier troubleshooting guide.

FAQ

Is there any delay when copying trades?
Yes. Every follower order is sent after the leader's, so there is always some delay. Copilink's own processing is measured in milliseconds; the network, broker and market add the rest.

What is the best copy trading setup for someone who wants no execution delay?
No setup has zero delay. A copier with fast local processing, a VPS near the exchange, and avoiding the first seconds of big news releases keep it as small as practical.

How fast does NinjaTrader 8 fill orders?
NinjaTrader sends the order; the fill time depends on your connection, the broker and the market. Copilink's NinjaTrader 8 add-on measured about 1.6 ms of its own processing before handing orders to NinjaTrader.

What is latency arbitrage?
Profiting from a speed advantage over other traders, usually a high-frequency trading strategy. Most prop firms prohibit it. For copy trading, speed matters for a different reason: keeping follower fills close to the leader's.

See Copilink for NinjaTrader 8, Copilink Standalone or the fastest trade copier page.