Backtesting software compared
The best crypto backtesting software in 2026
The best crypto backtesting software depends on how you build strategies. If you write Python, an open-source library such as freqtrade, Jesse or QuantConnect's LEAN gives you full control; if you trade from charts, TradingView's Strategy Tester is built into the chart; if you want to describe a strategy and have it built and tested, an AI builder fits. Keel is that last kind for Hyperliquid perpetuals: it works from Claude, ChatGPT or its own app and charges fees, slippage and hourly funding on every backtest.
By Keel Research Team
Updated October 15, 2026How to choose
Five things that pick the tool for you
Most lists rank tools as if one could be best for everyone. In practice the right tool falls out of a few plain facts about how you trade. Settle these first and most of the field drops away.
Whether you write code
If you are comfortable in Python, open-source libraries give you the most control for no licence cost. If you are not, look at chart testers, bot platforms or an AI builder.
The market you trade
Spot, perpetual futures and forex behave differently. Perps charge funding, which can make or break a strategy that holds positions for days. Check the tool models the market you actually trade.
Which costs the test charges
Fees, slippage and, on perps, funding. A backtest that leaves one out flatters the strategy. Check what the tool charges by default and whether you can change it.
Where the history comes from
Some tools bring their own data, some download it from the exchange, some leave it to you. Exchange APIs often serve only recent history, so longer tests need stored data.
Whether the tested strategy runs live
If going live means rewriting the strategy in another tool, the thing you trade is not quite the thing you tested. Fewer rewrites mean fewer surprises.
The tools
Crypto backtesting tools, by the way you work
Four kinds, who each suits, and the tools in each. Every fact about another tool comes from its own site; the sources are listed at the end.
01
Code-first libraries and platforms
Suits you if you write Python, want every detail under your control, or need something the ready-made tools don't offer.
What to watch. You own the data, the cost model and the bugs. Funding on perps is the cost most often left out, and a look-ahead mistake can hide in a single line of code.
freqtrade
A free, open-source crypto trading bot written in Python. It backtests strategies on historical data it downloads, and its docs list futures support on several exchanges, Hyperliquid among them.
freqtrade.ioJesse
An MIT-licensed Python framework for researching, backtesting, optimising and live trading your own crypto strategies, with spot and futures support.
github.comQuantConnect LEAN
QuantConnect's open-source trading engine (Apache 2.0), written for Python and C#. QuantConnect's docs cover crypto and crypto futures, with brokerage models for exchanges including Binance, Bybit, Coinbase and Kraken.
github.comvectorbt
A Python package that backtests on pandas and NumPy arrays in a vectorised way, built for testing many variations of a strategy at once.
vectorbt.dev
02
Chart-first tools
Suits you if you already trade from charts and want to test an idea where you look at the market.
What to watch. Tests run on the chart's own data and settings, so check how fees, slippage and funding are set before you trust a result. Portfolios of many coins are harder to test this way.
TradingView Strategy Tester
Strategies are scripts written in Pine Script that place simulated orders on your chart. The Strategy Tester runs them over past data (backtesting) and on live chart data as it updates (forward testing).
tradingview.comFX Replay
A browser-based platform for replaying historical price data bar by bar and practising trades by hand. It covers crypto alongside forex, futures, stocks and other markets.
fxreplay.com
03
Bot platforms with backtests
Suits you if you want a hosted bot of a familiar type, such as DCA or grid, on a centralised exchange, and want to check its settings first.
What to watch. You test within the bot types and settings the platform offers. That keeps it simple, and it also limits which strategies you can express.
3Commas
Offers DCA, grid and signal bots, and backtesting on 1-minute candles with indicators in the bot's logic.
3commas.ioCoinrule
Rule-based bots built from drag-and-drop conditions and actions without code, with free backtesting on historical data from many exchanges.
coinrule.com
04
AI and agent-driven builders
Suits you if you would rather describe a strategy in plain words and have it built, tested and explained, without coding the plumbing.
What to watch. A general chat assistant on its own can write backtest code, but it has no market data or cost model, so its claims about results need checking. Look for a builder that runs real backtests and shows you the strategy it built.
Keel
A strategy builder and backtester for Hyperliquid perpetuals. You build from Claude, ChatGPT, Cursor or Claude Code through Keel's hosted MCP server, or in the Keel app, using 251 readable blocks. Every run charges a 4.5 bps fee and slippage per fill plus Hyperliquid's real hourly funding, and the free plan includes 50 backtests a week.
How Keel's free backtesting works
The four kinds side by side
| Coding | Data | Costs in the test | Going live | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Code-first libraries | Yes, usually Python | You download or buy it | You set them up | Often the same code, run by you |
| Chart-first tools | A script language, or none for manual replay | The platform's charts | Check the tester's settings | Usually a separate step |
| Bot platforms | No | The platform's | Varies by platform | The same bot, switched on |
| AI builders (Keel) | No, you describe it | Hyperliquid history, built in | Fees, slippage, funding by default | The same strategy, from your own account |
Where Keel fits
What Keel does well, and where another tool is better
Keel is built for one trader: someone testing systematic strategies on Hyperliquid perps who wants the data, costs and live running handled. You describe a strategy to your assistant or to Keel's AI builder, it is built from blocks you can read and edit, and the backtest runs on Hyperliquid's own price and funding history. The strategy you tested is the one that paper trades and then runs live from your own account. Keel can place trades there but can never withdraw.
It is the wrong tool in a few clear cases. It covers Hyperliquid's native crypto perps only, with no spot, forex or stock data. Stock and index perps are HIP-3 markets, and Keel doesn't support them yet. Support is coming soon. Strategies run on bars from 5 minutes to 1 day, so tick-level and market-making strategies need a code-first library. And if you want to practise discretionary entries by hand, a chart replay tool suits you better.
Whatever you pick
Checks that make any backtest worth trusting
The tool matters less than how you use it. Charge every cost, including funding on perps. Make sure no signal uses data from the future. Hold back some dates and test on them last. Be suspicious of a result that only works on one setting. Then paper trade on live prices before real money.
Our guide to crypto backtesting walks through each of these with examples, and the Hyperliquid backtest page covers the venue's data and costs in detail.
FAQ
Questions about backtesting software
Which backtesting software is best for crypto?
The one that fits how you build. Python coders usually do best with an open-source library such as freqtrade, Jesse or LEAN. Chart traders can stay in TradingView's Strategy Tester. People who want a hosted DCA or grid bot can test it on a bot platform. If you want to describe a strategy and have it built and tested on Hyperliquid perps, Keel does that.
What is the best free crypto backtesting software?
freqtrade, Jesse, LEAN and vectorbt cost nothing to use if you can code and source data. Keel's free plan includes 50 backtests a week on Hyperliquid perps with costs charged, with no code needed, from your assistant or the app.
Can I backtest on TradingView?
Yes. You write the strategy in Pine Script and the Strategy Tester runs it over the chart's history and forward on live data. What each TradingView plan includes is on TradingView's own pricing page.
Can AI backtest a trading strategy?
An assistant can write backtest code, but on its own it has no market data or cost model, so treat what it says about results as a guess. Connected to a backtesting tool such as Keel, it builds the strategy and runs a real test, then explains the result.
What should crypto backtesting software charge for in a test?
Trading fees and slippage on every fill, and on perpetual futures the funding paid or earned on every open position. Leaving out any of them makes a strategy look better than it will trade.
What is the best backtesting software for Hyperliquid?
If you code, freqtrade's docs list Hyperliquid futures support. If you don't, Keel is built for Hyperliquid perps specifically, with the venue's own price and funding history and the costs charged on every run.
Do I need to know how to code to backtest crypto?
No. Bot platforms let you test preset bots, chart tools let you replay or use published scripts, and AI builders like Keel build a strategy from a plain description. Code gives you the most control, at the cost of building the data and cost model yourself.
Sources
Facts about other tools come from each tool's own site or documentation, read on 15 October 2026. Tools change, so check the source before you decide. We left out anything we could not confirm there, including prices.
- freqtrade: https://www.freqtrade.io/en/stable/
- Jesse: https://github.com/jesse-ai/jesse
- QuantConnect LEAN: https://github.com/QuantConnect/Lean
- QuantConnect LEAN: https://www.quantconnect.com/docs/v2/writing-algorithms/securities/asset-classes/crypto
- vectorbt: https://vectorbt.dev/
- TradingView Strategy Tester: https://www.tradingview.com/support/solutions/43000562362-what-are-strategies-backtesting-and-forward-testing/
- FX Replay: https://fxreplay.com/
- 3Commas: https://3commas.io/
- Coinrule: https://coinrule.com/free-backtesting/
Test a strategy on Keel for free
Connect your assistant or open the app, describe a strategy, and see what it would have made on Hyperliquid after costs.