The rise of mobile trading and solutions that enable traders to handle virtually all of their trading on mobile devices has helped the trading world grow to new heights. However, mobile trading has not been able to affect regular desktop trading very much, and at the moment the two kinds of trading are coexisting.
Depending on who you ask the future of trading has two potential paths it can take. Some experts claim that mobile trading will continue to grow and at some point surpass desktop trading to the point where desktop trading becomes obsolete. Then there are the experts that are convinced that that won’t happen and that the industry will continue on the track it’s on now where both types of trading exist together.
Regardless of which future you believe in, there are some obvious pros and cons of mobile vs desktop trading, and you can read more about them below.
Mobile Trading – Pros and Cons
Mobile trading refers to any form of trading conducted on a mobile device. That includes someone that trades stocks on a smartphone or a trader that is trading forex on an iPad, etc.
Naturally, mobile trading offers some great benefits that weren’t available to traders a few years ago. The main one is that traders today can monitor the markets and open and close trades where ever they are. As long as they have access to a mobile device and internet, they can pretty much do anything they want.
In turn, this gives the traders an advantage that allows them to never miss out on any opportunities and to close positions that are proving less lucrative than planned at any given moment.
However, there are some cons to mobile trading as well. For example, today all of the best trading platforms come in mobile versions, but these versions are still limited compared to the desktop versions. Also, the small screens make it harder to conduct an accurate analysis of price developments which makes it harder to place successful trades. At the same time, mobile devices are far from as efficient when it comes to evaluating assets, comparing different charts, etc.
Desktop Trading – Pros and Cons
Desktop trading, unlike mobile trading, can only be done using a computer or laptop. This means that it’s not as easy to trade at any given moment and that you’re normally confined to trading in your home. This limitation is the biggest con of desktop trading.
In terms of pros, desktop trading has one major advantage over mobile trading and that is the screen space and also that computers have a much higher capacity for mobile traders. In fact, any professional trader will use a rig consisting of a high-performance computer that allows them to run several charting tools and platforms at the same time, as well as at least two screens. This is just not possible on a mobile device making it one of the main pros of desktop trading.
Which Type of Trading is Better?
There is actually no definite answer to that questions, and in the end, it’s a personal choice
That being said, any professional day trader will do most of their trading on a desktop because they can’t run all of the software they need on just a mobile device. For them, mobile trading is reserved to time spent outside of their house or office.
Mobile trading, on the other hand, is in many ways more accessible to beginners and often how new traders get started today. In other words, mobile trading is perfect for anyone that isn’t too serious about their trading.
All things considered, we believe that the best solution is a combination of mobile and desktop trading since it gives you the option of enjoying all the benefits of both worlds while avoiding the limitations.
