What is copy trading in simple terms?

Copy trading is automatically replicating another trader’s trades in your own brokerage account. You choose a strategy to follow, and when that trader trades, a matching order is routed to your account, sized to your settings. You keep your money in your own account and control the sizing, risk limits, and an off switch.

Is copy trading a good idea for beginners?

It can be a reasonable on-ramp for beginners who start small and keep risk controls on, because your money stays in your own account and you control sizing and an off switch. It is not risk-free, you can lose money, so treat early copying as education with limited funds rather than guaranteed income.

How much money do I need to start copy trading?

There is no fixed minimum beyond your broker’s requirements. A sensible approach is to start with an amount small enough that losing it would not hurt, but large enough to size positions reasonably. Many people start small to learn how a strategy behaves before scaling up.

Can I lose money copy trading?

Yes. Copying a trader replicates their losing trades as well as their winners, and adds costs like slippage and fees. Risk controls such as position-size limits, daily-loss caps, and a kill switch help contain losses, but no tool removes market risk. Only copy with money you can afford to lose.

The Complete Guide to Copy Trading

Updated June 21, 2026 · 12 min read

Quick answer

Copy trading is a way to automatically replicate another trader’s trades inside your own brokerage account. You choose a strategy to follow, and matching orders are routed to your account, each one sized to the limits you set. You keep custody of your money and control the sizing, risk limits, and an off switch at all times. It can save time and automate a strategy you understand, but it does not remove market risk: you can lose money, so size positions carefully and keep your safeguards on.

What copy trading is

Copy trading (also called trade copying or mirror trading) is a way to automatically replicate the trades of another trader in your own brokerage account. Instead of watching the markets and placing every order yourself, you choose a trader or strategy to follow, and their trades are routed to your account automatically, each one sized to the rules you set. The defining feature is control: you keep your capital in your own account and decide the position sizing, the risk limits, and whether automation is on at all. For a deeper walkthrough, see what copy trading is and how it works, and the glossary for any unfamiliar terms.

How copy trading works, step by step

Connect your own brokerage account. RelayTrades connects through SnapTrade, so your broker login is never shared with the platform and your funds stay in your account.
Choose a strategy or trader to follow and subscribe to their signals.
Set your sizing and safeguards: maximum position size, total exposure, daily-loss caps, and slippage protection.
When the trader places a trade, a signal is generated and the matching order is routed to your connected account, scaled to your settings.
You can switch any strategy to manual approval, pause automation, or hit a kill switch that halts everything and flattens open positions instantly.

Want a broker-specific walkthrough? See the step-by-step how-to guides for each supported broker.

Is copy trading legal and safe?

Copy trading is legal in the United States and most other countries when it runs through your own regulated brokerage account and the platform does not take custody of your funds or trade with discretion. Safety comes down to custody and control: your money stays in your own account, you connect through a secure aggregator so credentials are not shared, risk limits are enforced before each order, and you can stop everything with a kill switch. Be wary of any service that asks you to deposit into a pooled wallet it controls or guarantees returns. Read the full breakdown in is copy trading legal and safe.

RelayTrades is a software and automation platform, not a broker-dealer, investment adviser, or money manager. It does not take custody of your funds or trade with discretion. This guide is general information, not legal or financial advice.

Copy trading vs. other approaches

“Copy trading” gets confused with several related ideas. The differences matter for your control and risk:

Copy trading vs. managed accounts (PAMM/MAM): you keep your own account vs. handing a manager discretion.
Copy trading vs. social trading: automating trades vs. sharing ideas in a community.
Copy trading vs. mirror trading: following a trader vs. a fixed rule-based strategy.
Copy trading vs. manual trading: automating execution vs. placing every order yourself.
Copy trading vs. day trading: a method of execution vs. a trading style.

Can you make money copy trading?

You can, but it is not guaranteed and it is not passive income. Your results track the strategy you follow, minus costs like commissions, slippage, and fees. Some copied strategies make money over time and some lose. The honest framing: copy trading is a tool to automate a strategy you have chosen deliberately, not a money printer. Dig into can you make money copy trading, is copy trading worth it, and the counterpoint, can you lose money copy trading.

How much money you need to start

There is no fixed minimum beyond your broker’s requirements. The sensible approach is to start with an amount small enough that losing it would not hurt you, but large enough to size positions reasonably. Many people start small to learn how a strategy behaves before scaling. See how much money you need to start copy trading, and use the free position size calculator to size each trade to your account.

Choosing a strategy to copy

The strategy you follow matters more than any setting. Look past a recent hot streak (past performance is not indicative of future results) and study how a strategy actually trades: its style, instruments, time horizon, and especially how it has handled losing periods and drawdowns. A good test is whether you would still follow it knowing its worst drawdown was coming next. Full method in how to choose a copy trading strategy.

Risks and how to manage them

Copy trading carries real risk: the trader you follow can lose, slippage and fees reduce returns, and copying a larger account at full scale can over-size a small one. The way to manage it is with hard limits. RelayTrades enforces your rules server-side before any copied order is placed: maximum position size, total exposure, concurrent-position count, daily-loss caps, and slippage protection, plus a one-tap kill switch. These cap how bad a single day or trade can get, they do not predict the market. See copy trading risks and how to manage them.

How many traders should you copy?

There is no magic number, but copying one trader ties your whole result to their decisions and drawdowns. Many people follow roughly two to five genuinely different (non-correlated) strategies to diversify, limited by how much capital is needed to size each one sensibly. More in how many traders should you copy.

Choosing a broker for copy trading

Your broker determines what you can copy (stocks, ETFs, options) and how cleanly fills surface. RelayTrades connects to popular brokers through SnapTrade, and your funds stay in your own account on every one. Compare the supported brokers and their step-by-step setup guides:

All supported brokers (overview)
Webull, Charles Schwab, Alpaca, Questrade, Public, moomoo
Head-to-head: Webull vs. Schwab, Webull vs. moomoo, Webull vs. Alpaca

How to start safely

Start small, copy one or two strategies you understand, use proportional position sizing, and keep risk limits and a kill switch on. Treat your first weeks as paid education: the goal is to learn how a strategy behaves in your account before you scale up. The full beginner walkthrough is in copy trading for beginners. And because copied trades happen in your own account, they are generally taxed like any other trade, see do you pay taxes on copy trading.

Frequently asked questions

Copy trade on your own broker, with safeguards you control.

Connect your account, follow the strategies you choose, and keep position-size limits, slippage protection, and a kill switch in your hands at all times.

Get started

RelayTrades provides software and automation support, not investment advice or capital management. All trading involves risk; past performance is not indicative of future results.