Ghost Trader vs Polycopy (2026): Polymarket Copy Trading Compared

Polycopy and Ghost Trader both automate Polymarket copy trading, but they're built differently. Polycopy is a hosted web app with a free tier and a per-trade fee. Ghost Trader is a self-custody runner on your own machine with a flat monthly price. This page sets out the differences, using Polycopy's own pricing page as read on October 8, 2026. We make Ghost Trader, so weigh our view accordingly. Where we write "not described", we didn't find it on Polycopy's pages, which doesn't mean it doesn't exist.

At a glance

	Polycopy	Ghost Trader
Product type	Hosted copy-trading web app	Self-custody runner + hosted dashboard
Subscription	Free tier; Premium $30/month (7-day trial for eligible users)	$199/month
Per-trade fee	Flat 0.5% on every real trade, both tiers (a Polymarket builder fee)	None from Ghost Trader
Polymarket's own fees	Apply	Apply
Where trading runs	Polycopy's service, through a connected wallet	Your machine or VPS, signing with your own wallet
Free option	Yes: follow traders, Copy Score, manual copying, up to 10 paper bots for 7–14 days	Paper mode included in the subscription
Live auto-copy	Premium	Included
Strategies	Copy trading ("Trader Bots" and "Strategy Bots")	Copy trading + a crypto up/down engine
Risk controls	Position sizing, risk limits, stop-loss, auto-close when trader exits (Premium)	Fractional Kelly, min/max trade size, open-position cap, daily-loss kill switch, max drawdown
Trader discovery	Curated feed, Copy Score, filters by ROI, category, win rate	You choose wallets; see our vetting guide
Alerts	Real-time feed	Telegram alerts + dashboard
Setup effort	Low (browser)	Higher (run software on a computer or VPS)

Cost: when does each make sense?

Polycopy's model is cheap to start and grows with volume. Ghost Trader's is a fixed cost. Since the difference is mostly the 0.5% per-trade fee against the subscription gap, you can work out the crossover yourself:

• Polycopy Premium monthly cost ≈ $30 + 0.5% × (your monthly copied volume)
• Ghost Trader monthly cost = $199

At $33,800 of copied volume a month, the two cost about the same ($30 + $169 = $199). Below that, Polycopy is cheaper. Above it, Ghost Trader is. Volume counts every buy and every sell, so a strategy that exits before resolution doubles it. (Our arithmetic from the published prices. Polymarket's own trading fees are the same on both and aren't included.)

For someone copying a few hundred dollars a week, Polycopy is clearly cheaper. For higher-volume copiers, a flat fee can work out lower. Either way, run the numbers on your volume.

Custody and where the bot runs

Polycopy is a hosted service. You connect a wallet and its infrastructure places orders. Polycopy describes itself as non-custodial. Check its documentation for exactly what permissions the connection grants.

Ghost Trader runs on hardware you control. The runner signs orders locally with your wallet's key, which stays in a config file on your machine. Ghost Trader's servers don't need your key and never hold your funds. The trade-off: you're responsible for securing that machine (see our bot security guide).

Strategy and sizing

Both tools mirror wallets with controls on size. Differences we can confirm:

• Polycopy offers both "Trader Bots" (follow specific traders) and "Strategy Bots", plus auto-close when the trader exits and a curated feed of trades "from traders who are not hard to copy".
• Ghost Trader sizes copied trades with fractional Kelly under hard caps (min/max trade size, open-position cap, daily-loss kill switch), and adds a second engine for Polymarket's crypto up/down markets (how those work).

Where Polycopy is stronger

• Free tier with real functionality: manual copying, Copy Score, paper bots.
• Lower monthly price for low-volume copiers.
• Built-in trader discovery and curation.
• No setup: it runs in the browser.

Where Ghost Trader is stronger

• No per-trade fee, which matters at higher volume and on thin edges (fees guide).
• Your key stays on your machine.
• Two engines: copy trading plus crypto up/down signals.
• Kelly-based sizing and a kill switch as defaults, not add-ons.

Who should choose which

• Choose Polycopy if you're new to copy trading, want to start free, copy modest volume, or don't want to run software.
• Choose Ghost Trader if you copy meaningful volume, want your key on hardware you control, or want the crypto up/down engine alongside copy trading.

Whatever you choose, the hardest part of copy trading is picking wallets. Read Polymarket copy trading before you start.

FAQ

Is Ghost Trader a Polycopy alternative? Yes, for automated Polymarket copy trading. It differs in pricing model (flat vs per-trade), custody setup and strategies.

Does Polycopy charge a fee per trade? Yes. Its pricing page lists a flat 0.5% on real trades on both tiers, applied as a Polymarket builder fee.

Does Ghost Trader have a free tier? No. It's $199/month, with paper mode so you can watch it trade before risking money.

Can I use both? Yes, though running two copiers on the same wallet can double up positions. Use separate wallets.

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Ghost Trader: copy trading and a crypto up/down engine, fractional-Kelly sizing, a daily-loss kill switch and Telegram alerts, with your key on your own machine. $199/month, no per-trade fee, paper mode included. See pricing.

Polycopy details are from its own pricing page on October 8, 2026 and may have changed. Not financial advice. Trading can lose money. Ghost Trader isn't available where Polymarket restricts trading, including the US, and is not affiliated with Polymarket or Polycopy.