Day Trading vs Scalping : Know the Difference

Both day trading and scalping are a form of trading style. Trade holing time duration and number of trades create the core difference. You should know day trading vs scalping key points as a forex trader. It will help you decide which type of trade you will take and what type of trader you are!

Day Trading vs Scalping  Know the Difference

What is Day Trading

When you hold your trade for a few hours, enter and exit the trade the same day, then that is day trading. In day trading, you target concise price movements that will happen very quickly. You will enter the trades beginning or middle of the day but close all your positions before ending that day.

Advantages of Day Trading

  • If you hold a position, then you need to pay overnight swaps. Also, the Next day a significant gap can harp your position. We know that at the end of the day, midnight, and the start of the next day, brokers increase spreads. Day trading can reduce these risks.
  • As in day trading, everything will happen very fast, even within that day, so you will get your trading outcome whether it goes profit or loss quickly. You don’t need to overthink your position.
  • Day traders catch small price movements and need less time. You can also enjoy your weekend and holidays as you won’t hold the trades.
  • By using derivatives, you can make a profit from both rising and falling markets.

What is scalping

If you enter and exit trades more frequently, satisfied with only a few pips in every trade, then that type of trading style is scalping. In scalping, you hold a trade for a few minutes. You enter and exit the trades in the same trading sessions. Scalper never holds trades for more than one trading session. Here you aim to profit very little, so your risk is also small.

Advantages of Scalping

  • If you are an impatient trader, then scalping is for you. Here you will get a loss or profit in a few minutes.
  • Through scalping, you will be able to place numerous trades.
  • Through scalping, you can gain many pips and huge returns. So it is a lucrative method.
  • Through scalping, you can make a profit with only small price movements. Even ins a choppy market, you can make a profit.
  • In scalping, the risk is shallow in comparison to profit.
  • You can trade in every session. Asian, London, US. Session-wise trading can give you more pips. It is impossible in other types of trading styles for, say, day-trading, swing trading, or position trading.
  • Scalping doesn’t require a lot of trading capital.

Day Trading vs Scalping

Day TradingScalping
Day traders use 15 minutes to 60 minutes time frames.Scalpers use a concise time frame like 1 minute to 5 minutes.
If you are a day trader, you must trade on a standard capital account. As you will hold trades for a couple of hours, you need to let your trade breadth. To do so, you need to invest more than a scalping account. How would your trade breadth be if you don’t have a standard amount of money in your account?If you are a scalper, you don’t need to trade on a high-balance account. Because you will enter and exit frequently. So you will risk more or less 10/20 pips, and for risking such few pips, you don’t need to invest too much.
You can follow a day trading strategy if you are even a beginner.For scalping, you need too much experience. Scalping is only for experienced traders.
In Day trading, whether profit or loss, you will get the result within that day.You will get results super fast in a few minutes or hours in scalping.
Day traders get some time to analyze the market.Scalpers tend to make decisions in a few seconds!
Day traders satisfy with a 20%-25% gain monthlyScalpers book huge returns from the market.
Day traders may use indicators but don’t tend to use EA or robotsMost often, scalpers use automated trading software.
In day trading, you won’t need to endure that much stress.In scalping, you need to endure too much stress.
In day trading, you don’t need to worry that much as you will not enter and exit the frequent trades.You have controlling power over your emotions.
Tight spreads are always welcome, but Day traders can also trade moderate spread offering brokers.It would be best if you traded brokers who offer tight spreads.
Even with a slow internet connection, you can survive the market.If your internet connection is poor, you won’t be able to scalp. Super fast internet connection is mandatory for scalping.
Trade management is more important than discipline in day trading.Discipline is more important here.
Day traders tend to focus on both technical and fundamental analysis.Scalpers tend to focus only on technical analysis.

Is scalping better than day trading

It is impossible to suggest which types of trading are better than the others. It varies from man to man. Your personality will define which kinds of strategies suit you. If you are disciplined, emotionless, experienced, superfast in taking decisions, want at least 300-400 pips in a single day, then go for scalping. On the contrary, if you are good at trade management, good at both fundamental and technical intermediate level trader who are satisfied with 300-400 pips in a whole week, then choose day trading.

Best Strategies for Day Trading

Strategy NameDescription
The Secret of triple moving average crossover strategyA huge number of trading systems are built on the signals of the Moving Average indicator. Somewhere one moving average is used, somewhere two, and in some strategies, three or more. Read More
9 ema and 20 ema Forex Strategy for 2022There are two types of moving averages. Simple moving average and Exponential moving average. The ema, also known as the Exponential moving average, is one of the popular indicators technical traders use. Read More
20 pip and dip strategy20 pip and dip strategy is one of the simplest yet most effective ways to make a guaranteed 20 pips a day. The 20 pip and dip strategy uses multiple indicators to confirm long-term and short-term trend entries. Read More
Fall In Love With 50 Pips A Day Forex Strategy50 pips a day forex strategy is a simple trading system, unlike many fancy indicator-based complicated day trading strategies. This strategy is basically developed to trade only seven major currency pairs. Read More
34 ema wave strategy for 2022Those who can trade in the forex market and make consistent money from forex don’t teach others. This is a common saying in the forex market. Read More
3 level zz semafor indicator for 2022Many think that 3 level zz semafor is a repaint indicator, but it is not. Although there are many fancy custom indicators out there online, hardly any found which is non-repaint. Read More
2 line macd indicator for mt4Although the macd indicator is found as the default indicator, today I will discuss a custom one which is a 2 line macd indicator for mt4. Read More

Best Strategies for Scalping

Strategy NameDescription
10 pips per day scalping strategyThe biggest conflict in forex trading is how many pips a trader needs to make in a day to make a living out of trading. I won’t beat around the bush in solving this conflict. Read More
Best 5 minute scalping strategy for 2022Bollinger band will be our primary technical indicator for making the best 5 minute scalping strategy. Bollinger band settings for 5 minute chart will be 20,0,2. Read More
1 min macd scalping strategy for 20221 min macd scalping strategy is a type of trading system which is based on four distinctive technical indicators. These are MACD, 20 EMA,30 EMA and 150 EMA. Read More
5 minute opening range breakout strategy for 2022Also known as the 5 minutes Orb strategy, the premise of the 5 minute opening range breakout strategy is to look for momentum-driven breakouts out of the opening high and opening low range of the day using the 5 minutes charts. Read More
Why 5 pips a day strategy had been so popular in 2022Who profits in the currency market regularly makes 5 pips a day easily even they make many more of it. But the question is, can newbies also make it? Read More
5 min forex trading system for 2022Forex market comprises different kinds of traders like scalpers, day traders, swing traders, position traders. Different types of traders have different types of specialisez trading knowledge. Read More
10 pips a day10 pips a day in forex is not a matter of a joke. Everyone who wishes to trade in the forex market comes here to make money. And this is only possible if you gain pips. Read More

FAQs

1. Is scalping better than day trading?

It depends on trading psychology. The trading style differs from man to man. Those who wish to participate in the markets for only a few pips, like 5/10 pips, will prefer scalping. Those who enter and exit the markets on the same day catch 40/50 pips in every trade are day traders. To conclude, gaining 5/10 pips in each trade scalping is better. to catch 40/50 pips in each trade day trading is better.

2. Which is better scalping or trading?

Trading is better than scalping

3. Is scalping trading profitable?

Yes, scalping is highly profitable if you have a proper guideline and trading strategy like a 1-minute MACD scalping strategy.

4. How many trades do scalpers do in a day?

Scalpers make approximately 30/35 trades in a day.