Scalping Vs Swing Trading: Which is More Profitable in 2025
The 2023 ESMA report shows that 80% of retail traders lose money because of poor trading strategy alignment. And so, it’s crucial to have a deep dive into the trading styles. So, scalping vs swing trading—which strategy is right for you?
This totally depends on trading experience and how much emotional control you can possess while trading. The key difference between swing and scalp trading is that scalping is an extremely short-term trade, whereas swing trading is relatively longer position-holding trades.
However, both trading strategies have individual benefits and risk factors. So, in this blog, we will showcase all the differences between scalping and swing trading, along with pros and cons. So, let’s start.
What is Scalping? How Does Scalping Work?
Scalping is a very short-term trading method where trades are executed within minutes, sometimes in seconds. In scalping, traders mainly target taking profit from small price movements.
Scalping works by placing one or multiple trades within minutes and aiming for a few pips or cents of profit each time. Scalping usually involves multiple trades, even hundreds of trades in a day. Traders employing the scalping method are known as scalpers.
According to Verified Market Reports, in 2025, scalping trading is so acute in Japan, especially in the mobile scalping market. And it’s because scalping is a high-frequency trading style with quick trade execution, so you can trade anywhere on the go.
For example, a scalper trading FX may execute a trade as follows-
EURUSD BUY 1.1601
SL: 1.1576 (25 pips)
TP: 1.1651 (50 pips)
Here, a 50-pip movement of profit using a large position might seem to be a tiny profit gain. But such multiple trades in a day can add up to a large, meaningful profit. However, commissions and slippage may reduce net profit.
For your information, scalping is completely legal and legitimate in forex, indices, and gold markets. But for the stock market, market, individual brokers might have leverage terms and conditions for scalpers.
Key Characteristics of Scalping
| Time Frame | Seconds to minutes |
| Trade Frequency | Higher, 10 to 100 trades/day |
| Emotion Control | High emotional & execution demands |
| Dependency | Heavily depends on liquidity & tight spreads |
| Time Required | Full attention and quick decision-making |
| Ideal for | Traders with time, discipline, and risk tolerance |
| Pros ✔ | Cons ✖ |
|---|---|
| Fast trade execution | Not suitable for beginner traders |
| Quick profit | Chances of higher fees & slippage |
| Multiple trade opportunities | Can be mentally exhausting |
| Best opportunity during market volatility | |
| Works best in sideways markets |
5 Scalping Trading Strategies in 2025
Scalping strategies are short-term trading techniques that involve quick execution, aiming for small, rapid profits with tight risk control. Momentum trading. Among different strategies, the following are the 5 best scalping strategies:
1. Market-Making Scalping
In this scalping technique, the trader places limit orders, such as buy limit and sell limit, around the
bid-ask spread to cover a larger profit margin.
Indicators, such as Depth of Market (DOM) and Level 2 quotes, are mostly used in this scalping strategy.
Best for: highly liquid major pairs and blue-chip stocks during calm periods
2. Momentum Scalping
If you ask which strategy is the best for scalping, then Momentum is the answer. In momentum scalping, traders
enter a trade right after any news or breakouts to grab the chance of a market move.
For momentum scalping, traders use indicators like RSI, MACD, and news scanners.
Best for: News hours, high-volatility events
3. Trend Scalping
Trend scalping is one kind of mini trade where a trader captures small price movements during minor pullbacks.
For trend scalping, 9/21 EMA crossovers, MACD, and trendline indicators are used most.
You can also check some of the best scalping EAs to become a profitable scalper.
Best for: Short-trend moves.
4. Range Scalping
Range scalping is when a trader buys at support (the point from where the market starts going upwards) and
sells at resistance peak (the point from where the market starts going downwards). You can guess how
experienced a trader needs to be for such a trading strategy; you must know the market moves very well.
For range scalping, traders usually use Bollinger Bands, pivot points, and RSI.
Best for: Consolidating sideways markets
5. News-Based Scalping
News-based scalping is based on real-time economic calendars. This type of trade is done by instant reaction
to the sudden volatility.
Scalpers mostly use the Forex Factory Calendar and Bloomberg News for news-based scalping. SureShotFX Algo has
the Forex news protection strategies suitable for scalpers to filter out unfavorable volatility that makes the
entire AI trading just worth it. Check the Algo trade results to see how this Algo is booming!
Best for: Events like FOMC, CPI, NFP
What is Swing Trading? How Does Swing Trading Work?
Swing trading is a technique that targets short- to medium-term price movements, holding trades for a few days to weeks. Swing is a popular trading style, allowing traders to benefit from market swings without needing to monitor charts constantly.
Traders employing the swing method are called swing traders. Swing trading is an active trading strategy where traders typically execute fewer trades. Unlike Scalpers who make multiple trades daily, swing traders mainly focus on maximizing profit.
Swing trading works by technical analysis of the market, such as studying price charts and market movement patterns.
For example, a swing trader places a buy trade for the following order-
GBPAUD BUY 2.0900
SL: 2.0800 (100 pips)
TP: 2.1300 (400 pips)
For this, a trader can have a check on the charts and manually close the trade or wait until it hits the TP or SL. So, this trade might take several days or some weeks, depending on the market movements and trends.
Key Characteristics of Swing Trading
| Time Frame | Days to weeks. |
| Trade Frequency | Moderate, 5 to 15 trades per month |
| Emotion Control | Needs a moderate level of emotion control and analysis |
| Dependency | Depends on market trends |
| Time Required | Minimal, part-time schedule opportunities |
| Ideal for | Beginners, working professionals |
| Pros ✔ | Cons ✖ |
|---|---|
| Flexible for working professionals | Must follow the trend discipline |
| Suitable for beginners trying luck | Chances of missing daily pips |
| Larger profit gain chances | |
| Balance between time investments and returns |
5 Swing Trading Strategies in 2025
Swing trading strategies are methods that help traders catch medium-term price movements. These strategies use tools like trendlines, Bollinger Bands, moving averages, and RSI to find the best times to enter and exit trades.
Let’s learn about 5 popular swing strategies-
1. Trend Following
This is the most popular swing trading strategy. Imagine a stock moving consistently upwards—that’s an uptrend, and a stock moving consistently downwards—that’s a downward trend! You want to buy into these uptrends and sell when the momentum starts to fade.
Here, the 50/200 SMA, ADX, and trendlines are some good indicators for swing trading.
Best for: Strong directional markets
2. Breakout Trading
Breakout strategy in swing trading works with support and resistance levels. Here, a trade is placed right after a breakout from the price pattern/trends.
When the price drops to a support level and starts to bounce back, it’s profitable to buy trades, and when the price goes to a previous resistance level and starts to go down, it’s suitable to sell trades.
For such a swing strategy, traders use Bollinger Bands, pattern zones, consolidation, etc., tools.
Best for: Profitable earnings
3. Pullback Trading
Pullback trading is a trading strategy applied when the market goes through a retracement or temporary price decline. Traders employing the pullback method believe that the market will continue the upward trend after a pullback, and so they place the trade during a dip to get more profits.
For your information, in pullback trading, traders place ‘Buy Limit’ and ‘Sell Limit’ orders, which are basically pending orders waiting for the retracement. Fibonacci levels, RSI (Relative Strength Index), and trendlines are usually used for pullback trades.
Oh! SureShotFx Algo combines such swing styles to get the most out of your scalping without any manual efforts.
Best for: Steady trending markets.
4. Reversal Trading
Reversal trading is like catching the market turn with higher risks and higher returns. During swing trading, traders applying a reversal strategy look for a chance or momentum, or spot an endpoint reversal when the market is going to reverse the trend.
Suppose a strong bearish candlestick pattern is about to turn downwards or a strong bullish candlestick pattern is going to turn upwards. That’s when a trader places a trade from an entirely new movement with potential profit gain.
Indicators like the relative strength index (RSI) divergence, moving average convergence divergence (MACD), and candlestick patterns are used here.
Best for: Exhausted trends
5. Channel Trading
Channel trading is placed when a market is moving up and down between 2 parallel lines. As we have learned about ‘support’ and ‘resistance’ levels, 2 parallel lines are drawn at these two levels.
Now, the price movement between these parallel lines is called a channel. And the trade that will be placed between this channel is called channel trading.
Parallel trendlines, Bollinger Bands, and Donchian channels are usually used in his trading.
Best for: Sideways trending markets
Quick Comparison Table: Swing Trading Vs Scalping
| Aspects | Scalping | Swing Trading |
|---|---|---|
| Time Frame/Trade Duration | Seconds to minutes | Days to weeks |
| Trade Type | Extremely short-term trade | Medium to long-term trade |
| Trade Frequency | Multiple trades | Few trades |
| Risk Management | Extremely tight stop losses or no SL | Wider stop losses |
| Profit Targets | Smaller but multiple | Larger with fewer trades |
| Analysis Required | Technical analysis | Both technical and fundamental analysis |
| Decision-Making Time | Need quick, decisive actions | Actions with patience |
| Trader Traits | Vigilance and impatience work well here | Greater patience and precision to understand trends |
| Stress Type | Highly stressful | Less stress |
| Chart Use | Uses minute charts | Uses daily charts |
Swing Vs Scalping: Detailed Comparison
The visible difference between swing and scalping is the timeframe. But there’s more. So, let’s have a one-on-one battle.
• Shorter Time Frame with Scalping than Swing Trading:
Scalping executes a trade within a tiny time frame, ranging from a few seconds to 5 minutes. On the other hand, swing trading continues to hold a position for days to a few weeks.
• Comparatively Tight Risk Management in Scalping
Scalpers use a very tight stop-loss setup because of ultra-fast trade execution. One slippage can eat away the whole account. So, the risk per trade in scalping is generally kept below 0.5%.
Contrarily, swing traders can use wider SL(Stop Loss) and aim for larger profit gains. In most cases, traders use 1% to 2% of their account capital for each trade. So, scalpers can enjoy comparatively higher risk-rewards than the swing traders.
• Scalping Needs Higher Skill Set and Knowledge than Swing
Scalping needs a higher level of technical analysis and instant decision-making ability. Contrarily, in swing trading, a trader requires both technical and fundamental analysis along with a strategic mindset.
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• Differences in Trading Costs
One of the biggest challenges in scalping is cost management. Due to faster trade execution, the spreads and fees impact the overall net profit gain. Whereas, in swing trading, traders can make a small profit gain through fewer trades in the long run.
• More Reactive Trading Behaviours for Scalpers
Scalping requires a very reactive trading style. For example, scalpers need to be glued to the screen, make instant decisions, and deal with high mental stress. On the other hand, swing traders can flexibly place a trade in an analytical approach.
• Both Win in Trade Quantity and Profits
Scalpers place trades aiming for smaller profit gains per trade. But multiple trades in a day with consistency can be profitable. Contrarily, swing traders can aim for higher returns by holding a position for days to weeks.
• Scalping Needs More Monitoring than Swing
In scalping, continuous monitoring of the charts is a rule of thumb. Besides, checking on the market moves and changes in trends is also a part. Contrarily, swing trading does not need constant monitoring. Swing traders can enjoy a more balanced trading than the scalpers.
And nowadays, thanks to SureShotFX Algo for such an amazing automated trading strategy. No need to be glued to the screen; just set the algo on the trading platform and relax!!
So, who earns more, scalper or swing trader? Both can earn more if the strategies are applied properly.
Best Signal Provider for Scalping and Swing Trading in 2025
SureShotFx provides the best signals optimized for both swing and scalping. So, you don’t have to take the headache of analyzing charts for hours.
Nowadays, our scalping signals have been proven to be one of the best index signals. Besides, we are one of the most accurate swing signal providers for profitable gold and forex trading.
The SureShotFx team uses strong market analysis to find the best entry and exit points. Whether you’re trading in the USA, UK, or worldwide, our signals help you catch short-term moves or hold trades for bigger profits.
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Risk Factors in Scalp Trading Vs Swing Trading
| Risk Factor | Scalping | Swing Trading |
|---|---|---|
| Execution Risk | Higher slippage, latency issues | Moderate – easier execution |
| Mental Stress | Very high – constant monitoring & fast decision | Moderate – comparatively balanced |
| Market Trend Risk | Lower – quick execution | Higher – mistakes in chart analysis can cause great loss |
| Overnight Risk | No chance | Moderate to higher – major events can hit stop-losses |
Scalping Vs Swing Trading Chart Difference
The main difference between scalping and swing trading charts is that the scalping charts are like a close-up picture of the market movements in seconds or minutes. It shows every tiny detail.
On the other side, a swing trading chart is a broader view of the overall market movements. This can be daily or weekly movements so that the market trends and swings are visible.
Scalping Vs Swing Trading Winning Percentages
The success rate of scalping trading is higher compared to swing trading. And one of the key reasons behind this is high trade frequency within moments.
Based on various industry sources, TradingView claims, within 5 minutes of scalping, the success rate is around 50-70% due to multiple trades with small price movements. Whereas, a swing trader’s success rate is around 30-50% because of lower trade frequency and larger price movements.
Swing trading often outpaces scalping in net returns due to larger moves and fewer costs with bid-ask spreads. If we compare different study reports on the success rate of swing and scalping strategies, we can see-
| Study Done By | Success Rate/Win Rate of Scalping | Success Rate/Win Rate of Swing Trading |
| TraderLion (April 2025) | 75%-84% | 35% and 50% |
| VectorVest (2024) | 55% and 80% | 35% – 50% |
| University of California (2019) | 6%-8% annual return | 12.6% of annual return |
| Journal of Trading (2018) | 41.4% | 55.6% |
Is Scalping More Profitable Than Swing Trading?
No, swing trading is the most profitable if traded with proper risk management and analysis. Properly managed, US and European markets seem to have around 10-30% annual return with swing trading.
So, if you are a complete beginner trader, day trading can be more profitable compared to swing trading. However, many often ask, Can I switch between scalping and swing trading? So, the answer is definitely yes. As a trader, you always have the option of which trading strategy you want to follow.
Well, a recent report by the Bank of International Settlements shows that the proliferation of electronic trading and HFT (High-frequency trading) has become so prevalent in recent years that it has gotten tougher for scalpers to make profitable trades. And studies show that 85% of scalping strategies fail within 6 months.
But with SureShotFX Algo, you can change the game for retail scalpers. With the combination of the best MA indicators and other strategies, it is getting the real hype. Besides, with a noticeable number of Trustpilot reviews and powerful community support, SureShotFx is creating new waves of trading for every type of trader.
Final Wrap: Which Trading Style Suits You?
We have reached the end of our battle of scalping vs swing trading. Hopefully, now you can easily decide which type of trading is most profitable—scalping or swing trading.
Swing traders usually net more per trade, but scalpers rely on volume. For most retail traders, swing trading is more predictable and scalable.
So, if you are a seasoned, full-time trader with stable brokers and quick execution, scalping is for you, no doubt. However, choose swing trading if you want to trade alongside your 9–5 job, are patient with profits, and prefer combining technical and fundamental analysis.
However, whether you want to trade with a scalping or a swing strategy, contact us now to try our free signal strategies.
Scalpers make $3-$5 per trade on average. While the amount might seem very small, scalpers execute dozens to hundreds of trades daily, adding up to $100 to $500 profit.
Yes, scalping is suitable for beginners with demo accounts only. Scalping requires precision with decision-making and instant trade execution, so for beginners learning trades, it will not be ideal to apply scalping with a live account.
No, scalping is not easier than swing trading. Instead, scalping needs higher trading skills and a strategic mindset. Besides, scalpers need a strong ability to control emotion, which makes scalping more difficult than swing trading.
Major currency pairs like EUR/USD, USD/JPY, and GBP/USD are best for scalping. Due to liquidity and low spreads, these pairs make scalping smoother only if you are skilled enough at the scalp trading strategy.
3, 5, 8, and 21 EMAs are mostly used moving averages by skilled scalpers. Usually, to trade within the moderate-strength market trend, the 21 EMA is ideal. Gradually, with practice, you can use 3 or 5 EMAs on steep trends.
If we take a look at different studies, the success rate of scalping trading is 60–65% for each trade. However, the overall profit gain shows only 10-15% of total investment capital.
Technically, yes, but it’s very rare. To become a millionaire from scalping, you need a higher success rate along with a higher profit gain. And this needs larger capital investment, strong trading skills, and tight consistency. So, you know it’s not always possible.
Yes, scalping can work in options trading. But to apply scalping in the options market, traders must manage execution costs and choose liquid contracts for tight spreads.
Of course. Both scalping and swing trading can be automated using Algo trading strategies. For scalping, speed and high-frequency triggers are a must. And for an automated swing strategy, technical rules and alerts are crucial.