London vs New York vs Frankfurt: Which Forex VPS Location Should You Choose? (2026)

London, New York, or Frankfurt? It's the first question every trader faces when ordering a forex VPS, and most guides answer it with rules of thumb like "London for the London session, New York for the US session." That advice sounds sensible and is usually wrong. What decides the right location is not when you trade or where you live. It's where your broker's trade server sits. This guide compares the three data centers using latency we measured from our own servers to over 130 brokers and prop firms, and shows you how to pick the right one in a few minutes.

The Short Answer

• Pick London (LD4) if your broker's MetaTrader server is in London. That's the case for most retail forex brokers and prop firms, including FTMO, FundedNext, Tickmill, and FxPro.
• Pick New York (NY4) if your broker's server is in New York. That's common with brokers that have Australian or US roots, such as IC Markets, Fusion Markets, Global Prime, FXCM, and Interactive Brokers.
• Pick Frankfurt (FR2) if your broker's server is in Frankfurt, or you trade German markets like the DAX and Eurex futures and your platform connects there.

Not sure where your broker's server is? Look it up in our broker latency guide, which shows the fastest MarginVPS location for each server name.

Why the Location Matters So Much

Every order your EA or terminal sends travels from your VPS to the broker's trade server and back. Inside the same data center, that round trip takes about 1 millisecond. Across the Atlantic, it takes 70 to 80 milliseconds, no matter how fast the VPS is.

Here's what we measured from our London and New York servers to the same broker servers:

Broker / prop firm	From London (LD4)	From New York (NY4)
FTMO	~1 ms	~69 ms
Tickmill	~1 ms	~71 ms
FundedNext	~1.3 ms	~73 ms
IC Markets (Live servers)	~76 ms	~1–2 ms
Fusion Markets	~72 ms	~1 ms
Global Prime	~70 ms	~1 ms

Pick the wrong side of the Atlantic and every order carries an extra 70 ms or so. For a swing trader that rarely matters. For a scalper, a news trader, or an EA that trades on fast price moves, it's the difference between the price you saw and the price you got. Our guide on why milliseconds matter covers the effect on slippage in more detail.

London (Equinix LD4): The Default for Most Traders

Equinix LD4 in Slough, just outside London, is the biggest hub for retail forex. In our latency index, London was the fastest location for about two-thirds of the brokers and prop firms we measured.

Choose London if:

• Your broker or prop firm's MetaTrader server is in London. This includes most prop firms (FTMO, FundedNext, FundingPips, and many more) and a long list of retail brokers such as Tickmill, FxPro, IG, CMC Markets, Darwinex, and FBS.
• You trade with a European or UK-regulated broker and haven't checked yet. London is the most likely answer, but still confirm it.
• You use one broker server in London and another in Dublin. Our Dublin location is about 12 ms from London, so London covers both well.

See the London Forex VPS page for the brokers we measure from LD4.

New York (Equinix NY4): For US-Hosted Broker Servers

Equinix NY4 in Secaucus, New Jersey, is the main US financial data center. In our index, New York was the fastest location for about one in five brokers. Many of them are brokers with Australian roots that host their main MetaTrader servers in New York, plus US-focused brokers.

Choose New York if:

• Your broker's server is in New York, for example IC Markets (Raw/Live servers), Fusion Markets, Global Prime, Axi, TMGM, Eightcap, FXCM, OANDA, or Interactive Brokers.
• You trade US futures through a platform that connects to US servers. Our NinjaTrader futures guide covers that setup.

Note that trading US indices like US30 or NAS100 through a CFD broker does not mean you need New York. Your orders go to your broker's server, not to the exchange, so a London-hosted broker still needs a London VPS. See the New York Forex VPS page for details.

Frankfurt (Equinix FR2): For Frankfurt-Hosted Servers

Equinix FR2 is in Frankfurt, Germany's financial center and home of Deutsche Börse, which runs the Xetra and Eurex markets. Far fewer retail forex brokers host their MetaTrader servers in Frankfurt than in London, so it's a more specialized choice.

Choose Frankfurt if:

• Your broker's server hostname or support team points to Frankfurt (look for fr2, fra, or frankfurt in traceroute results).
• You trade DAX or Eurex futures through a platform that connects to Frankfurt.
• Your broker is in London but you also want to keep data inside the EU. In that case, test the ping first: London to Frankfurt is usually somewhere around 10–20 ms round trip, depending on the route, so it's not a co-located connection.

See the Frankfurt Forex VPS page for more.

Side-by-Side Comparison

	London (LD4)	New York (NY4)	Frankfurt (FR2)
Where	Slough, UK	Secaucus, New Jersey, US	Frankfurt, Germany
Best for	Most retail forex brokers and prop firms	Brokers hosting MetaTrader in the US, US futures platforms	Brokers hosting in Frankfurt, German markets
Typical brokers	FTMO, FundedNext, Tickmill, FxPro, IG, CMC Markets	IC Markets, Fusion Markets, Global Prime, FXCM, OANDA	Fewer retail brokers, check your server
Latency to a co-located server	~1 ms	~1 ms	~1 ms
Latency to the other side of the Atlantic	~70–80 ms to NY4	~70–80 ms to LD4	Further from NY4 than London is

Three Myths That Lead to the Wrong Choice

1. "Pick the location for the session you trade." Trading the London session doesn't mean you need London, and trading the New York session doesn't mean you need New York. Your broker's server stays in the same place 24 hours a day. Match the server, not the session.

2. "Pick the location closest to where you live." Your home location only affects how responsive the Remote Desktop window feels. It has nothing to do with trade execution, which happens between the VPS and the broker. A trader in Dubai or Sydney using a London broker still wants a London VPS.

3. "Same broker, same location." Many brokers run servers in more than one data center. Pepperstone and XM, for example, have servers we measure at around 1 ms from both London and New York. What matters is the exact server name in your MetaTrader login, not the broker's name.

How to Check Your Broker's Server Location in 2 Minutes

1. In MetaTrader, go to File → Login to Trade Account and note the exact Server name, such as ICMarketsSC-Live07 or FTMO-Server.
2. Find that server in our broker latency guide, or search for your broker's page, such as FTMO, IC Markets, or Pepperstone. Each lists measured latency per server and location.
3. If your server isn't listed, ask your broker's support: "Which data center is the trade server for my account in?" Most will answer in one line.
4. After you set up the VPS and log in, check the connection indicator in the bottom-right corner of MetaTrader. If you're co-located, it should show around 1 ms.

For other ways to cut ping, see our guide on reducing ping in MT4/MT5.

What If Your Brokers Are in Two Locations?

If you run one account with a London broker and another with a New York broker, you have two options:

• Two smaller VPS, one in each location. Each account gets around 1 ms latency. This is the best option for scalping or any latency-sensitive EA on both accounts.
• One VPS in the location that matters more. Put it where your most latency-sensitive strategy trades, and accept the extra ~70 ms on the other account. That's fine for swing trading or slower EAs.

Prop firm traders often run several challenges on one VPS. Most prop firms host in London, so a single London VPS usually covers them all. Our prop firm VPS guide covers the rules to follow.

Where MarginVPS Fits

MarginVPS runs in London (LD4), New York (NY4), and Frankfurt (FR2), plus Dublin, Tokyo, Singapore, and Hong Kong. Every plan runs on AMD EPYC CPUs with MT4 and MT5 pre-installed. If you pick the wrong location or your broker moves its server, you can change location from the dashboard at no extra cost. Plans start at $16.67/mo billed annually, and every VPS plan has a 14-day money-back guarantee. See all VPS plans to choose a size.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is London or New York better for a forex VPS? Neither is better in general. The right one is the data center where your broker's trade server is. Most retail forex brokers and prop firms are in London, while several Australian-founded and US brokers host their main servers in New York.

How much latency is there between London and New York? We measure about 70–80 ms round trip between our London and New York servers and broker servers on the other side. Inside the same data center, it's about 1 ms.

When should I choose a Frankfurt VPS? When your broker's trade server is in Frankfurt, or you trade German markets through a platform that connects there. For most retail forex brokers, London will give lower latency.

Do I need a New York VPS to trade US30 or NAS100? Not if you trade them as CFDs. Your orders go to your broker's server, so use the location where that server is, which for many brokers is London.

Can I change my VPS location later? Yes. With MarginVPS you can move your VPS to another location from the dashboard at no extra cost.

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MarginVPS runs MT4, MT5, and cTrader on AMD EPYC Windows VPS plans in London, New York, Frankfurt, Dublin, Tokyo, Singapore, and Hong Kong. Check your broker in our latency guide, then see our VPS plans.