How to Choose the Best AI Trading Bot: 7-Point Checklist

1. Non-custodial design

The single most important factor. Your funds should never leave your exchange or wallet. The bot connects via API key with withdraw permission disabled. If a vendor asks you to deposit funds onto their platform, walk away — that's a custodial setup with very different risk.

2. Transparent pricing

You should be able to find the exact price within two clicks of the homepage. Look for:

• Clear list of plan tiers and what's included.
• Whether trades incur extra fees (some bots take a cut of profits — that's fine if disclosed, a problem if hidden).
• Whether the "lifetime" price covers future major versions or only minor updates.
• Renewal terms for subscriptions (how to cancel, what happens to existing trades).

3. Refund window — 30 days minimum, 90 better

A short trial (3-7 days) doesn't tell you anything. Markets are too noisy at that horizon. A vendor offering 30+ days knows their product works long enough that most users won't ask for refunds. Prometheus offers 90 days — that's the upper end of the industry.

4. Real human support

Email a question before you buy. Time the response. If the answer takes more than 24 hours or comes back as obvious copy-paste, that's the support quality you'll get when something breaks. Live chat with a real human is increasingly the standard — and worth paying a premium for.

5. Plain-English risk disclosure

The risk page tells you everything about a vendor's honesty. If they say things like "100% guaranteed profits" or "no risk," they're either reckless or lying. A reputable vendor's risk page reads like:

"All trading carries risk. Past performance does not guarantee future results. Only deploy capital you can afford to lose. Markets can move against you."

That's the language of a company that plans to be around in five years.

6. Verifiable user reviews

Reviews on the vendor's own site are essentially marketing. Look for:

• Trustpilot, G2, or Capterra reviews — third-party platforms.
• Reddit threads about the bot (search "[bot name] reddit" — see what real users say in unfiltered forums).
• YouTube reviews from creators who don't have an obvious affiliate relationship.
• Reviews older than 6 months — recent ones could be paid; aged ones with consistent themes are more trustworthy.

7. Real strategy depth (not just "AI" branding)

The word "AI" sells. Test for substance:

• Can the vendor describe what the model actually does, in plain English, beyond "it analyzes the market"?
• Are there backtests across multiple market regimes (bull, bear, sideways)?
• Are strategy presets actually different from each other, or are they the same logic with different position sizing?
• Does the bot adapt to changing conditions, or does it run the same logic forever?

Five marketing claims to ignore

1. "X% per day / per week" — Made-up numbers. Markets don't deliver consistent daily percentages.
2. "100% risk free" — Software might be refundable; capital is not. Always at risk.
3. "AI that beats the market every time" — Nothing beats every time.
4. "Featured in Forbes/CNBC" — Often paid placements or sponsored content. Verify the original article.
5. "Limited spots available" — Software has unlimited inventory. Scarcity is a sales tactic.

How Prometheus AI scores

For full transparency, here's how we rate against our own checklist:

FAQ

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