Swing Trading vs Day Trading

Day Trading is when you open trades and close them before the end of the day; while Swing Trading is when you open trades and leave them to run for days or weeks before closing them.

Day traders can execute several trades in a day, while swing traders can execute just a few trades over a long period.

Day traders are going to need to spend a lot of time in front of their computers and they will also pay more trading fees because of the frequent opening of new trades. Swing traders on the other hand trade less frequently so they incur less trading fees.

Swing traders face a higher risk of losses because a lot can go wrong overnight or when trades are kept open for a long time.

Swing traders also have to have a bigger account balance because leaving a trade open for days means market volatility can cause your margin level to drop considerably.

So while a day trader may make do with a margin level of 300%, a swing trader needs to maintain a higher margin level of say 2,000% to be able to accommodate market volatility without being stopped out.

So, in my opinion day trading is better for traders with a small account balance and low risk appetite. Swing trading is more suitable for traders with a bigger account size and higher risk appetite.

Day trading is most popular and more profitable for me because the longer you leave a trade open, the higher the odds that price can move against you