Look it up before buying a VPS
A VPS is only as fast as its path to your broker’s trade server. In the wrong data centre you lose 70 to 150 ms per order – however expensive the plan. Here is, for every broker, where its server runs, which VPS location matches and which providers have servers there.
Search for your broker or filter by region. Clicking the VPS location jumps to the providers that have servers there.
| Broker | Trade server in | Pick VPS location | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| IC Markets | Equinix NY4 (MT4/MT5) · Equinix LD5 (cTrader) cTrader accounts run in London – then put the VPS in LD4/LD5. | New York NY4 or London LD4/LD5 | Broker statement |
| IC Trading | Equinix NY4 (like IC Markets) Sister brand of IC Markets; no location statement of its own. Check the ping before buying. | New York NY4 | Unconfirmed |
| Pepperstone | Equinix NY4 ~70 ms from London. UK/EU accounts may sit in London – ping it yourself. | New York NY4 | VPS measurement |
| BlackBull Markets | Equinix London (per BlackBull) · also NY4 / TY3 BlackBull names London as its VPS and server location (read 30.09.2026); individual account servers may sit in NY4 or TY3. | London LD4/LD5 or New York NY4 · Tokyo TY3 | Broker statement |
| Fusion Markets | Equinix NY4 Measured ~72 ms from London – the wrong site costs real money here. | New York NY4 | VPS measurement |
| Axi | Equinix NY4 | New York NY4 | VPS measurement |
| FP Markets | Equinix NY4 (+ London) | New York NY4 or London LD4/LD5 | Broker statement |
| FP Trading | NY4 and London LD4 (by server) Measured under 2 ms from both cities – the server name decides. | New York NY4 or London LD4/LD5 | VPS measurement |
| Ultima Markets | Equinix NY4 (per broker) One measurement from NY4 gave ~69 ms, which fits London better. Ping before buying. | New York NY4 | Sources disagree |
| Global Prime | Equinix NY4 | New York NY4 | VPS measurement |
| FXCM | Equinix NY4 | New York NY4 | VPS measurement |
| OANDA | Equinix NY4 OANDA Europe (MT5) may sit in London – check. | New York NY4 | VPS measurement |
| Vantage Markets | London + New York (Equinix), access points in Asia Vantage spreads accounts over several sites – check the server name. | London LD4/LD5 or New York NY4 · Singapore | Broker statement |
| VT Markets | Equinix LD5 London + NY4 New York Hong Kong, Singapore and Sydney are regional nodes; the core sits in London and New York. | London LD4/LD5 or New York NY4 · Singapore | Broker statement |
| Tickmill | London (Equinix LD4) ~69 ms from New York. | London LD4/LD5 | VPS measurement |
| XM | London Exact Equinix building not confirmed. | London LD4/LD5 | VPS measurement |
| Admirals | Equinix LD4 | London LD4/LD5 | Broker statement |
| Darwinex | Equinix LD4 MT servers cross-connected to the liquidity providers in LD4. | London LD4/LD5 | Broker statement |
| FxPro | Equinix LD4 (MT4, MT5, cTrader) | London LD4/LD5 | Broker statement |
| ThinkMarkets | Equinix LD4/LD5 (+ NY4) | London LD4/LD5 or New York NY4 | Broker statement |
| Axiory | Equinix London (+ Tokyo TY3) | London LD4/LD5 or Tokyo TY3 | VPS measurement |
| Hantec Markets | London LD4 | London LD4/LD5 | VPS measurement |
| Purple Trading | probably London Measurements show Tokyo and London both under 3 ms – the typical MT5 access-point effect. | London LD4/LD5 | Unconfirmed |
| RoboForex | Amsterdam (ECN server) Frankfurt is second choice (~7 ms). An older broker notice put the Pro server in London. | Amsterdam or Frankfurt | VPS measurement |
| Swissquote | Switzerland or London – by entity Swissquote Bank (CH) measures fastest from Frankfurt, UK accounts from London. | Frankfurt or London LD4/LD5 | Sources disagree |
| Dukascopy | Switzerland (Geneva) Applies to JForex. One list puts the MT4 server in London. | Frankfurt | Sources disagree |
| AvaTrade | Frankfurt or London Two VPS lists contradict each other – test both sites. | Frankfurt or London LD4/LD5 | Sources disagree |
| Eightcap | Tokyo (Equinix TY3/TY8) Outlier: three independent lists measure Eightcap fastest from Tokyo, not London or New York. | Tokyo TY3 | VPS measurement |
| Exness Exness-Real… · Exness-MT5Real… | spread: Amsterdam, Frankfurt, Singapore and more Exness assigns accounts to a server at random. Look yours up in the Personal Area and ping it. | Check your server Amsterdam · Frankfurt · Singapore | Sources disagree |
| FTMOProp FTMO-Server, FTMO-Server2 … 5 | London (Equinix LD4) No official FTMO statement. Prague is the head office, not the server site. | London LD4/LD5 | VPS measurement |
| The5ersProp FivePercentOnline-Real | probably London Only an MT5 access point “LDN” is documented, not the trade server itself. | London LD4/LD5 | Unconfirmed |
| FundedNextProp | unknown (London is typical) No solid source found. Be sure to ping before buying a VPS. | London LD4/LD5 | Unconfirmed |
| FintokeiProp Fintokei-MT5-Server1 | own MT5 server since 01/2026, site not stated Ping London against Tokyo from a trial VPS. | Check your server London LD4/LD5 · Tokyo TY3 | Unconfirmed |
Why we are this careful: many VPS lists measure MetaTrader 5 through MetaQuotes’ access servers. The same broker then shows under 3 ms from Tokyo and London at once – but one server cannot sit on two continents. We never upgraded such measurements to a broker statement.
Connections
Each card is a data centre. On the left, the brokers whose trade server runs there (dashed: only some accounts); on the right, the VPS providers with servers at the same place. Both sides together make the short line.
The key site for raw-spread brokers. Standing in the wrong place (London, Frankfurt) costs 70–90 ms per order.
LD4 and LD5 share the Slough campus. LD8 is in the Docklands – expect 1–2 ms there instead of sub-1 ms.
Rare, but the right place for RoboForex and parts of Exness. From London it is only 6–8 ms.
Only for brokers that really host here or in Switzerland. For the big raw-spread brokers Frankfurt is the wrong site – even if it feels natural for traders in Germany.
The surprise of the list: Eightcap measures fastest from Tokyo. TY3 and TY8 are different buildings.
Regional node for Exness, Vantage and VT Markets – usually an access point, rarely the main server.
Highlighted providers are partner links: if you buy through them we earn a commission, at no extra cost to you. Which broker sits where does not depend on it. Prices and plans of all providers are in the forex VPS comparison.
Row = where your VPS is, column = where the broker’s server is. Rounded round-trip figures; actual routing can differ by a few milliseconds.
| VPS in ↓ · broker in → | London | New York | Frankfurt | Amsterdam | Tokyo | Singapore |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| London | < 2 | ~70 | ~8 | ~7 | ~220 | ~165 |
| New York | ~70 | < 2 | ~85 | ~78 | ~150 | ~230 |
| Frankfurt | ~8 | ~85 | < 2 | ~7 | ~230 | ~155 |
| Amsterdam | ~7 | ~78 | ~7 | < 2 | ~225 | ~160 |
| Tokyo | ~220 | ~150 | ~230 | ~225 | < 2 | ~70 |
| Singapore | ~165 | ~230 | ~155 | ~160 | ~70 | < 2 |
In context: under 10 ms hardly any EA notices a difference. From ~70 ms (London ↔ New York) scalpers and news EAs suffer noticeable slippage. Above 150 ms (Europe ↔ Asia) the site is wrong for any short-term strategy.
It takes ten minutes and beats any list, including this one – brokers move and put new accounts on new servers.
It is in the broker’s login e-mail and in the terminal under File → Login to Trade Account (e.g. “ICMarketsSC-MT5-4”). The number at the end matters – different numbers can sit in different cities.
One line in live chat is enough: “Which data centre hosts trade server <server name>?” Serious brokers name the Equinix building (NY4, LD4, LD5, TY3). That is the best source – better than any list, including this one.
Rent a VPS with a money-back guarantee at the suspected site, install the terminal, log in and read the ping bottom right. Under 2 ms: right site. 60–90 ms: you are on the wrong continent.
MT5 often connects through a MetaQuotes access server instead of straight to the trade server. The journal then says “through Access Server …”. A low ping to such an access point says nothing about where your orders are executed.
For the trial VPS, pick a provider with many sites and a money-back guarantee. Hyonix also publishes a test IP per location that you can ping before buying.
Always the location of your broker’s trade server – not where you live. Most raw-spread brokers (IC Markets, Pepperstone, Fusion Markets, Axi) sit in Equinix NY4 in New York; many European and UK brokers (BlackBull, Tickmill, XM, Admirals, Darwinex, FxPro) in Equinix LD4/LD5 in London. The table above lists every broker with its source.
Note the server name from the login e-mail, ask support which data centre hosts that server, and cross-check with a trial VPS: the ping bottom right in the terminal should be under 2 ms. If it shows 60–90 ms, the VPS is on the wrong continent.
MT5 often connects through MetaQuotes access servers spread around the world. The ping shown then only measures the way to that access point; the order travels on to the actual trade server. That is why some VPS lists measure the same broker under 3 ms from Tokyo and London at once – physically impossible for a single server.
Neither is better in general. NY4 is right for brokers whose servers sit in New York, LD4 for brokers in London. About 70 ms separate the two. For scalpers and news EAs that is a lot; for swing and trend EAs it rarely matters.
Only if both strategies are latency-sensitive. Otherwise put the VPS where the more sensitive EA trades – usually the scalper – and accept the ~70 ms for the other account. With plans from about $6.50 a month, a second VPS is affordable too.
Consistent measurements by VPS providers put it in London (Equinix LD4). We found no official FTMO statement. Prague is the head office, not the server site – a VPS in the Czech Republic gains nothing.
According to IC Markets itself, the MT4 and MT5 servers are in Equinix NY4 in New York and the cTrader servers in Equinix LD5 in London. For MetaTrader accounts the VPS belongs in New York, for cTrader in London.
No. Sub-1 ms matters for scalping, arbitrage and news trading. For most EAs 1–30 ms is plenty. What matters is not being on the wrong continent: going from 2 to 70 or 150 ms is noticeable, going from 0.5 to 2 ms hardly.