For people who have never traded before
Snipe watches the stock market every morning. When it finds a setup it likes, it places a small trade in your own brokerage account, protects it with a safety stop, and sends a notification to your phone so you always know what happened.
Your money stays in your own Alpaca account. Snipe can place trades there, but it can never withdraw money.
From our practice account. Not every trade wins, and real money results can differ.
A trading day
Some days it doesn't trade at all. That's on purpose. If nothing looks right, it waits for tomorrow.
How it works
Open a free Alpaca brokerage account, turn on options trading, and connect it to Snipe. We walk you through every screen. Approval usually takes a few days.
When Snipe spots a setup, you get a notification. You choose how many to buy, and tap once to place it.
You don't have to watch the screen. Snipe decides when to sell, and closes everything before the market ends.
Get set up
Snipe trades in your own Alpaca brokerage account. Most people are ready in 3 to 5 business days. Your free week doesn't start until you're connected.
Alpaca asks for a code from an authenticator app every time you sign in, so install one on your phone before you start.
Any of these work, and they're all free: Google Authenticator, Microsoft Authenticator, or Authy.
Sign up with your email and a password, then confirm your email. When Alpaca asks you to set up two step login, open your authenticator app and scan the code on the screen.
Open Alpaca signupAlpaca starts you with a practice account. To trade with real money, choose Open Live Account and fill in your details. Alpaca asks for your address and Social Security number because the law requires it for every brokerage account.
Go to Funds & Wallet and deposit at least $300 from your bank. Bank transfers usually take a few business days to arrive, so it helps to do this right away.
Go to Account, then Configure. Under Options, choose Level 2 and submit. Level 2 lets Snipe buy calls and puts, which is all it uses.
Once options are approved, go to Account, then Balances, and check that Options Buying Power shows at least $300. Money that is still on its way doesn't count yet. Then reply to your welcome email. We'll send you a secure way to connect your account, and your free week starts then.
Would you rather have help? Reply to your welcome email and we'll set up a phone call to walk you through it, one step at a time. Alpaca's screens also change from time to time, so if something looks different, just ask. Never share your Alpaca password or authenticator codes with anyone, including us.
Built in protection
If a trade loses about half its value, it is sold automatically. This limits how much any one trade can cost you.
Once a trade is up 20%, a floor starts moving up behind it. If the price turns around, the trade is sold near that floor, so you keep part of what you made.
Notifications
You get a notification when a trade opens, when it closes, and at the end of every trading day, so you always know where you stand.
A trade was just placed in your account. You bought 1 contract for $223. We're watching it for you.
Your trade closed at a good spot. You kept $47.
All done for today. Your account ended up $47.
Before you start
Pricing
Try it free for 7 days. Your free week starts once your Alpaca account is connected, so you don't lose any days waiting for approval. If it isn't for you, cancel before day 7 and you won't be charged.
Your free week starts once your account is connected. Cancel anytime.
Questions
When your Alpaca account is connected and ready to trade. Opening an account and getting approved for options usually takes a few days, and that waiting time doesn't count toward your free week.
No. Snipe finds the trades and handles the exits. You'll open a brokerage account once, and we show you how.
In your own Alpaca brokerage account, in your name. Snipe can place trades there, but it can't move or withdraw your money.
You'll need to keep at least $300 in your Alpaca account. One trade usually costs between $200 and $300.
Snipe stops sending trades. Your brokerage account and your money stay exactly where they are.