# Pricing: build and test free, pay only to automate more

> Build and backtest free. Free runs 1 live strategy, Plus runs 10 for $12 a month, and Pro runs as many as you need for $29. No cut of your trades.

Written by [Tactfolio research team](https://tactfolio.com/about/editorial-policy.md), published 2026-10-17, updated 2026-10-17.

Tactfolio has three plans. Free lets you build and backtest without limits and run one strategy in your own Alpaca account. Plus costs $12 a month, or $99 a year, and runs 10. Pro costs $29 a month, or $249 a year, runs as many as you need, and gives AI assistants the most room.

**Today, everything is free.** Paid plans are not open yet. Until they open, every account gets every feature at no cost.

## Key points

- Building, backtesting, the classic strategies, Discover, publishing and imports are free on every plan, with no limits.
- You pay only to run more strategies automatically, or to give AI assistants more room.
- Paying yearly saves 31% on Plus and 28% on Pro.
- Every new account gets 14 days of Pro with no card.
- We never take a cut of your money, your trades or your returns. Your money stays in your own Alpaca account.

## Plans and prices

| Plan | Free | Plus | Pro |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Price, billed monthly | $0 | $12 a month | $29 a month |
| Price, billed yearly | $0 | $99 a year | $249 a year |
| Yearly price per month | $0 | $8.25 | $20.75 |
| Building, backtests, classic strategies, Discover, publishing, imports | Unlimited | Unlimited | Unlimited |
| Live strategies in your own Alpaca account | 1 | 10 | Unlimited |
| Paper strategies | 3 | 25 | Unlimited |
| AI assistant (MCP) backtests a day | 100 | 2,000 | 25,000 |
| Saved private strategies | 50 | 1,000 | 10,000 |
| Drafts scored every night | 10 | 250 | 2,500 |
| Unused AI assistant drafts kept | 7 days | 30 days | 90 days |
| Support | Help tickets | Help tickets | Priority help tickets |

Pro's live strategies are unlimited for fair use: up to 100 at once.

## Promises on every plan

- No card to start.
- Cancel any time in your account.
- All your money back if you ask within 14 days of your first payment.
- Nothing is deleted when your plan changes.
- No share of your money, trades or returns, ever.

## How the price compares

Prices from each company's own pricing page, checked on October 16, 2026. They change, so check the link before you choose.

| Tool | What you pay for | Price |
| --- | --- | --- |
| [Composer](https://www.composer.trade/pricing) | Automated strategies | Free for 1. $10 a month for 5. Pro $40 a month or $384 a year |
| [QuantMage](https://quantmage.app/pricing.html) | Automated strategies | No free plan. Automated trading needs Mage, $500 a month or $4,800 a year |
| [Testfolio](https://testfol.io/pricing) | AI assistant (MCP) tools | Max plan, $100 a month or $960 a year. No trading |
| [Allocate Smartly](https://allocatesmartly.com/pricing/) | Tactical strategy signals | $49 a month or $399 a year. Signals only, you place the trades |
| [Option Alpha](https://optionalpha.com/pricing) | Options trading bots | Pro $149 a month, or $99 a month billed yearly |

Composer is the closest match. Both free plans run one live strategy. Plus runs 10 for $12 a month, or $8.25 a month billed yearly, where Composer's $10 plan automates 5. Pro costs $249 a year against $384 for Composer Pro, though Composer Pro runs more at once: up to 500 live strategies, against Pro's fair-use limit of 100. See [Tactfolio vs Composer](https://tactfolio.com/comparisons/tactfolio-vs-composer.md) and [all comparisons](https://tactfolio.com/comparisons.md) for the full picture, including what other tools do better.

## Common questions

### Is Tactfolio free?

Yes. Today every account gets every feature free while we build. When paid plans open, the Free plan stays free for good: unlimited building and backtests, one live strategy in your own Alpaca account, three paper strategies, and 100 AI assistant backtests a day.

### Do you take a cut of my trades or my money?

No. You pay a flat price for the software, and that is all. We never charge a share of your money, your trades or your returns, and we never hold your money. It stays in your own Alpaca account.

### What counts as a live strategy?

A strategy that trades real money in your own Alpaca account. Paper strategies, which trade pretend money, have their own count. Backtests, drafts and published strategies never count as live.

### What happens if my trial ends or I cancel?

Your account moves to Free. Nothing is deleted. You choose which live strategy keeps trading, and the others stop placing new orders. What they bought stays in your Alpaca account, untouched, for you to keep or sell. We email you 3 days before, 1 day before, and on the day.

### Can I get a refund?

Yes. Ask within 14 days of your first payment, monthly or yearly, and we refund all of it. You can cancel any time in your account, and your plan runs to the end of the time you paid for.

### What does unlimited mean on Pro?

Pro has no cap on paper strategies. Live strategies are unlimited for fair use, which means up to 100 running at once for one person. Write to support if you need more.

### Do public strategies count toward the limits?

No. Strategies you publish to Discover never count toward the private strategy limit on any plan. Sharing is always free.

### Can I trade crypto, options or forex?

Crypto strategies run on Hyperliquid perps and are backtest and paper or testnet only. Real-money crypto trading is not available. Tactfolio does not trade options, forex or CFDs. Strategies are long only, on US-listed stocks and ETFs, on daily prices.

### Do I need an Alpaca account?

Only to trade. You can build, backtest and paper trade without one. To trade with real money you connect your own Alpaca account with your own API keys. Alpaca is the only broker Tactfolio supports today.

### What do early members get?

Everyone who made an account before paid plans open gets a year of Plus free. And anyone who subscribes in the first 90 days after paid plans open keeps that price for as long as they stay subscribed.

## See what each plan runs

- [Paper trading](https://tactfolio.com/paper-trading.md): Paper trade a whole strategy with pretend money at real prices.
- [Alpaca trading](https://tactfolio.com/alpaca-trading.md): Connect your own Alpaca account, paper or live, and run a backtested strategy there.
- [AI trading](https://tactfolio.com/ai-trading.md): Use an AI assistant to build, backtest, and save investing rules you can read.
- [Classic tactical asset allocation strategies](https://tactfolio.com/strategies/classics.md): Faber, Antonacci, Keller, Butler, and more: tactical allocation strategies built from their sources, with honest backtests and live versions you can copy.

## Sources

- [Composer pricing](https://www.composer.trade/pricing), accessed 2026-10-16
- [QuantMage pricing](https://quantmage.app/pricing.html), accessed 2026-10-16
- [Testfolio pricing](https://testfol.io/pricing), accessed 2026-10-16
- [Allocate Smartly pricing](https://allocatesmartly.com/pricing/), accessed 2026-10-16
- [Option Alpha pricing](https://optionalpha.com/pricing), accessed 2026-10-16