If you’re an experienced trader looking to make a higher income, trading more often is a great strategy. You can choose between swing trading or day trading, depending on your preferences. However, is one easier than the other?
Swing trading is easier than day trading. You don’t need to check on your stocks as often, and you have more time to make trades. Day trading also takes up more time and engagement, making it a larger commitment. However, swing trading can be riskier than day trading, so you need to know more about risk management.
If you want to learn more about why swing trading is easier, keep reading. I’ll also explain what makes day trading challenging and other considerations you should keep in mind when deciding between the two. So, without further ado, let’s get started!
IMPORTANT SIDENOTE: I surveyed 1500+ traders to understand how social trading impacted their trading outcomes. The results shocked my belief system! Read my latest article: ‘Exploring Social Trading: Community, Profit, and Collaboration’ for my in-depth findings through the data collected from this survey!
Table of Contents
Why Is Swing Trading Easier Than Day Trading?
Swing trading is usually easier than day trading because it’s less demanding. With day trading, you need to set aside several hours per day to perform trades. Many professional day traders consider it their full-time job.
Day trading takes a significant amount of effort and dedication. With swing trading, you still need to research and strategize, but you won’t have to put in quite as much work. However, to succeed with either method, you still need experience.
Swing trading is generally more manageable. You won’t feel as stressed, it’s less intrusive in your daily schedule, and you won’t have to invest as much time. However, that doesn’t mean you can make money without strategizing.
Which Trading Type Is Safer? Day Trading or Swing Trading?
Many traders also want to know which method is safer for them. Both types of frequent trading come with risks. However, swing trading comes with greater risks, although you also get higher potential rewards.
With day trading, you rely on small price changes, so you put fewer assets at risk in a single trade. Plus, swing trading takes longer, putting you at overnight or weekend risk.
However, there are ways for you to manage the risks. Once you’re aware of what to watch for, you can make either type of trading safer. Many beginner traders lose money, no matter which method they use.
If you want to avoid early loss, you need to stay informed. I recommend reading The Tao of Trading by Simon Ree (available on Amazon.com). This book covers all the information you’ll need to have so that you can start making the best possible trades. It also provides details on what to do in a variety of market situations.
Why Day Trading Is Harder Than Swing Trading?
Day traders must perform trades within a much shorter time frame. That means they make a lot more trades during the day before the market closes. Plus, there are many deadlines they need to fight.
Not Enough Time
Additionally, day trading takes up more time. Most day traders work for at least two hours every day. They also need more time to prepare and research, adding a few more hours of computer time. Since day trading is so demanding on your time, you need to invest as much time as you would in a full-time job- every day!
Most people don’t have the energy to add that much time into their trades. With swing trading, you invest a lot less time. You might only check on your trades once a week to ensure everything moves in the directions you want.
Overall, day trading is challenging to get into, primarily due to how much time it requires. If you’re a person who already has a full-time job, you probably can’t put in as much time as day trading demands from you.
Numerous Deadlines
Day traders also have to deal with hard deadlines since they need to sell before the market closes. Many traders feel as though they’re constantly fighting against the clock! If you miss selling an asset, you could take a heavier loss.
These time frames are part of the reason day trading has a lot of risks attached to it. If you don’t know how to navigate the market, you could miss important deadlines for trading your stock. Overall, you need to know that passing time can significantly impact your results.
Emotion Impacts Decisions
It’s also worth discussing how emotion can impact your trading decisions and can lead to bad financial choices. Many new day traders feel stressed and sell too early or late and may even suddenly pull all their money from the market. All of these actions can cause you to lose funds.
If you want to make good trades, you need to learn to assess your feelings and take a step back. From there, you can evaluate the market and make moves that only benefit you. It can take a lot of time and experience to reach that point, so many beginner-day traders fail.
However, if you can manage your feelings and think logically about trades, you could succeed in day trading. Unfortunately, reaching that point is very challenging for most traders.
Consider Your Preferences
Your preferences and personal trading styles will also impact which trading method is easier for you. Since swing trading takes more time to see results, it works best with those who have more patience in their trades. If you want to see small, fast gains that add up quickly, you’re better off with day trading. Many pros consider day trading the best option for those seeking action.
In other words, you don’t want to ignore your trading style when choosing between day trading and swing trading. While many people feel that swing trading is the easier option, you might not enjoy it.
Instead of simply accepting conventional thinking, you should always try to find the trading method that works for you! That way, you can put your efforts into achieving gains while feeling good about it rather than convincing yourself to make trades when you’re feeling unmotivated and uninspired.
Living Off of Trading
When most people ask if one type of trading is easier than the other, they also want to know if they can make a living off it. Luckily, you can live off either swing or day trading – both options allow you to make enough money to do so.
With day trading, you earn smaller amounts of funds during the day. It’s essential that you set aside money for bills and necessities often, so you have enough when you need them. These small gains add up quickly over time.
When it comes to swing trading, you receive larger gains, though they’re not as frequent. You would need to create a thorough budget for yourself so you don’t spend all of your earnings at once. This way, you will have enough money for your bills and necessities during the month.
Overall, you can be successful with either style of trading. However, you still need to assess risk and ensure you make good trading choices.
Author’s Recommendations: Top Trading and Investment Resources To Consider
Before concluding this article, I wanted to share few trading and investment resources that I have vetted, with the help of 50+ consistently profitable traders, for you. I am confident that you will greatly benefit in your trading journey by considering one or more of these resources.
- Roadmap to Becoming a Consistently Profitable Trader: I surveyed 5000+ traders (and interviewed 50+ profitable traders) to create the best possible step by step trading guide for you. Read my article: ‘7 Proven Steps To Profitable Trading’ to learn about my findings from surveying 5000+ traders, and to learn how these learnings can be leveraged to your advantage.
- Best Broker For Trading Success: I reviewed 15+ brokers and discussed my findings with 50+ consistently profitable traders. Post all that assessment, the best all round broker that our collective minds picked was M1 Finance. If you are looking to open a brokerage account, choose M1 Finance. You just cannot go wrong with it! Click Here To Sign Up for M1 Finance Today!
- Best Trading Courses You Can Take For Free (or at extremely low cost): I reviewed 30+ trading courses to recommend you the best resource, and found Trading Strategies in Emerging Markets Specialization on Coursera to beat every other course on the market. Plus, if you complete this course within 7 days, it will cost you nothing and will be absolutely free! Click Here To Sign Up Today! (If you don’t find this course valuable, you can cancel anytime within the 7 days trial period and pay nothing.)
- Best Passive Investment Platform For Exponential (Potentially) Returns: By enabling passive investments into a Bitcoin ETF, Acorns gives you the best opportunity to make exponential returns on your passive investments. Plus, Acorns is currently offering a $15 bonus for simply singing up to their platform – so that is one opportunity you don’t want to miss! (assuming you are interested in this platform). Click Here To Get $15 Bonus By Signing Up For Acorns Today! (It will take you less than 5 mins to sign up, and it is totally worth it.)
Conclusion
In short, many traders feel that swing trading is easier for them. Day trading takes up a lot of time, has many deadlines to worry about, and causes stress. Despite that, you still need to choose a trading method that works the best for you! Some professional traders prefer day over swing trading.
No matter which style you choose, it’s always best to do your own research and assess the potential risk involved with each trade. Doing so ensures that you don’t put more money into trades than you can afford to lose.
BEFORE YOU GO: Don’t forget to check out my latest article – ‘Exploring Social Trading: Community, Profit, and Collaboration’. I surveyed 1500+ traders to identify the impact social trading can have on your trading performance, and shared all my findings in this article. No matter where you are in your trading journey today, I am confident that you will find this article helpful!
Affiliate Disclosure: We participate in several affiliate programs and may be compensated if you make a purchase using our referral link, at no additional cost to you. You can, however, trust the integrity of our recommendation. Affiliate programs exist even for products that we are not recommending. We only choose to recommend you the products that we actually believe in.
