Your order latency comes down to the distance between your server and the machine that takes your orders. For CME futures, currency futures like 6E included, that machine is in CyrusOne’s Aurora I building, west of the city. Our Chicago site in Arlington Heights is in the same metro. On a Monday afternoon during US market hours, it reached a public market-data gateway inside that building in about 2.5 ms round trip, with no loss, over Zayo. That’s a public-internet path, not a cross-connect, so it won’t beat firms racked inside Aurora. For an EA, a bot or a discretionary setup that cares about milliseconds, it’s plenty.
Trading VPS and low-latency servers in Chicago, near CME
Our Chicago servers sit in Arlington Heights, about 2.5 ms round trip from a market-data gateway inside CME's Globex building in Aurora. We measured that during market hours on 28 September 2026. Run MT4, MT5, NinjaTrader or your own bot on a dedicated server from $126 a month, with VPS options on request.
- About 2.5 ms to the CME Globex building, measured
- Windows Server for MT4/MT5, $50/mo
- Administrator or root access from day one
- IPMI on a private network
- In-stock builds online same or next day
- About 2.5 ms to the CME Globex building, measured
- Windows Server for MT4/MT5, $50/mo
- Administrator or root access from day one
- IPMI on a private network
- In-stock builds online same or next day
2.5 ms
Average round trip, Chicago to the CME Globex building
0%
Packet loss during the test
1998
The year we started hosting in Chicago
Measured latency
Measured round trips from our network
These are measurements, not promises. Routes change, and your broker’s server may sit in a different building in the same metro. Each row says what we measured to, when and how.
| From → to | Avg round trip | How and when |
|---|---|---|
| Chicago → public market-data gateway in the CME Globex building (CyrusOne Aurora I) | ~2.5 ms, 0% loss | Ping and mtr from our Chicago looking glass, via Zayo. Mon 28 Sep 2026, 1:27–1:49 p.m. CT |
| Ashburn → Hurricane Electric nyc4 core (New York, Secaucus/NY4 area) | ~8.1 ms | mtr, 100 probes, GigeNET network team, 28 Sep 2026 |
| Ashburn → Newark carrier core | ~6.5 ms | mtr, 100 probes, 28 Sep 2026 |
| Ashburn → London carrier core | ~72 ms | mtr, 100 probes, 28 Sep 2026 |
The Ashburn rows are measured to carrier cores near those markets, not to the exchanges or to any broker’s server. The Chicago row is measured to a gateway inside the CME building, not to the matching engine itself. Want your own numbers? Run ping, traceroute or mtr from our looking glass to your broker’s server during the hours you trade.
Dedicated or VPS
Dedicated server or VPS for trading?
Here’s our take. One terminal and one EA run fine on a VPS. Several terminals, a data-heavy bot, or anything that can’t tolerate a busy neighbor at the open belongs on a dedicated server, where every core is yours. We sell both in Chicago: dedicated builds are on the order forms below, and VPS or cloud setups are on request through the quote form.
Single tenant, fully dedicated Chicago server
The whole server is yours
CPU
100%
RAM
100%
Storage
100%
Network
100%
Admin
100%
All resources allocated to you
vs
VPS: shared hardware
Same physical machine, multiple tenants
You
Tenant B
Tenant C
Tenant D
What you get on a Chicago trading server
Everything here is on the Chicago order forms or in our written SLA today.
Windows for MT4, MT5 and NinjaTrader
Pick Windows Server Standard in the OS step ($50 a month on the order form) and we install it before handoff. That covers MT4, MT5, NinjaTrader and most other Windows-only platforms.
Administrator or root access
Full Administrator on Windows, root on Linux. Install your terminals, bridges, plug-ins and monitoring the way you want them.
IPMI on a private network
Console and power control sit on a private management network by default. If a Windows update hangs on reboot while you hold a position, you can still reach the console.
Online the same or next day
In-stock builds are online the same day or the next. Custom builds take a week or less.
DDoS protection and backups included
Both show at $0 on the Chicago order forms: DDoS protection, plus R1Soft automated backups with 1 TB of storage.
Uptime in writing
99.5% network availability on every server, 99.95% with a management plan. Miss it and you get service credits.
Chicago dedicated servers for trading, month to month
These are default builds on our Chicago order forms today. Each form is a configurator: add Windows Server, change RAM or drives, and the total updates as you go. Setup is $0. More on our Chicago dedicated servers.
Chicago
Single terminal
Intel Xeon E3-1200 Series
$126
/month
Best for
One or two MT4/MT5 terminals, a single EA, a NinjaTrader workstation
CPU
Xeon E3-1230 v1, 4 cores / 8 threads
RAM
16 GB
Storage
1 TB HDD
Bandwidth
30 TB
Most popular
Chicago
Our pick for trading
Intel Xeon D-1541
$248
/month
Best for
Several terminals, bots that store tick data, backtesting on the same box
CPU
Xeon D-1541, 8 cores / 16 threads
RAM
64 GB
Storage
1 TB SSD
Bandwidth
30 TB
Chicago
Prop desks
2× Intel Xeon Silver 4114
$606
/month
Best for
Prop firms running many trader sessions, market-data processing, research
CPU
2× Xeon Silver 4114, 20 cores / 40 threads
RAM
128 GB
Storage
1 TB SSD
Bandwidth
30 TB
Broker in New Jersey? Look at Ashburn
Most retail FX brokers host MT4 and MT5 in the Secaucus area or in London, not Chicago. If yours is in New Jersey, our Ashburn, Virginia site is closer. Our network team measured about 8.1 ms from Ashburn to Hurricane Electric's New York core, in the Secaucus/NY4 area, and about 6.5 ms to a Newark carrier core. That suits most EAs and discretionary trading. For news scalping, where a few milliseconds decide the fill, buy a VPS inside the Secaucus campus from a provider that has one. And if your broker is in London, we're not the right host: Ashburn measured about 72 ms to a London carrier core. See Ashburn dedicated servers.
Tell us where your broker's server is
Send us the platform, the number of terminals and your broker's data center. We'll recommend Chicago or Ashburn, dedicated or VPS, and tell you straight if another provider's location suits you better.
✕
✕
✕
24/7/365
US-based support
99.5%+ uptime
SLA in writing
Same or next day
In-stock delivery
SOC 2
Type II certified
Trading VPS FAQs
Background reading: Forex VPS in Chicago: when it helps and when New Jersey wins
What's the latency from your Chicago servers to CME?
About 2.5 ms round trip on average, with 0% loss, from our Chicago site to a public market-data gateway inside CyrusOne Aurora I, the CME Globex building. We measured it over Zayo on Monday 28 September 2026, between 1:27 and 1:49 p.m. Central, during US market hours. It’s a measurement of a public-internet path, not a promise, so rerun it yourself from our looking glass.
Is a Chicago VPS good for forex trading?
Only if your broker’s trade server is in the Chicago area, which is uncommon for spot FX. Chicago is the right metro for CME futures, currency futures included, because Globex matches in Aurora. Ask your broker for the data center name before you pick a host.
Do you have servers in New Jersey or NY4?
No. Our locations are Chicago, Ashburn and Los Angeles (Digital Realty LAX10). For a broker in the Secaucus area, Ashburn is our closest option: about 8.1 ms to Hurricane Electric’s New York core in our network team’s 28 September test.
Can I run MT4, MT5 or NinjaTrader?
Yes. Choose Windows Server Standard in the OS step of the order form ($50 a month today) and we install it before handoff. You get full Administrator access, so you install the platform, your EAs and any plug-ins yourself.
Should I pick a VPS or a dedicated server?
Pick a dedicated server if you run more than one terminal, a bot that stores tick data, or anything that can’t tolerate a neighbor’s load spike at the open. A VPS is fine for a single terminal and a light EA. Chicago dedicated servers start at $126 a month; for a VPS or cloud setup, ask on the quote form.
Do you guarantee latency?
No, and be wary of anyone who does over the public internet. Routes change. What we put in writing is uptime: 99.5% network availability on every server and 99.95% with a management plan, with credits if we miss it (see our SLA). The latency figures on this page are dated measurements.
How fast can I be up and trading?
In-stock builds are online the same day or the next, with Windows installed if you chose it. Custom builds take a week or less.
Is DDoS protection included, and are the data centers certified?
DDoS protection is included at $0 on the Chicago order forms. All three of our data centers are SOC 2 Type II certified. If you need more detail on either for a compliance review, ask on the quote form.