Last updated: 12 October 2026 How many people are pulling down the Python tools that retail and prop traders use to automate? PyPI, the main Python package index, logs every download. We track 15 trading-related packages, from the official MetaTrader 5 library to backtesting and broker APIs, using the free counts on pypistats.org.
The official MetaTrader 5 Python package was downloaded 146,955 times in the last month, according to pypistats.org on 12 October 2026. That is 142,527 in September, against 147,107 in May (-3%).
Crypto and data tools are far bigger. yfinance had 18,639,048 downloads in the last month and CCXT 2,330,358. Interactive Brokers’ community packages ib_async (562,699) and ib_insync (544,834) together beat MetaTrader 5 several times over.
From May to September 2026, ib_async grew fastest (+32%) and pandas-ta fell most (-54%) among the 15 packages we track. ib_async, a community fork of ib_insync, moved +32% while ib_insync moved -9%.
Downloads are not users. Automated builds, servers and CI pipelines download packages over and over. Treat these as a rough signal of activity, best compared over time for the same package.
Downloads in the last day, week and month
| Package | Type | Last day | Last week | Last month | Sep 2026 vs May 2026 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| yfinance | Market data | 373,706 | 3,899,802 | 18,639,048 | -5% |
| CCXT | Crypto exchange API | 75,744 | 530,628 | 2,330,358 | -41% |
| alpaca-py | Broker API | 33,711 | 280,821 | 1,066,689 | -29% |
| TA-Lib | Indicators | 20,090 | 141,005 | 603,092 | -29% |
| ib_async | Interactive Brokers API | 19,837 | 170,519 | 562,699 | +32% |
| ib_insync | Interactive Brokers API | 15,745 | 132,122 | 544,834 | -9% |
| pandas-ta | Indicators | 11,294 | 100,543 | 440,963 | -54% |
| vectorbt | Backtesting | 10,378 | 86,895 | 342,827 | -24% |
| python-binance | Crypto exchange API | 10,491 | 81,289 | 313,530 | -50% |
| Backtesting.py | Backtesting | 4,709 | 43,805 | 174,601 | -10% |
| Backtrader | Backtesting | 5,527 | 38,630 | 173,743 | -46% |
| MetaTrader 5 (official Python package) | Platform API | 4,750 | 37,813 | 146,955 | -3% |
| tradingview-ta | Indicator data | 4,147 | 29,219 | 112,426 | -8% |
| Freqtrade | Trading bot | 1,494 | 10,252 | 58,972 | +22% |
| oandapyV20 | Broker API (OANDA) | 1,008 | 6,979 | 33,581 | -26% |
“Last month” is pypistats.org’s rolling 30-day figure on 12 October 2026. The growth column compares the full-month totals for September and May 2026, without mirrors.
Monthly downloads, May to September 2026
| Package | May 2026 | Jun 2026 | Jul 2026 | Aug 2026 | Sep 2026 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| yfinance | 19,873,301 | 24,864,142 | 29,234,094 | 26,509,275 | 18,858,664 |
| CCXT | 3,957,371 | 3,976,882 | 4,565,328 | 5,018,142 | 2,321,856 |
| alpaca-py | 1,515,039 | 1,522,562 | 1,967,985 | 1,871,936 | 1,075,111 |
| TA-Lib | 861,767 | 820,240 | 926,920 | 865,138 | 607,977 |
| ib_async | 411,151 | 618,865 | 626,796 | 642,816 | 540,847 |
| ib_insync | 636,335 | 763,382 | 785,108 | 1,012,676 | 578,676 |
| pandas-ta | 961,365 | 884,552 | 867,912 | 810,182 | 446,925 |
| vectorbt | 454,937 | 448,534 | 552,952 | 483,392 | 346,509 |
| python-binance | 625,002 | 585,501 | 627,963 | 575,050 | 313,091 |
| Backtesting.py | 192,412 | 193,548 | 182,299 | 213,749 | 172,874 |
| Backtrader | 326,032 | 331,142 | 327,866 | 282,793 | 175,051 |
| MetaTrader 5 (official Python package) | 147,107 | 167,230 | 182,391 | 198,040 | 142,527 |
| tradingview-ta | 123,972 | 148,180 | 229,780 | 223,141 | 114,066 |
| Freqtrade | 56,455 | 78,959 | 71,579 | 72,857 | 69,057 |
| oandapyV20 | 45,975 | 40,869 | 34,374 | 43,712 | 34,172 |
Why we save a copy every day
pypistats.org only keeps the last 180 days. We now save a dated snapshot of these 15 packages each day, so the history on this page can keep growing past that limit. The CSV has every daily figure we have so far, from 8 April 2026.
Security: fake lookalikes of popular trading libraries such as python-binance and ccxt have been published on PyPI. See our list of malicious trading packages on PyPI and npm.
Sources
- pypistats.org — API endpoints
/api/packages/<name>/recentand/overall?mirrors=false, fetched 12 October 2026. pypistats.org is built on the public PyPI download logs that the Python Software Foundation publishes through Google BigQuery. - PyPI, the Python Package Index — package pages linked in the table.
Method
Monthly totals add up pypistats.org’s daily ‘without mirrors’ counts. The last day, week and month columns are pypistats.org’s own recent figures. We chose packages used for platform access (MetaTrader 5, Interactive Brokers, OANDA, Alpaca, exchanges), market data, indicators and backtesting. It is not a complete list of trading software, and most prop firm platforms (cTrader, NinjaTrader, Tradovate) are not distributed through PyPI.
Caveats
Download counts include automated installs and are not a count of people, accounts or traders. A package’s count can jump when a large company adds it to a build pipeline. pypistats.org does not publish an explicit licence for its data; the counts are reproduced here as dated facts with credit.
Packages differ in purpose, so comparing a crypto exchange library with a forex platform API says little about which market is bigger.
How to cite this
Prop Data Lab, “Algo Trading Tool Downloads on PyPI”, updated 12 October 2026, https://propdatalab.com/algo-trading-python-package-downloads/
The table and the CSV are free to reuse under CC BY 4.0: copy, chart or republish them, commercial use included, as long as you link back to this page. Please also credit pypistats.org and PyPI as the source of the download counts.
Common questions
How many times is the MetaTrader 5 Python package downloaded?
146,955 times in the 30 days to 12 October 2026, per pypistats.org.
Which Python trading library is most downloaded?
Of the 15 we track, yfinance (market data) had the most downloads in the last month: 18,639,048.
Do download counts equal users?
No. They include automated and repeat installs. They are useful for spotting trends in the same package over time.
How far back does the data go?
pypistats.org keeps 180 days. Our CSV starts on 8 April 2026, and we save a new snapshot each day.