Push vs Polling
Also known as: push vs pull, event-driven vs polling
What is it?
Push and polling are two different ways your device can find out about a new trading signal. With push delivery, the system sends the alert to you the instant it is created, the same way a text message arrives on your phone without you doing anything. With polling, your device works the other way around: it keeps asking the server, over and over on a fixed timer, whether anything new has happened, like a child in the back seat repeatedly asking are we there yet. The difference matters because of timing.
If your device polls every five seconds, then a signal that fires one second after the last check has to sit and wait almost five seconds before the next check picks it up, so it can reach you up to five seconds late. Polling can also miss fast events that start and finish in the gap between two checks. Push has no such gap, because the message is sent the moment the event happens, so it typically arrives in milliseconds (thousandths of a second). For trading, this is a big deal: on quick setups those wasted seconds can mean the price has already moved away from where you wanted to enter.
For slow, patient strategies where a few seconds make no difference, polling is perfectly acceptable. A common trap is assuming that a dashboard labeled real-time uses push, when behind the scenes it may simply be polling on a short timer.
Why it matters: Polling adds delay equal to its interval and can miss fast events between checks, while push delivers as the event happens.
Polling intervals add fixed latency to every signal and can skip fast moves entirely.
Real-world example
A client polling every 5 seconds can show a signal up to 5 seconds late; a pushed signal arrives in milliseconds.
How SignalBots handles it
SignalBots uses push delivery (webhooks and streaming) end to end so signals are not gated by a polling clock.
Pro tip
For time-sensitive trading insist on push delivery; reserve polling for slow, non-urgent data.
Common pitfalls
Assuming a 'real-time' dashboard is push when it is actually polling on a short timer behind the scenes.
Frequently asked questions
Is polling ever fine for signals?
Only for slow strategies where a few seconds do not matter. For scalping or OTC trading, push delivery is effectively required because polling adds delay on every alert.
How can I tell if a service uses push or polling?
Ask about end-to-end latency and how updates arrive. If a 'real-time' feed actually checks on a fixed timer of several seconds, it is polling, not true push.
Why is polling slower than push?
Because a signal that fires just after a check has to wait until the next check before your device notices it. That waiting time is added delay that push delivery does not have.
Does push delivery use more battery or data?
Not necessarily. Push systems are designed to wait quietly for events, which can be more efficient than polling that constantly asks the server whether anything is new.
Can polling miss a signal entirely?
Yes, if a fast event starts and ends in the gap between two checks. Push avoids this because the alert is sent the moment the event happens, with no gap to fall through.