Liquidity bridge vs liquidity aggregator
A liquidity bridge connects your liquidity providers to your trading platforms; a liquidity aggregator combines quotes from several providers into one price. Most modern bridges aggregate as part of the job, so for most brokers the question is not which one to buy, but whether your bridge aggregates well.
Bridge and aggregator, compared
The words get used loosely, and many products are both. This is what each one means when it is used precisely.
- Main jobLiquidity bridge:Connects liquidity providers to trading platforms and delivers prices (and, in some products, orders) between themLiquidity aggregator:Combines quotes for the same instrument from several LPs into one book or one best price
- Where it sitsLiquidity bridge:Between your LPs and every platform you run: MT4, MT5, web terminals, FIX clientsLiquidity aggregator:Inside a bridge, inside a platform, or as a separate engine in front of one
- Works with one LPLiquidity bridge:Yes: it still maps symbols, applies markups and feeds your platformsLiquidity aggregator:Not really: with one LP there is nothing to combine
- Symbol mappingLiquidity bridge:Yes: each LP’s names to each platform’s namesLiquidity aggregator:Usually not its job
- Markups per platform or groupLiquidity bridge:Yes, usually per platform or client groupLiquidity aggregator:Sometimes, often left to the bridge or platform
- Failover when an LP stops quotingLiquidity bridge:Yes, as part of aggregation or priority routingLiquidity aggregator:Yes, that is part of combining
- Delivery to MetaTraderLiquidity bridge:Yes, through datafeeds or gatewaysLiquidity aggregator:Only if it is part of a bridge or platform
- Monitoring and alertsLiquidity bridge:Usually: connection status, stale feeds, alertsLiquidity aggregator:Usually limited to the quotes it combines
Which one do you need?
It depends on how many LPs and platforms you run, not on the label a vendor uses.
You need a bridge when
Your LPs and your platforms speak different names and protocols, you run more than one platform, or you want your own spreads per platform. Even with one LP, a bridge does the mapping, markups and delivery.
You need aggregation when
You have two or more LPs for the same instruments and want the best price, or a backup that takes over when one stops quoting. That is a feature you want inside your bridge, not usually a separate product.
You need a separate aggregator when
You run a large institutional desk that merges full order books with volume from many venues, often next to its own matching engine. Most retail brokers and prop firms never reach that point.
How a bridge with aggregation works
In a bridge that aggregates, every price goes through the same four steps before a client sees it.
- 01
Connect
Each LP has its own FIX or TCP session, heartbeat and reconnect.
- 02
Map
Every LP symbol is mapped once to a universal symbol, whatever the LP calls it.
- 03
Aggregate
Per symbol: one LP, the best bid and ask across LPs, or a priority order with failover.
- 04
Mark up and deliver
Each platform gets its own spreads and symbol names, over its own datafeed or protocol.
In XiroLink
XiroLink is a bridge with aggregation built in
Choose per symbol between one maker, best bid and ask across makers, or priority with automatic failover. Stale quotes drop out, LP comparison shows which provider earns its place, and the result is marked up per taker and delivered to MT4, MT5, web terminals and FIX clients.
For the aggregation modes in detail, read liquidity aggregation explained. For the bridge itself, start with what a liquidity bridge is, or see how to choose a liquidity bridge provider.
Sigue leyendo
Qué es un puente de liquidez
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Cuándo basta con un gateway, cuándo necesitas un puente y cómo funcionan juntos.
Leer la guíaCosto de un puente de liquidez
Fijo, por volumen o ambos: cómo se cobran los puentes, con una calculadora.
Leer la guíaBridge and aggregator questions
What is the difference between a liquidity bridge and a liquidity aggregator?
A liquidity bridge connects liquidity providers to trading platforms: it maps symbols, applies markups and delivers prices to MT4, MT5, web and FIX clients. An aggregator combines quotes for the same instrument from several LPs into one best price or book. Most modern bridges include aggregation, so for most brokers it is one product, not two.
Is a liquidity aggregator the same as a liquidity bridge?
No, but they overlap. Aggregation is one job a bridge can do. A bridge also handles connections, symbol names, spreads, delivery to platforms and monitoring, which an aggregator on its own does not.
Do I need both a bridge and an aggregator?
Usually not. If your bridge aggregates per symbol, with best price and failover, you have both in one. A separate aggregator makes sense mainly for institutional desks merging full order books from many venues.
What is a liquidity bridge aggregator?
A bridge with aggregation built in: it connects several LPs, combines their quotes per symbol into one clean price, applies your markups and delivers it to every platform. XiroLink is one.
How much does an FX liquidity aggregation platform cost?
Vendors charge a flat monthly fee, a fee per million traded, or both. XiroLink includes aggregation in every plan at a flat monthly price from $799, with no volume fees; extra LP connections are $200 a month each.
Ve XiroLink con tu propio feed
Conectamos un puente de demostración a precios de LP simulados o reales y te lo mostramos paso a paso; luego configuramos el tuyo contigo.