Compute time is the computation time shown for a strategy's backtest — how long the engine took to produce its latest result — in the Compute column of your strategies list. It is a read on how much work a backtest needed, not a quality or performance metric: a setup that has already been computed returns in a fraction of a second.
Also seen as: computation time, run time
How does Fincanva handle it?
- The Compute column shows the time of the last backtest, or a dash (
—) when a strategy has not been run yet. - The value is dimmed when the strategy's run status reads Needs re-run: a dimmed compute time comes from a superseded backtest.
- One result is computed per distinct setup and reused (shared compute), so a strategy whose exact setup has already been calculated returns almost at once instead of running from scratch.
- A result is reused only while it is still current, so a strategy that was instant yesterday may compute in full today, once new market data has advanced the data frontier.
What does it look like in practice?
You duplicate a strategy without changing anything and run the copy. Because its configuration is identical to the original — which has already been computed — Fincanva serves that existing result rather than recomputing it, and the Compute column shows a near-instant time. Change a single setting on the copy, such as its rebalance frequency, and it no longer matches any existing result: the next backtest computes fresh, and its compute time reflects the full work.
Does a higher plan compute faster?
Up to a point, and it is about waiting rather than about what a strategy may do. Compute power is how much of one simulation Fincanva computes at the same time, and your plan sets it.
Set by your plan: 4 on Free and Starter, 8 on Advanced and 16 on Ultimate and Professional. See what each plan includes.
A larger share runs more of the same work at once: it buys no extra data, no further allocation method and no longer history, so nothing about the strategy or the period behind the result changes with your plan. It is not a promise about how long a backtest takes, either: the strategy, the period covered and how busy the service is decide that — and a setup that has already been computed comes back from shared compute in a fraction of a second whatever your plan.