---
title: "Compute time"
description: "Compute time is how long a strategy's last backtest took, shown in the Compute column — a dash when it has never run, dimmed when the status reads Needs re-run."
canonical_url: "https://fincanva.com/glossary/compute-time"
last_updated: "2026-10-06"
md_url: "https://fincanva.com/glossary/compute-time.md"
---

# Compute time

Compute time is the computation time shown for a [strategy](/glossary/strategy)'s [backtest](/glossary/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when the strategy's [run status](/glossary/run-status) reads **Needs re-run**: a dimmed compute time comes from a superseded backtest.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](/glossary/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](/glossary/data-freshness-and-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](/glossary/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](/docs/account-security/what-each-plan-includes).

A larger share runs more of the same work at once: it buys no extra data, no further [allocation method](/glossary/allocation-and-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.

Fincanva is for education and illustration only. It is not personalised financial advice, and past or simulated results do not predict future ones. [Read the Terms Addendum](https://fincanva.com/terms/addendum#section-3)