Day trading, as the name suggests, involves making dozens of trades in a single day, based on technical analysis and charting systems. Day traders typically do not keep any positions overnight.

Swing trading is based on identifying swings in stocks, commodities, and currencies that take place over a period of days or weeks. Unlike a day trader, a swing trader keeps positions at least overnight, therefore margin requirements are higher. 

Day traders typically use short-term buy and sell signals while swing traders typically use trends and momentum indicators.