Trading platforms: the full list and my rating
I've gathered the platforms traders come across: from order flow tools for futures, through charting and institutional terminals, to CFD broker platforms. For each one I explain what it is, what data it runs on and what I think of it. 37 entries in 7 groups.
The most important rule: a platform only shows the data it receives. The best footprint built on a CFD broker's tick volume is still an estimate, while a plain order book from the CME is real.
Order flow platforms for futures
Sierra Chart I use it
A US charting and trading platform, very fast and highly configurable: footprint (Numbers Bars), volume profile and TPO, order book history, custom studies in C++.
Markets and data: futures (CME, Eurex and others), stocks; tick-by-tick exchange data
My take: This is what I work with. Ugly and hard to start with, but fast, stable and it calculates exactly what it receives from the exchange.
ATAS Recommended
A platform focused purely on order flow: cluster charts (footprint), Smart DOM, Smart Tape, Big Trades, volume profile and delta.
Markets and data: futures, stocks, crypto (you connect your own data feed)
My take: One of the best platforms for learning order flow. Friendlier than Sierra, but heavier with lots of charts open.
NinjaTrader 8 I use it
A popular futures platform with free charting and simulation, a paid licence for live trading and a huge add-on market (NinjaScript, C#). It also has its own order flow tools.
Markets and data: futures (mainly CME), NinjaTrader brokerage
My take: I use it as a second perspective alongside Sierra: a different set of order flow tools on the same market. Good for beginners too. Just watch out for paid add-ons promising signals.
Bookmap Recommended
A liquidity heatmap: it shows the history of limit orders in the book over time, and trades as bubbles.
Markets and data: futures, stocks, crypto
My take: The best way to see liquidity appear and disappear. A great complement, though it won't replace a full platform.
Jigsaw Trading (daytradr) Recommended
Tools for reading the order book and the tape (DOM, time and sales, reconstruction of large orders) plus plenty of educational material.
Markets and data: futures
My take: Very good for learning to read the tape and the DOM. Fewer charts, more craft.
Quantower Recommended
A multi-asset terminal with many connections (futures brokers, crypto exchanges), footprint, volume profile and DOM Surface.
Markets and data: futures, stocks, crypto
My take: A sensible, modern alternative, especially if you have several accounts with different providers.
MotiveWave Single purpose
A platform combining order flow tools with extensive technical analysis, including elaborate Elliott Wave tools.
Markets and data: futures, forex, stocks
My take: The order flow side is fine, but the focus on Elliott isn't my direction.
Investor/RT Single purpose
An older, lesser-known platform with very good Market Profile (TPO) and volume profile.
Markets and data: futures, stocks
My take: A classic for Market Profile fans. Today there are more convenient tools with the same features.
Volumetrica Trading Single purpose
An order flow platform tied to prop firm offerings, with a footprint, profiles and a heatmap.
Markets and data: futures
My take: The order flow features are there, but I treat the prop challenge model with caution.
Futures broker platforms and exchange access
Rithmic R|Trader Pro Single purpose
A simple trading terminal from Rithmic, one of the main providers of data and order routing for futures markets.
Markets and data: futures
My take: Enough for placing orders and monitoring positions. For analysis you connect Rithmic to a better platform.
CQG (QTrader, CQG Desktop) Single purpose
A professional provider of futures data and trading infrastructure, with its own terminals.
Markets and data: futures, options on futures
My take: Solid infrastructure with real data. The terminals are functional, but not built for comfortable order flow work.
Trading Technologies (TT) I don't need it
A professional trading platform used by trading firms and futures market makers, with a very fast DOM.
Markets and data: futures
My take: Excellent, but built for firms. For a retail trader it usually isn't worth what it costs.
Interactive Brokers (TWS, IBKR Desktop) Single purpose
The platform of a large broker with access to many exchanges worldwide, including CME futures from Europe.
Markets and data: stocks, ETFs, futures, options, bonds; note: it also offers CFDs
My take: Honest access to real exchanges, including from Poland. The charts and order flow are weak, so you use a different platform for analysis.
Tradovate Single purpose
A web and mobile futures broker platform (part of the NinjaTrader group), with subscription plans instead of per-contract commissions.
Markets and data: futures
My take: Convenient and simple, runs in the browser. Not enough for order flow.
TradeStation Single purpose
A US broker and platform with its own EasyLanguage for testing and automating strategies.
Markets and data: stocks, options, futures (mainly US clients)
My take: Good for systems and backtesting. Less accessible from Europe and not for reading order flow.
thinkorswim (Charles Schwab) Single purpose
A feature-rich US broker platform with good options tools.
Markets and data: stocks, options, futures (US clients)
My take: Strong in options. Practically unavailable from Poland.
NanoTrader (WH SelfInvest) Single purpose
A European broker's platform with futures and CFD trading and an order flow module.
Markets and data: futures, CFDs, forex
My take: Order flow only makes sense on futures, not on CFDs from the same platform.
TopstepX, ProjectX and prop firm platforms I don't need it
Platforms supplied by prop firms for trading challenge accounts.
Markets and data: futures (simulated challenge accounts)
My take: The problem isn't the platform but the challenge model. I describe it in my article on prop trading.
Charts, analysis and data
TradingView Single purpose
The most popular browser charts: thousands of indicators, the Pine Script language, a community and broker integrations.
Markets and data: almost every market; real-time exchange data paid separately
My take: For a quick chart, markets worldwide and notes: excellent. For reading order flow and the order book: not enough.
Investing.com Single purpose
A site with quotes, an economic calendar and news.
Markets and data: delayed or indicative data
My take: A good macro calendar and a quick overview. I treat the quotes as indicative.
Stooq Single purpose
A Polish site with quotes and free historical data to download.
Markets and data: Warsaw Stock Exchange, indices, currencies, commodities
My take: Useful free historical data for simple analysis.
Finviz Single purpose
A scanner and market map for US stocks.
Markets and data: US stocks
My take: The fastest picture of what's happening in US stocks. Not for futures.
Koyfin Single purpose
Fundamental data, macro charts and instrument comparisons in the browser.
Markets and data: stocks, ETFs, macro
My take: A good, cheaper stand-in for a terminal for macro and company analysis.
Barchart Single purpose
Quotes, futures contracts, curves and options data.
Markets and data: futures, stocks, options
My take: A handy overview of contracts and rollovers. The data is mostly indicative.
ProRealTime Single purpose
A charting and automation platform popular in Europe, often bundled with a CFD broker.
Markets and data: stocks, indices, forex, CFDs
My take: Decent charts, but you usually end up there through a CFD broker.
TrendSpider I don't need it
Charts with automatic drawing of trend lines and patterns, plus scanners.
Markets and data: stocks, crypto, forex
My take: It automates tools I don't trust anyway: lines, patterns, signals.
Institutional terminals
Bloomberg Terminal I don't need it
The standard for financial institutions: data from all markets, news, analysis, Bloomberg messaging and trading tools.
Markets and data: all markets, reference data, news
My take: The best source of information in the world, but it costs tens of thousands of dollars a year per seat. You don't need it to day trade a single contract.
LSEG Workspace (formerly Refinitiv Eikon) I don't need it
Bloomberg's main competitor: data, Reuters news, analysis.
Markets and data: all markets
My take: The same league and the same conclusion as for Bloomberg.
FactSet I don't need it
A data and analytics platform for asset managers and analysts.
Markets and data: stocks, fundamentals, portfolios
My take: A tool for a fund analyst, not a day trader.
CFD and forex broker platforms
MetaTrader 4 and MetaTrader 5 I avoid it
MetaQuotes platforms that forex and CFD brokers give their clients: charts, indicators and automated trading (Expert Advisors, MQL).
Markets and data: forex and CFDs at a specific broker; tick volume
My take: It's a window onto a CFD broker's offering, not onto an exchange. Tick volume and no central order book: order flow doesn't exist here.
cTrader I avoid it
Spotware's platform, an alternative to MetaTrader at some forex and CFD brokers.
Markets and data: forex, CFDs
My take: Nicer than MetaTrader, but the same model: a contract with your broker.
xStation 5 (XTB) I avoid it
The in-house platform of the Polish brokerage XTB, with CFDs, stocks and ETFs.
Markets and data: CFDs, stocks, ETFs
My take: The platform is polished, but CFD trading isn't my world. I show how many clients lose in my CFD broker ranking.
Plus500, eToro and CFD app platforms I avoid it
Simple CFD trading apps, often with copy trading.
Markets and data: CFDs, stocks (depending on the offering)
My take: A simple app plus leverage is the combination on which most clients lose. Details in my CFD broker ranking.
Backtesting, systems and programming
MultiCharts Single purpose
A platform for trading systems, compatible with EasyLanguage, with backtesting and optimisation.
Markets and data: futures, stocks, forex
My take: Fine for testing ideas. Remember that optimisation easily overfits to the past.
AmiBroker Single purpose
A fast backtesting and scanning program with its own AFL language.
Markets and data: any data you load
My take: Very fast for research on historical data. The result depends on the quality of the data.
Python and QuantConnect Single purpose
Programming your own analyses and tests: data and statistics libraries, or a ready-made cloud for backtesting.
Markets and data: any data
My take: I analyse tick-by-tick session data in Python myself. It's the best way to test an idea on numbers rather than on examples.
Crypto and other markets
Exocharts, TradingLite, Coinalyze Single purpose
Tools for footprint charts, heatmaps and positioning data in crypto markets.
Markets and data: crypto (data from individual exchanges)
My take: Better than candles, but the crypto market is split across many exchanges without a single order book. It's not the same as the CME.
Related
- Exchange or CFD broker: the difference between a market and a price list
- Volume, delta and “order flow” in forex and CFDs
- Tools I Don't Trust
- CFD brokers and prop firms under the microscope
Frequently asked questions
Which platform is best for order flow?
For futures: Sierra Chart, ATAS, NinjaTrader, Bookmap, Jigsaw or Quantower. Real exchange data matters more than the choice of program.
Which platform do you use?
Sierra Chart as my main platform and NinjaTrader as a second perspective, with paid CME data, trade by trade.
Is TradingView enough?
For charts, yes. For reading the order book and a tick-by-tick footprint, no.
Is MetaTrader suitable for order flow?
No. In forex and CFDs it shows the broker's tick volume, not orders from a central market.
Do I need a Bloomberg Terminal?
Not for day trading a single contract. It's an institutional tool that costs tens of thousands of dollars a year.
Educational content and my personal opinion, not an investment recommendation. Features, pricing and availability change: check the current information with the vendor before deciding. Product names belong to their owners.