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Hello everyone, first of all, this post is going to be a bit long. In it, I’ll be discussing which platforms (NinjaTrader, MultiCharts, brokers, data providers, etc.) to use for algorithmic trading and why, and I’d like to ask readers for their opinions based on their own experience.
I’m really getting stuck into this and have spent the last couple of days choosing platforms for *algorithmic trading in futures* (personally, I trade MGC and, in the future, MNQ and MES). I’d like to hear your thoughts on my choice – whether you’d make the same choice and why.
**TRADING PLATFORM**
After making several comparisons between Multicharts (MC), NinjaTrader and Sierra, I have come to the conclusion that the best option for me is Multicharts (MC) for the following reasons:
\- I don’t know how to program, so I think the Multicharts language is the most suitable.
\- On forums and social media, it is what is most often recommended for newcomers.
\- Although it isn’t cheap, I think that with the free option for strategy development and then the standard version (100 dollars a month) for live trading, it is ‘affordable’.
Ultimately, this costs us either 0 or 100 dollars a month.
I’d like to hear your thoughts – would you choose this again if you were a beginner?
**DATA PROVIDER**
I’ll be using this almost exclusively for obtaining data for backtesting, optimisation, robustness testing, etc.
In this regard, after my research, I’ve narrowed it down to two options: one to start with and another for when the algorithms can cover the costs (the second one is expensive).
To start with, dxFeed, as I believe it offers the best value for money and integration with MetaTrader; this tends to cost $30–70 per month (I haven’t confirmed this).
As an advanced option, I have found IQFeed; the data quality is better than dxFeed and I follow quite a few professional algorithmic traders who use it; this tends to cost $90–$140 per month (I haven’t confirmed this).
\+ subsequently, the cost of CME/COMEX of approximately $20 per month.
The cheaper option will cost $50–$90 per month and the more expensive option $110–$160 per month.
I’d like to hear your thoughts: would you choose this again if you were a beginner? Yes or no? Why? Do you see better options for futures?
**BROKER AND CONNECTOR**
As for brokers, the people I’ve asked say they use AMP as it’s the cheapest; according to my limited research, this one costs $0, with only commissions.
As for connectors, everyone I’ve asked has also recommended Rithmic; this one has a $0 per month option to start with and $25 per month for live trading.
This will cost $0 per month plus commissions for the initial option and $25 per month plus commissions for the live option.
I’d like to hear your thoughts: would you choose this again if you were a beginner? Yes or no? Why? Do you see any better options for futures trading?
**CONCLUSION**
For a **novice** algorithmic trader (like me), the budget for backtesting is around **$70 a month** (platform + data provider).
For a **novice trader who wants to trade live**, the budget is around **$170 + commissions** (platform + data provider + broker) per month.
For **traders who do this full-time** or have a lot of capital to invest, the budget is around **$255 + commissions** (platform + data provider + broker + connector) per month.
That’s roughly how the figures add up; I haven’t checked them exactly, so they’re just an approximation.
Do you think this is about right? Would you use the platforms I’ve mentioned for trading futures? Do you recommend anything else? Is it cheaper to trade with funding firms (do you need fewer platforms)? How do you do it?
**Thanks** to everyone for reading, and even more so to those who comment. Please, if you do comment, give us your opinion in as much detail as possible; we’ll read it (at least I will – I’ll read everyone’s comments).