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I was using Sierra charts but have switched to quantower. I want footprint charts and the ability for multiple brokers. Crypto is a plus. The problem for me is that quantower is a bit buggy still and footprint charts are limited. I have a beastly computer but when I have many charts open, Ninjatrader is very laggy
-Many brokers supported
-Add-on script extensibility
Charting and Performance - needless to say
I had some experience with Metastock, AmiBroker, Metatrader (the worst one), thinkorswim, TradeStation and NT7/8.
thinkorswim - I used years ago for stocks. Cool charting, fast even on potato laptop I used then. I didn't code back then so can't say about it.
TradeStation - EasyLanguage. I hate it.
I really like NT8, charts are great, easy to use, you can set everything you want. If need something more advanced, 95% of the time you can write own script.
NT forum is great place where every newbie can get answer for any question for free. It's good when you starts learning NinjaScript. They helped me a lot in the past.
However, what I really don't like is that they're pushing too hard on their brokerage, so not many brokers support NT anymore, especially if you wanna trade stocks.
It's only Ameritrade or IBKR. 2 brokers isn't too much.
And I don't like their strategy analyzer/optimizer. But I didn't see any platform that can do whatever I want. Currently I write my own analyzer/optimizer that uses NT8 data.
@Big Mike
IMO, Sierra vastly undercharges for what you receive.
I've demoed and own (gave them serious tries, not just a few days) NT8, MultiCharts, MotiveWave, and various CQG offerings- and I still cannot find a package as complete/extensible/configurable/customizable as Sierra.
The platform is rock solid, fast, and their support gets things done fast without fluff.
Exactly the same three choices as @bobwest! Seems like a popular combo on here...
I currently own NT and Amibroker. I have a love-hate relationship with NT though, the hate part is when I'm getting some strange bug in my code and when I reach out to support they reply with some pre-formulated newbie tips. I took a break from short term algo trading using NT and tried my hand at Amibroker for a more strategic, long-term style of trading. I like the ability to do portfolio-level backtesting, but was only able to apply it to daily data, since downloading intraday data is a bit tricky on Amibroker... Nonetheless, it never crashes and the code language is very powerful and concise once you get the hang of it (array based). Good value if you are not looking to day trade ES..
So far, I don't think anyone has mentioned our good olde friend TWS... I guess it counts as a trading platform for anyone who trades options to any extent (my case!). I would prefer to use TOS but the Ameritrade commissions would kill me. TWS is a clunky old beast that gobbles up your RAM and despite constant updating, it has not gotten any better over the years unfortunately. If anyone has any good suggestions for options trading platforms that can connect to IB, would appreciate hearing your experiences!
Innovation is the most important factor I look for. There's tons of platforms out there, and they all get the job done. It's when the market changes and they need to incorporate new features that really shows how good a platform is. Of course, extensibility plays a major factor here as well.
'Ease of use' has to be #1 because if you cannot use it, what good is it? TradingView is easy to use but support is just dreadful. About to start looking for replacement and thinking of SC. I like the spreadsheet functionality.
