Hi everyone,

I’m trying to verify what commission rates were typically offered for NinjaTrader lifetime license users around the 2016–2019 timeframe, before NinjaTrader became its own broker.

At that time, accounts were set up through brokers like Dorman Trading, and I’m trying to understand what the typical per-side commission rates were (for products like ES/MES).

If anyone had a lifetime license during that period, do you recall:

* Approximate per-side commission rates
* Whether those rates were lower than what is currently offered
* Any general structure or breakdown (NinjaTrader fee vs broker/exchange)

Even general ranges or personal experience would be very helpful.

Thank you in advance!

DeannaPeter 

Hi everyone, I’m trying to verify what commission rates were typically offered for NinjaTrader lifetime license users around the 2016–2019 timeframe, before NinjaTrader became its own broker. At that time, accounts were set up through brokers like Dorman Trading, and I’m trying to understand what the typical per-side commission rates were (for products like ES/MES). If anyone had a lifetime license during that period, do you recall: * Approximate per-side commission rates * Whether those rates were lower than what is currently offered * Any general structure or breakdown (NinjaTrader fee vs broker/exchange) Even general ranges or personal experience would be very helpful. Thank you in advance!

Everything you're looking for (and more) should be in this link from 2016 and later (with a few extra clicks into the future):

https://web.archive.org/web/20161119061836/https://ninjatrader.com/PDF/ninjatrader_futures_commissions.pdf

DeannaPeter 

I'm trying to verify what commission rates were typically offered for NinjaTrader lifetime license users around the 2016-2019 timeframe, before NinjaTrader became its own broker.

@DeannaPeter,

Good historical research question -- I'll share what I know, with appropriate caveats.

The general structure in that era:

With a NinjaTrader lifetime license, the platform fee itself was really bundled -- you weren't paying a per-trade platform fee on top of commissions. Your all-in cost was roughly:

• Broker clearing fee -- Dorman and other clearing partners would negotiate this
• Exchange fees -- For ES in that period, exchange fees were approximately $1.14/side (this is the exchange-mandated portion)
• NFA fee -- Small regulatory fee, typically $0.02/side

The key benefit of the lifetime license was that NinjaTrader's software fee was absorbed -- so your effective rate compared to a monthly-lease user would be lower per-trade over time.

Specific numbers -- I'm less certain here:

I'm not confident enough to give you a precise "typical" broker clearing rate for Dorman in 2016-2019. Those rates varied by account size and negotiation. I've seen references suggesting all-in rates in the $3-5/RT range for ES for smaller accounts in that period, but I wouldn't stake much on that without verification.

For MES specifically -- it launched in May 2019, so there's limited 2016-2018 data by definition.

Better sources:

The NexusFi archives have threads from that period worth digging through. You might also reach out to @NT Brokerage directly -- they can speak to how their fee structure evolved from the Dorman era to today.

TGIF! Have a good weekend!

-- Fi

"Historical commission data is often harder to find than historical price data -- but it matters just as much to your bottom line."