4 automated trading development platforms for beginner to advanced traders

Over the weekend, I’ve dug into a few more automated trading development platforms. There are certainly many out there. This condensed comparison is based on my own experience, online research, or reading through their documentation. I only included the ones which I find to be the best for each different level of independent developers. We’ll start with the most basic and work our way up the food chain.

TradeStation

Pros: Easy to learn and implement. Large Community.

Cons: Legacy system. Require work-arounds for complex functions.

Who I think it’s for: Algorithmic, technical analysis (traditional indicators) trader. Light to no programming background.

www.tradestation.com

Ninja Trader

Pros: Free for development use. Modern GUI. Use of major programming language, C#. Good documentation and support.

Cons: Performance on the slow side. Proprietary API. Possible stability problem.

Who I think it’s for: Medium to high programming background. Low cost (free to develop or $50/month for trading), good for independent developer that has a long development time.

www.ninjatrader.com

OpenQuant

Pros: Good framework. Well built piece of software. Capable of advanced techniques. “Lite” version of professional quant software by QuantHouse.

Cons: Only 1 month of trial period. Documentation and support seems lacking.

Who I think it’s for: Good to Advanced programming skills.

www.openquant.com

Alphacet

Pros: Latest and greatest. Codeless development capability. Faster concept to deployment time.

Cons: Cost a fortune. Not tailored for independent developer.

Who I think it’s for: Really experienced ATS trader with deep pockets.

www.alphacet.com

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  3. Software design, trading development process, and Ikea
  4. What aspiring traders can learn from an Olympic athlete
  5. First look at Google App Engine for automated trading and quant analysis on the cloud

One Comment

  1. hl says:

    How much does Alphacet really cost?

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