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.
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.
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.
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.
Related posts:
- My thoughts and goals on automated trading a year later
- From Object Oriented Programming to Object Oriented Design
- First look at Google App Engine for automated trading and quant analysis on the cloud
- Departed TradeStation and going the Ninja Trader path
- Starting to use MatLab for quantitative finance
My name is Paul and I am a full-time engineer, part-time trader. Back in 2000, I deposited my $5000 interest-free student loan with an online broker. Since then, my interest in trading has become an obsession.
One Comment
How much does Alphacet really cost?