# NautilusTrader

Rust core, Python API, one strategy that backtests and trades live unchanged.

*https://stockmarketstack.com/tools/nautilus-trader · Backtesting Frameworks & Algo Trading Libraries*

## Also covered on

- [NautilusTrader on CryptoMarkets.tools](https://cryptomarkets.tools/tools/nautilus-trader.md) — the funding settlement, margin model and mark price behind the crypto adapters

## Facts

### At a glance

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Vendor | Nautech Systems |
| Category | Backtesting Frameworks & Algo Trading Libraries |
| Job | live_trading |
| Website | https://nautilustrader.io |
| Pricing model | subscription |
| Free tier | true |
| Open source | true |
| Licence | LGPL-3.0-only |
| Self-hosted | true |
| Tested hands-on | false |
| Last updated | 2026-09-14 |

### Pricing

| Tier | USD | Period |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Open source | 0 USD | month |
| Pro | on request | month |
| Institutional | on request | month |

### Coverage

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Asset classes | crypto, futures, forex, stocks, options, commodities |
| Markets | us, global |
| Works outside the US | true |
| Data latency | none |
| Platforms | library |
| AI features | none |

### Interfaces

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| API | false |
| Webhooks | false |
| Scripting | Python |
| Python | true |
| Spreadsheet add-in | false |
| MCP server | false |
| Export | parquet, json |

### Capabilities

Yes: backtesting, automation, live_trading, paper_trading, options_analysis

No: charting, screening, scanning, portfolio_tracking, broker_import, tax_reporting, alerts, news

*Verified: pricing 2026-09-14; capabilities 2026-09-14; coverage 2026-09-14.*

## What it is

An event-driven trading engine with a Rust core and a Python strategy API. The selling point is
parity: the same `Strategy` subclass runs against the backtest matching engine and against a live
venue, so there is no rewrite between research and production.

It is a library, not a product — no chart, no screener, no GUI. You write Python, point the engine
at a Parquet catalog or an adapter, and read the result back as a pandas report. Python 3.12–3.14.

The project is mid-rewrite, and that decides which version you get. **1.231.0**, released 2 August
2026, is the last feature release of the Cython v1 line and the last stable release of anything;
its branch has taken no commit since. Everything now lands on the Rust/PyO3 v2 line, which is at
**2.0.0rc4** of 2 September 2026 — the twenty most recent commits on `develop` all fall on 13 and
14 September 2026. So the cadence is fast and the stable build is frozen at the same time.

## Pricing

The engine costs nothing and is not crippled. Nautech Systems, a self-funded Sydney company,
monetises around it. **Pro** is a subscription of Docker images adding dashboards, zero-copy IPC,
pre-built execution algorithms (VWAP, POV, Iceberg, Sniper) and a risk engine — waitlist-only, no
published price. **Cloud** is announced but "under active development". **Institutional** is a
support contract you qualify for by trading size, not by asking.

## Data & coverage

None of its own. Bars, ticks and order-book deltas come from whatever you connect — Databento for
US equities and CME futures, Tardis for crypto history, or the venue's own feed — and the data
bill is yours.

## Integrations

Nineteen adapters, all marked stable, and the balance matters. Fourteen are crypto: Binance,
Bybit, OKX, Coinbase, Kraken, BitMEX, Deribit, dYdX, Hyperliquid, Lighter, Lighter on Robinhood,
Derive, plus Blockchain and Tardis for data. The other five are Interactive Brokers, Databento,
Betfair, Polymarket and AX, a Bermuda-licensed derivatives exchange listing perpetuals on FX,
equity, metal, energy and treasury underlyings. Nine order types, emulated locally where a venue
lacks them, plus Black-Scholes Greeks and option chains.

That nineteen is the documented count, which tracks v2. The 1.231.0 wheel ships fourteen adapter
packages: Coinbase, Blockchain, Derive, Lighter and Lighter on Robinhood are in the v2 tree only.
Nothing non-crypto is affected — Interactive Brokers, Databento, Betfair, Polymarket and AX are in
both.

## Limitations

- **Cash equities and listed futures execution means Interactive Brokers or nothing.** Databento
  is data-only; AX lists perpetuals on equity and commodity underlyings, not the instruments
  themselves; everything else is crypto, sports betting or prediction markets.
- **LGPL-3.0, not MIT.** Linking is fine; shipping a modified engine inside a closed
  product is not, without publishing the changes. One wrinkle if a lawyer is reading: 1.231.0
  declares `LGPL-3.0-or-later`, while the v2 tree's `pyproject.toml` and `Cargo.toml` both say
  `LGPL-3.0-only`. The LICENSE file is the plain LGPLv3 text in both.
- **Neither line is a comfortable live-trading choice today.** The migration guide gives
  `develop_v1` critical security backports only, for about three months from the v2 cutover, and
  the README says release candidates are "not recommended in production environments, such as live
  trading controlling real capital". Both packages import as `nautilus_trader`, so they cannot
  share a virtual environment.
- **Porting to v2 is not free.** Module paths moved and the strategy callbacks were renamed —
  `on_quote_tick` to `on_quote`, `on_order_book_deltas` to `on_book_deltas`, and so on down a
  table in `MIGRATION_V2.md`.
- No dashboard, monitoring UI or alerting in the open-source build — that is what Pro sells, and
  the Pro page still footnotes its own dashboard as under development.
- Steep for a first framework, and a Rust toolchain to build from source.

## Alternatives

[Backtrader](https://stockmarketstack.com/tools/backtrader) and [VectorBT](https://stockmarketstack.com/tools/vectorbt) if you never intend to route an order. Freqtrade or Hummingbot for
crypto-only automation with far less ceremony. [QuantConnect](https://stockmarketstack.com/tools/quantconnect) LEAN for the same backtest-to-live
parity with hosted data and execution attached. The rest of the
[backtesting and algo frameworks](https://stockmarketstack.com/categories/backtesting-frameworks) are here.

## FAQ

### Which version should I install for live trading?

Neither is comfortable right now. 1.231.0 is the last stable release and the only line the project does not warn you off, but it is feature-frozen and ships fourteen of the nineteen documented adapters. The v2 line has all nineteen and is where every commit goes, and the README says release candidates are not recommended in production environments such as live trading controlling real capital. Both packages install and import under the name nautilus_trader, so they need separate virtual environments.

### Is NautilusTrader free?

The engine is, under LGPL-3.0, and nothing is held back from it — the backtester, the live trading node and every venue adapter are in the open-source package. Nautech Systems sells a separate Pro subscription of Docker images (dashboards, zero-copy IPC, pre-built execution and risk engines) and an Institutional support relationship. Neither publishes a price; Pro is a waitlist and Institutional is an email address.

### Can NautilusTrader trade US stocks?

Yes, but through exactly one adapter — Interactive Brokers, which routes equities, options, futures, FX and bonds via TWS or IB Gateway. The Databento adapter covers US equities and CME futures for data only and ships no execution client, so it has to be paired with IB or a sandbox.

### How much of the venue coverage is crypto?

Most of it. Of the nineteen documented adapters, fourteen are crypto — seven centralised exchanges, five DEXs and two crypto data providers. The rest are Interactive Brokers, Databento, Betfair, Polymarket and AX, a Bermuda-licensed derivatives exchange whose production catalogue is perpetual contracts on FX, equity, metal, energy and treasury underlyings. IB is the only route to cash equities and listed futures.

### Is the project still maintained?

Yes, and heavily. The twenty most recent commits on the develop branch all fall on 13 and 14 September 2026, the repository is not archived, and it carries 28,905 stars against 115 open issues and 14 open pull requests. The caveat is the version split — 1.231.0 of 2 August 2026 is the last feature release of the Cython v1 line, which now lives on the develop_v1 branch and has taken no commit since that release; the migration guide gives it critical security backports only, for about three months from the v2 cutover. The Rust/PyO3 v2 line is still a release candidate, 2.0.0rc4 of 2 September 2026.

## Also worth comparing

- [Lumibot](https://stockmarketstack.com/tools/lumibot.md) — One strategy class for backtest and live, plus a built-in LLM agent runtime.
- [StockSharp](https://stockmarketstack.com/tools/stocksharp.md) — C#/.NET algo stack with 384 connectors; source is published but no longer open source.
- [ib_async](https://stockmarketstack.com/tools/ib-async.md) — The community continuation of ib_insync — same API, new maintainers, TWS still required.
- [Composer](https://stockmarketstack.com/tools/composer.md) — No-code rule-based stock and ETF strategies, backtested and then traded for real.
- [QuantConnect](https://stockmarketstack.com/tools/quantconnect.md) — The open-source LEAN engine, plus a hosted cloud that runs it against real brokers.
- [QuantRocket](https://stockmarketstack.com/tools/quantrocket.md) — Zipline and Moonshot in Docker on your own hardware, wired to Interactive Brokers.

## Named as a replacement for

- [Quantopian](https://stockmarketstack.com/alternatives/quantopian.md)