# NinjaTrader

Windows futures platform with C# strategy scripting and order-flow charting.

*https://stockmarketstack.com/tools/ninjatrader · Stock Charting Platforms & Screeners*

## Facts

### At a glance

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Vendor | NinjaTrader |
| Category | Stock Charting Platforms & Screeners |
| Job | execution |
| Website | https://ninjatrader.com |
| Pricing model | subscription |
| Free tier | true |
| Open source | false |
| Licence | none |
| Self-hosted | false |
| Tested hands-on | false |
| Last updated | 2026-09-14 |

### Pricing

| Tier | USD | Period |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Free | 0 USD | month |
| Monthly | 99 USD | month |
| Lifetime | 1499 USD | one-time |
| Multi-Broker add-on | 99 USD | month |

### Coverage

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Asset classes | futures, stocks, forex |
| Markets | us, eu |
| Works outside the US | true |
| Data latency | realtime |
| Platforms | web, ios, android, desktop_win |
| AI features | none |

### Interfaces

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| API | false |
| Webhooks | false |
| Scripting | C# |
| Python | false |
| Spreadsheet add-in | false |
| MCP server | false |

### Capabilities

Yes: charting, scanning, backtesting, automation, live_trading, paper_trading, alerts

No: screening, portfolio_tracking, broker_import, tax_reporting, news, options_analysis

*Verified: pricing 2026-09-14; capabilities 2026-09-13; coverage 2026-09-13.*

## What it is

NinjaTrader is a Windows desktop platform built around futures execution: chart trading, a
SuperDOM, and the Order Flow+ volumetric, delta and volume-profile tools. Strategies are written
in NinjaScript, a C# dialect compiled inside the platform, which also builds indicators, custom
bar types and whole add-on windows; a Strategy Builder generates the same code for people who do
not write C#. The Strategy Analyzer backtests them with optimisation, walk-forward, Monte Carlo
and multi-instrument basket runs.

The Market Analyzer is a live quote grid that ranks and filters instruments against conditions
you build, and it is a scanner, not an equities screener — there is no fundamental data behind
it. Payward, Kraken's parent, bought the group in 2025 — the clearing arm now also does business
as Kraken Derivatives US and Tradovate — and the platform still ships as before.

## Pricing

The software is free to run. What varies is the commission: $0.39 per side on a Micro contract
on the Free plan, $0.29 at $99 a month, $0.09 on the $1,499 lifetime licence. Lifetime pays back
the monthly plan's platform fee in about fifteen months; against the Free plan there is no fee to
recover at all, only the 30-cent-a-side Micro gap, which takes roughly 2,500 round turns to close.

None of those is the all-in number. Every fill also carries a $0.19 clearing fee plus exchange and
NFA fees, and the sundries are per-contract too — Rithmic routing $0.25, CQG Desktop $0.25, the
static SuperDOM $0.10 for its Trading Technologies licence, third-party technology integrations
$0.05 to $0.25 and sometimes a $10 monthly usage fee on top.

Exchange data is separate and per their fee schedule: CME non-professional top-of-book is $4 a
month per exchange or $12 for all four, full depth $16 per exchange or $48 for all four;
professionals pay $156 per exchange. Eurex is $26 non-professional and $99 professional.

## Data & coverage

NinjaTrader's own brokerage covers CME, CBOT, NYMEX, COMEX, ICE US, MGE, Eurex, Bitnomial and
Coinbase Derivatives futures. Stocks, forex and CFDs exist only through a third-party broker
connection, which means the $99-a-month add-on.

## Integrations

Desktop connects to Interactive Brokers, CQG, FOREX.com / City Index and FXCM for execution, and
to Accelpix, Cedro, eSignal, Global Datafeeds, IQFeed, Kinetick, Lenz + Partner, Portara and
TrueData for data — all of it behind the $99-a-month Multi-Broker add-on. Kinetick end-of-day
data for stocks, futures and forex comes with any real-time or historical plan.

A NinjaTrader Brokerage account can also be traded from TradingView's charts, which the pricing
page lists among the third-party integrations every plan includes. The ATI accepts trade signals
from outside applications, but its own documentation calls it "NOT a full blown brokerage/market
data API"; the REST and WebSocket API the company does publish is NinjaTrader Connect, sold as
brokerage infrastructure to partner platforms rather than to traders.

## Limitations

- Windows only. The web and mobile clients trade and chart; they do not run NinjaScript.
- Real-time data, Market Replay, Order Flow+ and the Pulse indicator stay locked until a live
  account is funded. Any deposit above $0 counts — ACH and debit transfers have a $5 minimum —
  and they switch off again at the next renewal if the balance returns to zero. Charting,
  backtesting and the simulator need neither funding nor a clock; a new account also gets a
  14-day trial of streaming live data.
- The News window is empty unless you subscribe to a news service through a vendor or broker.
- No portfolio tracking, no tax reporting, no options analytics.

## Alternatives

[Sierra Chart](https://stockmarketstack.com/tools/sierra-chart) is cheaper and uglier and its scripting is C++. [Quantower](https://stockmarketstack.com/tools/quantower) and ATAS cover the same
order-flow ground with more brokers. [MotiveWave](https://stockmarketstack.com/tools/motivewave) sells a perpetual licence for people who want
Elliott Wave tooling instead. TradeStation bundles the broker the same way, with equities.

Compare it against the rest of the [charting platforms and screeners](https://stockmarketstack.com/categories/charting-screeners).

## FAQ

### Is NinjaTrader really free?

The software is. Charting, backtesting, the simulator and technical analysis cost nothing on the Free plan, and you pay in commissions — $0.39 per side on a Micro contract instead of $0.09 on the $1,499 lifetime plan. Exchange data is billed separately on every plan, and a Free-plan account that logs in but places no live trade in 30 days is charged a $35 activity fee.

### Do I have to use NinjaTrader's own brokerage?

No, but it costs $99 a month. The desktop platform connects to Interactive Brokers, CQG, FOREX.com and others, and to data feeds including IQFeed, Kinetick and eSignal, through a Multi-Broker add-on sold at that price. Everything in the headline plan pricing applies only to accounts cleared by NinjaTrader itself.

### Is the NinjaTrader Lifetime licence worth $1,499?

It depends entirely on volume. Against the $99-a-month plan it pays for itself in about fifteen months. Against the Free plan there is no platform fee to recover, only the commission gap of 30 cents a side on Micro contracts, which takes roughly 2,500 round turns to earn back. Either way every fill still owes a $0.19 clearing fee plus exchange and NFA fees.

### What will the free plan not let me do?

Until a live account is funded it withholds real-time market data, Market Replay, Order Flow+ and the Pulse indicator. Any deposit above $0 unlocks them, with a $5 minimum on ACH and debit transfers, and they switch off again at the next renewal cycle if the balance returns to zero. Charting, strategy backtesting and the simulator run with no funding and no time limit.

### Does NinjaTrader run on a Mac?

Not natively. The desktop platform is a .NET Framework 4.8 Windows application and NinjaScript runs only there. There are browser and mobile clients for trading and charting, but they will not compile or run your C# strategies.

## Also worth comparing

- [MotiveWave](https://stockmarketstack.com/tools/motivewave.md) — Java desktop charting whose Elliott Wave tooling is the reason anyone buys it.
- [MultiCharts](https://stockmarketstack.com/tools/multicharts.md) — Windows charting, backtesting and order routing on EasyLanguage, sold outright or monthly.
- [Quantower](https://stockmarketstack.com/tools/quantower.md) — Windows order-flow terminal for 60+ connections, with an open C# API and a real free tier.
- [Sierra Chart](https://stockmarketstack.com/tools/sierra-chart.md) — Windows-native charts, order flow and DOM trading, priced as packages plus exchange fees.
- [ATAS](https://stockmarketstack.com/tools/atas.md) — Footprint charts and a market-by-order DOM for futures, with data bought separately.
- [Barchart.com](https://stockmarketstack.com/tools/barchart-com.md) — Stock, fund and options screeners sold as a $0-$29.95 website membership.