# QuantConnect

The open-source LEAN engine, plus a hosted cloud that runs it against real brokers.

*https://stockmarketstack.com/tools/quantconnect · Backtesting Frameworks & Algo Trading Libraries*

## Also covered on

- [QuantConnect on CryptoMarkets.tools](https://cryptomarkets.tools/tools/quantconnect-cloud.md) — the hosted crypto datasets and funding rates, and live deployment to six exchanges

## Facts

### At a glance

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Vendor | QuantConnect |
| Category | Backtesting Frameworks & Algo Trading Libraries |
| Job | backtesting |
| Website | https://www.quantconnect.com |
| Pricing model | subscription |
| Free tier | true |
| Open source | true |
| Licence | Apache-2.0 |
| Self-hosted | true |
| Tested hands-on | false |
| Last updated | 2026-09-14 |

### Pricing

| Tier | USD | Period |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Free | 0 USD | month |
| Researcher | 84 USD | month |
| Team | 168 USD | month |
| Trading Firm | 480 USD | month |
| Institution | 1272 USD | month |

### Coverage

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Asset classes | stocks, etf, options, futures, forex, crypto, indices |
| Markets | us, global |
| Works outside the US | true |
| Data latency | realtime |
| Platforms | web, cli, library |
| AI features | assistive |

### Interfaces

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| API | true |
| Webhooks | true |
| Scripting | Python, C# |
| Python | true |
| Spreadsheet add-in | false |
| MCP server | true |
| Export | json, pdf, api |

### Capabilities

Yes: screening, backtesting, automation, live_trading, paper_trading, alerts, options_analysis

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

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

## What it is

Two delivery forms of one product. LEAN is the event-driven engine that does the work — C# with a
Python API, Apache-2.0, self-hostable, and busy: last commit to `master` on 11 September 2026,
21,619 stars, 240 open issues, not archived. The GitHub releases tab is stuck at v2.4.0.1 of
August 2017 and tells you nothing — versioning moved to continuous builds years ago. What ships
is tag 18086, cut on 12 September 2026; the `QuantConnect.Lean.Engine` NuGet package at
2.5.18042, published 31 August 2026; and the `lean` CLI on PyPI at 1.0.229, 28 August 2026.

The cloud is that same engine hosted, with the data mounted, a browser IDE and a deploy button.
The engine costs nothing; what the cloud sells is compute, cleaned data and the live-trading
plumbing.

## Pricing

Paid plans are bundles of nodes sold per seat, and the pricing page opens on annual billing.
Month-to-month: Researcher $84, Team $168, Trading Firm $480, Institution $1,272. Nodes are also
sold separately — a B2-8 backtest node $14/month, an R1-4 research node $12, live nodes from $24
to $1,000 — so a pack price is a floor, not a ceiling.

Those four figures are the recommended packs rather than the entry price. A Researcher seat on
its own is $10/month; the $84 pack is that seat plus one research node (1 CPU, 4 GB), one
backtest node (2 CPU, 8 GB), one live node (1 CPU, 0.5 GB), one AI agent node and Bronze support.
Seats carry the features, nodes carry the compute, and the two are billed separately, so the plan
is assembled rather than chosen.

## Data & coverage

US equities, options, index options and futures from AlgoSeek, plus forex, CFDs, crypto and
international futures, tick to daily, with corporate fundamentals in every tier. Universe
selection is written in code, not clicked in a screener.

Local downloads are billed separately, and that is where budgets break. On a Researcher seat the
US Equity Security Master is $600/year (it rises to $1,800/year at Institution), AlgoSeek's US
equity minute history $980/month and its tick history $1,400/month, current coarse-universe files
$240/year, Benzinga news $120/month, Quiver's congress and insider feeds $5/month each.

## Integrations

Python or C#. An official MCP server — now shipped inside the VS Code Local Platform extension,
with the standalone repo marked deprecated — lets an LLM create projects, run backtests and deploy
live algorithms through the API. Live algorithms notify over Telegram, email, webhook and SMS, the
last billed in QCC tokens at 1 USD per 100 (1 QCC domestic, 10 international per message).

## Limitations

- The free tier is a demo of the cloud, not a free platform: no live trading — the live-node limit
  is literally zero — no second or tick data, no API, no CLI. What it does allow is one backtest
  node, one research node, 200 projects, 500 MB of workspace, 32 KB per file, 25 data-file
  downloads per backtest and 10,000 orders and insights in a single backtest, against 10 million
  on a Researcher seat. A universe strategy reaches that last one quickly.
- LEAN's licence is free; its data is not, and self-hosting means sourcing all of it yourself.
- No screener, charting or portfolio UI. Everything is code.
- The abstractions — algorithm framework, universe selection, consolidators — are a real learning
  curve, and a strategy written against them ports nowhere else.

## Alternatives

[Backtrader](https://stockmarketstack.com/tools/backtrader) and [Zipline-reloaded](https://stockmarketstack.com/tools/zipline-reloaded) for a plain Python library, [NautilusTrader](https://stockmarketstack.com/tools/nautilus-trader) for a faster
event-driven core, [QuantRocket](https://stockmarketstack.com/tools/quantrocket) for the hosted-with-your-own-data shape.

## FAQ

### Can I use LEAN without paying QuantConnect anything?

Yes. LEAN is Apache-2.0 on GitHub and runs on your own hardware with your own data — that is the whole point of the licence. What the free QuantConnect account does not give you is API or CLI access, so you cannot drive the cloud from a local editor, and you supply the data yourself.

### What does the free tier actually include?

The web IDE, one backtest node and one research node, unlimited backtests and cloud access to every asset class at minute-to-daily resolution. Not included - live trading, second and tick resolution, and API or CLI access. All three start at the Researcher seat.

### Is the data included in the subscription?

In the cloud, yes, for backtesting and research. Downloading it to run LEAN locally is a separate purchase, and it is the line people underestimate - the US Equity Security Master alone is $600/year on a Researcher seat and $1,800/year on an Institution seat.

### Which brokers can QuantConnect trade live?

Interactive Brokers, Charles Schwab, TradeStation, tastytrade, Alpaca, Public, Webull, Clear Street, Tradier, SS&C Eze, Binance, Bybit, Kraken, Coinbase, Bitfinex and dYdX, plus QuantConnect's own paper trading. Trading Technologies, prime brokers and generic FIX start at the Trading Firm tier; Wolverine and Bloomberg EMSX are Institution only. Zerodha and Samco still appear in the pricing comparison table but their brokerage documentation pages are gone, so treat them as retired.

## Also worth comparing

- [QuantRocket](https://stockmarketstack.com/tools/quantrocket.md) — Zipline and Moonshot in Docker on your own hardware, wired to Interactive Brokers.
- [VectorBT PRO](https://stockmarketstack.com/tools/vectorbt-pro.md) — Paid vectorbt — native Rust simulators, streaming indicators and a built-in MCP server.
- [WealthLab](https://stockmarketstack.com/tools/wealthlab.md) — Windows portfolio backtesting in C# or drag-and-drop blocks, with a built-in MCP service.
- [AmiBroker](https://stockmarketstack.com/tools/amibroker.md) — Windows portfolio backtester scripted in AFL, sold as a perpetual licence.
- [Backtesting.py](https://stockmarketstack.com/tools/backtesting-py.md) — A single-instrument Python backtester — one OHLC series, one strategy, no live trading.
- [Backtrader](https://stockmarketstack.com/tools/backtrader.md) — An event-driven Python backtester with 122 indicators, frozen since April 2023.

## Named as a replacement for

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