# Sierra Chart

Windows-native charts, order flow and DOM trading, priced as packages plus exchange fees.

*https://stockmarketstack.com/tools/sierra-chart · Stock Charting Platforms & Screeners*

## Facts

### At a glance

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

### Pricing

| Tier | USD | Period |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Package 3 — Base Standard | 26 USD | month |
| Package 5 — Base Advanced | 36 USD | month |
| Package 10 — Integrated Standard | 36 USD | month |
| Package 11 — Integrated Advanced | 46 USD | month |
| Package 12 — Integrated Advanced MBO | 56 USD | month |

### Coverage

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Asset classes | stocks, etf, options, futures, forex, crypto, indices |
| Markets | us, eu |
| Works outside the US | true |
| Data latency | realtime |
| Platforms | desktop_win |
| AI features | none |

### Interfaces

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| API | true |
| Webhooks | false |
| Scripting | C++ (ACSIL) |
| Python | false |
| Spreadsheet add-in | false |
| MCP server | false |
| Export | csv |

### 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 2026-09-14.*

## What it is

Sierra Chart is a Windows desktop application for charting, order flow and order entry, bought
mainly by futures traders who want a fast DOM and tick-precise data rather than a polished web
product. The interface is dense and dated; it will also render a year of ticks without
complaint. The distinguishing work is order flow: TPO profiles, Numbers Bars, a historical
market depth graph and, on the top package, market-by-order.

## Pricing

Five packages, $26 to $56 a month, and the split that catches people is Base versus Integrated.
Package 3 ($26) and Package 5 ($36) run on Sierra Chart's own included data — its historical,
forex/CFD, crypto and delayed feeds — and connect to no external broker or data service, nor to
Denali. Trading through Interactive Brokers, CQG or Rithmic, or
subscribing to Sierra Chart's own real-time Denali feed, requires Package 10 ($36), 11 ($46) or
12 ($56).

Twelve months up front takes 35% off — Package 3 becomes $202.80 a year — and six months take 25%,
three months 15%.

Exchange data is a second bill. Non-professional rates with a funded account run from $2 a
month for CME top-of-book through $13.50 for CME with depth to $40.50 for the full CME Group
with depth, or $6 for the full CME Group without it; EUREX EOBI is $25, CFE $10 top-of-book and
$12 with depth, NASDAQ TotalView $17, the US consolidated tape $10 and the CBOE indexes $6.
Professional or unfunded rates jump to $145 per CME Group exchange, $130 for EUREX and $90 for
TotalView. The 21-day trial is a demo rather than an evaluation — a fixed symbol list, 10 days of
intraday history, and no connection to an external Data or Trading service.

## Data & coverage

Denali covers CME, CBOT, NYMEX, COMEX, EUREX and CFE futures, US equities via the consolidated
tape and NASDAQ TotalView, CME futures options and CBOE indexes. Sierra Chart supplies its own
forex/CFD and crypto data, and a delayed feed comes with every package. Anything else arrives
through an external data service — so, an Integrated package.

## Integrations

External data and order routing is a list, not an API: Interactive Brokers, CQG, Rithmic, LMAX,
DTN IQFeed and Global Data Feeds India, plus Sierra Chart's own Teton order routing to the CME
Group through supported brokers and clearing firms. Custom studies and automated systems are
written in C++ against ACSIL and compiled into a DLL;
a built-in spreadsheet study covers formula-level work without a compiler. Sierra Chart also
implements DTC, its own published and uncopyrighted trading protocol, and can act as a DTC
server so external programs place orders through it. Market data is the exception: the DTC
server rejects real-time and historical requests for CME Group, EUREX, NASDAQ, CBOE and UTP/CTA
US equities data, and serves any data at all only to the local machine. Scanning is
condition-based across a watchlist — a technical scanner, not a fundamentals screener.

## Limitations

- Windows only. Wine works on Linux and macOS, and Sierra Chart explicitly declines to support it.
- No fundamentals, no fundamental screener, no news window — a price and order-flow tool, not a
  research platform.
- Back tests run one chart at a time, bar-based (fast, imprecise) or replay (precise, slow).
  There is no portfolio-level test.
- Automation means C++: no Python binding, no visual strategy builder.
- The cheapest package cannot place a live trade anywhere.
- Not every external service carries every market: Sierra Chart has no data connectivity with CQG
  for the CME Group or EUREX, so a CQG trader pays Denali or goes without.

## Alternatives

[NinjaTrader](https://stockmarketstack.com/tools/ninjatrader) and [MotiveWave](https://stockmarketstack.com/tools/motivewave) cover similar order-flow ground with friendlier interfaces and
higher prices; [TradingView](https://stockmarketstack.com/tools/tradingview) is the opposite trade, browser-based and far easier but much weaker
at DOM execution. The rest of the field is in
[charting platforms and screeners](https://stockmarketstack.com/categories/charting-screeners).

## FAQ

### Which Sierra Chart package do I actually need?

If you trade through a broker such as Interactive Brokers, CQG or Rithmic, or want Sierra Chart's own real-time Denali feed, you need an Integrated package — 10, 11 or 12. The cheaper Base packages (3 and 5) cannot connect to any external data or trading service at all.

### How much does Sierra Chart cost per month in total?

The software is $26 to $56 a month depending on package, and exchange data fees are separate. As of 13 September 2026, a non-professional with a funded trading account pays $2 a month for CME top-of-book, $13.50 for CME with market depth, $40.50 for the full CME Group with depth, $17 for NASDAQ TotalView and $10 for the US equities consolidated tape. Professionals and users without a funded account pay $145 per CME Group exchange.

### What does the Sierra Chart free trial actually give you?

21 days, and it is narrower than a trial usually is. A new account can chart only a fixed list of about a dozen symbols — AAPL, EURUSD, XAUUSD, TICK-NYSE, MES and YM futures, FDAX on EUREX, a couple of crypto perpetuals — and anything else draws a blank chart with no data at all. Depth is capped at 186 days of daily and 10 days of intraday bars, fee-bearing exchanges are served delayed rather than real-time, and connections to external Data and Trading services are not allowed during the trial. Paid usage time removes all of it, and the 21 days count towards it.

### Do I need a funded futures account for the cheap CME data?

Yes. The CME Group grants the non-professional rate only to users with a live, funded futures trading account at a supported Trading service, and Sierra Chart has to connect to that account at least once a month to keep the status verified. Without one you pay the professional rate — $145 a month per exchange instead of $2 to $40.50 — even if you are plainly not a professional.

### Does Sierra Chart run on macOS or Linux?

Not natively. The only builds are Windows executables — 64-bit x64 and, for Apple M-series machines, 64-bit ARM. Sierra Chart documents running it under Wine on Linux, BSD and macOS but states that its support and engineering staff will not answer questions about it.

## 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.
- [NinjaTrader](https://stockmarketstack.com/tools/ninjatrader.md) — Windows futures platform with C# strategy scripting and order-flow charting.
- [Quantower](https://stockmarketstack.com/tools/quantower.md) — Windows order-flow terminal for 60+ connections, with an open C# API and a real free tier.
- [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.

## Named as a replacement for

- [TradingView](https://stockmarketstack.com/alternatives/tradingview.md)