BACKTESTING
This is an alphabetic list of the most common backtesting software systems, offered either by independent providers, or by brokers or charting software companies. Please note that some websites provide inadequate information for the creation of a comprehensive summary. Also note that many platforms provide a basic backtesting function, but give insufficient information to warrant a listing. All prices quoted were correct at the time of logging, but may have since changed, plus there may be time-based discounts subsequently made available.
AmiBroker
AmiBroker is a high-level, purpose-built, backtesting system that is capable of handling any timeframe on any financial instrument, depending on what data is fed into the software. It has a technical analysis and trading system development platform, with advanced real-time charting, portfolio backtesting and optimisation features, plus scanning capabilities. AmiBroker’s robust system-development environment allows traders to find market inefficiencies, code a system and validate it using powerful statistical methods including walk-forward tests and Monte Carlo simulations. The software allows trade directly from charts or programmatically using an auto-trading API (via Interactive Brokers). However, AmiQuote requires external EOD data input from a quality provider such as Norgate Data, or one of the following data sources: historical EOD quotation data from Yahoo! Finance sites; fundamental data from Yahoo! Finance; current and historical EOD data from Tiingo.com; EOD data from Quandl.com; EOD and intraday data from BarChart.com; EOD data from Stooq.pl; and historical EOD and intraday forex quotes from FinAm. The Backtester is a tool to perform trading system performance testing on historical data. The function performs a large amount of internal processing (e.g. trade delays, removing redundant signals, position sizing, and applying portfolio-level constraints) very quickly. AmiBroker’s Code Wizard automatically converts English sentences into proprietary AFL code (AmiBroker Formula Language), so there’s no need to know how to program. Instead of typing cryptic code, traders can pick up words from an easy-to-use interface to build the sentence in plain English describing how the system should work and the wizard will automagically generate a valid system code. Sophisticated backtesting features include: drag-and-drop averages; bands and indicators on other indicators; parameters modified in real-time using sliders; advanced position sizing, scoring and ranking, rotational trading, custom metrics, and custom backtesters. With the batch processor, AmiBroker automates routines and in combination with Windows scheduler AmiBroker will work independently. Exploration is a multi-purpose screening/data mining tool that produces fully programmable tabular output with unlimited number of rows and columns from all symbols data. One of the most useful features of the Analysis window is the Exploration function which works in a similar way to a market scan, but instead of looking for and reporting just buy/sell signals it allows traders to generate customisable screening reports that give much more information than just a simple scan. Single-user licenses are US$299 for the Standard Edition, US$359 for the Professional Edition, and US$499 for the Ultimate Pack Pro which is a bundle of the Professional Edition, AmiQuote and AFL Code Wizard available at a discounted price. All licenses are personal, so they can be used on multiple machines of the same trader. The software is, however, a Windows-only application, although it can be used on Apple devices via Bootcamp Assistant or Parallels software. [Logged: April 2023]
See the Scanning page for information about AmiBroker’s scanning function.
See the Brokers A–M page for information about Interactive Brokers.
See the Data page for information about Norgate Data.
Blueshift
Blueshift® is a free, web-based backtesting software that was founded in 2010 in India. Coded in popular programming language Python, it is fast and flexible (‘anything you can code, it can run’). Data is available for the last 10 years for select US and India markets. A dataset must be explicitly chosen that is consistent with the strategy being tested. The following data is currently available: equities and ETFs market data for the US market and India down to minute level, with corporate actions and updated once every day after market close; futures data for NSE (India) monthly futures (first three contracts) down to minute level with adjustments, updated once a day after market close; forex for 10 currency pairs (AUD/USD, EUR/CHF, EUR/JPY, EUR/USD, GBP/JPY, GBP/USD, NZD/USD, USD/CAD, USD/CHF, USD/JPY) down to minute level, updated once a day; crypto data for nine coins against Tether (USDT) and Indian Rupees (INR), plus USDT/INR, with the nine coins being BTC, ETH, ADA, BNB, MATIC, XRP, SOL, DOT and LUNA, which must be specified as a pair, either against USDT (e.g. BTC/USDT) or INR (e.g. BTC/INR). An alpha version of Blueshift was recently launched. Clients who develop strategies to test retain the intellectual property rights to those strategies. Tested strategies can then be automated. While it can trade in real-time with a third-party broker, Blueshift is not intended for high-frequency trading. [Logged: April 2023]
CQG
Of CQG’s four main trading platforms, its flagship product, CQG Integrated Client, offers a suite of sophisticated charting and trading options that includes a backtesting function which allows traders to analyse past trading activity and build strategies based on that activity, fine-tune entry and exit points, and test user-defined parameter values. The numerous backtesting resources allow users to examine trading activity based on the creation of long or short trades, a variety of entry and exit signals, and the commissions the trader must pay. With Signal Evaluator, traders can analyse effectiveness over a particular time period using their own specific buy and sell signals. The analysis can then be applied to either portfolios or individual commodities. Traders can optimise their workflow by using the Trade System Optimizer which tests the results of trading systems running different settings and the combination of parameters included in trade signals. A suite of step-by-step tutorials is provided to assist traders manage the software. [Logged: March 2023]
See the Charting A–M page for information about CQG’s charting platform.
Crush The
Market
Crush The Market is a stock screener and back-testing tool that offers 35,000 equities and ETFs to screen. It claims to be the ‘most powerful investment research tool for stocks and ETFs’ with an AI-powered search that covers 35+ years of data across hundreds of exchanges. It also offers comprehensive fundamental information on stocks. Two versions are available: Free and Pro. The Free version offers immediate access to the S&P500 and DJIA only, directly from the home page, while the Pro versional offers unlimited performance analysis backtesting. The backtesting function is in practice a historical screener. It allows clients to select screening criteria and test past performance. It does this by calculating the historical financials and performance for each instrument. It then compares the performance of the stocks that meet the screening criteria against the market over the same time period, providing a chart of the performance criteria and listing of those stocks below the chart. Crush The Market has a free 14-day trial of its software, after which the Pro version is US$8 per month, with 30% saved for a yearly payment in advance. [Logged: April 2023]
See the Scanning page for more information about Crush the Market’s market scanning capabilities.
eSignal
Charting specialist eSignal has a basic backtesting function Back Tester which allows traders to develop and test studies against historical data to see how they perform. Back testing results are then presented in a series of Strategy Performance Reports. [Logged: March 2023]
See the Brokers A–M page for more information about eSignal.
Forex Tester
Now in version 5, Forex Tester is a trading simulator for backtesting primarily foreign exchange, but can also be used for stocks and futures. Data comes in three options: Basic which is free for medium quality daily and weekly timeframes (22 years of free historical data); Standard which is AU$22 for high quality hourly to daily timeframes; and Super which is AU$29.99 for high-quality minute to weekly timeframes. Backtesting features include the following: testing can be set to start from any date in history; test manual and automatic trading systems; test several currencies at the same time; test several timeframes at the same time; save projects and begin again later from the previous stopping point; pause/rewind time; set any comfortable speed of time; test long-term strategies in a fast way; test short-term and scalping strategies on tick data; advanced statistical features; export statistics to Excel; use any of the most popular indicators; a wide range of graphic tools; and trade on historical data as if it is real time. Other features of Forex Tester include: automated trading statistics; news and an economic calendar for fundamental trading; built-in educational forex course; a risk/reward ratio tool; a one-click trading tool; an AI-based strategy optimiser; easy forex builder; and a risk calculator. The standard price for Forex Tester is AU$299, but was for sale on a limited time offer at AU$149 in April 2023, with an unconditional 14-day money-back guarantee. Clients who buy Forex Tester get 10 simple manual strategies for free. Forex Tester 5 is compatible with Windows 2000, 2003, XP, Windows Vista, Windows 7, Windows 8/8.1 and Windows 10. It can also be used on Mac OS with the help of VMWare Fusion or Parallels software. As a download system, traders can backtest when the market is closed and without an internet connection. Traders can trial Forex Tester for free with the following caveats: no more than 1 month of historical data; test uninterrupted no more than one hour (then another test can be started); no ability to save projects. Customer support is via email and on-site chat in English, Japanese, Spanish and Russian. Over 15 years on the market, Forest Tester Software Inc is privately owned by a ‘group of traders, competent programmers and polite support specialists’. [Logged: April 2023]
Interactive
Brokers
Interactive Brokers’ Portfolio Manager tool, which is part of its Trader WorkStation platform, can be used for backtesting a portfolio of stocks. However, as it was originally designed for use with fundamental analysis criteria (such as P/E ratio and EPS growth) by portfolio managers, its application is of limited use for traders who want to backtest charts on technical indicators. One advantage of the software, however, is that once a trader is satisfied with a strategy’s performance, with built-in direct market access, live trades can be placed with just a few clicks. While the platform is free to download and install, backtesting through the Portfolio Builder is available only to active Interactive Brokers users. [Logged: March 2023]
See the Brokers A–M page for more information about Interactive Brokers.
MATLAB
MATLAB® is a desktop programming and numeric computing platform used by engineers and scientists to analyse data, develop algorithms and create models. It uses a programming language that expresses matrix and array mathematics directly with a Live Editor for creating scripts that combine code, output, and formatted text in an executable notebook. It is thus only suitable for traders with programming skills. However, it is popular with code-literate traders who want to build their own trading algorithms for scalping and HFT. With programming skills, the potential of MATLAB for backtesting is almost limitless. Powerful autonomous trading strategies with computationally-heavy mathematical models can be built and deployed. MATLAB’s capabilities are so powerful that it even allows for ML-trained models capable of self-optimisation. MATLAB tools let users see how different algorithms work with their data. Repeated iterations can be carried out to test systems to find the optimum ones for trading. A MATLAB program can then be automatically generated to automate the algorithm. Analyses can be run on clusters, GPUs, and clouds with only minor code changes. MATLAB algorithms can be automatically converted to C/C++, HDL, and CUDA code to run on an embedded processor or FPGA/ASIC. MATLAB works with Simulink to support Model-Based Design. The software comes with a help centre and a series of in-depth videos to guide users through backtesting and automation testing processes. Data input is required, and can be imported from any format (e.g. Microsoft Excel). Prices vary from AU$115 for a student licence to AU$5,500 for a startup business. There is a 30-day free trial to evaluate MATLAB, Simulink and 70+ other products. MATLAB is owned by MathWorks, a privately held corporation created in the 1970s and based in Portola Valley, California, US. [Logged: April 2023]
MetaStock
MetaStock is a charting software tool for traders with a specific focus on analysing the markets. Its System Tester is designed to simulate a realistic trading scenario by allowing traders set variables such as entry, exit, expanded stops, order sizes, commissions and more. Traders can choose from 50+ different, ready-made backtesting scenarios, or develop and test their own trading systems using the 300+ price, and volume indicators, if they have some coding or programming skills. If not, MetaStock can assist traders in building a backtesting system. Ready-made backtests are easy to set up (just one click). After completing a backtest, System Tester will list every buy or sell trade with drawdown on the portfolio chart. Click on any trade to see the background, size, duration, and profit or loss. The reports generated by the System Tester are comprehensive and include drawdowns, trade frequency, and risk/reward scenarios. This can be done on a single instrument or entire markets. There is, however, no automated trade execution to follow up on backtesting in MetaStock. [Logged: April 2023]
See the Charting A–M page for general information about MetaStock.
See the Scanning page for more information about MetaStock’s scanning capabilities.
MetaTrader 4
There are two separate backtesting functions in MetaTrader 4 (MT4): the forex trade simulator and Strategy Tester. The forex simulator allows traders to rewind the time on their charts to any historical date and replay the markets on any particular day. Orders can be placed, modified, and closed, just as if the trade was in real-time trading conditions, plus the speed of the simulation can also be adjusted. Compared to demo account trading and other forms of paper trading, trading on historical data makes the process more realistic for traders, providing an improved learning experience. Some of the key features of the simulation option are that: multiple chart frames can be opened in one place; offline charts can be used along with indicators, templates, and drawing tools; high-quality tick data from external sources can be uploaded; it can be downloaded to be used as a free forex trading simulator app for forex trading practice on Apple devices; important news releases can be tracked during simulation, through the economic calendar; the simulation can be saved to a file to be accessed later on; and the simulation can be used on other financial instruments such as major stock indices. The Strategy Tester can be used to pre-test the automated trading programmes (called Expert Advisors or EAs) provided by MT4. The system is easy to use through the View option and can be adjusted to insert different parameters. It can also be used by traders who are able to construct their own strategies with the MQL4 IDE. Note, however, that the feature permits backtesting of only one currency at a time and can be used only for 32-bit EAs. Another popular forex strategy backtesting option on MT4 [and MT5] is Forex Tester. Although not free, it can be used both for manual and automated trading activities. It has 10 manual programs and 5 expert advisors, along with 16 years of historical price data, and a risk calculation and money management table. [Logged: April 2023]
See the Charting A–M page for general information about MetaTrader 4.
See the Automated Trading page for information about MetaTrader 4’s algorithmic and copy trading capabilities.
MetaTrader 5
The backtesting tools offered by MetaTrader 5 are similar to those offered by MT4 as the tools proved to be successful and secure in MT4. However, one major difference is an upgrade in programming language to MQL5 IDE. As with MT4, the MT5 Strategy Tester allows users to evaluate the efficiency of a trading robot before using it on a real account. The test operation is based on the history of financial instrument prices—a robot analyses historical data over a selected period and performs virtual operations according to its algorithm. Test results allow detailed evaluation of the strategy’s efficiency. The MT5 Strategy Tester offers several testing modes to achieve the optimal speed/quality ratio. The most accurate testing result can be obtained in the ‘Every tick based on real ticks’ mode, during which the tested robot uses real ticks from exchanges and liquidity providers. The ‘Open prices only’ mode provides a very quick and rough estimation. The MT5 Strategy Tester has robots that are capable of analysing multiple currencies and identifying a correlation between them. The testing process can also be visualised in real time: all trades performed by the tested Expert Advisor can be displayed on a chart. A comprehensive testing report is generated after a test run, which allows detecting the week points of an EA and make appropriate changes. Visual testing makes it possible to track an EA’s operation on historical price data in real time. Another important utility of the Strategy Tester is the function of optimisation, which allows testing a trading robot with various input parameters and selecting optimal values. Optimisation of complex robots can turn into a very extensive process, but can be significantly shortened through the use of genetic algorithms. Optimisation results can be visualised in 2D and 3D modes. In addition to the built-in features, there are also custom visualisation method available. MT5 also includes advanced functions such as using cloud storage to run strategies and conduct backtesting. With MT4, backtesting must be done locally or through a VPS which is generally slower. The results generated by MT5 backtesting processes are presented in graphs, charts, and 3D models, similar to those developed in data analysis software such as R and Python. While MT5’s Strategy Tester is very powerful, its advanced features might not be the easiest choice for beginners unless they have coding knowledge. [Logged: April 2023]
See the Charting A–M page for general information about MetaTrader 5.
See the Automated Trading page for information about Meta Trader 5’s algorithmic trading capabilities.
See the Copy Trading page for information about Meta Trader 5’s copy trading capabilities.
Microsoft Excel
As a spreadsheet application, Microsoft’s Excel® is often overlooked as a backtesting system for traders, despite the fact that it was the first program that traders used to build their automated trade execution models. While it can be used in the old-fashioned way as a manual system, building a backtesting function in Excel requires knowledge of Microsoft’s Visual Basic for Applications (VBA). There are many online tutorials on how to perform backtesting in Excel. Alternatively, there are many backtester templates available online in multiple formats. Third-party data is needed for Excel backtesting, such as ‘date/time’, ‘open’, ‘high’, ‘low’, ‘close’ or ‘prices’, and is available from a source such as Yahoo! Finance. Also, Excel now has image recognition functionality whereby data can be added directly from a photo, saving the need to manually enter printed information. Some brokers, such as Interactive Brokers allow traders to integrate an Excel-based trading system. The process is straightforward and works through the installation of the broker’s Excel API. The cost of MS Excel varies from about US$100 to US$300, depending on who is buying (i.e. student, home or business), and whether it is purchased as a one off, or part of a plan such as Microsoft 365®. [Logged: April 2023]
See Data page for information about Yahoo! Finance data.
See Brokers A–M page for information about Interactive Brokers.
OptionStack
OptionStack software has been specifically designed for backtesting stocks and options strategies as an off-the-shelf automation tool. With OptionStack’s Visual Strategy Editor and drag and drop function, coding isn’t necessary. Traders can automatically backtest up to 15 years of stock and options trading strategies in minutes, testing even the most complex strategies without any programming knowledge, from buying calls to selling unbalanced iron condors, and creating complex stock & options spreads, advanced trade adjustments, portfolio rebalancing, capital allocation, position sizing, and alpha generation, for example. Supported stock and options strategies include pairs trading, covered call, married put, collar, single-leg, two-leg, three-leg and four-leg strategies. The backtesting system has powerful analytics that produce advanced charting of stocks, and interactive portfolio risk graphs. By default, backtests are performed using EOD data. However, backtests can also be performed using intraday data under select tiers of the Institutional Plans. While 15 years of back data is provided, traders can also import their own data for analysis on the OptionStack platform, plus import their own custom indicators and market quotes for analysis. In addition, OptionStack can help traders build and backtest their own custom trading strategies. OptionStack has a suite of pricing plans ranging from a free trial, through to Starter, Advanced and Institution. However, prices are only available through log-in access. OptionStack has an extensive Knowledge Centre with key concept guides to understanding how the software works, tutorials for beginners to advanced, and a strategy library with topics such as Backtesting Option Wheel, Roll Your Trades and Custom Position Sizing. The system runs in the cloud, so there is no software to install. You can use OptionStack on any device that has a web browser, including Windows, Mac, iPad, iPhone, Android and Linux. [Logged: April 2023]
Optuma
Optuma provides EOD data from over 40 global exchanges, including equity, commodity, fundamental, forex, and economic data. The Optuma Back Tester combines the power of the Scanning Manager and Trade Tracker into one module that provides a fast and simple method for evaluating trading plans. The test can be run on multiple codes (such as exchanges or workbooks) for Professional Services clients, or single codes for Trader Services clients. The date range designates the time span that the selected test will be executed for. As an example, setting the time frame to ‘last week’ will test the trading plan over the last 7 calendar days of price activity. The following time frame options are available: everything, today, yesterday, last week, last fortnight, last month, last quarter, last year, last 5 years, last 10 years, or a user-defined date range. Possible test rules include entry and exit price, position sizing, percent allocated per trade, brokerage model, and minimum and maximum hold days. The data timeframe selects the period of the data that the strategy is being executed on (e.g. daily, weekly, or custom). Once complete, the Optuma system produces the results in terms of an equity curve, a report and a trade list. The results tabs shows a summary of how the strategy would have played out, including the amount of profit or loss. A profit factor analysis is also be displayed. The equity curve starts to plot from the first date selected rather than the first trade which helps traders identify how long before the first entry occurs. The report tab provides a detailed statistical listing of all trades, including number of trades, win/loss ratio, drawdown details, and average profit and loss. [Logged: March 2023]
See the Charting N–Z page for more information about Optuma charting software.
ProfitSource
Primarily a scanning software system, ProfitSource allows traders to design a trading system and test it on market data to see if it works, then review the results and refine the strategy. Access to data is by subscription. [Logged: February 2023]
See the Scanning page for information about ProfitSource’s scanning function.
ProRealTime
ProRealTime’s system backtesting tool, ProBacktest, allows the evaluation of trade strategy performance against real-time market data. Backtesting can be carried out on time data or tick data. The backtesting function contains a set of standard systems, such as moving average, MACD, RSI and breakout, which are applied to a chart of a specific financial instrument to produce a system report with number of gains, average gain, drawdown and runup statistics, time in the market, and average executed orders, and details of each individual order and associated fees. Tests can also be run from the programming window where parameters can be modified. The chosen test system can then be run on any chart to produce results in the form of an equity curve and positions held at any particular time. Test result data can be exported to a spreadsheet such as Microsoft Excel. Once a system has been created, it can be optimised by changing parameters in the code to be variables and then setting a range of variables to be tested (e.g. inserting various moving average parameters). The results of running the optimisation are then presented in a report which shows the ranked results of all sets of parameters in descending order. Once a system has been verified as profitable, it can be traded automatically with ProRealTime’s auto-trading tool ProOrder. [Logged: April 2023]
See the Charting N–Z page for more information about ProRealTime.
See the Automated Trading page for more information about ProRealTime’s auto-trading tool ProOrder.
PyInvesting
FinTech geek Ivan Fok founded PyInvesting in 2020 to help investors adopt a data–driven approach towards investing and trading. The software offers backtesting capabilities, followed by the tools to automate trading strategies proved by the backtesting function. There are four main parts to the PyInvesting website: (1) the screening tool which is used to filter stocks based on a select criteria; (2) the backtesting software, which allows clients to simulate quantitative investment strategy over the last 15 years using stocks that have passed the screen test; (3) the backtest results where PyInvesting analyses the performance of the selected strategy; and (4) the live section where users are able to go live with their strategy and receive a daily email update with live orders from their strategy which they can trade on their personal account. Backtesting has been simplified to the extent where traders just fill in a form with their backtest details. PyInvesting handles the rest of the calculations. There are four backtesting strategies available: fundamentals, relative strength, strategic allocation, and moving average. The backtest results include the strategy’s graphical performance against its benchmark, the historical positions that the strategy has held, the current positions in the portfolio, and the risk return profile for each of stock. The Starter option for PyInvesting is free (with a maximum number of three backtests a day and performance delayed a year), and the Premium option which is US$15 per month (with unlimited backtests allowed and real time results). There is a 1-month free trial where users can cancel anytime. As a subscriber, traders can go live with their chosen strategy where the website will run it daily, with email updates provided. [Logged: April 2023]
QuantConnect
QuantConnect is an open-source, cloud-based algorithmic trading platform for equities, forex, futures, options, derivatives and cryptocurrencies. It provides market data and a cluster computer directly to people interested in backtesting and building quantitative trading strategies across multiple markets. It serves over 100,000 quants from 170+ countries, with customers including hedge funds and brokerages, as well as individuals such as engineers and mathematicians. Data for the various financial instruments is sourced from c.50 third-party providers, including Algoseek. QuantConnect’s backtesting system provides everything needed to bring theoretical trading strategy systems to reality, from free high-quality data, powerful compute, and an online coding lab. Coding can be done in multiple programming languages, and intellectual property is protected with code encryption and version control. QuantConnect also supports algo trading, such that when a system is proved through backtesting, it can be deployed live through one of 12 connecting brokerages. There are four initial pricing plans: Quant Researcher at US$8 per month; Team at US$20 per month; Trading Firm at US$40 per month; and Institution at US$80 per month. There is also a free plan that includes equity, indexes, forex, crypto, futures, options and EOD data, unlimited backtesting and community support. After that, plans can be customised in terms of number of researchers and backtest nodes. Interactive tutorials are available which provide information about the fundamentals of algorithmic trading. QuantConnect is a private company that was founded in 2011 by Jared Broad. It is headquartered in Seattle, Washington, US. [Logged: April 2023]
See the Data page for information about AlgoSeek.
QuantShare
As the name suggests, QuantShare specialises in allowing quantitative analysts the ability to share stock trading systems. QuantShare is a PC-only desktop application that allows traders to monitor and analyse financial markets for stocks, forex, futures, options and ETFs. It is for traders and investors who want to: create and analyse charts, studies and indicators; create and backtest trading strategies; analyse data and perform quantitative research; create watchlists and screens; download and import trading data; create portfolios and generate buy and sell signals; and create neural network models. It is suitable for all levels of traders and it works with US and International markets. While most trading software programs offer a database that can store quotes data, QuantShare allows clients to create any number of historical and intraday databases, and any data can be stored in these databases (e.g. call/put ratios, news, dividends, splits, short selling, fundamentals data), and use this data in charting, analysis, and backtesting. MetaStock data can be imported. While all instructions must be coded, the software has point-and-click implementation of systems. It also has artificial intelligence integrations via the AI Optimizer which allows the system to combine different rules to see which work best together. It also has powerful prediction models using Neural Networks. In short, it is advanced software for those with programming skills. As with a regular charting package, traders can display charts, add indicators and create watchlists. They can also create trading strategies, backtest these strategies, and create portfolios based on those strategies. QuantShare also provides a sharing service where clients have access to trading items shared by other members, including data downloads, watchlists, trading systems and custom drawing tools (currently 600+ items). However, this is not a system for novices who may well find the software challenging to use, especially as programming skills are required. There is a steep learning curve and substantial time investment involved, though there is an active user community. While it is free to try, there is no information on the website about pricing after that, and it is only Windows compatible. As well as a forum and educational blogposts on the website, there are 100+ articles on the use of QuantShare available on the QuantShare2 RSSING website. QuantShare is a product of Corporate Trading Company which was founded in 2007. It is located in Tunis, Tunisia. [Logged: April 2023]
RealTest
RealTest is a high-speed, portfolio-level, backtesting software that combines multiple strategies with detailed analysis to provide comprehensive results. It uses simple script syntax, with sample scripts included. Traders can backtest actual trades and study trades on charts. The software is desktop-based and requires the input of daily bar-format data for the markets to be tested. Supported data sources include: Norgate (recommended), Yahoo! Finance (free), CSV (single or multiple files) and MetaStock (old format only). Intraday data is not currently supported. There is user support through email contact, user video tutorials via the YouTube channel mhptrading, a PDF user manual and a gated user forum. RealTest provides a 30-day free trial. There is a US$398 download licence fee and, after that, a US$159 annual licence extension fee. RealTest is a Windows-only compatible desktop application. It was designed and developed by Marsden Parker and is produced by Systematic Solutions LLC. [Logged: March 2023]
See the Data page for information about MetaStock, Norgate and Yahoo! Finance data services.
ScanVest
ScanVest was an early scanning and backtesting software function provided by JustData which has been superseded by JustData’s EzyAnaylser. [Logged: March 2023]
See the Charting A–M page for information about JustData and EzyAnalyser.
StockMock
StockMock offers single backtests, multiple backtests, an options simulator and a strategy builder. Traders can either pay StockMock to carry out the backtest for them, or subscribe to use the software. Payment for StockMock backtesting services works on a Credit Plan that has a points system such that ₹700 purchase gives 50 credit points, ₹1,500 purchases gives 150 points, ₹4,000 purchases gives 500 points and ₹7,000 purchases gives 1,400 points. Points are then used to buy data for backtests at the rate of 1 point for 0-1 years data, 2 points for 1-2 years data, 3 points for 2-3 years data, and so on. Only Indian Cards are allowed for payments. However, StockMock assigns 20 free credits on sign-up and refills to 15 free credits daily to users who have no paid credits. Every feature can be accessed by free-credits that are accessed by paid-credits to allow traders to explore everything before payment. With free-credit points, result are shown for the latest one month of data only; for paid credit points, result are shown for the full data set available. StockMock does not save strategy results. Every backtest is a new backtest and so credit is consumed for every run. With an Analytics Plan, subscribers can pay ₹399 a month, ₹999 for 3 months or ₹1,499 for six months to receive access to the Simulator, Builder and Portfolio tools. StockMock is not SEBI registered and the company does not recommend any particular strategy to any user. It’s purely at a user’s discretion to choose what to trade and what not to trade. StockMock is owned by Algomock Solutions Pvt. Ltd. which is based in Delhi, India. [Logged: April 2023]
Streak
Streak is an Indian company ‘on a mission to democratize access to technology in capital markets for all’. It facilitates planning and management of trades, plus backtesting without coding, which makes systematic trading accessible and affordable. In addition to charting, Streak offers three areas of expertise: Technicals (snapshots and custom watchlists); Strategies (create or copy a strategy, and backtest); and Scanning (any sector in seconds and with pre-market data, plus live alerts). Streak offers two pricing plans: Regular and Ultimate. At ₹690 per month, the Regular plan provides 300 backtests per day, 30 live strategies at a time, 500 scans per day, 7 entry and exit conditions, and Heikin Ashi price bars. At ₹1400 per month the Ultimate plan provides 1,000 backtests per day, 100 live strategies at a time, unlimited scans per day, 10 entry and exit conditions, Heikin Ashi, plus Renko, trailing stop loss, MCX for commodities, options (NFO-OPT), multi-timeframe and multi-timeframe completed, and a one-hour ‘hand-holding’ session on an annual plan. There is a 7-day free trial which enables 50 backtests per day, 50 scans per day, and 5 live deployments at a time, plus there is a demo account. The website has a QR code to facilitate download of the mobile app for either Android or Mac iOS. Streak can be connected to a number of Indian brokers including Angel One Ltd, ICICIdirect, 5Paisa Capital Ltd, Upstox and Zerodha (Note, Streak is an extension to Kite, Zerodha’s exchange-approved trading platform). The Streak Academy provides Strategic Trading 101 as a one-stop educational guide to ‘all things Trading’ which includes graphics and video guides on technical indicators, a newsletter, glossary and FAQ. [Logged: April 2023]
See the Brokers A–M page for information about Angel One Ltd and ICICIdirect.
See the Brokers N–Z page for information about 5Paisa Capital Ltd, Upstox and Zerodha.
TD Ameritrade
TD Ameritrade’s desktop trading platform thinkorswim offers thinkBack which is specifically designed for stock options back-testing. It stores nearly a decade of historical option trade data and allows users to backtest strategies by entering hypothetical trades in a virtual trading environment. After a backtrade is created by selecting one of the listed option strategies, the date can be pushed forward to estimate profit or loss. An interactive graph then plots both the price of the option and the price of the underlying asset against time. [Logged: April 2023]
See the Brokers N–Z page for information about TD Ameritrade.
Traders Gym
Although not featured on its website, OTC broker ThinkMarkets offers backtesting software in the form of its Traders Gym function. While the program is free to ThinkMarkets clients, it only covers foreign exchange and is better used with a desktop application than on a mobile device. There is no information on the website about how to set up Traders Gym. Limitations with the program include the fact that there is only one data source, and that there is no option to upload custom data or indicators. [Logged: March 2023]
TST comment: Traders Gym used to be called Trade Interceptor.
See the Brokers N–Z page for more information about ThinkMarkets.
Tickeron
Tickeron has an internal, AI-driven backtesting function which generates bot-trade recommendations. Tickeron’s real-time pattern recognition and alerts system is particularly useful for swing and day traders.
See the Automated Trading page for information about Tickeron’s bot trading capabilities.
Trade Ideas
Trade Ideas has powerful stock scanning and backtesting applications, with the desktop version having more punch than the web version. It is particularly suitable for day traders wanting specific artificial intelligence-driven backtested trading signals. There are two basic event-based (i.e. technical indicator driven) backtesting functions: trader activated backtests and Trade Ideas’ three proprietary AI robo-advisory trading assistant algorithms. The three robo-advisors, Holly AI, Holly 2.0, and Holly Neo, constantly backtest millions of real-time conditions to find trading opportunities. Each recommended trade has a win probability and a full set of backtested data for traders to review in performance reports, including risk assessment. Holly AI is the original incarnation of the Trade Ideas algorithm. It applies 70 strategies to 10,000+ US and Canadian stock exchanges, including pink sheets and OTC markets. Only the strategies with the highest backtested win rate of over 60% and an estimated risk-reward ratio of 2:1 are suggested as potential trades the following day. Holly 2.0 is a more aggressive version of Holly AI and Holly Neo trades real-time chart patterns with a mix of four strategies: Pullback Long, Breakout Long, Pullback Short and Breakdown Short. Traders must be prepared to go long and short to take advantage of the trading strategies. Customised, event-based backtesting in Trade Ideas uses a point-and-click system. It is very user-friendly and doesn’t require any programming or coding expertise. The backtesting functionality, OddsMaker, is integrated as a separate module within the Trade-Ideas stock scanner. It is included in the Trade Ideas Premium subscription or can also be purchased separately. Once a trading system has been optimised through variable-assessment testing, it can be set to auto-trade through several participating brokers [Logged: April 2023]
TST comment: Trade Ideas is a stock market tool only. It does not offer analysis for any other type of financial instrument (such as forex or commodities). However, cryptocurrencies may be added in the near future.
See the Charting N–Z page for general information about Trade Ideas.
See the Scanning page for information about Trade Ideas’ stock screening capability.
TraderEdge
TraderEdge is stand-alone software that backtests on standard chart indicators. Data is obtained via the trader’s own charting platform (e.g. C-Trader, MetaTrader 4 and TradingView). The backtesting software can only process one financial instrument at a time (i.e. portfolio backtesting is not available) and backtesting can only be done on a standard set of indicators (i.e. it does not have IDE). Each backtest provides trade metrics, such as profit factor, average winning and losing trades, as well as an ‘EdgeScore’ that grades the worth of a backtest. This information helps traders tailor strategies to suit their trading preferences. The software also provides live comments, letting traders know how they can improve their strategy and what should be paid attention to in the future. The strategy library allows traders to store, save and track all backtesting data, plus organise each backtest by category, colour-code, and name for easy reference. The journal function and P/L calendar allows traders to track how they’ve traded over the last month. They can add notes on each trading day, so they can identify what’s working and what’s not. TraderEdge offers a 7-day free trial, after which the cost is US$21 per month. TraderEdge does not provide any corporate details, nor contact details other than an email address. There is no information about system compatibility. [Logged: March 2023]
See the Charting A–M page for information about c-Trader and MetaTrader 4 .
See the Charting N–Z page for information about TradingView.
TradersCockpit
TradersCockpit is a stock-market software developer for traders, brokerage firms and investors to analyse stocks, bonds, derivatives, and currencies. It offers charting tools, informational research, programmatic trading and real-time quotes for executing market positions, placing trades and monitoring portfolios. TraderCockpit equity market screener falls among the best technical analysis software for the Indian stock-market providing market scanning, stock screening, forecasting and backtesting capabilities. It is a cloud-based financial market data analytics software functioning on AI algorithms to give ratings regarding profitability, efficiency, valuation and growth. The user-friendly interface enables traders to carry out advanced analytics without programming knowledge. After scanning, watchlists can be created that have automatic alerts that are triggered when a stock meets the specified criteria. TradersCockpit also offers Strategy Builder which traders can use to build and test their own trading strategies against historical data. The system sends daily alerts on the tested strategies. There is also a Strategy Market where traders can sell or share their proven trading strategies. TradersCockpit offers coding and other professional services to assist traders develop their own proprietary strategies. There is a free trial period for the software, after which it is a subscription service. TradersCockpit offers training to clients using the screener tools. TradersCockpit.com is owned by Gumption Labs Software Solutions Pvt Ltd which was founded in 2009 and is based in Karnataka, India. [Logged: April 2023]
TradeStation
With TradeStation, traders have access to one of the largest historical backtesting data bases available for stock, futures, and index data, including over 50 years for EOD stock data, 28 years for intraday stock, and 69 years for futures data. TradeStation’s free backtesting tool that traders can use to test strategies based on technical events enables robust strategy development and automation across various stocks and futures instruments. Traders can build, test, optimise, monitor, and fully automate trading strategies using pre-built strategy components. Traders select a chart, timeframe, and indicators, then plug in what technical parameters they want for the buy and sell orders. Long and short trades are both covered. Those with coding knowledge can create their own strategies through TradeStation’s proprietary programming language EasyLanguage®. Specifically designed for traders, it allows the design of customised indicators and trading strategies using English-language statements. TradeStation also offers a proprietary API system through which traders with coding expertise can use any programming language (e.g. C#, C++, Python, PHP, Ruby) to create a signal-based system based on TradeStation data, scan for new ideas, and analyse performance. With it, traders can produce their own dynamic web, mobile, or stand-alone trading applications to use with TradeStation accounts. The account minimum for this function is US$10,000. The combination of TradeStation’s point-and-click backtesting features and simulated trading functionality allows traders to quickly build, test and improve their strategies in real-time without putting capital at risk. For easy visualisation, TradeStation displays backtesting results in colour-coded charts and graphs. When an individual trade is selected, further details become available, such as the size of the trade, holding period, and entry and exit indicators. [Logged: April 2023]
See the Brokers N–Z page for more information about TradeStation.
See the Automated Trading page for more information about TradeStation’s automated trading capabilities.
Trading Blox
Trading Blox™ is a Windows-based software application that runs simulations of trading rules over historical EOD or intraday futures, stock, ETF, mutual fund or forex price data, and determines the trades that those rules would have entered and the performance they would have exhibited. Trading Blox does not provide data for historical testing or order-generation purposes. It is recommended that users of Trading Blox purchase their data from a data provider to research trading system performance and/or generate orders for real trading. Limited out-of-date courtesy data is made available to new customers for a limited time for orientation purposes. Providers that have data which is compatible with the Trading Blox engine are listed on the website and include CQG, CSI and Interactive Brokers. Trading Blox has comprehensive testing, charting and reporting features that show, trade-by-trade, all the details of the signals, risk and money management computations. Trading Blox will create an order report for the following day for live trading, and has an optional integration with Interactive Brokers. [Logged: February 2023]
See the Data page for information about CQG and CSI.
See the Brokers A–M page for information about Interactive Brokers.
TradingView
As a standard feature, even with the free plan, TradingView provides excellent backtesting software for stocks, forex, and cryptocurrencies in real time based on historical data. The system allows traders to test both ready-made strategies and self-generated setups using its user-friendly Pine Script™ programming language. After testing a strategy, it can be readily tweaked until optimisation is achieved. Backtesting sessions produce detailed performance reports which can be shared with other users. Colour-coded charts make the results easy to understand and visualise how the strategy performed during testing. Data provides in the report includes the number of trades, % of profitable trades, net profit, buy and hold return, and drawdown. One of the most useful tools for backtesting on this platform is the bar replay feature which enables traders to see what the chart looked like on a certain day before the strategy was applied. With a highly active community and social sharing, it is possible for traders to discuss strategies and troubleshoot backtesting problems. Other traders offer strategies that can be used for free or purchased. However, a limitation of TradingView’s backtesting system is that it is restricted to testing one single instrument at a time, and cannot test groups of instruments or markets. Another limitation is that there is no option of using Japanese candlestick patterns. The system does not include fundamental analysis, and backtesting is not available for all markets. The free version has obvious limitations and to get the best out of the system, a Pro or Pro Plus subscription needs to be used as they enable more charts, indicators and views, including intraday market data. [Logged: April 2023]
See the Charting N–Z page for information about TradingView.
See the Scan page for information about TradingView’s scanning capabilities.
TrendSpider
TrendSpider has a beginner-friendly, chart-based, visual-interface backtesting system that can test on long or short strategies. There is no need for users to know coding (though they can use code if they want) and different indicators can be combined, such as price action trading signals, portfolio chart patterns, and volume, to build custom strategies from the basics. Backtesting results are presented in charts that show win-rate, profitability and drawdown so traders can quickly see ideas with potential and discard those without. There is also the option to adjust backtest conditions, and the Price Behaviour Explorer and System Performance Chart will automatically update. When optimal systems are found, traders can auto-trade using a trading bot (a feature in TrendSpider that allows traders to fully automate the order execution with a broker or exchange via webhooks), receive live notifications, and post in a private chat room or to social media, though note that this is currently a beta feature. TrendSpider supports more than 61,000 assets belonging to different classes including US stocks and ETFs (though not stock options), forex, pinksheets, US futures exchange and CBOE indices, plus real-time data for all digital assets traded on more than 150 cryptocurrency exchanges. The market data for these asset classes are collected from various sources and goes back 20 years for many instruments. There is also extensive intra-day data, down to 1 minute. Because the platform is built on HTML 5, it needs no installation and no data configuration, and runs on all devices, from PCs to smartphones. After a 14-day free trial, TrendSpider has three pricing plans: Essential, Elite and Elite Plus. At US$26.25 per month or $288 annually, the Essential plan provides basic access to most data, tools and capabilities and is suited to beginners. At US$32.50 per month or $390 annually, the Elite plan provides full access to all data, tools and capabilities and is suited to most traders. And at US$67.50 per month or $810 annually the Elite Plus plan provides full access plus significantly more alerts, bots and capacity and is suited to professionals. Discounts may be available at certain times of the year (e.g. a 50% discount was offered over Easter 2023). All plans offer a list of 100+ features including traditional charting, Raindrop™ charts (which combine price and volume), 190+ built-in indicators, unlimited indicators per chart, up to 16 charts per screen, unlimited watchlists, auto trend-line detection, breakout detection, auto candlestick recognition, chart pattern recognition, auto Fibonacci pattern detection, price heat maps, anchored indicators, robust drawing tools, integrated backtesting, real-time scanning, smart checklists, multi-symbol view, multi-timeframe analysis, dynamic price alerts, real-time data flow, volume profile tools, and advanced plotting of support and resistance lines into a subtly integrated chart heatmap. Client support includes e-mail and live chat. Education includes a blog, TrendSpider University, platform courses and trading education courses. Founded in 2016, TrendSpider is headquartered in Chicago, America. [Logged: April 2023]
See the Scanning page for information about TrendSpider’s Market Scanner.