NinjaTrader Review 2024 Costs, Accounts & Futures Explained

NinjaTrader offers well over 100 individual technical indicators that you can either track individually or combine into tables and charts based on your own, personal trading strategy. There are dozens of chart types to choose from and, if that isn’t enough, you can use NinjaScript to create your indicators for the software to track. NinjaTrader offers great-looking charts with excellent customization and functionality. The platform and brokerage are both geared toward active futures and forex traders who need a solid technical analysis platform.

Thinkorswim, backed by Charles Schwab, offers customer support with options for live chat, phone support and in-person assistance at Schwab branches. NinjaTrader does not have a dedicated mobile app but offers a mobile-friendly web interface with limited functionality compared to its desktop platform. At this point in our NinjaTrader review we have covered all the key metrics from fees and payments to safety and user experience. Additionally, there are three different licenses to choose from with varying account fees and commissions.

With a continuous flow of buyers and sellers in the futures markets, market orders can be executed swiftly. For instance, if a trader decides to invest $2,000 into Microsoft (MSFT) stock priced at $200, they can either purchase 10 stocks or a futures contract of 100 Microsoft stocks. Natural Gas FuturesNatural gas futures are a widely traded energy market that allows traders to speculate on the price of natural gas. Similar to crude oil futures, natural gas futures have significant liquidity throughout trading sessions. Working with an adviser may come with potential downsides such as payment of fees (which will reduce returns). There are no guarantees that working with an adviser will yield positive returns.

NinjaTrader Review: Ninja-Fast Futures Trading at a Low Cost

If you do have issues with connecting, or the system not starting, be sure to check it for updates. Once you have built up your confidence, you can open a live trading account, funded with real capital. Simply head over to their website and select Trade Futures or Trade FX.

NinjaTrader offers a different plan for experienced traders, beginners, and more. All plans from NinjaTrader (including the free plan) come with access to the platform’s desktop and mobile app. As one of the best commodity trading apps, NinjaTrader is best suited for seasoned investors who can use its robust trading tools and features. However, novice futures traders can also benefit from a NinjaTrader account to access unlimited simulated futures trading. Newcomers can try their strategies in real-time and see how they do without losing money.

It offers low-cost futures trading with options for per-trade pricing or a lifetime license that reduces fees. NinjaTrader is one of the older online investing platforms on the market. Its primary feature is a truly vast degree of customization, allowing users to create bespoke charts and swap plugins to create just the right data environment for their trading. An award-winning platform that has received very high marks over the years, NinjaTrader excels from a technological and design standpoint. In fact, professional traders working in specialty niches will find this an extremely valuable software suite. It lacks many of the features and assets that those traders will look for, and you can find the same tools on full-service platforms which come without NinjaTrader’s complications.

Is NinjaTrader only for futures?

As a brokerage, NinjaTrader also offers access to a range of asset classes including futures, forex, and stocks. Tradovate is a futures trading software company focusing on this type of investing without offering other options or trying to be a “one-stop shop” for investors. NinjaTrader is a futures trading platform offering affordable and accessible trading for sophisticated, active traders. NinjaTrader offers a specialized experience with tools like automated trading and advanced charting, but it’s tailored primarily to experienced traders. Meanwhile, thinkorswim provides a more well-rounded experience with tools and resources that cater to a wider audience, including extensive educational materials and research.

Trading Technology

While NinjaTrader’s platform is exceptionally customizable and offers numerous advanced features, it may not be considered easy to use when you first download the platform. In addition, the broker offers competitive spreads and a high-speed execution service for forex currency pairs. The terminal allows automatization of trading strategies in NinjaScript as well as third party applications.

In this 2024 review, we walk through the NinjaTrader 8 platform ecosystem. We unpack the range of features on offer as well as indicators, charts and demo accounts, plus compatibility with top brokers including NinjaTrader Brokerage. It’s possible to trade traditional futures with NinjaTrader, but you can also trade in micro futures, a smaller version of the same futures contracts. This makes it possible to start futures trading with lower upfront costs.

Is thinkorswim free?

As a brokerage, NinjaTrader offers access to the futures and forex markets. The company has partnered with several supporting brokerages to give traders access to other markets, including options on futures, CFDs, and equities. Thinkorswim, while offering commission-free trading for stocks and ETFs, charges higher fees for futures trading, with rates starting around $2.25 per contract. Options trades incur a fee of $0.65 per contract, which is competitive but higher than some dedicated options platforms. The desktop platform facilitates full customizability as well as the option to incorporate thousands of different app add-ons.

NinjaTrader Features, Charting, and Analysis

Regarding futures trading, TradeStation offers traditional futures contracts and mini-futures. Like NinjaTrader, TradeStation offers a range of trading tools and features, such as simulated trading, backtesting, and charting. The platform supports all the usual order types, including market, limit, stop market, and stop-limit orders as well as advanced OCO (one cancels other) orders. If you’re interested in automated trading, NinjaTrader’s ATM Strategies provide discretionary traders with semi-automated features to manage their positions. Alternatively, you can fully automate a strategy using a “point and click” construction for non-programmers, or by using NinjaTrader’s C#-based trading framework. The Order Flow+ suite of premium features, which allows you to analyze trade activity using order flow, volume traders of the new era bars, and market depth, is available only with a lifetime license.

You can easily insert technical indicators, strategies, and drawing tools, which are all customizable within the chart. Thinkorswim also offers charting tools, with plenty of technical indicators and the ability to create custom studies. It’s generally seen as more user-friendly, making it accessible to traders who may not need all the bells and whistles. forex trading for beginners Thinkorswim offers paperMoney, a popular simulated trading environment mimicking live trading conditions, making it ideal for beginners and experienced traders.

1. Thinkorswim offers a vast array of tradable assets, including stocks, options, ETFs, futures and forex, providing a one-stop-shop for traders looking to build a diversified portfolio.
2. From that perspective, the NinjaTrader platform has all the tools and features it needs to be successful.
3. The standard lease is available from $720 per year or a lifetime license is available at a one-time cost of  $1,099.

TradingView has a user-friendly interface that’s easy to navigate, making it accessible to beginners and experienced traders alike. NinjaTrader provides powerful charting tools with advanced features like multi-timeframe analysis and extensive customization but with a steeper learning curve. brokerage account definition To open an account with NinjaTrader through a third-party broker simply head over to the NinjaTrader website and select the financial instrument you want to trade.