I am not sure if the free version (MC DT) has the backtesting and scanner capabilities.

SC - you can edit the colors, fonts, toolbars as you like.
And one more thing is the spreadsheed function, which makes it easy creating an indicator.

I've tried most of the platform available. I really like Sierra because it is lightweight, very customizable, there are a lot of studies (indicators) including footprint charts and delta in case that is what you are looking for and it has an excellent support. Sierra works with many brokers and almost all data feeds (except for eSignal) and by saying it works I really mean it does so effectively. It also has great DOM , very good chart trader and its worksheet "Excel like" capability, where you can program many things by yourself. You can run as many Sierra instances (copies) on two computers as well. Last but not least it is being updated regularly and it is usually bug free.
So that deciding between Sierra and Multicharts for Forex or futures trader I'd go with Sierra in a heartbeat.

However I see you are trading stocks mostly. In such a case the result would not be so easy as Multicharts has a very good scanner and portfolio backtesting capabilities.

I think your decision should be based on many factors such as products you trade, broker, data feed, what you expect from the platform, etc. Obviously the best is to get trials and see for yourself.
I will be more than happy to help with any detailed question you may have.

Thank you rani.

I am interested in volume delta related studies. Thank you for reminding me that SC has some studies in that space.

I'm a discretionary trader, no automation, and I am now primarily trading stocks. Still, if I go with MC I will purchase the full program to gain access to custom indicators.

The basic setup I'm looking at is Interactive Brokers, DTN.IQ and then the charting platform. I've been somewhat spoiled by ThinkorSwim's chart platform. It is so elegant, functional, yet very easy to learn and navigate within. I started with trading options. But now, I've gravitated to mostly trading stocks intraday and TOS is not good fo that purpose. Hence, I have to put a new layout together.

How do you find the writing tools in SC, easy to work with, accurate/precise, good function?

Best,
Ged

Hi Ged,

You need to learn Sierra as it is a little different than NT, MC or others. However it should not take long (couple of days) and after that I am sure you'll find Sierra powerful yet elegant and very stable. As stated, Sierra has already built in volume / delta studies and number bars (footprint chart style like Market Delta). I do not think MC has something like this built in.

Sierra for me is very easy to work with. It is very lightweight, accurate and works excellent with IQFeed. The more I dig deeper the more I appreciate its functions. The good thing is also Sierra's excellent support (some find them "blunt", but I think it is just their intention to get things done). They are even able to custom program stuff for you for a very reasonable costs. And they know their platform very well. Just have a look on their website under Support - Support Board to get an idea.
You can write tools for Sierra in C++ or use their worksheet study, which uses Excel like kind of programing (- easy to use for non-programmers like myself).

It is not my intention to steer you into any direction. Above is my honest opinion, however what works for me must not work for you.

You should also consider your setup:

MC - you will be able to connect to both IQfeed for data and IB from trading from within MC
SC - you would need to run two instances of Sierra (as they do not support in purpose more than one data connection from single copy). One instance connected to IQFeed running in the background (remember Sierra is really lightweight) and other one connected to IB. You will open so called remote chart data from the first instance (IQFeed) and run them in the second IB instance. The effect is, that you will work with just one instance (copy) of Sierra connected to IB and data powered by IQFeed. May sound difficult, but it is not. This is how I run it as well.

I find data management of Sierra generally one of the best of all (NT, MC).

One more think came to my mind - Sierra staff includes custom studies built by users directly into new version release, so that you don't have to search Internet or different forums to find them.


Off topic: would I be trading larger portfolio of stocks, I will have serious look at eSignal 11. Nice looking 64bit platform, directly integrated with their excellent feed, EasyLanguage compatible (studies, indicators), direct trading integration with IB. Very good scanners, stock lists linked with charts / DOMs, etc.

rani, by 'light weight', do you mean SC does not place much burden on the CPU, runs efficiently?

Thanks,
Ged

Really helpful post rani and good of you to take the time. Several of the things you mention are very relevant for me, so I'm going to take a second and more careful look at SC. Is SC 64 bit?

My concern with eSignal is that I've read that their data feed is not so great under certain circumstances. Not so good for volume studies, and not so good when trade volume gets especially heavy. I know their charting is very nice. Any additional thoughts you may have are more than welcome.

Best,
Ged

I do not want to hack your SC / MC thread, but in case you would like to have more info / my opinion why eSignal may be good choice for stock traders let me know, I'll be more than happy to provide that.