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Checked out most, been using it for two years, and it is excellent. Rock solid software, fast and reliable with a small footprint. Very few bugs, and if you find one, support is amazing and will have it fixed usually within a day or two.
That said... there is a learning curve, and it can be clunky at times, but I've yet to find a better alternative for my needs. Do a trial and check it out for yourself.
I switched to Sierra chart about 3 weeks ago and it was the best, although belated, decision I've made regarding software for analysis. It's light on resources, infinatly customizable and extremely stable. Having all my markets loaded up, it's a fifth of the consumption of ninjatrader. Great historical database as well, including asian indices. Wished I'd done it sooner.
Although I would certainly recommend doing the free trial I think a lot of people get frustrated with SierraChart as a new user because there are so damn many options.
In fact, I did a SierraChart trial about 2 years ago and absolutely hated it. The UI looked like it was from 1997 and the documentation is daunting for any simple change. Then, I spent the next few years going through various platforms and found that all the "pretty" platforms with nice looking buttons and gorgeous plots lacked the capabilities or customization I needed. I decided to give SierraChart a second chance several months ago and stick with it through the customization phase.
After toughing out the learning curve it is the best platform I have used to date. I've probably tried 50+ other platforms and, while not perfect, it's as close as I have found.
What indicators do you want from SierraChart that eSignal doesn't offer?
"Leaning curve" -- yes. And an excellent platform when you get past that.
Also yes.
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As a long-time NinjaTrader user, I have migrated to SierraChart and am happy to have done so.
Pros:
- Substantially cheaper
- Works with many more brokers
- Stable and fast (although charts initially load slowly). This is a major thing for me. Very solid, and not still being built (as NT8 still is, after years of work.)
- Has about everything you want already built-in, without needing added custom indicators. The "Want your NinjaTrader indicator created, free?" thread on FIO is very busy. The corresponding SierraChart thread is essentially dead, not because no one uses SC, but because the thread isn't really needed. (There is a coding language if you're so inclined. With its own learning curve. )
Cons:
- The only thing I have as a "con" is that the documentation and interface can be so detailed (and not always well-organized) that it can be hard to figure out how to do things at first. This is a fairly big con, but, as others have said, as you get used to it and know the ins and outs it becomes OK. There is an initial learning curve, though.
I can't speak to eSignal (never used it), but I have used several others, and SC compares well. I do still really like NinjaTrader, but I am happy to have switched.
I don't think that Ninja and SierraChart are really all that different. Certainly, under the hood there are big differences, and the user interfaces are different as well. But to do the same things (put up charts, show indicators, take trades), any two platforms will be similar, and these two, which are full-featured and generally well thought-out, just aren't all that different -- they can't be, given the nature of the tasks they are intended for. You can split some hairs about one thing or another, but when you get down to it, both are fine.
Given that, the differences are going to have to be minor. I think they come down to two things:
1. Ninja decided to be open-ended and let outside development firms add to functionality that NT didn't have -- which is terrific -- and they also didn't add a lot of things that outsiders were providing. SC also has an open-ended developer environment, but put a lot of attention on adding functionality to the base package, and has kept at it. This has meant SC is much more full-featured, and has long been.
2, Ninja embarked on a fundamental re-write, which, after several years' time (during which they put no effort into NT7) has resulted in NT8, a very good package that is still not entirely done as of today's date. SC kept doing incremental updates (typically they have some changes, with a new download version, every few weeks) and so it never had a totally fundamental change, but it's still more a finished product, because changes have been gradual and not huge and top-to-bottom. This also kept SC more stable during NT8's long and less stable development period. (Hopefully NT8 is settling down now.)
I don't know which product or which philosophy will be better in the long run, and I'm sure both will continue to improve. But for now, this is why I have made the change.
Die hard Sierra chart user here I have used many platforms but have found Sierra the most flexible and once u know it the most user friendly. Response, footprint and easy backtesting are added benefits