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I don't see much posting for the 'TT' platform, it seems really cool and I'd like to hear other trader's thoughts.
I wish more platform vendors would go the cloud-based route, I don't like how many of the best platforms only run on windows for example.
I'd like to hear opinions on:
- Performance
- Cost: $700/month for standard?? Seems like this is only a platform for true players and not learners like me! ><
- Why don't more vendors go cloud-based?
- etc.
Thoughts?
Cheers!
snax
Can you help answer these questions from other members on NexusFi?
Hi, I believe you can use "standard" with no monthly cost, other than an order routing fee of 0.30 per side with $50 minimum/month. This is available via Optimus, AMP, etc.
TT and CQG had the technical infrastructure, financial resources and marketing clout to lead an army of pro-traders into using cloud-based UIs. But I think that even they will still maintain their desktop UI products for the forseeable future.
But for so many reasons, for smaller companies -- it would be an insanely long road to create a full-featured financial/real-time web app and the associated cloud-based services, when you're already established with a desktop or mobile interface... even if they already have a client-server infrastructure for some things (i.e. ThinkOrSwim). A majority of resources would need be diverted to building a new interface at the very least, and risk upsetting your entire customer base.
Multicharts has TradingView as a "cloud" offshoot, which has evolved into a great product with remote indicator creation/sharing, idea sharing, user social networking, etc. That's how they started, and then they added live trading long after the initial concept had proven its longevity.
JigSaw has Journalytix, which created it's own niche. Not a trading platform but leverages their desktop platform allowing them to have a "cloud" presence. Maybe from there they can add some trading capability some day.
Tradovate is purely cloud-based service from the ground up, which is key, it was built this way from the beginning.
NinjaTrader and TS have legions of users and notoriously long development cycles, and a whole lot of inertia to major technological change.
Somehow, IB TWS continues even though it could be in the Guinness Book of World Records for most archaic UI ever. But I could see them moving into the cloud at some point too.
Great info, thanks. I haven't checked out tradovate; Multicharts and Jigsaw were two of the windows-based platforms I would like to test out but I use a mbp for work and really don't want to run a platform through bootcamp or vm. One of my favorites at this moment is investor-r/t which actually runs on macOS so at least I have that. TT is still a possible consideration though now that I understand the pricing better. Thanks again.
I'm a Mac user too, and went through a similar thought process. I use MC.NET. So now my PC - that I run MC on - I leave the monitor off, and connect from the Mac to a full-screen RDP session to work with Multicharts...(using "Jump Desktop" for Mac.) It's a great workflow. I can still use the mac (unlike dual-boot), and it takes up none of my laptop resources, as a VM would. If I go somewhere with the Mac, I'm not taking my trading stuff with me. If I needed to, I can access MC from a different location or install it on a cloud VPS.
Thanks for sharing, the vps has crossed my mind recently too. I may just have to get over always wanting the simplest solution that will possibly work.
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I've been a TT user for about 13 years now, have even been in some of their beta-tests. I currently use their legacy product XTrader Pro which is an amazing product - but it's going away in about 7 months and I'm about to be forced to move to the new web product.
It's expensive (unless your moving a lot of volume), a lot of its functionality isn't what retail traders are looking for, and it's not known as a leader in the industry when it comes to charting, also has no backtesting, all things retail traders seem to focus on a lot.
Personally I'm the opposite. Cloud sounds great if your mobile, and logging in from everywhere, but I spend 50 hours a week sat in front of a 5x 30" monitor setup. I want to be running what is most stable, most reliable software, not what allows me to log on from anywhere. (Thats what RDP is for!).
I also heavily use Excel RTD links, so need a desktop version for that reason. (I believe there is a desktop version).
Also adding in the Cloud just adds in extra things that can (and do) go wrong. TT have had problems when there are have been AWS and/or internet issues. Your own colocated servers don't have that problem.
Finally you lose control of your own data. Instead of being on your desktop, controlled by you, it's in their cloud - forever!
TT are and have been the industry leader in futures trading for decades. The new product is all fresh rewritten code running on colocated servers. It is faster than anything else out there that isn't HF/MM specific, and is much faster than you anything most people here will ever need!
@SMCJB Fantastic information, as you always give. Everything you said makes sense, it will take some time for me to research all these alternatives out there. Thanks again, and happy Friday to you!
so i've used the TT platform for a few months now for testing
1) charting is horrible. only recently did they implement cont contracts but they don't even have volume-based rollover. oh and no second-charts if that's a thing you need. if you wanna load 365 days worth of data for a 4-hr chart, expect to wait a while for it load every single new session. in SC or NT, you get to save data on your computer for fast loading later. not the case here.
2) charting UI and fluidity is one of the worst i've seen; as you increase the window size of the chart window, moving around the chart lags increasingly; there's no way to click-drag-release and scroll horizontally the chart without also moving vertically, which is a standard feature in every platform; in order to reset the axis, you have to right-click and click auto, instead of doing it intuitively like any other platform where you can just double click; so many more examples i could name...but really the worst is the lag. it's funny b/c as you make the chart window smaller and smaller, you can visibly see the lag go away lol
being a cloud-based platform should not be an excuse for this since Tradingview has a fast/fluid charting UI
3) execution speed is great. right up there with the best
4) if you require a sophisticated dom to look at recent bid/ask volume, staking/pulling, cumulative bid/ask volume, forget the TT dom. use jigsaw or sierrachart's dom. this was the most surprising to me b/c TT has always been famous for their dom but you quickly realize its functionality is a decade behind that of jigsaw or sierrachart's.
5) per-contract fee is one of the most expensive in the business unless you trade size
final thoughts: really, the biggest advantage of TT is its execution speed and if you trade spreads/options or have a need for Autotrader or ADL. but for the aforementioned functionalities, it's not even $50/month. it's $400/month.
in conclusions, TT is good at some very specific things - functionalities i feel 90%+ of the retail space won't be using like ADL.
the things that the retail space does use a lot: advanced DOM, fluid and intuitive charting UI, continuous contracts, volume-based indicators and analysis, etc. - TT doesn't do well at all. in fact, it's actually pretty terrible if i'm being really honest compared to the "amateur retail" platforms like NT, SC, MC.
it's more of a niche product that fills some very specific needs that a small subset traders would know they would need, but sucks when it comes to basic functionality that we've come to expect from other retail platforms we've used.
