Hi All, I was wondering if I could get some feedback on alternative platforms to Esignal. I currently use Interactive Brokers as my broker (live in Canada) to trade US equities and Futures. Im currently trying out Esignal with their 30 day money back guarantee. Some things I like and want; - Workspace type interface (opposite of Ninjatrader) - decent screener integrated to find overnight movers/high volume premarket etc. - quickly able to click through a watchlists/screeners and have it display on a linked chart - DOM style order entry would be nice. - Integrates with Interactive Brokers - Options chain window - plot opening range and previous day H/L Things I dont like; -SUPER Expensive - CME waiver and US Equities data I'm looking at like $200 USD a month I've used and looked at; Ninjatrader, Sierra Charts, TOS, IB Mosaic/TWS, Medved Trader, Multicharts. NT and SC are awesome for futures trading/trading 1-4 instruments, but sifting through a basket of stocks is not their forte -- no stock screener. Medved is nice since its so inexpensive but there are no bracket orders (minor inconvenience) and the interface is windowed like NT vs a workspace which I prefer more. IB Mosaic/TWS cant even seem to display an opening range or previous days H/L. Charts arent very "dynamic" and arent nice looking like every one else. Their scanner is good and I like the overall workspace. The actual charts suck IMO but everything else is quite decent. TOS seems like the best alternative and is the most all-inclusive platform. Very similar to Esignal and then some. Free with a TD Direct Investing account which I have. Their commissions are way out there though and not really an option until/if Im slinging 1000+ share blocks which I dont. Lack of historical data compared to everyone else. As far as trading style goes, I mainly trade intraday stocks holding anywhere from 0 to 6 hours, mostly under 45 minute hold on momentum. I look for "stocks in play" pre-market on news/higher volume plus a few usual stocks that I watch (aapl,nflx, goog,tsla,fb etc). Main workspace on Esignal is spread across 2-3 monitors. Main monitor has the stock Im currently trading (3 timeframes plus tape/dom etc), other monitor has watchlist, scanner and 6-9 other charts of other stocks for the day. I'd appreciate any insight and advice! Thanks
I used eSignal for many many years. While it has many great features, after the project manager who developed the current version left the company, everything just seemed to fall apart. The major problem as I see it, and the reason I stopped using it, is that the current developers just don't do their job with the needs of active traders in mind. And rather than fix what needs to be fixed or improved, they focus their efforts on adding new stuff.
Thanks for the reply learner2007. Can I ask what you use now? I heard something about that in an older thread regarding Esignal. Maybe it was from you? lol. It looks like the full Esignal package with US Equities w/ depth would be like $250 USD a month (over 325 CAN right now).
I'm not in the U.S and what I now use locally is not available to you. I don't kno w if they would meet your needs but I noticed that TradeStation and Tradesignal are not on your list. http://www.tradesignal.com/product/
I am not sure if you trade futures, but here are some alternatives in lieu of the platforms that you have mentioned. If you are looking to change methods of executions, we can provide Multicharts free of charge. In fact, since you like Sierra and consider them as well, we can provide one username and password to enter both platforms at the same time. I like Sierra charting and the DOM on MC. The data you will receive is unfiltered and raw. The speed of execution is measurable and we can also change routing depending on your location to assist with latency.
Learner, I'll check out Tradesignal. As for Tradestation, don't you have to go through their brokerage to have proper trading through the platform? Profit locker, Do you use Multicharts for equities trading. Ita definitely a solid alternative to NT for futures trading but every time I try it out I'm left somewhat disappointed. Maybe its worth another go? I found in the past the charts aren't as slick as NT and its not quite as feature rich for scanning and trading multiple stocks like esignal with its scanner and interface. What do you think? Basically comparing it to Esignal, Sterling, TOS.
Stefan I do trade equities. The charts IMO opinion are top notch, but that's not something I utilize much. Same goes for scanner. What it does really well (for me), utilizing Powerlanguage is execute/manage automated trades very efficiently using the IB API. It's fast and syncs the data amazingly well. For the cost, it's an amazing product. Some people think it's not secure because it utilizes DRM to protect their property from hackers, and needs to be online for live trading. The flipside of that is the excellent support and frequent updates their team implements.