Can anyone recommend a source of real time stock and option data feeds that can be used as a backend for a custom trading platform? I don't necessarily need to be able to place trades but want programmatic access to real time quotes. Thanks, Ray
E-signal and DTN IQfeed are two widely-used data vendors. Real-time data will cost more for some contracts, such as ES. If you have an account with IB or others and know what you're doing you should be able to log into your account and tap into their real-time data as well.
I don't know about other avenues of access for IB or even if they exist but their DDE interface b/t their platform and Excel has limits and only increases if you have a VERY larger account or you trade a lot.