NinjaTrader vs Tradovate: which one should you trade futures on?
NinjaTrader and Tradovate are owned by the same company now, and a lot of prop firms let you pick either one. They're still very different to trade on. I trade futures full time and coach futures traders, so here's how they actually differ, and which one I'd pick for what.
The short version
Pick NinjaTrader if you trade from a Windows PC and want serious charting, custom indicators or automated strategies. Pick Tradovate if you want to log in from any browser, Mac or phone and just trade, with nothing to install. Plenty of traders use both: Tradovate on the laptop and phone, NinjaTrader at the desk. Either way, journal every trade, because the platform won't tell you which of your habits is costing you.
- You trade from a Windows PC and want the deepest charting
- You use custom indicators or automated strategies (NinjaScript)
- You want lots of third-party add-ons
- You like a desktop setup with many windows and monitors
- You're on a Mac or want to trade from any browser
- You want to trade from your phone too, with the same account
- You don't want to install or maintain software
- You want something simple to start a prop firm eval on
Same company, different platforms
NinjaTrader bought Tradovate in 2022, so they're sister products now, but the platforms are still separate. NinjaTrader is a desktop program for Windows with deep charting and its own programming language. Tradovate is built for the browser and runs the same on a Mac, a PC, a tablet or your phone.
Side by side
| NinjaTrader (desktop) | Tradovate | |
|---|---|---|
| Where it runs | Windows desktop | Browser, desktop app and phone, Mac included |
| Charting | Very deep, many chart types, multi-monitor | Clean and quick, less to customise |
| Custom indicators and bots | Yes, NinjaScript (C#) and a big add-on ecosystem | Limited compared with NinjaScript |
| Setup | Install, connect, configure | Log in and trade |
| Good for | Traders who build their own tools and setups | Traders who want simple, anywhere access |
Pricing and commissions depend on your region and your broker or prop firm, and they change, so check the current numbers on NinjaTrader's and Tradovate's own sites before you decide.
If you trade a prop firm evaluation
Many futures prop firms let you trade their accounts on Tradovate, NinjaTrader or both. Tradovate is the easiest to start on because there's nothing to install. NinjaTrader makes sense if you already use it or rely on your own indicators. The platform won't pass the eval for you. What passes an eval is small size, a daily stop and not revenge trading, which I go through in how to pass a prop firm evaluation.
How to journal each one
Neither platform has a real journal built in. Both show you P&L and statistics, but nothing grades whether you followed your plan. The good news is both export your trades cleanly:
- NinjaTrader: Trade Performance, then the Executions tab, then export to CSV. Step by step on the NinjaTrader journal page.
- Tradovate: Account Reports, then the Orders tab (or Performance), then Download Report. Step by step on the Tradovate journal page.
Actal, which I built, imports both files and rebuilds your round trips, then checks every trade against your own rules and grades it on how well you followed your plan. It's free while in beta.
What I'd do
- New to futures or starting an eval: Tradovate. Fewer things to set up and nothing to break.
- You already know what you want from your charts, or you use custom indicators: NinjaTrader.
- On a Mac: Tradovate, unless you want to run Windows.
- Either way: trade micros first, keep size small, and review every trade.
Who wrote this
I'm Joakim. I trade index futures full time and coach futures traders one-on-one at Jusell Trading Academy, and my students use both platforms. Actal is my product, and it imports from both.
Questions people ask
Drop in one export. In a minute Actal grades the trades it can, prices the mistakes you tagged, and tells you the first thing to fix. Free during beta, no card.
Full-time index futures trader. Coaches traders one-on-one at Jusell Trading Academy, five students at a time, since 2020. No platform was built for developing traders, so he had his own coaching software built; old students loved it and kept coming back, and Actal is that software turned into a proper journal for what matters.