NinjaTrader ↗
The desktop platform most futures firms support. Charting, DOM, strategy playback for replaying past sessions.
Free to download and use for charting and sim trading.Listed as a platform by 12 of 61 firms →Calculators free, nothing stored
Type your own numbers. Nothing here is advice; it is arithmetic you should do before you buy.
True cost of an eval
What you actually pay to reach a first payout attempt: eval, renewals, resets and activation.
Reset and activation fees are on each firm's own page; our profiles list them where the firm states them. Codes often don't apply to resets.
Contracts per trade
How many contracts you can hold for a given stop without betting more than you planned.
Check the firm's contract limit for your account size; micros usually count as a fraction of a mini.
Drawdown runway
How many bad days the account can take, and how much you must make to pass.
Trailing drawdowns move the line up as you profit, so the runway shrinks after a good day. See drawdown types.
Days to first payout
At your pace, how long until you can ask for money.
Add the firm's payout cycle (weekly, every 14 days) on top. A consistency rule can hold a payout even when the numbers work.
Trading platforms 10 tools
Where you place the trades. Most futures firms hand you a login for one or more of these; CFD firms usually give you MT5, cTrader, Match-Trader or TradeLocker.
Tradovate ↗
Browser and mobile futures platform from the same company as NinjaTrader. No install, works on a phone.
Listed as a platform by 9 of 61 firms →Rithmic R | Trader Pro ↗
The data and execution backbone behind many firm accounts. Bare-bones DOM and charts, fast fills.
Listed as a platform by 7 of 61 firms →Quantower ↗
Connects to Rithmic, Tradovate, CQG and more from one platform. Strong DOM, volume and order-flow panels.
Free plan available.Listed as a platform by 2 of 61 firms →Sierra Chart ↗
Dense, fast, old-school. Favored for footprint charts and custom studies once you get past the learning curve.
Listed as a platform by 4 of 61 firms →MetaTrader 5 ↗
The default platform at most CFD and forex prop firms. Expert Advisors for automation.
Listed as a platform by 18 of 61 firms →cTrader ↗
CFD platform with a cleaner interface than MT5 and built-in depth of market.
Listed as a platform by 11 of 61 firms →Match-Trader ↗
Browser platform many newer CFD firms use instead of MT5; TradingView-style charts.
Listed as a platform by 12 of 61 firms →TradeLocker ↗
Browser and mobile CFD platform with TradingView charts built in.
Listed as a platform by 11 of 61 firms →DXtrade ↗
Web platform used by a handful of CFD firms.
Listed as a platform by 3 of 61 firms →Charting and order flow 6 tools
Reading the market. A charting tool is where you plan; an order-flow tool shows you what is actually trading at each price.
TradingView ↗
Charts, alerts, bar replay and a huge library of community indicators. Many firms let you trade straight from it.
Free plan available; paid plans add more charts and alerts.Listed as a platform by 16 of 61 firms →Bookmap ↗
Heatmap of the order book over time. Shows where resting orders sit and where they pull.
Free plan available.Listed as a platform by 1 of 61 firms →ATAS ↗
Footprint and cluster charts, volume profiles, order-flow indicators.
Listed as a platform by 2 of 61 firms →Jigsaw Daytradr ↗
DOM-first tool built around reading the order book, with training material to go with it.
MotiveWave ↗
Charting with deep Elliott Wave, Gann and harmonic tooling, plus order flow in the higher tiers.
Volumetrica ↗
Order-flow and footprint platform popular with scalpers.
Journals and review 4 tools
The eval you fail teaches you nothing unless you write it down. A journal imports your fills and shows you which setups, hours and sizes actually make money.
TradeZella ↗
Journal, analytics, backtesting and replay in one place. Imports from Tradovate, Rithmic, NinjaTrader and MT5 among others.
Tradervue ↗
One of the oldest journals. Simple, fast, good reports.
Free tier available.TraderSync ↗
Cloud journal with broker imports and AI-style trade reviews.
Edgewonk ↗
Journal built around process metrics: tilt, discipline, missed trades.
Calendars and hours 3 tools
Most blown evals happen on a news candle. Know what is scheduled before the session, and when the exchange is closed or closing early.
ForexFactory calendar ↗
The calendar most futures traders keep open: red-folder events, consensus and previous numbers. Set it to your time zone.
Free.CME Group trading hours and holidays ↗
The official word on when ES, NQ, CL and GC trade, daily maintenance breaks and holiday early closes.
Free.Investing.com economic calendar ↗
Alternative calendar with filters by country and importance.
Free.Trade copiers 4 tools
Mirror one account's trades onto others. Read the firm's rules first: many allow copying between your own accounts at the same firm, some limit it, and copying another trader's account can break the rules outright.
Tradecopia ↗
Futures copier that mirrors orders across Tradovate, NinjaTrader, Rithmic and TopstepX in real time, with per-account risk controls.
Free trial.Edgeable ↗
Cloud copier for futures prop accounts: one leader account to many followers across Tradovate, Rithmic and TopstepX, with per-account guardrails.
Tradesyncer ↗
Cloud copier for futures and prop accounts across platforms.
Duplikium ↗
Cloud copier across MT4, MT5, cTrader and more.
Contract specs CME, for the calculator above
Tick size and value per contract. A point is the whole number move; a tick is the smallest move. Confirm margins and limits with your firm; these are exchange specs, not firm rules.
| Contract | Market | Tick size | Tick value | Point value |
|---|