NinjaTrader Review: Experience, Cons & Pros

NinjaTrader online trading platform is designed to directly serve day traders interested in futures, forex, CFD, and stock markets. Founded in 2003, NinjaTrader is a U.S.- based software company that offers a superior trading platform and a wide range of research tools.

NinjaTrader Rating: 9,7

• Low trading fees
• More than 100 different technical indicators and technical analysis tools
• Auto trading
• Minimum deposit: $400
• Day trading stocks requires a $25,000 account vs $400 with futures

NinjaTrader is recognized for its unique combination of a high-performance trading platform, discount pricing, and real-time support.

NinjaTrader Review

 

What is NinjaTrader?

Since launching in 2004, the privately held company, based in Denver, Colorado, and Chicago, Illinois, has attracted more than 60,000 users and more than 450 developers. They offer a sophisticated trading platform with multiple charts and feature sets, as well as market data services. Thousands of third-party applications and add-ons provide deep customization, fast order execution, and advanced market analysis.

Important Details:

So, we know that NinjaTrader can be used in multiple markets, but what are the key details to consider before downloading the latest version? First, there is no commission for using any of NinjaTrader’s standard features. This provides free access to the following features:

• Trading Simulation.
• Market Analysis.
• Advanced chart display.
• Backtesting and optimization.

NinjaTrader Features and Highlights

🗓️ Founded	2004
🌎 Location	Chicago, IL. Denver, CO. USA
💰 Minimum deposit	$400
☑️ Products offered	Options, Futures, Crypto
📈 Markets	Forex, CFDs, Futures, Stocks, Commodities, Indices
💵 Withdrawal fee amount	$40
👐 Support Options	Telephone, Live Chat, email, and a support forum
💳 Deposit Methods	Bank Transfer, Credit Card,
💰 Withdrawal Methods	Bank Transfer

NinjaTrading Trustpilot Reviews

Top benefits in user’s opinion:

• Low trade commissions.
• Transparent commission structure.
• No deposit fee.
• Quick withdrawal, less than 1 business day.

Bad benefits in user’s opinion:

• High withdrawal fees
• No credit/debit card is available
• No 24/7 support

NinjaTrader Overview

Automated strategy development

NinjaTrader is an open-source system, similar to the MetaTrader 4 (MT4) platform. The difference is that MT4 mainly attracts forex traders, while NinjaTrader is also popular with futures traders.

NinjaTrader 8

The platform is updated regularly, the latest version in NinjaTrader 8, which delivered over 500 improvements, including charting changes (more configurability), alerting improvements, an improved platform, and data and performance upgrades. However, the developers will not stop there, and more user-led improvements are planned.

Why NinjaTrader?

A quick look at trading blogs and forums, and you’ll see that many people want to know how NinjaTrader compares to MT4, MT5, TradeStation, and MultiCharts. So, with so many options available, what sets NinjaTrader 8 apart from the rest?

Advantages:

• Customizability – Their straightforward platform is designed for traders who want to customize their platform and technical indicators. You will find floating windows and indicators that are simply not available on other platforms.
• Setup – They have carefully designed their platform to allow for a quick and hassle-free setup. In less than ten minutes, you can have NinjaTrader 7 or 8 downloaded and ready to go.
• Scripts – Experienced day traders often like to have access to a variety of scripts. NinjaTrader 7 was fantastic for this and NinjaTrader 8 has programmers poring over scripts to their new updated version.
• Free Simulation – This free trial uses either random data or live data that is updated once per day. Once you’ve honed an effective strategy, you can then move on to live trading with real capital.
• Stop Loss Capabilities – NinjaTrader has an intelligent system that allows you to build your strategy so that both stop losses and target orders are sent out as soon as you enter a trade. This means that if you lose your internet connection or your broker disconnects, your stop losses and target orders could prevent a costly disaster.

Disadvantages

Despite the numerous advantages for NinjaTrader, there are certain disadvantages and risks to be aware of. These include:

• Speed of the market analyzer – Some reviews highlight concerns about the speed of the market analyzer when running scans if you are using more than 100 symbols.
• Apps – Those hoping for a native NinjaTrader mobile app for their Android or Apple devices will be disappointed. Access to CQG Mobile is available for those who use NinjaTrader brokerage. In addition, there have been discussions about a native mobile app, so iOS and Android users may be in luck soon.
• Difficult to learn – This was especially true for the NinjaTrader 7 version, but to some extent, this has been fixed with their latest offering, NinjaTrader 8. You will now also find a number of online video tutorials, guides, and websites to assist you, as well as free daily webinars hosted by their support team.
• Narrow focus – Today’s day traders are increasingly interested in bitcoin and cryptocurrency markets. NinjaTrader offers charting and analytics with Coinbase data integrated directly into the platform, but order execution is not currently available. For live trading, NinjaTrader is currently best suited for trading futures, forex, stocks, and CFDs.

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NinjaTrader Tools & Functions

One of the first questions many aspiring day traders will have is about the trading tools and features offered. Fortunately, the platform and brokerage reviews report a high level of satisfaction with both.

Charting

In terms of charting capabilities, NinjaTrader performs very well. Their comprehensive tools will complement your trading ideas with user-friendly and highly customizable systems.

They offer:

• Clear and powerful market visualization
• Multi-time frame plus multi-instrument analysis
• More than 100 pre-built custom indicators, plus hundreds of optional third-party indicator add-ons.

You can expect access to the following:

• Gap indicators.
• News indicators.
• Trend indicators.
• Volume indicators.
• Volume oscillators.
• Reversal indicators.
• Volatility indicators.
• Value Range Indicators.
• Divergence indicators.
• Elliott wave indicators.
• Average daily range indicators.

Trade Management

NinjaTrader’s SuperDOM order entry and trade management system enables enhanced customizability. You will benefit from the following advantages:

• Uncomplicated trade visualization.
• Order entry, modification, and cancellation with one click.
• It can be also used with the Advanced Trade Management (ATM) module.

Advanced trade management

The NinjaTrader ATM module is a strong selling point. Its sophisticated technology allows you to pre-define personal trade management strategies.

These include:

• Numerous profit targets and stop-loss orders.
• One-cancels-other (OCO) orders.
• Auto-breakeven stops.
• Trailing losses.

This could help you make bigger profits as it automatically submits entry/exit orders within milliseconds. Not to mention, it can reduce the time and stress of manually managing multiple exit orders in volatile markets.

Trade automation

Daily trading volume is increasingly represented by machine learning algorithms. After all, if you have developed a consistently effective strategy, automating that strategy can increase your revenue.

Once you program in your criteria, an algorithm/bot will enter and exit trades as soon as your criteria are met. This way, you could make far more trades than you ever could manually. NinjaTrader allows you to automate your trading strategy if it was developed using NinjaScript or if it was developed in an external application.

You have the ability to:

• Develop and buy automated strategies.
• Analyze and execute automated strategies.
• Process trading signals from external applications.
• Either create or purchase custom chart indicators from third-party vendors.

Other analytical tools

NinjaTrader’s offer also extends to trading performance tools as well as market and strategy analyzers. All of these could help improve your trading performance.

In addition, the minimum system and hardware requirements for NinjaTrader are industry standard, so most people should be able to download the full versions 7 and 8. Programming and coding manuals can then be found in their video library.

Overall, in terms of trading tools and features, you get a range of customizable charts and trading simulation programs. You also have access to extensive data feeds, indicator lists, smart programming options, and a reliable support forum. The key to getting the most out of their services is to spend some time exploring their video library and educational services after logging in.

Mobile trading platform

At the time of writing, NinjaTrader only offered a desktop platform. We believe that the mobile trading platform is a major setback, as traders cannot monitor their positions while on the go. As with the web platform, the only way to use the mobile trading platform in combination with NinjaTrader is to connect an external brokerage account, such as an account at Interactive Brokers or Oanda.

NinjaTrader Training

Getting to grips with a new platform can prove challenging. Fortunately, NinjaTrader offers a range of training and support to improve your use of their trading software. They offer daily webinars, training videos, help guides, and there is an active user community that you can turn to.

The above methods should be able to help you with this:

• Price quotes.
• Market scanner.
• Various plugins.
• Data subscriptions.
• Order types and quantity.
• Strategy templates & tutorials ls.
• Broker withdrawals and financing.
• Output windows and stop-limit orders.

However, if you still have unanswered questions, you can contact NinjaTrader via email or through the support forum. There, you will have access to a 20-person help desk team made up of NinjaTrader specialists to ensure that you get the most out of their platform.

Many of the educational materials available revolve around frequently asked questions from traders. For example, most are “How to’s”:

• How to place a stop loss?
• How to clear strategies?
• How to trade futures?
• How to use Ninjatrader 9?
• …and many more.

These questions are often answered directly in webinars or video tutorials. The videos last about 2 to 3 minutes and cover very specific topics such as charts or connecting to the platform. The YouTube channel also offers videos, but they are particularly short.

Webinars take much longer and traders have to sign up, but these go into much more detail and offer more depth.

Demo Account

The NinjaTrader demo account is a fantastic opportunity for beginners to get familiar with both markets and the trading platform. Also, downloading their demo account software is straightforward.

Simply go to their website and click on Trade Futures or Trade FX. Then scroll down and enter your information for a demo account. All you need is an email address and to provide your location. You will then be emailed your login details and the steps to download their platform if you have not already done so.

Overall, trading simulator reviews speak very positively about this service, and it’s not hard to see why. Budding scalpers can hone their craft on Heiken Ashi charts while having access to replay features, market and volume profiles, and more. Then, once you’ve built your confidence, you can open a live trading account funded with real capital.

Costs

Account type

You can choose one of the following account types:

• Individual – the account belongs to one person.
• Joint – an account belonging to one or more persons.
• Company / LLC / Trust / Partnership – the account belongs to a legal entity.
  Pension – a tax-deductible account available only to US residents.

How to open an account

It is completely digital and easy to open a NinjaTrader account through PhilipCapital. However, the account approval process is quite slow.

The process of opening an account is a bit complicated, there are many steps involved in opening a NinjaTrader account:

1. Select the asset you want to trade on the NinjaTrader website: futures, options, forex.
2. We chose futures. In this case, you can open an account with Phillip Capital or Dorman Trading.
3. When we chose Phillip Capital, we were directed to the Phillip Capital account opening process.
4. Choose account type: personal or business.
5. Enter your personal information, such as your name, date of birth, and address. You will need to answer a few questions about your financial and employment situation.
6. Confirm your identity and address. Identity cards, passports and driving licences are accepted as proof of identity, and you can upload an e-invoice and bank statement as proof of address.
7. Answer a few questions about how you want to use your account: e.g. for speculation, etc.
8. Once you have registered and logged in with a demo account, you will also receive information from NinjaTrader Brokerage. This will list the exchange fees and other costs associated with the broker’s services.

The main costs are as follows:

• The minimum deposit for a futures trading account is $1,000.
• The minimum deposit for a forex trading account is $50.
• The daily trading margins for popular futures, such as the S&P 500 emini, are $500.
• Both mini Dax and FTSE 100 futures have margins of $1000.
• You will find commissions starting at about $0.53 per contract. However, this depends on whether you buy the NinjaTrader platform, lease it or use the free version.
• A lifetime license for NinjaTrader will cost you $1099. Alternatively, you can pay four monthly payments of $329. It costs $720 per year, $425 for six months, and $225 per quarter if you choose to lease.

It is also worth noting that the commissions can be slightly higher if you choose to use the free version of NinjaTrader.

Brokerage Compatibility

NinjaTrader exists as a broker-independent trading platform. However, there are a number of supported brokers from the UK and elsewhere. In fact, NinjaTrader has a multi-broker license. This gives you, the trader, the choice of where to execute your trades.

However, there is some risk of communication delays between some platforms. So if you want a smooth transition from platform to broker, you should choose one of the brokers currently available through NinjaTrader Brokerage. They also support the majority of the leading independent market data service providers, such as Kinetick.

Overall, you have a generous selection of forex brokerages and futures brokers to use your NinjaTrader software with. In fact, you can choose from a number of internationally supported broker technologies, including:

• CQG
• FXCM
• MB Trade
• TD Ameritrade
• PhillipCapital
• Dorman Trading
• Oanda
• Interactive Brokers
• Ninja Trader Rithmic
• Ninja Trader Continuum
• GAIN Capital/FOREX.com

NinjaTrader also supports a number of additional market data providers, including:

• eSignal
• TradeStation
• Yahoo Finance
• Metastock import
• IQFeed from Telvent DTN
• Text file-based import of historical data

For a complete list of instruments, including stocks, forex, and futures, visit their broker’s website.

NinjaTrader Customer Service

In trading, every second costs money. So you don’t want to sit around for hours waiting for NinjaTrader to fix a technical glitch or account issue. Fortunately, they offer 24/5 technical support as well as 24/7 emergency trading support in multiple languages, so no matter your time zone, someone will be close by.

You can expect to receive help with the following:

• Setting up alerts.
• Checking your account balance.
• Make sure you understand the prices.
• How to place stop losses and obtain currency prices.
• Initial margin requirements and daily loss limits.
• Directions to your strategy builder and examples.
• Finding tick charts and automated trading strategies.
• Information on vacation periods and important calendar dates.
• Understanding licensing and leverage terms, including intraday margin.
• Requirements and inactivity fees

While you can get technical and brokerage support in the hours you need it, NinjaTrader lacks a live chat service feature that could increase the speed of remediation. Overall, however, emails are answered promptly and their support is pretty standard for the industry.

The emergency trading phone number where you can reach them can be found on their website.

Problems with the connection or the system not starting can often be tracked first on the support forum, which is a great resource. Any downtime (scheduled or not) is reported there first.

Pros and Cons

• NinjaTrader has great support

NinjaTrader support is very responsive. The answers are really very detailed and often with individually made screenshots.

• Lots of extensions, lots of guides

NinjaTrader is very common, so there are many (free) extensions and manuals on various topics.

• Free as charting software

NinjaTrader can also easily be used as charting software. End-of-day price data for stocks, futures, and forex is available for free on Kinetick.

• Learn how to trade for free

Of course, simulated trading is also free. So you can practice trading for free with professional software and then switch to real-time trading without getting used to it.

• Totally flexible, adaptable workstation

• High withdrawal fees.
• No mobile apps and desktops only in Windows.
• Only futures and options on futures.

Conclusion

If you are looking for powerful software and market data, NinjaTrader might well be worth exploring. However, it may take a few weeks to get familiar with the program, especially for beginners. Although there is no native iPhone or iPad app or Android equivalent, NinjaTrader Brokerage allows you to access your account on the go via CQG Desktop.

Overall, though, you get an active trading community, a range of educational resources, and a high level of customizability. All of this can improve your trading performance and support those all-important intraday profits. If you choose NinjaTrader Brokerage, low margins and commissions can also be useful in keeping costs down.

FAQ

How much does NinjaTrader cost? Is it free?

Using NinjaTrader is free. There is no platform fee and the system is free for all brokerage accounts. The essential fundamentals of charting, strategy and trading simulation.

Trader + and Order Flow +, as well as paid services to which traders can upgrade, but the basics are free for the life of the account.

How do you use NinjaTrader?

NinjaTrader offers a wide range of reference guides, video tutorials, and webinars for both beginners and advanced traders who want to get the most out of the system. There is also a well-informed customer support team and an active user support forum.

Any gaps in knowledge can be filled with one or all of the training materials mentioned above.

Can you use NinjaTrader on a Mac?

NinjaTrader is currently a Windows platform based on the .NET Framework. This framework does not work on Mac computers. There are methods that Parallels or VMWare use to run NinjaTrader on Macs, but they are not officially supported.

NinjaTrader is tracking demand for a Mac version of the platform, and one may be developed, but it is not planned at this time.

Does NinjaTrader work with MT4?

No. NinjaTrader has no integration with MetaTrader 4 (MT4).

Is there a NinjaTrader application?

No. The platform runs on Windows operating system using the .NET platform. Adapting this tool for iOS or Android mobile devices is not currently in the development pipeline for Ninjatrader.