Quantower: what it is, what it costs and how it compares with NinjaTrader

Quantower is a multi-market trading platform for Windows that connects to dozens of brokers, data providers and crypto exchanges, and it stands out for its volume and order flow tools: footprint charts, volume profiles, DOM Surface and TPO charts. The download is free, but the advanced features are paid through monthly, annual or lifetime licenses. In this guide you’ll see what each license includes, what it costs in 2026, how it compares with NinjaTrader, Tradovate and TradingView, and when it’s worth it (and when it isn’t).

What is Quantower?

Quantower is a broker-neutral trading platform: it isn’t a broker and doesn’t execute orders itself. It’s a front end that plugs into someone else’s infrastructure. You pick the connection (a futures broker, a data provider, a crypto exchange or a prop firm) and Quantower gives you the charts, the DOM and the execution tools.

It’s developed by Quantower LLC, headquartered in Dnipro (Ukraine), with a UK entity (Quantower West Ltd). It covers futures, options, stocks, CFDs, forex and crypto, and lets you keep several connections open at once: for example, watching the Binance order book while you trade Micro Nasdaq through Rithmic. The stable version as of November 2026 is 1.147.9.

The interface is built from more than 40 independent panels (chart, DOM Trader, Time & Sales, Market Replay, simulator, copy trading and so on) that you group into workspaces and can spread across multiple monitors.

How Quantower works: connections and market data

The first thing you choose when you open Quantower is the connection. It determines which markets are available, the quality of the data and, in some cases, which features unlock without paying for a license.

Connection type	Examples	What it’s for
Futures technology / routing	Rithmic, CQG (via AMP)	Data and execution on CME Group futures and other regulated markets
Data providers	dxFeed, IQFeed, Barchart, Polygon.io	Real-time and historical data for analysis
Brokers	Interactive Brokers, AMP, Optimus Futures, OANDA	Trading through your own brokerage account
Crypto exchanges	Binance, Bybit, OKX, Kraken, Deribit	Spot, perpetual futures and crypto options
Prop firms	Several futures prop firms with their own connection	Trading evaluation or funded accounts from Quantower

Two details worth being clear on: the license price doesn’t include market data (CME data is purchased separately through your broker or data provider), and with some connections, such as AMP, Optimus Futures (through its own build, Optimus Flow) or certain crypto exchanges, Quantower unlocks the paid features at no extra cost.

Key Quantower features for futures traders

Volume Analysis: footprint, volume profiles and VWAP

This is the package that best justifies paying for Quantower. It includes cluster (footprint) charts with the volume traded at each price, buyer/seller imbalance detection, volume profiles, VWAP and anchored VWAP, plus a dynamic VPOC.

DOM Surface: the order book as a heatmap

It shows how order book liquidity has changed over time using a color scale. It helps you spot large limit orders that appear and disappear, which is useful on liquid contracts like ES or NQ. It requires market depth (Level 2) data.

TPO Chart and Power Trades

The TPO (Market Profile) chart shows how much time price spent at each level, which makes it ideal for finding the session’s value area. Power Trades flags bursts of many trades executed in a short window, a hint of institutional participation.

DOM Trader, Market Replay and the C# API

DOM Trader lets you execute with one click from the price ladder, even in the free version. Market Replay and the trading simulator (on paid licenses) let you practice on past sessions. Quantower also offers an open C# API for coding your own indicators and strategies.

Quantower pricing 2026: official licenses and bundles

Quantower sells a full license (All-in-One), two discounted bundles and individual add-ons for the free version. These are the prices listed at quantower.com/pricing (checked in November 2026, in U.S. dollars):

License or bundle	Monthly	Annual	Lifetime	What’s included
Free	$0	$0	$0	1 connection, 2 indicators per chart, DOM Trader, Time & Sales, chart trading
Crypto	$40	$336	$990	Volume Analysis + advanced features, crypto connections only
Multi-Asset	$50	$420	$1,290	Volume Analysis + advanced features, any connection, Market Replay, simulator and Screener
All-in-One	$70	$588	$1,690	Everything above + DOM Surface, TPO, Power Trades and full options analytics

If you only need one feature, you can buy the add-on on top of the free version:

Add-on	1 month	1 year	Lifetime
Volume Analysis	$35	$294	$720
DOM Surface	$30	$252	$650
Advanced features (Renko, Heikin-Ashi, unlimited indicators, alerts)	$30	$252	$650
Power Trades	$25	$210	$490
TPO Profile Chart	$20	$168	$490
Option trading	$50	$420	$690

Quantower offers a 7-day trial with every feature unlocked (sign-up required) and a 10-day money-back guarantee, which doesn’t apply to lifetime licenses. A paid license can be used on one computer at a time.

Worked example: monthly, annual or lifetime?

Say you trade futures and want footprint and DOM Surface, which means the All-in-One license:

• Paying month to month: $70 × 12 = $840 a year.
• Paying for the annual plan: $588, a saving of $252 (30%).
• The lifetime license ($1,690) equals almost 2 years and 11 months of the annual plan (1,690 ÷ 588 = 2.87). It only makes sense if you’re sure you’ll use Quantower for more than three years.
• On top of that, add CME market data (Level 2 for DOM Surface), which is billed separately every month.

Now compare that with your trading risk. On the Micro E-mini S&P 500 (MES), each point is worth $5: an 8-point stop risks $40 per contract. The annual license cost ($588) is almost 15 full stops. If you’re just starting out, that money goes further on practice than on tools you can’t read yet.

Can you use Quantower for free?

Yes, with limits. The free version downloads without sign-up and never expires, but it allows only one connection, two indicators per chart and a single overlay, and it doesn’t include footprint, volume profiles, Market Replay or the simulator. It’s enough to view charts and execute from the DOM; it isn’t enough for order flow.

The two other ways to use paid features without buying the license are:

1. The 7-day trial, with every feature enabled.
2. Connections with features included, such as AMP (with its dedicated installer) or Optimus Futures (with Optimus Flow). In that case you trade through your own account with that broker, with your own funds and their margins.

Quantower vs NinjaTrader vs TradingView vs Tradovate

All four let you trade futures, but they fit different styles. Quantower goes head to head with NinjaTrader on volume analysis; TradingView and Tradovate aim for simplicity and access from any device.

Criterion	Quantower	NinjaTrader	TradingView	Tradovate
Format	Desktop (Windows)	Desktop (Windows) + web + mobile	Web + desktop + mobile	Web + desktop + mobile (cloud-based)
Mac	Only with virtualization	Web version; desktop with virtualization	Yes	Yes
Markets	Futures, stocks, options, CFDs, crypto	Futures (others depending on broker)	Almost everything (analysis); execution depends on connected broker	Futures
Order flow / footprint	Yes, with a license (very complete)	Yes, with Order Flow+ (paid, own account)	Limited (depends on plan)	Basic
Programming	C# API	NinjaScript (C#)	Pine Script	Limited
Multiple connections at once	Yes	Yes (depends on provider)	No	No
Learning curve	Medium-high	Medium-high	Low	Low
Best for	Order flow and multi-market traders	Scalpers and traders who automate	Traders who do heavy chart analysis	Traders who use several devices

Quantower vs NinjaTrader: which should you choose?

Both are Windows desktop platforms with C# programming and order flow tools. Quantower wins on flexibility: simultaneous connections, crypto and stocks in the same workspace, and built-in DOM Surface. NinjaTrader wins on ecosystem: ATM strategies, a huge add-on marketplace, a web version and near-universal acceptance among prop firms. If you only trade futures, NinjaTrader covers what you need; see our guide What is NinjaTrader?

To dig into the other options, read What is Tradovate?, What is TradingView and what is it used for? and the comparison TradingView vs other trading platforms.

Is Quantower worth it? Who it’s for and when it isn’t

It’s a good fit if:

• You trade order flow (footprint, delta, imbalances, liquidity heatmap) and want everything on one platform.
• You trade several markets at once (futures and crypto, for example) and want a single terminal.
• You use Windows and work with multiple monitors.
• Your broker or provider unlocks the paid features for free.

It’s not a good fit if:

• You use a Mac or want to trade from the browser without installing anything.
• You’re just starting and don’t have a defined strategy yet: a footprint chart doesn’t replace a trading plan.
• You trade candles, support and resistance: TradingView or Tradovate is enough.
• Your prop firm doesn’t offer a Quantower connection, or offers it with limited features.

Quantower and futures prop firms

Several futures prop firms appear in Quantower’s connection list, almost always through Rithmic. Before you buy a license with a funded account in mind, check three things:

1. That the firm supports Quantower, and through which connection (Rithmic or another).
2. Who pays for the license and data: in some cases the advanced features aren’t available or are on you.
3. The risk rules: daily loss limit, drawdown type and max position size. No tool makes up for not understanding them; review EOD vs static drawdown.

Quantower and Emerge Profit: which platforms you can use

To be clear: Emerge Profit futures accounts aren’t traded on Quantower. They’re traded on NinjaTrader, Tradovate and TradingView, on the same simulated trading account and with the platform license included. In practice, that gives you tools equivalent to what you’d look for in Quantower without paying $588 a year:

• DOM and fast execution: NinjaTrader’s SuperDOM or the Tradovate DOM.
• Automatic stop and target: ATM strategies in NinjaTrader and brackets in Tradovate.
• Chart analysis and indicators: TradingView, with its indicator library and Pine Script.

You can start in two ways:

• Futures Evaluation (from $60): EOD drawdown, 5 minimum days and no activation fee once you pass. Positions are closed before the end of each session.
• Futures Instant Funding (from $130): trade from day one with no evaluation, account sizes from 5K to 250K and EOD or static drawdown.

If you’re torn between the two, How to choose the best funded account in 2026 compares them based on your experience and trading style.

Quantower FAQ

Sources

• Quantower – Prices & Licenses (accessed November 2026).
• Quantower Help – License comparison (accessed November 2026).
• Quantower – Connections (accessed November 2026).
• Quantower – Download and FAQ (system requirements and Mac compatibility, accessed November 2026).
• Quantower Help – Connection to CQG (AMP Futures) (accessed November 2026).
• CME Group – Micro E-mini S&P 500 contract specifications.

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