What Forex Charting Platforms Do You Recommend?

I’ve received this question a lot as of late.  Actually I’ve received a lot of emails recently.  Could this be the result of an influx of new forex traders in 2008? Either way, I try to answer every email I get and if I get a lot of the same question, I’ll post it right here.

I can only give my opinion on what forex charting platforms I’ve used over the last 2+ years.  I’ll summarize my overall ranking at the end.

1. FXTrek Intellichart -  I used this platform for a couple of months when I first started trading.  I have to think back to what my experiences were but from what I remember, the charting was decent.  You could choose from 2 different data providers (one being FXCM) and I was using FXCM at the time as my broker so I found this convenient.  They have 2 versions of the software, the desktop version and the online version, the desktop version offering more customizable features.  The major issue I found with Intellichart was that the desktop version didn’t work through my proxy at work so I had to use the online version.  Therefore I had to maintain different customization settings between both versions.  This was a pain.  The software also doesn’t have the ability to create custom indicators so you’re at FXTrek’s mercy when choosing an indicator.  The cost per month is currently $100, not super pricey but an expense nonetheless.  Overall, you may be just as well off by using your broker’s proprietary platform which is usually free.
2. X-Tick - I used X-tick for about 2 months last year while Rob Booker was my "mentor."  He used X-tick and I really liked the look and feel of the charting platform when I watched his videos.  Therefore I decided to try it.  X-tick has FXCM as a data provider and I believe one other.  A pretty cool feature they have is called XPaint which allows you paint data with your own conditions.  So if you wanted to paint a candle a different color when the Stochastics was over 70, you can easily configure X-tick to do so.  A newer technology which they didn’t have when I was using it allows you to display two or more tickers in one chart.  You can also use different timeframes in one chart.  This sounds like a pretty good feature too.  I was experimenting with different indicators back then so what I didn’t like was that similar to Intellichart, they don’t allow you to create custom indicators.  I don’t use too many indicators these days so I could probably get by using X-tick now.  The major issue I found with X-tick was that I couldn’t connect through my work proxy therefore I couldn’t use X-tick at all when I wasn’t at home.  You may not have this limitation though so this is probably more personal.  Subscription price is $89 a month.
3. E-signal - I used eSignal for close to a year.  eSignal is the most expensive forex charting platform I used, from what I remember, close to $160 a month.  eSignal has tons of features, many which Intellichart or X-tick don’t have but I found the platform to be a memory hog and slow.  These two reasons, price and slowness made me switch.  Other than that, I liked eSignal.  I liked the programming language to create custom indicators and liked the backtesting capabilities though intraday data was limited.  There is also a decent community built around eSignal so you can find a lot of free custom indicators already programmed for you.  There are also some custom indicators which you can buy.  Overall, a recommended platform if you can afford it.
4. Specific broker platforms - I’ve experienced both FXCM’s and Oanda’s charting platforms more in depth than others.  The advantage of using these is that you can trade right from the chart but advanced features won’t be found.  It’s hard for me to comment further since I haven’t experienced them all.  I use Oanda charts in a very limited fashion.
5. Metatrader - Last but not least is the FREE forex trading platform, Metatrader.  Metatrader has a lot of features, similar to E-signal.  There really hasn’t been anything I haven’t been able to do with it.  You can create custom indicators, customize the display colors of the platform, backtest, import historical data, export historical data, and much more.  The platform is fast and you have the ability to choose many different brokers as your data source.  The only thing I don’t like about it is that the data is displayed in the timezone of the broker which many times is GMT but never EST.  I’ve heard you can find brokers that display it in EST but I don’t know how true this is.  FXDD is based in New York City and their data is displayed on the charts using GMT.  This isn’t a huge issue trading issue, more of an aesthetic issue.   The best thing about Metatrader is the huge user community.  There isn’t an indicator you can’t find for free.  

Now for my recommendations.  If you are a new trader, you just can’t go wrong using Metatrader.  You don’t have to invest any money into subscription fees and you’re not limited in anyway by the features it offers.  There is also a huge user community so if you need help, you can find it without sitting on hold.  If you’re an experienced trader, I also don’t see how you could go wrong using Metatrader.  So my #1 recommendation is Metatrader.  The one reason I can think why you wouldn’t use it was if you were primarily a scalper and your broker didn’t offer Metatrader as a trading platform.  Since every little pip counts, you want to make sure the price you’re getting from your broker at any given time is what you’re going to get when you initiate a trade.  Therefore, scalpers probably would use a charting platform provided by their broker.   

My personal ranking:

1. Metatrader
2. X-tick
3. E-signal
4. Intellichart
5. Broker platform 

Popularity: 3%

Forex Charting from Esignal to Metatrader

I mentioned last week that I was ridding myself of Esignal due to price, performance, and features.  Esignal was costing me about $160 per month and yet I found that it was very slow and the features they offered just weren't anything special.  I compare Esignal to Microsoft.  The development process is very slow probably due to bloated code and new features make their way into the application once every two years.  

I've found the alternatives out there just flat out better than esignal and cheaper.  I hear a lot about Xtick because it's cheaper, $85 a month and features are added when requested.  The downside is that there isn't any backtesting functionality and no way to develop custom indicators. 

I've found Metatrader to be unbelievable.  First, it's free. Second, they have backtesting functionality, and third, a language to develop experts and indicators.  It is also very fast.  But at the expense of speed, there is a downside.  There are no 10 minute charts and no 180 minute charts.  In fact, you can only select from 1 min, 5 min, 15 min, 30 min, 1 hour, 4 hour, daily, weekly, and monthly.  Their database probably contains data specific to each time period and therefore you cannot just select an arbitrary time period.  This is still sufficient for most people though and like I said, since it's free, you just cannot beat it.  

One thing that I've heard from many people is that it is very beneficial to use charting software that has a feed from the broker you make trades with especially if you are trading the shorter term charts.  If I am trading short-term, I use FXCM Power Charts because they are very good "web" charts and the feed is directly from FXCM (my broker.)  

Popularity: 5%