Platforms Used for Backtesting

A quick backtesting of trading strategy for certain kind of strategies (for mainly technical trading) can be done using special platforms such as AmiBroker, Tradestation and Ninja Trader. Let us now discuss the top backtesting platforms available in the market under different categories:

Retail Backtesting Platforms

TradeStation

TradeStation provides electronic order execution across multiple asset classes. It allows trading from charts and live P&L portfolio management. TradeStation uses ‘EasyLanguage’ to create charts and develop algorithmic trading strategies. This language, as the name suggests, is easy to learn as it is very similar to English and hence be great for someone who is a beginner in coding.

MetaTrader

Their main offering is a FOREX Trading platform. These are custom scripts written in a proprietary language that can be used for automated trading.

NinjaTrader

NinjaTrader, a free software, uses the very widely used and exquisitely documented C# programming language and the DotNet Framework. It can be used for stock, futures and forex markets for advanced charting, strategy backtesting and trade simulation.

Amibroker

Amibroker is a trading analysis software which allows portfolio backtesting and optimization and has a good range of technical indicators to analyse the strategy. It uses ‘AmiBroker Formula Language (AFL)’ to develop and implement trading strategies and indicators.

Web-Based Platforms

QuantConnect

Supports coding in multiple languages. Currently provide access to US Equities and FOREX tick data, new libraries are being added. It supports high-speed backtesting as it uses hundreds of servers in parallel.

Quantopian

Quantopian is actually a Hedge Fund which provides this web-based Algo Trading platform which can be used for coding, backtesting, paper trading and live trading your algorithm. In addition, it provides an amazing Research Platform with flexible data access and custom plotting in IPython notebook. Currently provides US equities data.

Blueshift

Blueshift is a free and comprehensive trading and strategy development platform and enables backtesting too. It helps one to focus more on strategy development rather than coding and provides integrated high-quality minute-level data. Its cloud-based backtesting engine enables one to develop, test and analyse trading strategies in a Python programming environment.

Institutional Backtesting Software

Deltix

Detflix supports equities, options, futures, currencies, baskets and custom synthetic instruments. Provides an open and flexible architecture which allows seamless and robust integration with multiple data feeds (e.g. Bloomberg, Thomson/Reuters etc.) Widely used by quant funds, proprietary trading firms etc. Not often utilized by retail traders as the software licenses are out of their budget.

Quanthouse

Like Deltix, Quanthouse is also mostly used by institutions due to high licensing costs. Provides an all-in-one solution for data collection, strategy development, historical backtesting and live execution across instruments and portfolios.

AlgoTrader

It’s a Swiss-based firm that offers both an open-source and a commercial license for their system along with a web-based front end. Supports forex, options, futures, stocks, ETF’s, Commodities, synthetic instruments and custom derivative spreads etc. allows full historical backtesting and complex event processing.