MultiCharts Review
MultiCharts Review: Back in 1999, Dennis Globa, one of the principals behind Multicharts, got involved with some of his friends in Forex trading. He soon realized that the trading platforms available in the industry at the time offered limited choices. This forced him to combine multiple services to get the job done. Still today, trading platforms’ flexibility is often an issue. You probably can relate if you’re a day trader. You won’t find many traders who like both Multicharts and NinjaTrader equally.
Table of Contents
Review of Multicharts
Multicharts has other competitors too of course, including TradeStation and so on. But it seems that it is more often compared to NinjaTrader. I tried NinjaTrader before my Multichart experience. Although I like that NinjaTrader can be used free while learning to “code”, for me, Multicharts is easier to use. But that’s just me…and I’m not a coder yet, mind you. This platform is geared towards techy traders with advanced technical skills. If you’re a programmer, someone who wants to work with algorithms, or build a customized trading app, this is for you.
Many of us use ThinkOrSwim just for charting and then Trade-Ideas for scanning and then a different broker for shorting and then… Well, you get the point.
MultiCharts solves this problem by streamlining the numerous data source traders require to perform at optimal levels. Globa and his team wanted to operate with all the needed functionality under one roof.
By 2005, Globa set out to develop a platform that would perform charting, per each user’s individual preferences. Hence, Multicharts was officially born.
Today, the Multicharts charting bundle has evolved into a full trading platform. Since 2011, operates on the web via stock charts and Forex charts.
Multicharts.Com Or .Net?
MultiCharts comes in two flavors which we go over in our MultiCharts review. The standalone version at MultiCharts.net is a trading program designed to automate your trades. It’s also a backtesting software.
The main MultiCharts program is found at multichart.com. This is designed to be user-friendly and intuitive.
The PowerLanguage programming format was inspired by TradeStation’s EasyLanguage. Trader-developers interested in configuring MultiCharts can do as they see fit.
In other words, if you “speak” the EasyLanguage of TradeStation, you can fully understand the PowerLanguage of Multicharts.
Not everyone is an experienced programmer or expert technical analyst in the stock market. No worries, MultiCharts can help.
Its built-in tools issue stock rankings and recommendations. Indeed, the proprietary charting and analytics system will provide alerts you can follow on a daily basis.
Both versions of the program are available online and offline. It works on the Windows Operating system. but as far as I know, it’s not available for Mac yet.
Mac or Windows doesn’t really matter, though. Most software is cloud-based these days. A trader just requires a good internet connection.
Scanning
When it’s time to make a list of stocks to trade, you can scan with your eyes or a machine. You can do both with MultiCharts as we discovered for this MultiCharts review.
Although, most traders, particularly beginners, will be better off using their real-time scanner. It monitors, researches and even organizes the stocks they’d be interested in.
Looking at a chart with your own eyes tells you a lot if you’re an experienced technical trader. You can only look at one chart at a time with your eyes, though.
The scanner’s features present trading opportunities to you across many securities, if not all! If we can’t find any plays for our penny stocks list, we look at our stock scanners in the morning.
Charting
A trader without a chart is like a traveler without a map. Charts are essential. The strongest attribute of the MultiCharts trading platform is its charting abilities, tools, and features.
Traders can customize their charts to suit their own personal trading styles and preferences.
At the time of this writing, with MultiCharts, traders can work with multiple data series and symbols. Create up to 20 sub-charts in one chart. I counted 19 chart types to choose from; including some obscure ones.
Add drawings, comments, and images, change colors, mix resolutions, compress and expand scales. Use data feeds to view historical and real-time data. The options are nearly limitless.
The interface is easy to use thanks to the drag-and-drop tool. The multitude of features is convenient for traders of all stripes from newbies to experts; even those using the most complex strategies.
Discretionary Trading
For those who have nerves of steel and want to keep their trading in their own hands, look for a platform enabling quick entries and exits. MultiCharts is a good tool that helps make market analysis easier for faster decision making. It executes trades at the click of the mouse or with hotkeys.
Visual chart trading with MultiCharts makes intuitive manual trading more simple. Traders can place orders and change positions quickly with the Chart Trading Panel.
Even the icons are easy to understand. They make it a breeze to manage stop, limit, and stop limit orders at a glance. To route trades, multiple brokers can be selected from a drop-down list.
Other features like the screen-space-saving Compact Mode, the Trader’s Calculator, and Symbol Mapping make MultiCharts a valuable tool for discretionary traders.
As a discretionary trader, I often use the vertical ladder style of trading. You won’t be disappointed with the MultiCharts interface if that’s also your style.
Automated Trading
For traders who want to make a plan and stick to it without the jitters getting in the way, MultiCharts.net offers a slew of options for algorithmic trading.
Traders can automate their trading. The system can create and send orders directly to the broker without the trader’s intervention.
Of course, this’s only if the trading strategy is scripted to execute accordingly. MultiCharts.net is compatible with multiple scripts such as EasyLanguage and Visual Builder.
With their advanced analytics, traders have access to over 250 pre-built studies and strategies they can customize.
Because of the simpler syntax of EasyLanguage/PowerLanguage, compared to NinjaScript, Multicharts may be easier to use for those entering the world of algorithmic trading.
Granted, NinjaTrader has a greater contributing community nowadays. But some say that the sheer number of scripts with NinjaTrader is overkill.
How Much Does Multicharts Cost? (Pricing Review)
- Here’s what Multicharts costs in 2021:
- Free demo: 30 days.
- 3 months: $297 ($99 per month).
- 6 months: $497 ($83 per month).
- 1 year: $797 ($66 per month).
- Lifetime: $1497.
Backtesting
MultiCharts’ tick-by-tick backtesting tool is designed with precision in mind. It takes multiple factors into account; including price changes and price differences, liquidity, slippage, commission, currency, interest rate, initial capital, and trade size.
It also simulates OCO (One Cancel the Other order type), stop, limit, and stop limit orders.
The realistic backtesting tool helps to take a lot of the guesswork out of trading; delivering reports that enable optimization of strategies.
Traders can learn and adapt their techniques without risking money via MultiCharts’ Market Data Playback.
Managing Your Portfolio
Trading is dynamic. As such, MultiCharts affords great flexibility. Traders can send orders quickly and accurately to brokers. More than one broker, instrument, or data feed can be used simultaneously. A comprehensive trading summary is provided by the Order and Position Tracker.
Their Quote Manager data management system collects and stores data locally from the trader’s feeds. A third-party feature updates charts automatically.
Traders can easily import or export data. Even if the formatting varies. Pre-configured session templates are available for most market sectors. Also, traders can change them at the chart, exchange, and symbol level.
I think that MultiCharts is an excellent trading platform, better than NinjaTrader in some areas. While the latter is also good for different reasons.
Multicharts has built a strong base among CMTs (Chartered Market Technicians), financial advisers and professional individual traders around the world.
Trading magazines give the company positive reviews. Multicharts’ large following of satisfied customers, however, speaks louder than any review from a magazine.
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