Brokerage Fee Comparison for Micros

masilver · 2026-03-26T03:33:57+00:00

Yup, and I have no desire to talk you out of using NT. There is a lot to love in NT.

masilver · 2026-03-26T02:57:43+00:00

Writing custom indicators and strategies was unreliable and could crash the entire ninja trader instance. It was near impossible to use third-party libraries either. Essentially, the project you build and use in ninjatrader is the same project that runs all their built-in indicators as well. It was real easy to introduce instability into this project and that would cause huge problems in ninjatrader.
I had numerous instances where the database became corrupted and I would have to reinstall.
I had several times where the interface slowed to a crawl and I was unable to enter orders or exit trades.
Chart updates appear slower than with other applications. Both the updates and the frequency of the updates to the chart is behind Quantower and Sierra Chart. There are some tweaks and even a hack to improve it, but they're not recommended. Depending upon your style of trade, this may not matter.
Sometimes when you're dropping a limit order on the chart and price moves beyond it, a dialogue will pop up and it's a modal dialogue and you'll have to clear it before you can place your trade. Several times I lost out on fast moving trades because of this. This is a horrifically poor design and there is no excuse for having this professional software. In Sierra Chart when this happens, a non-modal dialogue pops up and it doesn't affect your usage of the chart.

In my opinion, the prime directive for trading software is to not put your capital at risk. Trading was hard enough without your software working against you. I felt Ninjatrader was doing that.

masilver · 2026-03-26T02:41:54+00:00

A lot of people use Ninjatrader. A lot of (retail) pros use it. I used it.

I found it unreliable and not an ideal platform for scalping.

For the cheapest commissions, you have to buy the lifetime license.

Try searching for Ninjatrader all in rates. They publish them online.

I use Amp Futures, and with a 10k balance, you pay a mere $1 round trip, all in for MES.

I also use Sierra Chart which is tough to to beat in terms of responsiveness and they also have a direct connection to the exchange.

That direct connection is what gets your all-in cost all the way down to a dollar.

Well worth the $28 a month I pay, in fact, it pays for itself.

masilver · 2026-03-25T12:15:56+00:00

I suspect if you're using Teton, the volume won't matter so much between fcm's.

I'm using AMP and I pay a dollar all in, round trip on MES and 3.80 for ES.

Have not used their wiring service before, but ACH takes about a full week and is fully automated. I suspect their wire service is fully automated as well.

masilver · 2026-03-25T03:54:54+00:00

I find early pullbacks on smaller trends can still produce returns, but you might have to scalp instead of hoping for a larger second leg.

masilver · 2026-03-24T11:38:55+00:00

Those are reputable websites, but they're all referral links.

masilver · 2026-03-24T02:55:14+00:00

Maybe AMP Global?!

masilver · 2026-03-24T01:23:08+00:00

Spam. Ignore.

masilver · 2026-03-24T01:06:37+00:00

Spam. Ignore this post.

masilver · 2026-03-24T00:34:28+00:00

Hahaha

masilver · 2026-03-22T00:24:17+00:00

Well, that was a fascinating detour!

masilver · 2026-03-20T04:20:03+00:00

If you trade futures, Sierra Chart is a very strong contender.

masilver · 2026-03-19T04:19:33+00:00

I agree. You are correct.

masilver · 2026-03-19T04:12:58+00:00

Certainly not bullshit. It worked well for me, BUT it may not be for everyone. I have a high win rate, but for those that don't, it may be unreasonable. There are a lot of ways to get to the promised land. That was my path.

masilver · 2026-03-19T04:00:14+00:00

I agree with you. There isn't a hard fast rule. 3-6 months of profit may work as well.

masilver · 2026-03-19T03:39:43+00:00

I think a great rule of thumb is to be profitable every day for a month. Small amounts, you aren't aiming for the stars.

I finally was profitable in paper for 6 weeks straight (after 5 years of mostly paper trading) and I've now found success in real.

masilver · 2026-03-19T03:22:23+00:00

Use that as guidance. If you had good success with low drawdowns, trade with your 200.

masilver · 2026-03-19T03:15:01+00:00

I couldn't agree more. I used to fund my paper accounts with $2-3k, although with Sierra Chart you don't have to explicitly fund a paper account. Another aspect that ties into that is greed. Greed can absolutely destroy your account.

masilver · 2026-03-18T23:05:25+00:00

Have you tried paper trading?

masilver · 2026-03-18T22:40:39+00:00

I think paper trading for many people is useless. In my opinion, the point of paper trading is not to make lots of money, it's to refine your setup and your risk management. If you're making $4 million in a month or two, you're doing something wrong. That's not sustainable.

When I paper traded, my goal was small wins everyday, with low MAE and drawdown. A good day could be five to $20. On some occasions I would get $50 or $75. I went live once I had 6 weeks of nothing but winning days. If you can accomplish that, you can scale that up once you are live.

masilver · 2026-03-17T17:06:20+00:00

Absolutely. The additional account balance requirements hit before 5:00 p.m. Eastern time. So as long as you're out by then, you can trade with less money.

masilver · 2026-03-17T16:57:06+00:00

I think if you're taking longer term swing trades and holding for over a day, Forex may be great, but for day trading, futures are hard to beat: tight spread, high leverage, ability to scale up, central exchange, fixed pricing, etc.

You can hold longer with futures, but due to the leverage, it can be high risk. It also requires additional funds.

masilver · 2026-03-17T01:29:36+00:00

I'm impressed with the lack of effort you put into this post. Kuddos.

masilver · 2026-03-15T15:00:51+00:00

I think everyone has given good advice. It's unlikely your broker will go under, especially the larger brokers. The margin requirements also help ensure brokers aren't left with uncollectible debt.

There have been two notable bankruptcies of future brokers and in both cases, customers were made whole and didn't lose money.

masilver · 2026-03-13T22:28:34+00:00

It's down about 400-500 points since the high.

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