Amibroker is one of the widely used Trading platforms with robust features. But for beginners, it carries a heavy price tag and also requires a substantial learning curve. We will explore some alternatives to Amibroker which are suitable for Indian Stock market and relatively cheaper in cost. These Trading Softwares in India are quite versatile and designed specifically for NSE and BSE stocks. Please note that the intent is not to discourage traders and investors from purchasing Amibroker license, it’s just to make them aware of the alternatives.

Also Read: Best Technical Analysis Courses in India

Best Trading Softwares in India

1) Investar Trading Platform:

It is a desktop based application for Technical Analysis. It comes pre-loaded with backfill data depending on the subscription you have purchased. Also, it has hundreds of technical indicators with an Alert and screener feature. You can choose different timeframes as low as 1-min for charting.

Pros:

• The charts load smoothly with practically no time lag.
• There is enough backfill data available out of the box and no need to purchase any data separately.
• Interface is very smooth and intuitive.
• Learning curve is very smooth for Investar, and many online tutorials and webinars are available.
• Screener feature is quite robust and clean.
• Himanshu Patil, the founder of Investar India conducts free Technical analysis sessions for Annual Subscribers. These sessions are quite informative.
• Its offers fundamental analysis features too.
• Multi Timeframe analysis feature is helpful for advanced traders.

Cons:

• There is no backtesting feature. One cannot code and test strategies.
• Customer support is poor, email response is delayed most of the times.
• It’s little expensive as compared to other tools available in the market. At the time of writing this article, yearly subscription with all the features cost around 25K.

2) TradersCockpit:

It is another powerful Trading platform with advanced features. It is web-based and does not require to download/install anything on the local machine. Its robust backtesting feature makes it stand apart from others.

Pros:

• It has web-based interface, so can be accessed through any computer/handheld devices across the globe.
• It has powerful Options module where we can test and evaluate option strategies.
• One can backtest trading strategies over variety of instruments.
• It supports Tradescript language which is very easy to learn and code.
• Very impressive customer support. You can get your strategies coded and backtested.
• Webinars are conducted weekly/on-demand basis.
• Alerts generated through the trading strategy can be sent through SMS.
• Forum access for subscribed customers.

Cons:

• Charting is poor as compared to other platforms. It’s not very user-friendly and intuitive.
• Java based interface doesn’t look eye catching.
• Backtesting engine is very slow as compared to Amibroker.
• Not enough backfill data is available.
• Screeners are not user-friendly.

3) iCharts

iCharts is web-based Technical analysis platform. It is lightweight and easy to use. It comes loaded with basic charting and backtesting features.

Pros:

• Its very light weight and loads in seconds.
• Platinum charts are based on Microsoft Silverlight which looks better than traditional java based charts.
• It comes loaded with 80+ technical indicators.
• There is an option to create custom indicators of your own.
• There is provision to backtest strategies.
• It supports Tradescript language which is very easy to learn and code.
• Subscription is very cheap as compared to its peers. At the time of writing this article, yearly subscription of Platinum service costs below 15K.

Cons:

• It’s a very basic platform and cannot be used for advanced technical analysis.
• Backtesting is not very robust.
• Updates are released very rarely.

4) Zerodha Pi

Pi is a very popular Trading platform from Zerodha. One has to be Zerodha customer to avail the benefits of Pi. Buy/Sell can be placed directly through Pi and doesn’t require a  separate interface.

Pros:

• Very neat and clean interface.
• Provision for backtesting and creating custom indicators.
• Buy and Sell orders can be placed directly through chart.
• Can be integrated with Amibroker for semi-automated trading.
• Advanced features such as Artificial intelligence and neural networks.
• It supports Tradescript language which is very easy to learn and code.
• Free of cost for zerodha customers.

Cons:

• Backtesting is not robust.
• Available only for Zerodha customers.
• Pi is released recently and is not completely stable as compared to other tools.

Also Read: 5 Excellent Algorithmic Trading Platforms

Final Verdict:

We have reviewed 4 different Trading softwares in India. Each platform has its own unique features and the final selection depends on your style of Trading.

• If you are a Zerodha customer, then go for Pi. You have made a good deal, that too free of cost.
• If you are a Price Action trader, and require a clean and user friendly interface with multi time frame support, then choose Investar over others.
• If you are a Options Trader, or have extensive Backtesting requirement then select TradersCockpit.
• Finally, if you are new to the world of technical analysis, and don’t want to spend a lot of money, then iCharts is best for you.

If you have come across any other Trading softwares in India, then please let us know in the comments section below.