We receive several requests every month from our readers to help them chose charting software. And the majority of them get confused between Amibroker and TradingView. Frankly speaking, it is a difficult decision to chose one of these two platforms. However, we have performed a comprehensive comparison between the two based on various different parameters. Read more to find out the best software Amibroker vs TradingView.
Amibroker vs TradingView – Comparison Table
Check out the below comparison table that gauges these two platforms based on different parameters:
We’ll learn more about each of these comparison factors below.
Also Read: Amibroker vs MetaTrader – A Detailed Comparison
Charting Features
Both Amibroker and TradingView offer very intuitive and feature-rich charting capabilities. The striking difference is that Amibroker is desktop-based software that you’ll need to install on your computer. While TradingView is a browser-based application that can be accessed using any browser on any device.
In terms of features both these softwares can be used to study different types of charts like Candlestick, Line, Renko, etc, and you can also superimpose indicators and patterns on top of your chart.
Amibroker Chart
TradingView Chart
TradingView has an inbuilt streaming data that gets updated on the chart in realtime while Amibroker has to be connected to external data providers for data update.
Verdict – TradingView stands out in terms of charting because of easy accessibility and inbuilt data feed.
Backtesting
Out of all the trading platforms we have seen so far, Amibroker has the most powerful backtesting engine. Any complex strategy can be backtested on thousands of symbols within few minutes. You can also perform walk-forward testing and monte carlo analysis to further validate your system for any hindsight bias.
TradingView on the other hand does not offer backtesting out of the box. You can only do bar replays on historical data to manually validate your system. You may find several custom scrips that enable backtesting on TradingView but those are not natively available with the product.
Verdict – There are no second thoughts on this. Amibroker is the best when it comes to backtesting
Also Read: The Best Tool for Backtesting your Trading Systems – Expert Opinion
Programming Language
With Amibroker, you can use AFL (Amibroker formula language) to build indicators, scanners, or full-blown trading systems. The syntax of the language is similar to C programming but several common functions are available out of the box so that you don’t have to reinvent the wheel. Any complex strategy can be coded in few lines using AFL.
TradingView uses Pine Script which is another high-level language to code indicators and trading strategies. Pine script also offers readymade functions related to technical analysis and charting.
Verdict – Both AFL and Pine Script are equally powerful and user-friendly. We recommend you to look at the documentation of both these languages and chose the one which you are comfortable with.
Performance
By performance, we mean speed of execution and responsiveness.
Amibroker being a desktop application has an edge in terms of performance. Charts load fairly quickly in Amibroker and even the backtesting is super fast.
TradingView is also quick, but the performance depends on your internet connection speed. TradingView cannot run without the internet.
Verdict – Amibroker is better because it is blazing fast and can run without the internet also.
License Cost
First of all, let me tell you that both these platforms have their free versions. Hence to start with, you don’t need to pay any money for either of them. However, in case you need to access any premium features you’ll need to shell out some bucks.
Amibroker’s license cost starts from $299 one-time cost. There is no recurring fee and you’ll be entitled to regular updates and support.
TradingView’s pro plan starts for $14.95 per month. It’s a recurring fee and there is no option for a lifetime license.
The cost gets revised from time to time. Check out the below links for the recent pricing plans:
https://www.amibroker.com/order.html
https://www.tradingview.com/gopro/#
Verdict – Both are costly in terms of premium plans. It depends on your preference whether you want to pay a high one-time fee (Amibroker) or a monthly low fee (TradingView)
Final Thoughts
I hope this comparison between Amibroker vs TradingView was useful for you!
Overall, we rate Amibroker over and above TradingView in terms of all the features and pricing. But TradingView is not very far.
If you are looking for advanced software for trading system development and backtesting, then blindly go for Amibroker. However, if chart analysis is your only preference and you want mobile accessibility, then TradingView is a no-brainer.
Learn more about Amibroker features and get started using this guide.
i believe trading view also offers creation of strategies and back testing of the same, with limited number of bars (i.e. for 5 min we can test on a few months data while on daily bars, we can test a few years data)..for starters, it’s reasonably good and user friendly option (available in free version).. separate client installation and data feed etc will not be required here..
Yes those are some benefits of TradingView, but backtesting is heavily compromised
in amibroker u can view any scrip in around 30 or abv sheet with different indicaters or afl etc. for drawing trendline etc amibroker has and edge. draw ing trendline etc is not so comfortable browser based charts
Right Kalyan, that’s what we also feel. Thanks for sharing your thoughts!