Best Order Flow Backtest Software: Features and Pricing
If your main goal is to backtest order flow instead of live trade, the best software is usually the one that lets you replay deeply granular historical data with the least setup friction.
That is where browser-based replay becomes compelling. You can load years of historical futures data and replay the market tick by tick using footprint charts, DOM, and time and sales instead of relying on coarse candle-only backtests.
Quick Comparison
| Feature | Sierra Chart | Quantower | MarketByOrder |
|---|---|---|---|
| Platform cost | Paid | Paid | Paid plans + daily preview |
| Platform type | Windows desktop only | Windows desktop only | Browser (no install, any device) |
| Market replay | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Live trading | Yes | Yes | No (replay-focused) |
| Footprint charts | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Volume profile | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| DOM / ladder | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Time & sales | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Setup complexity | High (install + config + data/broker setup) | Medium (install + broker/data setup) | Low (browser, nothing to install) |
Pricing Breakdown
Quantower
- Platform + Data: ~$90-$110/month
Sierra Chart
- Platform + Data: ~$66-$86/month
MarketByOrder
- Free daily access: up to 3 replays with 5 minutes of total replay time
- More replay time: requires a paid plan
See current plans and pricing. Our market data is included; optional Databento usage is billed separately.
Why It Works for Backtesting
Order flow backtesting is different from indicator backtesting. You are not just asking whether a candle closed above or below a moving average. You are replaying the actual sequence of trades and liquidity changes so you can study execution, absorption, pace, and reaction at each level.
With a paid plan, you can work through longer sessions using years of granular futures data.
How it works
- Create a MarketByOrder account
- Load a symbol and choose a session
- Replay the market tick by tick
The practical benefit is simple: you can go far beyond a one-day sample. Pull up older sessions, review recurring behaviors, and practice the same setup across many different market conditions.
Designed for Practice and Replay
- Replay any session and trade it as if live
- Use years of granular futures data
- Execute trades
- Track performance
- No broker or complex setup required
Traditional platforms like Sierra Chart and Quantower are built for live trading workflows, which adds setup complexity (broker connections, data feeds, configuration).
This platform is optimized for skill development: replay, experiment, and understand order flow without the overhead.
If you want to see what that looks like in practice, try this hands-on MNQ footprint replay example.
Time Replayed
2h 34min
Total session time
Trades Taken
3
Total completed trades
Win Rate
66%
Profitable trades / total
| No completed trades yet. |