Barchart.com data experience?

[TraderEyal]

Does anyone have experience with Barchart.com data feed? Particularly of interest will be comparison to the other available futures feeds (IQFeed / ZenFire etc.) and also users from outside the US.

NinjaTrader guys - any chance for a test drive trial? Even just 7 days to check it out would be great.

[NinjaTrader_Ray]

Currently Barchart.com does not offer a trial service.

[r2kTrader]

Does anyone have experience with Barchart.com data feed? Particularly of interest will be comparison to the other available futures feeds (IQFeed / ZenFire etc.) and also users from outside the US.

NinjaTrader guys - any chance for a test drive trial? Even just 7 days to check it out would be great.

I have tried Barchart, Zen-Fire (free trial), and now on IQFeed.

I have found that Zen-Fire feels the tightest, but lacks historical features found in IQFeed and Barchart. But Barchart falls short where IQFeed moves ahead and that is in regards to backtesting with a continuous contract.

I TRADE EMINIS, SO THIS IS ALL EMINI SPECIFIC. ICE WAS CURRENTLY FREE AS OF THIS WRITING.

Barchart = Best value if you don't need to backtest more than 3 months or so. Barchart was flaky though. They had all sorts of weird issues. I confirmed it was their side as I was on the phone as the support tech said, hold on, I have to go kick the server again. (not a good sign). Apparently there were stall bids. Would have DESTROYED a strategy and one would not have able to easily detect that the asks were frozen. So you could buy high and sell 20 ticks lower over and over by the strategy standards.

ZenFire = Wicked sick quality. Lacks backtesting abilities as you can only go back 1 contract prior to current month. (as I understand it. I had no luck with that merge dilio and gave up after following the support instructions only to fall flat every time. I think it was due to Zen-Fire only going back so far for their Free Trial. Not worth my time, I paid up for ...

IQFeed = More expensive than Barchart, by about 40.00 for the same thing, EXCEPT, you can backtest with their continous contract.

The other thing is they have their own interface which you need to install. That kind of stinks in my opinion. Yet another layer to manage grrr.

I just put IQFeed online, and so far, I am NOT impressed. I am going to post a new thread because I am having problems out of the box with the feed.

[TraderEyal]

Thank you very much for this detailed report.

I've used Zenfire (free trial) and it looks really fast, especially compared to the only other alternative I've tried for the minis: IB's TWS data feed.

How far back does the IQFeed continous contract go? Can you tell me the total cost for the IQF subscription?

Btw, I've been using IQFeed for stocks daily for the past year and a half (together with QuoteTracker) and I'm quite pleased with it. There's this IQConnect client thing you need to have running but it's really quite transparent.

I'll be interested in hearing any other experiences you have with these feeds especially any problems you might have with IQF as it's high up on my list as the best, if not the most cost-effective, solution.

I have tried Barchart, Zen-Fire (free trial), and now on IQFeed.

I have found that Zen-Fire feels the tightest, but lacks historical features found in IQFeed and Barchart. But Barchart falls short where IQFeed moves ahead and that is in regards to backtesting with a continuous contract.

I TRADE EMINIS, SO THIS IS ALL EMINI SPECIFIC. ICE WAS CURRENTLY FREE AS OF THIS WRITING.

Barchart = Best value if you don't need to backtest more than 3 months or so. Barchart was flaky though. They had all sorts of weird issues. I confirmed it was their side as I was on the phone as the support tech said, hold on, I have to go kick the server again. (not a good sign). Apparently there were stall bids. Would have DESTROYED a strategy and one would not have able to easily detect that the asks were frozen. So you could buy high and sell 20 ticks lower over and over by the strategy standards.

ZenFire = Wicked sick quality. Lacks backtesting abilities as you can only go back 1 contract prior to current month. (as I understand it. I had no luck with that merge dilio and gave up after following the support instructions only to fall flat every time. I think it was due to Zen-Fire only going back so far for their Free Trial. Not worth my time, I paid up for ...

IQFeed = More expensive than Barchart, by about 40.00 for the same thing, EXCEPT, you can backtest with their continous contract.

The other thing is they have their own interface which you need to install. That kind of stinks in my opinion. Yet another layer to manage grrr.

I just put IQFeed online, and so far, I am NOT impressed. I am going to post a new thread because I am having problems out of the box with the feed.