NinjaTrader commissions and fees per plan and the lifetime license price
NinjaTrader has three plans for its futures brokerage: Free, Monthly at $99 a month and Lifetime at $1,499 once. The plan sets your commission on every contract, from $0.09 to $1.29 a side, so the cheapest plan depends on how many contracts you trade in a month.
- 1 THESIS
- 2 EVIDENCE
- 3 BACKTEST
- 4 RISK
- 5 VERDICT
02 EVIDENCE · FUNDAMENTALS
04 RISK · IN PLAIN ENGLISH
Sample scenarios, not a live backtest of what you typed. Past performance does not guarantee future results. Educational analysis only, not financial advice.
In short
NinjaTrader charges $0.39 per side on Micro and e-Nano futures and $1.29 on Standard contracts on the Free plan, $0.29 and $0.99 on the Monthly plan ($99 a month), and $0.09 and $0.59 on the Lifetime plan ($1,499 once). Exchange, clearing and NFA fees come on top on every plan, including a $0.19 per contract clearing fee. By our arithmetic the Monthly plan only beats Free above 495 Micro or 165 Standard round turns a month, and Lifetime pays for itself against Free after about 2,499 Micro or 1,071 Standard round turns. The platform itself is free for charting, backtesting and simulation.
Past performance does not guarantee future results. For educational and informational purposes only. Not financial advice. Consult a licensed advisor.
SIDE BY SIDE - PRICING CHECKED OCTOBER 8, 2026
Every NinjaTrader plan, who it is for, and the honest alternatives at each price
One card per NinjaTrader plan a buyer chooses between, plus the closest alternatives for a US futures trader, including an honest card for this site.
| Tool | Best for | Price (October 8, 2026) | The honest limitation |
|---|---|---|---|
| NinjaTrader Free | A futures trader placing fewer than about 100 Micro or 50 Standard round turns a month | $0 plan fee; $0.39 Micro and $1.29 Standard per side | $35 minimum activity fee if you log in and make no live trade in 30 days. |
| NinjaTrader Monthly | A heavy trader for a short, defined period who will not pay $1,499 up front | $99 a month; $0.29 Micro and $0.99 Standard per side | Beats Free only above 495 Micro or 165 Standard round turns a month (our arithmetic). |
| NinjaTrader Lifetime | A committed futures trader staying at NinjaTrader for two years or more | $1,499 once; $0.09 Micro and $0.59 Standard per side | Tied to your NinjaTrader brokerage account. |
| NinjaTrader multi-broker desktop | A trader who wants NinjaTrader Desktop with Interactive Brokers or another broker | $99 a month | A software add-on, not a commission plan. |
| Sierra Chart | A futures trader who wants a desktop platform separate from the broker | Package 10 $36 a month, Package 11 $46; plus CME data from $2 to $40.50 for a non-professional | Commissions are paid to whichever broker you connect. |
| AgentTrading Starter | A trader who wants to know whether a stock or ETF rule has made money after costs | $49 a month, or $288 a year. Analyst is $99 a month for 20 years of data | Daily bars only. No futures, no intraday data, no order entry. |
Prices are the vendors' public list prices, checked October 8, 2026, and vendors change them. Verify current pricing and capabilities with each vendor before you buy.
NinjaTrader Free
A futures trader placing fewer than about 100 Micro or 50 Standard round turns a month
The cheapest plan below the break-even volumes, and the platform's charting, backtesting and simulation cost nothing.
NinjaTrader Monthly
A heavy trader for a short, defined period who will not pay $1,499 up front
Fifteen months of the fee costs about as much as Lifetime, so for a long-term trader it is the most expensive route.
NinjaTrader Lifetime
A committed futures trader staying at NinjaTrader for two years or more
At 400 Micro round turns a month it saves $240 a month against Free and pays back in about six months (our arithmetic). Includes Order Flow+.
NinjaTrader multi-broker desktop
A trader who wants NinjaTrader Desktop with Interactive Brokers or another broker
NinjaTrader lists eSignal, IQFeed, Kinetick and others as supported data providers for this route.
Sierra Chart
A futures trader who wants a desktop platform separate from the broker
Package 11 with CME depth comes to $86.50 a month. Every package is on Sierra Chart pricing.
AgentTrading Starter
A trader who wants to know whether a stock or ETF rule has made money after costs
NinjaTrader is a futures broker with a strategy backtester. We answer one question about stocks and ETFs: type a rule in plain English and it runs on adjusted daily data with costs on every trade, then reports the drawdown and a plain verdict against buy and hold. Start on the trading strategy tester.
Past performance does not guarantee future results. For educational and informational purposes only. Not financial advice. Consult a licensed advisor.
EVERY PRICE AND TERM, QUOTED FROM NINJATRADER
NinjaTrader pricing as NinjaTrader states it, and what it means for your bill
Every row is quoted from NinjaTrader's own pricing, fees and platform pages. Where we computed a figure rather than read it, the row says so.
| Question a buyer asks | What NinjaTrader states | Where it is stated | What it means for you |
|---|---|---|---|
| What does the Free plan charge? | "The Free plan has no monthly fee and commissions of $0.39 per side on Micro futures contracts and $1.29 per side on Standard contracts." | Pricing, FAQ | $0.78 per Micro round turn and $2.58 per Standard round turn (our arithmetic). |
| What does the Monthly plan charge? | "The Monthly plan is $99/month with reduced commissions of $0.29/Micro and $0.99/Standard." | Pricing, FAQ | Beats Free only above 495 Micro or 165 Standard round turns a month (our arithmetic). |
| What does the Lifetime plan charge? | "a one-time payment of $1,499 with the lowest commissions: $0.09/Micro and $0.59/Standard" | Pricing, FAQ | Pays back against Free after about 2,499 Micro or 1,071 Standard round turns (our arithmetic). |
| Are commissions per side or per round trip? | "charged per side (per entry or exit), so a round trip is double the listed rate" | Pricing, FAQ | Double every listed rate when you compare brokers. |
| What else is charged per trade? | "Exchange, clearing, and NFA fees apply on top of these commissions"; clearing fee "$0.19 per contract" | Pricing, FAQ; Account and Exchange Fees | The same on every plan, so it does not change the choice of plan. |
| Is there an inactivity fee? | Free plans that "do not make any trades in the live trading environment every 30 days will be assessed a fee of $35" | Account and Exchange Fees, Administrative Fees | A Free brokerage account used only for simulation can cost $35 a month. |
| What does CME data cost? | Non-professional "Level I (Top of Book): $12/month for bundle including all 4 exchanges"; "Level II (Full Depth): $48/month" | Account and Exchange Fees, Exchange Data Fees | Ask whether your plan's included top-of-book data replaces the Level I fee. |
| What does a professional pay for data? | "Professional Users: $156/month per exchange" | Account and Exchange Fees, Exchange Data Fees | $624 a month for all four CME Group exchanges (our arithmetic). |
| Is the platform free? | "always free to use for advanced charting, strategy backtesting, and simulated (paper) trading", with no time limit and no funding required | Pricing, FAQ | You can test strategies before paying anything. |
| How much must I deposit? | "Any amount greater than $0 qualifies"; ACH and debit card transfers have a $5.00 minimum | Pricing, FAQ | Plan benefits switch on after any funded deposit. |
| Can I use another broker? | The multi-broker desktop add-on "can be purchased for $99 per month" | Market Data and Brokerage Options | Connecting Interactive Brokers or another broker adds $99 a month. |
| What if my balance hits zero? | Real-time data, trading access and add-ons "will pause at the start of the next renewal cycle" | Pricing, FAQ | Keep a small balance if you depend on the data. |
NinjaTrader pages read on October 8, 2026: Pricing (ninjatrader.com/pricing), Account and Exchange Fees, and Market Data and Brokerage Options. Rates are for accounts cleared by NinjaTrader Clearing, LLC. Confirm current rates in your account before you trade. Past performance does not guarantee future results. For educational and informational purposes only. Not financial advice. Consult a licensed advisor.
WHAT YOU GET - NINJATRADER PRICING
NinjaTrader pricing, run on the bench
$0.09 to $1.29 a side
Commission per contract per side, set by the plan. Micro and e-Nano contracts cost less than Standard on every plan.
Three plans
Free with no fee, Monthly at $99 a month, Lifetime at $1,499 once.
Break-even counts worked out
Monthly beats Free above 495 Micro or 165 Standard round turns a month. Lifetime pays back against Free after about 2,499 Micro round turns.
Fees on top, on every plan
Exchange and NFA fees plus a $0.19 per contract clearing fee, and a $35 activity fee on idle Free accounts.
Data from $12 a month
CME Group Level I for all four exchanges for a non-professional; full depth $48. Professionals pay $156 per exchange.
Backtesting at no cost
Charting, the Strategy Analyzer and simulation are free with no funding required.
HOW IT WORKS - 4 STEPS
From a sentence to a stamped verdict
Count your round turns
Take a normal month of trading and count Micro and Standard round turns separately.
Read across the break-even table
Under about 100 Micro or 50 Standard round turns a month, stay on Free. Well above that, Lifetime usually wins within a year.
Add the fees every plan pays
Clearing at $0.19 a contract, exchange and NFA fees, and market data. Check whether you are a professional subscriber before you sign data agreements.
Test the stock rule separately
If part of your plan is a stock or ETF rule held over years, type it into our trading strategy tester and compare it with buy and hold.
Past performance does not guarantee future results. For educational and informational purposes only. Not financial advice. Consult a licensed advisor.
On the same bench
NinjaTrader prints its plan prices on its pricing page and every other charge on a separate Account and Exchange Fees page, which is why most pricing roundups only quote half of the bill. We read both pages, and the platform's market data page, on October 8, 2026. Every figure below is quoted from them unless we say we computed it.
| Plan | Plan fee | Micro and e-Nano, per side | Standard, per side | Micro round turn | Standard round turn |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Free | $0 | $0.39 | $1.29 | $0.78 | $2.58 |
| Monthly | $99 a month | $0.29 | $0.99 | $0.58 | $1.98 |
| Lifetime | $1,499 once | $0.09 | $0.59 | $0.18 | $1.18 |
NinjaTrader states that commissions "are charged per side (per entry or exit), so a round trip is double the listed rate". The round-turn columns are that doubling, and they are commission only. Exchange, clearing and NFA fees are charged on top on every plan, so they never change which plan is cheapest for you.
Which NinjaTrader plan is cheapest for how much you trade
Count your round turns in a normal month, then read across. The figures are our arithmetic from the listed commissions, with the Monthly fee included and the Lifetime payment left out of the monthly cost.
| Round turns a month | Free | Monthly, including $99 | Lifetime, after the $1,499 | Months for Lifetime to pay back against Free |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 100 Micro | $78 | $157 | $18 | 25 |
| 400 Micro | $312 | $331 | $72 | 6.2 |
| 1,000 Micro | $780 | $679 | $180 | 2.5 |
| 50 Standard | $129 | $198 | $59 | 21.4 |
| 200 Standard | $516 | $495 | $236 | 5.4 |
Two things fall out of that table. The Monthly plan saves $0.20 a Micro round turn and $0.60 a Standard one, so it only beats Free above 495 Micro or 165 Standard round turns a month. At that volume, Lifetime already pays back against Free in five to seven months. Against Monthly, Lifetime pays back in 15 months even if you never trade, because $1,499 is about 15 months of the $99 fee. Monthly suits a trader who expects to trade heavily for a few months and will not tie up $1,499. For almost everyone else the choice is Free or Lifetime.
NinjaTrader fees beyond commissions
The Account and Exchange Fees page lists the rest. These are the charges a US retail futures trader is most likely to meet.
| Fee | Amount, as NinjaTrader states it | Who pays it |
|---|---|---|
| Clearing fee | $0.19 per contract | Every trade, every plan |
| Minimum account activity fee | $35 (legacy plans before 6/20/25, $25) | Free plan accounts that log in but make no live trade in 30 days |
| Rithmic order routing | $0.25 per contract | Traders who route through Rithmic |
| CQG Desktop | $0.25 per futures contract | Traders who use CQG Desktop |
| Third-party technology integrations | $0.05 to $0.25 per contract, and "a monthly usage fee of $10 may also apply" | Traders connecting outside tools |
| Static SuperDOM | $0.10 per contract (dynamic is $0.00) | Traders who switch the order ladder to static |
| Domestic wire withdrawal | $30 (ACH withdrawal free) | Anyone withdrawing by wire |
| Margin call | $50 | Accounts that fall below margin |
| Margin and delivery liquidation | $10 for e-Nanos and perpetual-style futures, $25 first violation, $50 after | Accounts liquidated by the trade desk |
| Multi-broker desktop add-on | $99 a month | Anyone using NinjaTrader Desktop with another broker |
The fee that catches people is the minimum activity charge. NinjaTrader's wording is that Free plan accounts "that log in to their trading solution but do not make any trades in the live trading environment every 30 days will be assessed a fee of $35". If you open a brokerage account on the Free plan and then only practice in simulation, check how that applies to you before you fund it.
NinjaTrader market data fees
The pricing page says every plan offers top-of-book market data once the account is funded, and that a new account gets a free 14-day trial of streaming live data. The fees page lists CME Group data at these monthly rates. The two pages do not say how the included data and the listed fees fit together, so ask support which applies to your account before you subscribe.
| Market data | Non-professional | Professional |
|---|---|---|
| CME Group Level I, all four exchanges (CME, CBOT, NYMEX, COMEX) | $12 a month, or $4 per exchange | $156 a month per exchange |
| CME Group Level II full depth, all four exchanges | $48 a month, or $16 per exchange | $156 a month per exchange |
| Eurex | $26 a month | $99 a month |
A professional who needs all four CME Group exchanges pays $624 a month by our arithmetic, 13 times the $48 a non-professional pays for full depth. How 20 other vendors treat professional subscribers is on our non-professional subscriber page.
Is the NinjaTrader lifetime license worth it?
It is worth it if you trade more than about 100 Micro or 50 Standard round turns a month and plan to keep trading futures at NinjaTrader for at least two years. NinjaTrader says the Lifetime plan "unlocks the lowest available commission rates" for the life of your account, includes add-ons such as Order Flow+, and waives the recurring monthly fee. What you are buying is a commission schedule on a NinjaTrader brokerage account, cleared by NinjaTrader Clearing, so its value depends on your account staying there. Reviews that quote a $995 or $1,099 lifetime license, or a lease from $50 a month, describe the older software license; NinjaTrader's own fee page separates "older legacy pricing plans prior to 6/20/25".
Does NinjaTrader have backtesting?
Yes, and it is free. NinjaTrader says the platform is "always free to use for advanced charting, strategy backtesting, and simulated (paper) trading", with no time limit and no funding required. The Strategy Analyzer runs optimization and walk-forward tests on strategies written in NinjaScript, which is C#, and Market Replay plays past sessions back tick by tick. Our does NinjaTrader have backtesting article goes through what it covers.
NinjaTrader is a futures broker, so it does not test a rule on stocks or ETFs held over years. If that is the job, type the rule in plain English into our trading strategy tester, which runs it on 20+ years of split- and dividend-adjusted daily data with a cost on every trade. For the other futures desktop, every package and exchange fee is on Sierra Chart pricing, and the wider comparison is on our NinjaTrader alternative page. Traders who also test in EasyLanguage should read TradeStation backtesting. Futures traders who journal every session and want price-action rules backtested next to the journal will find the plans and limits in our TradeZella review, and the cheaper journal-only option on Tradervue pricing.
QUESTIONS - ASKED AND ANSWERED
NinjaTrader pricing questions and answers
How much does NinjaTrader cost?
NinjaTrader's platform is free for charting, backtesting and simulation. To trade live you choose a plan: Free with no monthly fee, Monthly at $99 a month, or Lifetime at $1,499 once. The plan sets your commission, from $0.09 to $1.29 per contract per side, and exchange, clearing and NFA fees are added on every plan.
What are NinjaTrader commissions?
NinjaTrader commissions per side are $0.39 on Micro and e-Nano contracts and $1.29 on Standard contracts on the Free plan, $0.29 and $0.99 on the Monthly plan, and $0.09 and $0.59 on the Lifetime plan. A round trip costs double. Exchange, clearing and NFA fees are charged on top, including a $0.19 per contract clearing fee.
How much is the NinjaTrader lifetime license?
The NinjaTrader Lifetime plan is a one-time payment of $1,499. It gives the lowest commissions, $0.09 per side on Micro contracts and $0.59 on Standard, for the life of your account, includes add-ons such as Order Flow+, and removes the monthly plan fee. Older prices of $995 or $1,099 describe the previous software license.
Is the NinjaTrader lifetime license worth it?
It is worth it if you trade steadily. By our arithmetic, at 400 Micro round turns a month Lifetime saves $240 a month against the Free plan and pays back in about six months; at 100 Micro round turns it takes about 25 months. Against the Monthly plan it pays back in about 15 months even with no trades.
Is NinjaTrader free?
Yes for the software. NinjaTrader says the platform is always free to use for advanced charting, strategy backtesting and simulated trading, with no time limit and no funding required. Live trading on the Free plan has no monthly fee but costs $0.39 to $1.29 per contract per side, plus exchange, clearing and NFA fees.
Does NinjaTrader charge an inactivity fee?
Yes, on the Free plan. NinjaTrader charges a $35 minimum account activity fee to Free plan accounts that log in but make no trade in the live trading environment within 30 days. Accounts on legacy plans from before June 20, 2025 are charged $25.
How much is NinjaTrader market data?
For a non-professional, CME Group Level I data for all four exchanges is listed at $12 a month, or $4 per exchange, and full-depth Level II at $48 a month, or $16 per exchange. Professionals pay $156 a month per exchange. NinjaTrader's pricing page also says every plan offers top-of-book data once funded, so confirm which applies to you.
Does NinjaTrader have backtesting?
Yes. NinjaTrader's Strategy Analyzer backtests and optimizes strategies written in NinjaScript (C#), and Market Replay replays past sessions tick by tick, at no cost. It covers futures only. To test a stock or ETF rule over 20+ years of daily data, use a stock backtester such as our trading strategy tester.
Can I use NinjaTrader with another broker?
Yes, through an add-on. NinjaTrader sells a multi-broker desktop license for $99 a month that connects NinjaTrader Desktop to brokers such as Interactive Brokers and data providers such as eSignal, IQFeed and Kinetick. Without it, the platform trades through NinjaTrader's own brokerage.
Past performance does not guarantee future results. For educational and informational purposes only. Not financial advice. Consult a licensed advisor.
Your next idea deserves a verdict, not a hunch.
Bring a thesis or a ticker. AgentTrading restates the rule, shows the evidence, runs 20+ years of history, and stamps an honest verdict. You decide.
Past performance does not guarantee future results. For educational and informational purposes only. Not financial advice. Consult a licensed advisor.