Quantower Won't Accept Tradovate Login (Use Rithmic)
You bought a prop combine that runs on Tradovate, opened Quantower, and there's nowhere to type your Tradovate login. Here's why, and how to connect with the Rithmic credentials your firm already issued.
You bought a prop combine that runs on Tradovate, you open Quantower, and there's nowhere to type your Tradovate username. Or you force it into the wrong box and it just fails. That's expected in 2026: Quantower doesn't route futures through Tradovate at all, so your Tradovate login was never going to work. The account you funded is almost certainly reachable, though, through the Rithmic credentials your firm hands out alongside it.
Quick Checklist for the Quantower Tradovate Login Problem
- Stop looking for a Tradovate connection. Quantower doesn't have one. Its futures side runs on Rithmic, CQG, and ProjectX, not on the Tradovate API.
- Find your Rithmic username and password. Your prop firm issues these separately from your Tradovate login, usually in the account dashboard or the welcome email.
- Open Connections and pick Rithmic. Enter the Rithmic login exactly as issued, including case, with no leading or trailing spaces.
- Choose the right server. Evaluation accounts and funded accounts sit on different Rithmic gateways. Use the one your firm tells you to use.
- Log out everywhere else first. If the same Rithmic login is live in R Trader Pro or another platform, Quantower can throw a connection error.
- No Rithmic option from your firm? Then that account is Tradovate-only, and you'll need a Tradovate-compatible platform instead of Quantower.
What “Quantower Won't Accept Your Tradovate Login” Means
Here's the short version: this isn't a bug, and there's nothing broken about your Tradovate account. Quantower simply never built a direct Tradovate integration. When you scroll its list of futures connections you'll see Rithmic, CQG, ProjectX, and firm-branded gateways, but no “Tradovate” entry. So the credentials Tradovate gave you have no field to go into, and any attempt to reuse them in a different connection gets rejected.
The reason this trips up so many prop traders is that Tradovate and Rithmic often sit behind the same account. A lot of firms clear through infrastructure that exposes both a Tradovate login (for the Tradovate web platform, TradingView, and tools like it) and a Rithmic login (for Rithmic-compatible platforms such as Quantower, NinjaTrader, and Sierra Chart). Same balance, same positions, two different sets of credentials for two different technology stacks.
So the fix isn't to make Quantower “accept” Tradovate. It's to connect Quantower the way it was designed to connect, using the Rithmic credentials your firm already provisioned for exactly this purpose.
Top Causes of Quantower Rejecting Tradovate Credentials
1. Quantower has no native Tradovate connection
This is the root cause and it catches almost everyone. Quantower's futures data and order routing come through Rithmic, CQG, and ProjectX. There is no Tradovate adapter in the connection list, so there's physically no place to enter a Tradovate email and password. Nothing you type in a Rithmic or CQG box will validate against Tradovate's servers.
2. You're using the Tradovate login instead of the Rithmic login
Prop firms hand out more than one credential set, and it's easy to grab the wrong one. Your Tradovate username (often an email, or a firm-prefixed name) is for the Tradovate side. Your Rithmic username is a distinct string, frequently shorter, sometimes with a firm tag. Plugging the Tradovate one into Quantower's Rithmic connection fails every time because Rithmic's servers have never heard of it.
3. Your firm never enabled Rithmic on that account
Some firms let you choose your data feed or platform when you buy the evaluation. If you picked a Tradovate-only route, a Rithmic login may not exist yet for that account. In that case Quantower can't connect it no matter what you type, and you'll need to either request Rithmic access from support or switch the account's platform selection. Whether that's free, paid, or even available at all varies by firm and account size, so check your firm's current rules before you assume.
4. Wrong Rithmic server or gateway
Rithmic runs multiple gateways, and the login only works on the one your account lives on. Demo and evaluation accounts typically sit on a paper gateway, while funded and live accounts sit on a live gateway. If you point a funded login at the paper server (or the reverse), the connection is refused even though the username and password are correct.
5. Credential formatting: spaces and capitalization
Rithmic logins are case-sensitive, and a single trailing space copied out of a dashboard will break authentication. If you paste the username or password and it fails, retype it by hand, watch the capitalization, and make sure autofill hasn't slipped an old value in.
How to Fix It: Step-by-Step
Fixing the login: connect Quantower with Rithmic
Get your Rithmic credentials
Sign in to your prop firm's client dashboard and locate the platform access section. Copy the Rithmic username and password. These sit separately from your Tradovate credentials, and some firms only reveal them after the account is activated.
Open Connections in Quantower
Open the Connections panel (the connection manager where you add and manage brokers). Confirm the exact label in your build, since Quantower revises this UI periodically.
Select Rithmic
Select Rithmic from the connection list. Do not look for Tradovate; it isn't there and won't be.
Enter the login by hand
Enter the Rithmic login and password exactly as issued. Type them by hand rather than pasting, and check the case on every character.
Pick the correct server
Pick the server your firm specified. As a rule, evaluation and demo accounts use a paper gateway and funded accounts use a live gateway, but the exact gateway name is firm-specific, so use the one in your welcome email.
Click Connect
Click Connect. When it succeeds, your prop account's balance and positions load into Quantower, and you can chart and trade it there.
Choosing the correct Rithmic server
Match the environment to the account
A paper or demo gateway is the default for evaluations; a live gateway is the default for funded accounts.
Use the gateway your firm named
If your firm named a specific gateway in your onboarding email, use that exact entry. Firm-branded and region-specific gateways exist, and only one is correct for your account.
Try the other environment if refused
If the connection is refused with correct credentials, switch to the other environment and try again. A mismatched server is the most common reason a valid login won't connect.
Clearing a “No handle” or duplicate-session error
Close other Rithmic sessions
Close R Trader Pro if you have it open, and disconnect the same Rithmic login from any other platform such as NinjaTrader.
Wait for the old session to drop
Wait a few seconds for the old session to drop, then reconnect in Quantower.
Check plugin mode
If you rely on R Trader Pro's plugin mode, either start it in “Allow Plugins” mode or turn off the Use R Trader option in Quantower to make a direct connection instead.
Troubleshooting Table
| What you see | What it means | Fix |
|---|---|---|
| No Tradovate option in Quantower | Quantower has no native Tradovate connection | Connect through Rithmic instead, using your firm's Rithmic credentials |
| Login failed with Tradovate username | Tradovate credentials don't authenticate against Rithmic servers | Enter the separate Rithmic username and password from your dashboard |
| Login failed with correct Rithmic details | Wrong server, or Rithmic not enabled on the account | Select the correct gateway, or ask your firm to enable Rithmic access |
| “No handle” / connection refused | The same Rithmic login is active elsewhere | Close R Trader Pro and other platforms, then reconnect |
| Intermittent auth failure | Trailing spaces or wrong capitalization in the credentials | Retype the login by hand; Rithmic logins are case-sensitive |
| Firm offers no Rithmic login at all | The account is provisioned Tradovate-only | Trade it in a Tradovate-compatible platform, or request a platform switch |
Prevent This with PickMyTrade
If your goal is to automate that prop account, whether Quantower takes a Tradovate login becomes a non-issue. PickMyTrade connects to your Tradovate-hosted account directly and fires orders from your TradingView alerts, so you can keep charting in Quantower over Rithmic while execution runs on the Tradovate side without you juggling logins.
- Direct Tradovate routing sends orders straight to your Tradovate prop account, no third-party platform login required.
- TradingView-to-broker automation turns your alerts into live orders on the account your firm actually cleared.
- Prop-aware risk filters respect your firm's limits and data-agreement state before an order goes out.
- Multi-account sync mirrors a single alert across several prop accounts at once.
Automate Your Tradovate Prop Account
Keep charting in Quantower over Rithmic and let PickMyTrade handle order routing to your Tradovate account automatically.
Start Your Free 5-Day TrialFrequently Asked Questions
Because Quantower has no native Tradovate connection. Its futures routing runs on Rithmic, CQG, and ProjectX, so there's no field for a Tradovate login. Use the Rithmic credentials your prop firm issued for that account.
From your prop firm, not from Rithmic directly. Look in your client dashboard's platform access area or your welcome email. They're a separate username and password from your Tradovate login, and some firms only show them after the account is activated.
Evaluation and demo accounts usually connect to a paper gateway, and funded accounts to a live gateway. The exact gateway name is firm-specific, so use the one in your onboarding email. If a valid login won't connect, try the other environment.
Not with that account as-is. If no Rithmic credentials exist, the account is Tradovate-only and Quantower can't reach it. Ask support whether they can enable Rithmic or switch your platform. Availability and any cost vary by firm and account size.
It usually means the same Rithmic login is already active somewhere else, such as R Trader Pro or NinjaTrader. Close those sessions, wait a moment, and reconnect in Quantower.
Neither. It's by design. Quantower chose Rithmic and CQG for its futures backbone and never added a Tradovate adapter, so connecting through Rithmic is the intended path, not a workaround for a defect.
Not necessarily. Quantower can connect directly to Rithmic. If you use R Trader Pro's plugin mode to save on market-data fees, run it in “Allow Plugins” mode; otherwise turn off the Use R Trader option and connect directly.
Yes. PickMyTrade connects to your Tradovate account directly and executes your TradingView alerts, so automation doesn't depend on Quantower supporting a Tradovate login at all.
This guide is for educational and informational purposes only and is not financial, investment, or trading advice. Trading futures and other leveraged products carries a substantial risk of loss and is not suitable for every investor. PickMyTrade is an independent third-party automation platform and is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or sponsored by Tradovate, Inc. All related names, logos, and trademarks are the property of their respective owners. Platform features and steps change over time, so always confirm the current process in the official platform documentation before acting.