Confirm Active Market Data Subscriptions in Tradovate
Before you risk a single tick, you want to know exactly what data your account is pulling. Here's how to see which market data subscriptions are active, and confirm the feed is live, not delayed.
Before you risk a single tick, you want to know exactly what data your account is pulling. Are your NQ and ES quotes live, or are you looking at a feed that's ten minutes behind the market? Tradovate keeps the answer in one place, and checking takes under a minute. Here's how to see which market data subscriptions are active, and how to confirm the feed is actually live rather than delayed.
Where Tradovate Lists Your Active Data Subscriptions
Every active feed lives under Application Settings, in the Market Data section (reachable on its own or through Subscriptions). Whatever you're subscribed to shows up in that list with its exchange and status. If the list is empty, no live subscription is attached to the login you're using, and your charts are running on the free delayed feed.
Confirm Your Active Subscriptions: Step by Step
Open Application Settings
Log in to Tradovate on the web or desktop app. Open Application Settings using the settings icon in the top-right corner of the screen. It's the same menu where you manage risk limits, plans, and your account profile.
Go to the Subscriptions and Market Data Section
Inside Application Settings, open Subscriptions and find Market Data. On some layouts you can simply scroll down to the Market Data section without a separate Subscriptions tab. Either path lands you on the same place: the summary of what data your account is paying for.
Read Your Active Data Subscriptions
This is the part that matters. Each active feed is listed with its exchange, so you can see at a glance whether you're carrying, say, a CME real-time package or nothing at all. From here you'll also see buttons to add, change, or cancel a feed. If you expected live CME futures data and the list is blank, that's your problem right there, and you'll want to subscribe to a real-time market data package before trading.
Cross-Check Live vs Delayed on a Chart
The settings list tells you what you've bought. The chart tells you what's actually flowing. Open a chart or the DOM for a contract and look at the symbol name: if it's orange, the feed is delayed, not live, even if a subscription appears active. A symbol in its normal color, plus a green connection indicator in the top-right corner, confirms the data is real-time. Don't trade while symbols are orange, since delayed prices can fill you far from where you thought you were.
Live vs Delayed: A Quick Reference
| What you see | What it means |
|---|---|
| Feed listed under Market Data with a matching exchange | You hold an active subscription for that exchange |
| Empty Market Data list | No live subscription on this login; charts run on the delayed feed |
| Symbol name in normal color + green connection dot | Live, real-time data |
| Orange symbol name | Roughly 10-minute delayed data; don't trade on it |
If your symbols stay orange after you've confirmed a subscription, log out and back in to refresh the entitlement. Still delayed? Walk through the 10-minute delayed data and orange symbols fix, which covers the exact order of operations to flip the feed live.
On a Prop-Firm or Evaluation Account?
This is where a lot of confusion starts. On evaluation and funded prop accounts, market data is controlled by the firm that owns the account, not by you. The Market Data section may look empty or locked, and self-subscribing usually won't stick. If your prop data is delayed or missing, contact your prop firm to enable it rather than buying a feed through Tradovate directly. Data packages, fees, and what's included vary by firm and account size, so check your firm's current rules before assuming anything.
Automate with PickMyTrade
Once you've confirmed your data is live, PickMyTrade wires your TradingView alerts straight to your Tradovate account, so every entry, stop, and target fires on its own. Live data on both ends keeps your signals lined up with the real market instead of a lagging feed.
Trade on Live Data, Automatically
Once you've confirmed your data is live, let PickMyTrade wire your TradingView alerts straight to your Tradovate account so every entry, stop, and target fires on its own.
Start Your Free 5-Day TrialFrequently Asked Questions
Open Application Settings, go to the Market Data section, and check the list of subscriptions. Anything active shows up with its exchange. Then confirm the feed is live by checking that the symbol name on your chart is a normal color, not orange.
An entitlement can take a few minutes to propagate, or the session may still be on the old feed. Log out and log back in to refresh, then recheck the symbol color. If it's still orange, confirm the agreement tied to that feed is fully signed.
You can view the section, but on evaluation and funded accounts the firm controls the feed. If data is missing or delayed there, contact your prop firm to enable it instead of subscribing through Tradovate yourself.
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. "Tradovate" and 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 Tradovate platform and documentation before acting.