Route Tradovate to NinjaTrader, Sierra & More
Prefer to chart in NinjaTrader, Bookmap, or Quantower but keep executing through Tradovate? Here's how Tradovate Connect wires the two together, step by step.
Prefer to chart in NinjaTrader, Bookmap, or Quantower but keep executing through your Tradovate account? Tradovate Connect is how you wire the two together, analysis and clicks happen in your front-end of choice, and the fill lands on the Tradovate side.
What Is Tradovate Connect?
Tradovate Connect is the connection layer that lets outside charting and execution software route live orders through your Tradovate brokerage account. You do your analysis and click your entries in the other platform, and the order is filled and cleared on the Tradovate side. Put simply, Tradovate becomes the execution engine sitting behind whatever front-end you're fastest in.
Routing Tradovate to Other Platforms: Step-by-Step
Check How Your Platform Connects
Not every platform reaches Tradovate the same way, and getting this wrong is where most people stall. NinjaTrader, Bookmap, Quantower, and MotiveWave plug into Tradovate's API directly, you sign in with your Tradovate credentials. TradingView, Jigsaw, and Collective2 are premium partners you switch on from inside your account. Sierra Chart is the awkward one: there's no one-click native Tradovate connection for it, so whether and how you can route it depends on what your account or prop firm supports. Confirm that before you count on it.
Turn the Connection On in Your Tradovate Account
Open your Tradovate account settings and find the add-ons and integrations area. Premium partners flip on with a single toggle and add no order-routing fees. For a direct API link, you'll buy the API Access add-on and then generate an API key, that path needs a funded live account and carries a monthly fee, so check the current price and the minimum balance before you commit. On a prop or evaluation account, your firm decides which platforms and whether API automation is allowed, so confirm your firm's current rules first.
Log In from Your Charting Platform
Back in your charting software, open its connection or data-provider settings and pick Tradovate. Enter your Tradovate username and password, then choose the right environment, simulated for practice or an eval, live for a funded account. In NinjaTrader that means switching on Multi-Provider mode and adding a Tradovate connection; Bookmap and Quantower use a similar connect dialog. If NinjaTrader's setup looks different from an older guide you've seen, that's expected, its Tradovate hookup has changed, so follow the current connection method and run a recent build.
Send a Test Order and Confirm the Fill
Before you trust it with real size, send one small order, a single ES or MNQ contract, from the charting platform and watch where it lands. The position, working orders, and P&L should show up in your Tradovate account within a second or two. When the fill appears on both sides, your route is live and you can scale up. Keep this test on a simulated account so a mis-click can't cost you.
| Platform | How it reaches Tradovate |
|---|---|
| NinjaTrader | Direct Tradovate API (Multi-Provider mode) |
| Bookmap / Quantower / MotiveWave | Tradovate Connect (API) |
| TradingView / Jigsaw / Collective2 | Premium partner, activate in your account |
| Sierra Chart | No native one-click link, confirm your account/firm's supported method |
Why You'd Need This
- Chart with tools Tradovate doesn't ship, order-flow heatmaps, footprint charts, custom bar types.
- Keep one execution account behind several front-ends instead of juggling separate logins.
- Run a dedicated DOM or ladder in one app while you chart in another.
- Trade a funded or prop account through the platform your hands already know.
Automate This with PickMyTrade
Connecting a charting platform still leaves you clicking every entry by hand. PickMyTrade closes that gap, it takes your TradingView alerts and fires them straight into Tradovate, so your strategy trades itself while you watch the chart. No manual order tickets, no missed fills when you step away.
Turn Your Charting Platform Into Automation
Connecting a charting platform still leaves you clicking every entry by hand. PickMyTrade takes your TradingView alerts and fires them straight into Tradovate, so your strategy trades itself.
Start Your Free 5-Day TrialFrequently Asked Questions
Premium partner integrations don't add order-routing fees. A direct API connection needs Tradovate's API Access add-on, which carries a monthly fee plus a funded-account requirement, check the current numbers in your account settings before you sign up.
Sierra Chart doesn't offer a simple native Tradovate broker connection the way NinjaTrader does. Whether you can route it comes down to what your specific account or prop firm supports, so check their current connection options before you rely on it.
Sometimes. Prop firms control which platforms and whether API automation is permitted, and the rules vary by firm and account stage, confirm with your firm before you connect.
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.