Comparison
TradersWeek vs Sierra Chart
Sierra Chart comes up as the cheap option in order-flow threads, and the price is real: five packages from $26 to $56 per month. source Two things sit next to that number. The footprint studies are in the Advanced packages rather than the entry one, and market-by-order is in the top package at $56; and exchange fees plus part of the external data services are billed outside the licence. source It is also native Windows, with no browser build and no mobile app — remote access is documented as running it on a remote server. source TradersWeek is the opposite trade: one subscription at $120 per month with no feed to buy, in a browser on any machine, covering Binance spot, US stocks as Binance perpetual contracts and bridged forex rather than the exchange-traded futures and listed equities Sierra reaches. All Sierra Chart facts below were checked against its own documentation on 2026-08-11.
Which one fits
Choose Sierra Chart if
You trade exchange-listed futures or equities and already pay for the data. source You want the order book as history — Market Depth Historical Graph. source You want market-by-order evidence rather than an inference from the tape. source You write studies in C++ through ACSIL. source You place live orders from the chart or the DOM. source
Choose TradersWeek if
Your machine is not Windows, or you would rather not maintain a desktop install and a remote server. Your market is crypto or major FX, where the tape is public and there is no feed to pay for. You want to evaluate the thing before entering a card. You want wave counts and the structural methods on the same chart as the tape.
What the package price does and does not include
The cheap-licence argument is the reason people arrive at this comparison, so it is worth taking apart rather than repeating. Three lines decide the real monthly figure.
- Which package
- Package 3 Base Standard $26, Package 5 Base Advanced $36, Package 10 Integrated Standard $36, Package 11 Integrated Advanced $46 and Package 12 Integrated Advanced MBO $56 per month. Longer terms lower the monthly equivalent: a year runs $202.80 for Package 3 up to $436.80 for Package 12. source The entry price and the footprint price are not the same row: Numbers Bars are in the Advanced packages, source and market-by-order is in Package 12. source
- Which feeds
- Exchange fees and part of the external data and trading services are billed separately; Interactive Brokers, CQG, Rithmic and other connections are listed in the documentation. source This is the line that moves most between two traders quoting different totals for the same software, and it is also the line that has no equivalent here — because there are no licensed feeds in TradersWeek to pay for, and no CME or stock exchange feed either.
- Which machine
- Native Windows. There is no browser build and no native mobile app; for remote access Sierra Chart documents running it on a remote server. source On macOS or Linux the true cost includes a virtual machine, a second computer or a rented Windows server, and that cost belongs in the comparison even though it does not appear on the packages page.
| Line item | Sierra Chart | TradersWeek |
|---|---|---|
| Free entry | No permanent free plan; a trial exists, length not stated on the packages page. source | Permanent free tier: 123 indicators, wave labeling and paper trading, no card. Order flow is not in it |
| Licence | $26 to $56 per month across five packages; cheaper on longer terms. source | Pro $30, Premium $120 per month. Order flow is Premium |
| Market data | Exchange fees and external services billed separately. source | Nothing on top. Binance public trade data carries no exchange fee |
| Machine | Windows only; remote-server access is the documented alternative. source | Any modern browser, installs as a PWA |
None of this makes Sierra Chart expensive. For a futures trader already paying for CME data, an Advanced package is an inexpensive way to add footprint and depth history, and the argument for TradersWeek in that scenario is weak. The arithmetic changes for someone trading crypto from a Mac, which is the case this page is written for. The structure of the second bill is worked through on the market data page.
Feature comparison
| Capability | Sierra Chart | TradersWeek |
|---|---|---|
| Historical depth | Market Depth Historical Graph, in the Advanced packages. source | None. The DOM panel shows the live book; the chart heatmap colours executed volume in footprint cells |
| Market-by-order | Chart and Trade DOM; market-by-order in Package 12. source | Not available. Iceberg and absorption here are inferred from the trade tape, not observed in the book |
| Markets | Futures, stocks, forex, indexes, options and crypto, own and external feeds. source | Binance spot, plus bridged forex, metals and indices |
| Extensibility | ACSIL, a C++ API. Third-party studies catalogue, no confirmed marketplace. source | Script Converter reads 6 languages. No public API |
| Order execution | Live and simulated trading, with chart and DOM execution. source | Paper account, DOM click-to-trade on crypto, bots on your own API key |
| Capability | TradersWeek | Sierra Chart |
|---|---|---|
| Footprint | Bid and ask per level, delta, imbalance, absorption, exhaustion | Numbers Bars, in the Advanced packages. source |
| Depth of market | DOM panel on the Binance book, with click-to-trade | Chart and Trade DOM; market-by-order in Package 12. source |
| Capability | TradersWeek | Sierra Chart |
|---|---|---|
| Where it runs | Any modern browser, installs as a PWA | Windows only; remote-server access is the documented alternative. source |
| Trying it without paying | Permanent free tier, no card, no registration | No permanent free plan; a trial exists, length not stated on the packages page. source |
| Elliott Wave | Automatic in the free core: 24 wave patterns, counts scored against the rules | Not confirmed on its packages page or studies reference. source |
| Structural methodology | The methodology modules are included in Premium | Third-party custom studies from a catalogue source |
Questions people actually ask
Is Sierra Chart really cheaper than the alternatives?
The licence is. Its packages run from $26 to $56 per month, which is below TradersWeek Premium at $120 per month. The licence is also not the whole bill: exchange fees and part of the external data and trading services are billed separately, and the footprint studies sit in the Advanced packages rather than the cheapest one. The honest comparison is licence plus feed against a single subscription, and which of those is lower depends entirely on how many exchanges you subscribe to.
Does Sierra Chart run on a Mac or in a browser?
It is native Windows. There is no browser build and no native mobile app, and for remote access Sierra Chart documents running it on a remote server. TradersWeek runs in any modern browser and installs as a PWA. For a trader on macOS or Linux who does not want a virtual machine or a rented Windows box, this is where the comparison ends, before any feature is weighed.
Is there a free version of Sierra Chart?
No permanent free plan; a trial exists and its current length is not stated on the packages page as of 2026-08-11. TradersWeek is permanently free for the chart, 123 indicators, 82 drawing tools, automatic Elliott labeling and paper trading, with no card and no registration. Order flow is Premium. If the requirement is evaluating order-flow software without a payment method, that is a real difference.
What does Sierra Chart do that TradersWeek does not?
Market Depth Historical Graph — the order book as a picture of the past rather than a live panel — plus market-by-order features in Package 12, futures and equities through its own and external feeds, ACSIL for writing studies in C++, and live execution through supported trading services. None of those exist here, and the depth-history one in particular is not something a footprint substitutes for.
What does TradersWeek do that Sierra Chart does not?
It runs in a browser, opens without an account, and labels Elliott waves automatically — 24 wave patterns, every count scored against the rules, labels editable — where automatic Elliott labeling is not confirmed on the Sierra Chart packages page or studies reference. It also bundles the structural methods — Smart Money, Wyckoff, Ichimoku and Gann — into one subscription.
Which package do I actually need for footprint charts?
An Advanced one: Numbers Bars and Numbers Bars Calculated Values are in the Advanced packages, which starts the ladder above the $26 entry point. Market-by-order features are higher still, in Package 12 at $56. Comparison threads that quote the $26 figure alongside footprint capability are combining two different rows of the same page.
If the answer is futures on Windows with a data subscription already in place, it is Sierra Chart. If it is crypto in a browser, the free core here opens without an account.
Open terminalLast reviewed 11 August 2026