The information contained on this page has the sole purpose of helping you choose the correct data feed to use based on your needs.
Professional Data-Feed for Volume Analysis #
Overcharts is a professional technical analysis and trading platform specializing in volume analysis.
If you are interested in Overcharts you probably want to analyze the volume. To analyze the volume you MUST use a professional data-feed. Analyzing volume with approximate data leads to wrong decisions and often very negative consequences for your trading.
A professional data-feed suitable for volume analysis MUST have the following features:
- Provide 1-Tick historical data.
- Provide a complete real-time Tick-By-Tick data stream (NOT aggregated!).
- Provide information on where each individual trade was executed (whether on bid or ask). In other words who is the aggressor, i.e. the one who bought or sold at the market price.
- Provide DOM (Depth of Market) Level-2 market depth. This feature is NOT mandatory. It is only necessary if you use the multilevel DOM, indicators such as the Market Depth Map, and Advanced Columns (the market depth on the chart).
Obviously, in addition to this, connectivity must be considered. A professional data-feed MUST be sufficiently stable and have low latency. Usually these characteristics are common to professional data-feeds. If you encounter problems of this type with a professional data-feed, the problem is NOT Overcharts or the data-feed but probably your Internet line or your PC (not performing sufficiently). To learn more about this topic, refer to the Hardware Requirements.
The data feeds suitable for volume analysis supported by Overcharts are:
| Trading | Instruments | OS | |
| CQG / StoneX | YES | American and European Futures + Options | Windows & Mac (on Windows virtual machine) |
| Gain / StoneX | YES | American and European Futures + Options | Windows & Mac (on Windows virtual machine) |
| Rithmic | YES | American and European Futures + Options | Windows & Mac (on Windows virtual machine) |
| dxFeed | NO | American and European Futures + Nasdaq/NYSE stocks | Windows only – NO Mac (not even on a Windows virtual machine) |
ONLY the data-feeds in the list above are suitable for volume analysis. The other data-feeds supported by Overcharts are NOT professional enough to analyze volume. This means you can use them as a broker or for other types of analysis, but not for professional volume analysis.
Additional important considerations:
In Overcharts, by configuring the instrument appropriately, you can receive data from one data-feed and execute orders on another. This allows you to receive data from a professional data-feed (CQG, Gain, Rithmic, dxFeed etc.) and execute orders for example on Tradestation, Interactive Brokers or other broker that does not have a data-feed suitable for volume analysis .
- If you are interested in the Nasdaq/NYSE market, the correct choice is dxFeed. In this case, since dxFeed is a ‘data only’ data-feed (NO Trading), if you want to trade from Overcharts you can combine dxFeed with a broker such as Tradestation, Interactive Brokers or other broker (among those available in Overcharts) that supports Nasdaq/NYSE market.
- If your broker is Tradestation, Interactive Brokers or in general a broker that DOES NOT provide a data-feed suitable for volume analysis, you MUST necessarily combine a professional data-feed with the broker. In Overcharts, by configuring the instrument appropriately, you can receive data from one data-feed and execute orders on another. This allows you to receive data from a professional data-feed (CQG, Gain, Rithmic, dxFeed etc.) and execute orders on Tradestation or Interactive Brokers.
Remember that the data-feed is NOT included in the Overcharts subscription.
How to get a Data Feed #
Remember that the data-feed is NOT included in the Overcharts subscription. We DO NOT provide the data-feed directly. Overcharts and Data-Feed are two separate things. The Overcharts subscription plan gives access to the Overcharts platform and all its features. To have the data feed you must sign up for a subscription with a data vendor or open an account (demo or real) with a broker (depending on the data-feed type). All costs relating to the data feed must be settled with the broker or data vendor.
Specifically, to get a data feed:
- If you want to trade (demo or real) through Overcharts, you MUST necessarily choose a data-feed that provides a trading service. To get this type of data-feed you MUST open a demo or real account with a broker. There are NO alternatives! Furthermore, if the data-feed that provides you the trading service is NOT professional enough for volume analysis, you must combine it with a more professional data feed (see the list further up this page).
- If you just need to simulate trading locally without using a broker trading service (demo or real), you can choose any data-feed that provides a data service. Locally simulated trading by Overcharts does NOT require a broker.
- If with Overcharts you only want to analyze the market (and then place orders separately through your broker’s official platform), then simply choose a data-feed that only provides a data service (such as dxFeed).
WARNING! We do NOT know the data-feed costs. To find out the data-feed costs you MUST contact the broker or data-vendor directly and NOT Overcharts support.
For detailed information on supported brokers and data feeds, please refer to THIS PAGE.
If you do not have a data-feed to try Overcharts, you can request one HERE.
F.A.Q. #
Forex & CFDs #
NO Forex/CFD data-feed is suitable for volume analysis. In Forex/CFD instruments, volume is often NOT present or totally UNRELIABLE. To analyze the volume you need to use instruments listed on regulated exchanges! If you want to analyze Forex market volume, you MUST use CME Futures and then use one of the professional data feeds listed above.
I have a Mac, which data feed can I use? #
If you have a Mac you need to use a Windows virtual machine to install Overcharts (Overcharts only works on Windows). Generally, we are not aware of any issues with data feeds on Mac. Only dxFeed unfortunately does NOT work on Mac, even using a Virtual Machine (through Parallels). If you want to use dxFeed you must necessarily use a PC and not a Mac.
Which Overcharts subscription should I choose to use my data feed? #
You can find this information on the pricing page (in the section dedicated to subscription plans). In general, you will have to choose the ‘All Inclusive‘ or ‘2 Data-Feeds‘ plan depending on how many different data-feeds you want to connect (the only difference between the ‘All Inclusive’ and ‘2 Data-Feeds’ plan is that the “All Inclusive” has no limitations on the number of different data-feeds you can connect).
Remember that ‘Single Data-Feed‘ plan is only compatible with some data-feeds (read pricing page carefully). So, if you only have one data-feed and this is NOT among those enabled for ‘Single Data-Feed’ plan, you MUST still choose the ‘2 Data-Feeds’ or ‘All Inclusive’ plan.
