Explainer
Automated backtesting software
Automated backtesting software runs coded trading rules over historical data without manual clicking and returns the trades and statistics for each run.
Updated
What it is
Automated backtesting software takes trading rules that are written precisely enough for a computer, runs them over historical data, and returns the trades and statistics. You do not click through the chart yourself.
The speed is the point. Years of history run in minutes. That makes it possible to test a change, read the trades and test again.
- Automated backtest
- A run of fixed, coded rules over history, with no manual decisions.
- Manual backtest
- Stepping through history by hand and recording what you would have done.
- Strategy script
- The rules written as code, so a platform can run them.
Two ways to get it
The first is a platform with a built-in tester. TradingView’s Strategy Tester runs strategy scripts and fills orders using the chart’s open, high, low and close values. NinjaTrader’s Strategy Analyzer runs NinjaScript strategies, and its help guide lists optimization, walk forward, basket testing and Monte Carlo options. You write or obtain the code.
The second is a done-for-you service. You describe the rules in plain language and the service writes and runs the test. That is what we do. Facts about other tools were read from vendor pages in October 2026, so check the vendor for anything current.
What automation does not fix
A computer follows the rules literally. If a rule can be read two ways, the code picks one. If the data skips contract rolls, the test runs on prices nobody could trade. If costs are missing, the result shows a cleaner picture than an account would.
Automation makes a test fast. It does not make the rules, the data or the costs right. Those still need checking by a person.
Automation makes a test fast. It does not make the rules, data or costs right.
Where done-for-you fits
You describe your rules the way you would explain them to another trader. If something is ambiguous, we normally ask before we run it. We run the rules on CME futures data: ES, MES, NQ, MNQ and gold (GC).
You get a results page with every trade, the summary figures and a written list of what the run assumed. About 30% of months, spread across every year, are held back from the results. A version takes two to three business days.
A version is $19. Standard is $49 a month for 3 versions, and Premium is $79 a month for 6.
What to look for in any tool
Check these before you rely on a result:
- Rules that can only be read one way.
- Costs stated, and a way to change them.
- Fill rules written down, including what happens when a stop and a target share a bar.
- Contract rolls handled as explicit events, on raw prices.
- The trade count next to every figure, and every trade viewable.
- Part of the history held back for a later check.
Questions and answers
What is automated backtesting?
It is running fixed, coded trading rules over historical data with no manual decisions, and getting back the trades and statistics.
Is automated backtesting more accurate than manual backtesting?
It is faster and applies the rules the same way every time. Accuracy still depends on the data, the fill rules and the costs, whichever way you test.
Do I need to code to use automated backtesting software?
Platform testers such as TradingView’s Strategy Tester and NinjaTrader’s Strategy Analyzer run coded strategies. A done-for-you service takes the rules in plain language instead.
What does a done-for-you backtest cost?
On our service a version is $19.