Explainer
How to get a trading strategy backtested
You describe your rules, we run them on real CME futures history and return every trade and assumption; a version is $19, in two to three business days.
Updated
What you give us
You do not need to code. Describe your rules the way you would explain them to another trader.
You give us your rules. You build them stage by stage in the builder, starting from a preset (previous day break, opening range breakout, moving-average cross, PD array) or writing the entry in your own words.
You pick the market: ES, MES, NQ, MNQ or gold (GC). We test CME futures only. Gold is ordered on its own, never together with an index. You can change the commission on the order.
On your first version you also answer a few questions: a name for the strategy, and what worries you about it. If something in your rules is ambiguous, we normally ask you the question first instead of guessing.
What comes back
You get a results page with every trade, the summary figures, and a written list of what the run assumed. Up to three findings are written against the concerns you listed.
Tell us what worries you about the strategy, and the results answer those concerns.
The results are simulated. They do not represent actual trading. We do not tell you whether a strategy is worth trading. That is your call to make.
About 30% of months, spread across every year, are held back from the results. The page shows them greyed out and labelled "Saved for out-of-sample".
What it costs
Creating an account is free, and it has no versions. Every version costs the same, whatever it contains.
- Creating an account is free, and so is the Trade Lab replay.
- A version is $19, bought one at a time. A version you buy never expires.
- Standard is $49 a month: 3 versions, unlimited strategies and full version history.
- Premium is $79 a month: 6 versions, unlimited strategies and priority.
- Plan versions you have not used by the end of the billing period expire.
Test it, see what breaks, change one thing, test it again.
How long it takes
Two to three business days.
What a version 2 is
The first run of a strategy is version 1. Version 2 is a re-run of the same strategy with some settings changed. It keeps the bias rule and the entry type. If you change either of those, it is a new strategy.
The held-back months stay the same in every version, so the versions compare like for like. A finding can describe the next version in words, with a button that opens the builder prefilled. The button promises a test, never a better result.
- Version
- One run of a strategy, priced at $19 or one of your plan’s versions.
- Strategy
- A bias rule and an entry type, plus every version you test on them.
- Finding
- A short note, written against a concern you listed, saying what the run showed.
Questions and answers
How much does it cost to get a strategy backtested?
A version is $19, and the Trade Lab replay is free with an account. Standard is $49 a month for 3 versions and Premium is $79 a month for 6.
How long does a backtest take?
Two to three business days.
Which markets can you test?
CME futures only: ES, MES, NQ, MNQ and gold (GC). Gold is ordered on its own, never together with an index.
Do you tell me whether my strategy is worth trading?
No. You get the figures, every trade and a written account of what the run assumed. Drawing a conclusion from that is your job.
What if my rules are unclear?
We normally ask you the question first. Describe the rules the way you would explain them to another trader.