Explainer
Free alternatives to FX Replay for futures
Our Trade Lab, TradingView’s Bar Replay and the free plans of FX Replay and Tradezella all replay history; they differ in what is free, data and limits.
Updated
The short answer
FX Replay has a free plan, but it is limited. Other ways to replay futures history for free or close to it are our Trade Lab, TradingView’s Bar Replay, and the trial or free tiers some journal tools offer. They differ in what is free, how much data they cover and where they stop.
We run the Lab, so we describe it the same way as the others. Facts about other tools are from their own pages, read in October 2026.
- Replay
- Past data shown one bar at a time, with later bars hidden.
- Paper trading
- Placing orders against a simulated account, not a real one.
- Data retention
- How long a tool keeps your saved sessions. It is not the span of market data.
What is free, side by side
As of October 2026, from each vendor’s own pages. “Not stated” means the page did not show it.
| Tool | What is free | Futures data | Data span | Main limit |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| CE Market Solutions Trade Lab | The whole Lab, with an account and a verified email | NQ, ES and GC as 1-minute data | NQ and ES from June 2, 2016; GC from September 29, 2016 | Forward-only, history only, no live data |
| FX Replay | Beginner plan: 2 backtesting sessions, 1 indicator, 50 trades per session | Futures and CME data are listed on its Pro plan | Not stated | One week of session retention on the free plan |
| Tradezella | No free plan or trial shown; plans from $35 a month | Futures listed | “11+ years of historical data” | Trade replay is on Pro and Ultra |
| TradingView | Basic plan at $0 | CME futures data is added separately | Basic has 180 days of intraday history | Bar Replay is listed on Essential and above |
Our Trade Lab
The Lab is a bar-by-bar replay with paper trading for NQ, ES and gold (GC), as 1-minute data. You pick a market and a start date and step forward. The server never sends a bar later than the current one, and a replay cannot be moved backward.
You can draw on the chart, keep a journal of each decision and place paper orders. It is free with an account and a verified email. Its limits are plain: it replays history only, there is no live data, and paper fills are evaluated on 1-minute bars, so they approximate live fills.
FX Replay
FX Replay lets you practise by hand on history. Its free Beginner plan allows two backtesting sessions, one indicator and 50 trades per session, and keeps sessions for a week. Its pricing page lists futures and CME data on the Pro plan. The page’s own FAQ shows different monthly prices from its plan cards, so check the vendor for current ones.
Tradezella
Tradezella is a journal with manual bar-by-bar backtesting. Its pricing page shows no free plan and states no free trial length. Trade replay is on the Pro and Ultra plans, not Essential. The page states “11+ years of historical data” and lists futures among the markets.
TradingView Bar Replay
TradingView’s Bar Replay lets you pick a starting bar, press play, speed it up or step one bar at a time. Its help says the available history depends on the symbol and the interval, and that intraday can be limited by plan. Its replay limits do not apply to continuous futures charts, which have their own intraday limits.
The pricing page lists Bar Replay under Essential and above, and gives the free Basic plan 180 days of intraday history. Real-time and intraday CME data is added separately. Whether Basic includes Bar Replay was not clear from the pages we read, so check before you plan around it.
What to check before you rely on a free replay
Four questions settle most of it.
- How far back does the data go for the market you trade?
- What bar size is the data? A rule about minutes needs minute bars.
- What does a paper fill assume? Ours is modelled on 1-minute bars.
- What is limited on the free plan: sessions, trades, indicators or history?
Free replay tools differ in what is free. Check whether the data, the sessions or the history is the limit.
Questions and answers
Is there a free alternative to FX Replay for futures?
Yes. Our Trade Lab is a free replay for NQ, ES and GC with an account and a verified email. TradingView’s Bar Replay is another option, with its own plan and data limits.
Does FX Replay have a free plan?
Its pricing page shows a free Beginner plan with 2 backtesting sessions, 1 indicator and 50 trades per session. It lists futures and CME data on the Pro plan.
Can I replay NQ futures for free?
In our Lab you can, bar by bar on 1-minute NQ data from June 2, 2016. You need an account with a verified email.
Can TradingView Bar Replay be used on futures?
Its help says replay can be used on futures and that its replay limits do not apply to continuous futures charts, which have their own intraday limits. CME data is added separately.