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TakeProfitTrader Data Feed Cost After Evaluation (CME Group Fees)

Written by Paul

Published on

January 16, 2026

Quick Answer: TakeProfitTrader does NOT include data feeds or platform licenses in your funded account. Once you pass Test and activate PRO, you're responsible for $55-$75/month minimum in data fees, plus platform costs if applicable. This catches most traders off guard—they think "I'm funded, costs are done." Wrong. The real monthly overhead just started.

Quick heads-up: This article is based on my real experience with TakeProfitTrader and the info available when I published/updated this. Things change in prop trading — rules, payouts, promos, all of it.

For the absolute latest, check TakeProfitTrader´s website or their knowledge base.

What TPT Provides (Spoiler: Not Much)

When you activate PRO or PRO+, TPT gives you:

Access to their funded account capital
Connection credentials to trade through their broker (Apex Clearing, Tradovate, etc.)
That's it.

What TPT does NOT provide:

Trading platform license
Real-time market data feeds
Charting software
Order flow tools
Any platform-related subscriptions

You must supply these yourself—and pay for them monthly.

The Data Feed Breakdown by Platform

Rithmic (Most Common)

If you use NinjaTrader, Sierra Chart, Quantower, MotiveWave, or most professional platforms, you're connecting through Rithmic.

Rithmic CME data package (required for ES, NQ, futures):

Cost: $55-$75/month depending on package
What it includes: Real-time ES, NQ, YM, RTY data + DOM/ladder access
Where you pay: Direct to Rithmic or through your platform (NinjaTrader bundles it)

Important: This is PER TRADER, not per account. If you have 5 TPT funded accounts, you still only pay $55/month for Rithmic data—it covers all your accounts.

Tradovate (Alternative)

Some traders use Tradovate as their platform. TPT supports Tradovate connections.

Tradovate data:

Free tier: Real-time data included if you execute 10+ contracts/month
Paid tier: $49/month if under 10 contracts/month
Platform fee: $0 (Tradovate is free to use)

Advantage: Potentially $0/month data cost if you're actively trading (10 contracts = 1 trade with 10 MES or 1 ES contract per month—easily achievable).

Disadvantage: Tradovate's platform is less robust than NinjaTrader or Sierra Chart. Limited customization, fewer tools, basic charting.

TradingView (Chart-Only)

TradingView can chart futures but cannot execute trades on TPT accounts directly. You'd use TradingView for analysis, then execute through another platform.

TradingView Pro+ (required for real-time futures data):

Cost: $59.95/month
What it includes: Real-time futures data, 10 indicators/chart, alerts

Total if using TradingView + NinjaTrader for execution: $59.95 (TV) + $60 (NT lease) + $55 (Rithmic) = $175/month. Not recommended unless you absolutely need TradingView's tools.

Platform License Costs

NinjaTrader

Options:

Lease: $60/month (includes NinjaTrader 8 platform)
Lifetime license: $995 one-time (pay once, own forever)

Rithmic data: Additional $55/month (not included in lease or lifetime)

Total monthly (lease): $60 (NT) + $55 (Rithmic) = $115/month

Total monthly (lifetime after year 1): $55/month (just Rithmic data)

Recommendation: If you plan to trade TPT for 12+ months, buy the lifetime license. Pays for itself in 17 months ($995 / $60 = 16.6 months).

Sierra Chart

Platform fee: $36/month (service package 11, recommended for futures)

Rithmic data: $55/month (separate)

Total monthly: $36 (Sierra) + $55 (Rithmic) = $91/month

Advantage over NinjaTrader: $24/month cheaper if using monthly licensing. Also more lightweight, faster execution, better for order flow/footprint traders.

Quantower, MotiveWave, ATAS

Platform fees vary:

Quantower: $50-$100/month depending on features
MotiveWave: $99-$199/month (high-end)
ATAS: $67-$165/month (order flow specialist)

Rithmic data: Still required, $55/month on top of platform fees

Total monthly: $105-$254/month depending on platform choice

Total Monthly Overhead in PRO/PRO+ (Real Numbers)

Minimum setup (Tradovate free tier):

Platform: $0
Data: $0 (if 10+ contracts/month)
Total: $0/month

Budget setup (Sierra Chart + Rithmic):

Platform: $36
Data: $55
Total: $91/month

Standard setup (NinjaTrader lease + Rithmic):

Platform: $60
Data: $55
Total: $115/month

Premium setup (NinjaTrader lifetime + Rithmic, after year 1):

Platform: $0 (already paid $995 lifetime)
Data: $55
Total: $55/month

Professional setup (Sierra + Rithmic + order flow tools):

Platform: $36
Data: $55
Order flow software (ATAS, Bookmap, etc.): $67-$150
Total: $158-$241/month

How This Compares to Competitors

TPT: $55-$115/month (trader pays separately)

Apex Trader Funding: $0/month (data + platform bundled in $187/month funded account fee)

TopOne Futures: $0/month (Project X platform + data bundled, included)

Bulenox: $50-$80/month (trader pays, similar to TPT)

The trade-off: TPT doesn't bundle costs, so you pay separately for data/platform. Upside: you choose your platform (15+ options). Downside: ongoing monthly expense. Apex bundles everything but charges $187/month for funded accounts—after 6 months, TPT's separate costs are cheaper ($115 × 6 = $690 vs Apex $187 × 6 = $1,122).

Cost Optimization Strategies

Strategy #1: Use Tradovate if starting out. Free data if you hit 10 contracts/month (easy threshold). Platform is basic but functional. Upgrade to NinjaTrader/Sierra once you're consistently profitable.

Strategy #2: Buy NinjaTrader lifetime if committed. $995 upfront hurts, but saves $720/year versus leasing ($60 × 12). Pays for itself in 17 months.

Strategy #3: Share data subscriptions (where allowed). Rithmic data can often cover multiple devices under one login. Check Rithmic's terms, but many traders run desktop + laptop on one $55/month subscription.

Strategy #4: Drop premium tools until profitable. You don't NEED $150/month order flow software to pass Test or survive PRO. Use free/cheap tools, upgrade once you're withdrawing $2K+/month and the tools pay for themselves.

Strategy #5: Factor overhead into your profit targets. If data/platform costs $100/month, you need to withdraw $125/month just to break even (at 80% PRO split). Set profit targets accordingly.

The Hidden Truth

Most TPT marketing focuses on "$119/month Test, $0 activation fees with promos, get first month refunded." What they don't advertise: the $55-$115/month ongoing cost once funded.

This isn't a scam—it's industry-standard for firms offering platform flexibility. But it catches traders off guard. You pass Test, activate PRO, then realize "wait, I need to pay $115/month just to access my funded account?"

Budget for it from day one. If you can't afford $100-$150/month in platform/data costs, prop trading might not be financially viable yet. Go back to sim trading with free platforms until you're consistently profitable, THEN invest in funded accounts and premium tools.

The bottom line: TPT's data/platform costs are lower than Apex's bundled monthly fees after 6+ months, but higher than TopOne's included Project X. If platform choice matters to you (NinjaTrader, Sierra, Quantower flexibility), TPT's model works. If you want zero ongoing costs, TopOne's Project X lock-in might be worth the trade-off.

Factor $55-$115/month into your TPT business plan. It's not optional—it's the cost of doing business as a funded futures trader.