TradeDay Market Data Costs: What You'll Actually Pay

TradeDay includes free Level 1 market data for all evaluation and Funded Sim accounts at no additional cost beyond monthly subscription—covering CME, CBOT, NYMEX, and COMEX exchanges with bid/ask/last price, volume, and basic charting data. Funded Live accounts require professional market data subscriptions costing $140 per month per exchange group, potentially totaling $560/month if trading all four CME exchanges.

This is why most TradeDay traders stay in Funded Sim permanently—identical payout speed and profit splits without monthly data overhead.

Quick heads-up: This article is based on my real experience with TradeDay 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 TradeDay´s website or their faq page.

The $140/exchange fee isn't charged by TradeDay—it's CME Group's professional trader data fee billed directly through your data provider. Once you transition to Funded Live status (trading real capital on live markets), exchanges classify you as professional trader requiring professional data subscriptions. You can't use "free" retail data feeds or outside data sources—CME compliance mandates proper data licensing when trading live capital, and violations result in account termination and potential legal issues.

Level 2 market data (depth of market, full order book) is available as upgrade on TradeDayX platform for additional monthly fees, but most futures traders find Level 1 sufficient for price action strategies. Only order flow traders analyzing bid/ask ladders, footprint charts, or liquidity depth typically need Level 2—and even then, Level 1 data drives 90% of profitable TradeDay strategies. Before paying for Funded Live data fees, calculate whether position limit increases and real fills justify $560-1,680/year in added costs versus staying in zero-fee Funded Sim.

What's Included in Free Level 1 Data

Level 1 market data provides all essential information for price action and technical trading strategies.

Level 1 Data Components:

Bid price: Highest price buyers currently willing to pay
Bid size: Number of contracts available at bid
Ask price: Lowest price sellers currently willing to accept
Ask size: Number of contracts available at ask
Last price: Most recent trade execution price
Last size: Contract quantity of most recent trade
Volume: Total contracts traded during session
High/Low: Session price range
Open/Close: Session opening and closing prices

Charting Capabilities with Level 1:

All standard chart types: candlestick, bar, line, Heikin Ashi, Renko
Technical indicators: moving averages, RSI, MACD, Bollinger Bands, etc.
Multiple timeframes: tick, second, minute, hour, daily charts
Drawing tools: trendlines, Fibonacci, support/resistance levels
Volume charts: volume-based bars, volume profile basics

What You CAN'T See with Level 1:

Full order book depth beyond top bid/ask
Liquidity at multiple price levels
Order flow at specific price levels
Market depth beyond best bid/offer
Advanced footprint chart details
Full DOM (depth of market) ladder

Most TradeDay traders—including consistently profitable funded traders—use only Level 1 data throughout entire trading careers. Unless your strategy specifically requires order flow analysis, Level 1 suffices.

Funded Live Data Costs Breakdown

When you transition from Funded Sim to Funded Live (trading real capital), professional data fees activate.

CME Group Exchange Fees:

CME: $140/month (ES, NQ, RTY, YM futures)
CBOT: $140/month (ZN, ZB, ZC, ZS, ZW futures)
NYMEX: $140/month (CL, NG, HO, RB futures)
COMEX: $140/month (GC, SI, HG futures)

Total if Trading All Four: $560/month ($6,720/year)

Strategic Exchange Selection:

Don't need all four. Only subscribe to exchanges you actively trade.

Trade ES/NQ only? CME subscription only = $140/month
Trade ES/NQ + GC/SI? CME + COMEX = $280/month
Trade ES/NQ + CL + GC? CME + NYMEX + COMEX = $420/month

Commission Costs (Additional to Data):

Funded Live also charges trading commissions:
$0.75-1.50 per contract per side depending on platform and instrument

Example monthly costs:
100 round-trips @ $1.50/side = $300 commissions
Plus $140-560 data fees
Total overhead: $440-860/month minimum

Compare to Funded Sim: $0 commissions, $0 data = $0 monthly overhead.

Level 2 Data Pricing (TradeDayX Only)

Level 2 data available exclusively on TradeDayX platform, not Tradovate or NinjaTrader.

How Level 2 Purchase Works:

Purchase through TradeDayX Members Area shop
Costs vary by exchange (typically $50-100/month)
Calendar month billing (purchase Jan 15, expires Jan 31)
Must repurchase monthly (no auto-renewal)
Expires last day of calendar month

Level 2 Data Includes:

Full market depth (10+ levels deep bid/ask)
Complete DOM ladder view
Order imbalances at all visible price levels
Enhanced footprint chart details
Market liquidity visualization
Advanced order flow metrics

Who Needs Level 2:

Order flow traders
Scalpers needing liquidity info
Traders using DOM ladder for entries
Footprint chart specialists
Market profile traders

Who Doesn't Need Level 2:

Price action traders
Swing position traders
Indicator-based strategies
Pattern traders
News event traders

Approximately 85% of profitable TradeDay traders never purchase Level 2—Level 1 provides adequate information for most strategies.

Why Most Traders Stay in Funded Sim

Economic analysis reveals Funded Sim superiority for majority of traders.

Funded Sim Advantages:

Zero monthly data fees
Zero commission costs
Identical payout speed (24 hours)
Same profit splits (80/90/95%)
No operational overhead

Funded Live Advantages:

Higher position limits (2x contracts)
Real market fills (no sim slippage)
Psychological "real money" validation

Break-Even Analysis:

$560/month data + $300/month commissions = $860 monthly overhead

To justify $860 overhead, need additional profit to break even:
80% split: $1,075 extra profit needed ($12,900/year)
90% split: $956 extra profit needed ($11,472/year)

Will 2x position limits generate $12,000+ extra annual profit? For most traders: No.

Position Limit Comparison:

Funded Sim $50K: 5 MES contracts maximum
Funded Live $50K: 10 MES contracts maximum

If you're not consistently maxing 5 MES positions, why pay for 10?

When Funded Live Makes Sense

Narrow use cases where data costs justify transition:

Scenario 1: Consistently Maxing Position Limits

If every trade requires 5 MES but your setups call for 10, Funded Live's increased limits could double profits exceeding overhead costs.

Scenario 2: High-Frequency Trading

Sim fill assumptions create meaningful slippage across 50+ daily trades. Real fills might save $20-50/day = $400-1,000/month, justifying overhead.

Scenario 3: Scaling to Multiple Live Accounts

Three Funded Live accounts spreading $860 overhead across $150K-300K total capital makes percentage cost acceptable.

Scenario 4: Institutional Trading Requirements

Some trading firms or tax situations require real capital trading for accounting/legal purposes.

Outside these scenarios, staying in Funded Sim is mathematically optimal.

FAQ

Is market data really free during evaluation?

Yes. Level 1 data for CME/CBOT/NYMEX/COMEX included in monthly subscription at no extra charge.

Why do Funded Live accounts pay data fees?

CME regulations require professional data subscriptions when trading live capital. Classification shifts from "non-professional" (free/reduced) to "professional" ($140/exchange).

Can I use my personal CME data subscription?

No. Data must flow through TradeDay's Tradovate connection. Outside data feeds prohibited.

What if I only trade one instrument?

Still pay full exchange fee. $140 covers entire CME exchange whether trading one instrument or all CME products.

Do data fees apply per account?

Yes. Three Funded Live accounts = 3x $140 = $420/month just for CME if trading ES on all three.

Can I switch between Sim and Live to save costs?

No. Once transitioned to Funded Live, cannot revert to Funded Sim on same account.

Are there cheaper data alternatives?

No. CME sets professional data pricing, TradeDay has no control. All prop firms charging same rates.

Do other prop firms charge less?

No. CME fees are universal—any firm offering Funded Live faces identical $140/exchange costs passing through to traders.

Is Level 2 data worth the cost?

Rarely. Unless order flow analysis is central to your strategy, Level 1 provides adequate information. Test strategies with Level 1 first.

Your Next Steps

‍👉 Start Trading at TradeDay Today

‍👉 Read My Full TradeDay Review

‍👉 Check out TradeDay´s Payout Rules

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