NinjaTrader License on a Prop Account: What Is Free, When You Need a License and What Order Flow+ Adds
Most futures prop firms let you trade their accounts in NinjaTrader 8 without buying a license. What the prop login unlocks on the Tradovate and Rithmic sides, why Order Flow+ works on one and not the other, and the situations where a paid license does come into play.
Do you need a NinjaTrader license to trade a prop firm account? At most futures prop firms that support NinjaTrader 8, no. The firm's login unlocks the platform for its own accounts, and NinjaTrader's pricing page says the software is free for charting, backtesting and simulated trading with no time limit. A paid license comes into play when you trade your own money through a broker, and a few firm rules change the details. Everything below was checked in October 2026; prices and entitlements change, so read the numbers as at the time of writing.
If NinjaTrader 8 (NT8) is new to you, start with the chart setup guide; connecting NT8 to a Lucid account through Tradovate walks through one prop connection click by click.
What the prop login unlocks
Prop accounts reach NT8 through one of two back ends, and licensing works differently on each. Prop firm data feeds covers how the two differ on the chart. For the license question:
| Tradovate (CQG) side | Rithmic side | |
|---|---|---|
| Connection in NT8 | "NinjaTrader" connection, logged in with the prop credentials | "Rithmic for NinjaTrader Brokerage", with the system the firm names (its own or Rithmic Paper Trading) |
| What unlocks it | The prop login itself; no key to import on NT 8.1 and later | An "Evaluation (Rithmic)" entitlement on your NinjaTrader username |
| Order Flow+ | Available to prop accounts, switched on in the Tradovate account settings | Not available as an add-on (Apex's help center) |
| Firms using this side for NT8 | Lucid, Tradeify, MyFundedFutures, TradeDay | Bulenox; Apex, Elite Trader Funding and Take Profit Trader support both sides |
On the Tradovate side, NinjaTrader states that a Tradovate login unlocks its desktop, web and mobile platforms, so the account you buy from the firm doubles as your NT8 login.
On the Rithmic side the entitlement sits on your NinjaTrader username. NinjaTrader's support site says Rithmic prop users no longer import a license key: the entitlement comes with the NinjaTrader username you sign in with. Help › About shows whether "Evaluation (Rithmic)" is there, and if it isn't, NinjaTrader support has to add it. The entitlement doesn't let two Rithmic connections run at the same time: NT8 makes you disconnect one before you connect the next.
To run a Tradovate-side prop connection next to a Rithmic-side one, or a prop connection next to a data feed of your own, turn on Multi-provider under Tools › Settings › General (the window was called Options before version 8.1.5) and restart. NT8 then opens without its login screen, and each connection gets added by hand under Connections.
Order Flow+ on a prop account
Order Flow+ is NinjaTrader's order-flow package: volumetric (footprint) bars, cumulative delta, order flow VWAP, the trade detector, volume profile, the Market Depth Map and TPO profiles. For a retail customer it comes with any funded NinjaTrader brokerage account on the current plans, or costs $59 a month as a standalone add-on without one, according to NinjaTrader's support site (the pricing page itself shows no standalone price).
NinjaTrader's prop-trading blog says traders using NinjaTrader for a prop evaluation or funded account get the full Order Flow+ suite as part of the platform. At the firms checked for this post, that means the Tradovate side, where it is switched on under add-ons in the Tradovate account settings. Look for a $0 price on that screen before you confirm, since add-on purchases go through the same page. A Rithmic-only setup gets no volumetric bars from the firm. NinjaTrader sells Order Flow+ on your own username as well, but its pages don't say whether that carries over to a Rithmic prop connection, so ask support before paying for it. One more check for MyFundedFutures traders: NinjaTrader's list of prop partners still shows the firm as coming soon, so confirm Order Flow+ in its help center first.
For a trader who wants footprints and has a firm offering both sides, that alone can decide which side to open. Order flow trading explained covers what the tools show.
When you do need a license
Trading your own money through NinjaTrader's brokerage. The three plans at the time of writing:
| Plan | Price | Commission per side, micro / standard | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Free | $0 | $0.39 / $1.29 | Charting, backtesting and simulation with no time limit |
| Monthly | $99 a month | $0.29 / $0.99 | |
| Lifetime | $1,499 once | $0.09 / $0.59 |
Exchange, clearing and NFA fees come on top in every plan, and NinjaTrader's FAQ says each plan's benefits, real-time data included, switch on only once a live account is funded and approved. Order Flow+ comes with all three plans from that point. Commissions decide between the plans. On MNQ the lifetime plan saves $0.30 a side against the free plan, $0.60 a round turn, so the $1,499 pays for itself after about 2,500 round turns; on NQ the gap is $1.40 a round turn and break-even comes at about 1,070.
Trading an outside broker's live account in NT8. Connecting a live account at another broker needs the Multi-Broker add-on, which NinjaTrader's support site lists at $99 a month. It supports five brokers, and for futures NinjaTrader names only Interactive Brokers.
Firm rules about licenses and live accounts. Tradeify allows only its company license on its accounts, so a personal license, lifetime included, can't be used there. TradeDay accepts a personal license if it is a multi-broker license or set to NinjaTrader, and says it won't lower your commissions. And the live stage of a prop account runs on whatever the firm chooses. Topstep's help center calls TopstepX its only available platform, while its page on live funded accounts says the trader covers any platform license. If a license purchase is meant for the day an account goes live, ask the firm which platform that stage uses first.
My Lucid accounts run in NT8 on the Tradovate side, and Order Flow+ came with them at no extra cost. My execution chart carries no footprint and no delta line, so the package earns its keep before the session, in the volume profile I mark my levels from.
Educational content, not investment advice. Futures trading involves substantial risk of loss. Examples are for illustration only. Read the full Risk Disclosure.