Pricing & Cost FAQ
What automated trading costs each month — platform pricing, TradingView plans, and your total setup cost.
Cost & Pricing
Complete monthly cost breakdown for automated trading (2026):
| Component | Minimum | Typical | Premium |
|---|---|---|---|
| TradingView | $12.95 (Essential) | $24.95 (Plus) | $49.95 (Premium) |
| Automation Platform | $50 (PickMyTrade) | $50 (PickMyTrade) | $250 (TradersPost) |
| Broker Data Fees | $0 (demo/prop) | $4-12 (CME data) | $12-41 (full Level II) |
| VPS (IB only) | $0 | $0 | $20-50 (QuantVPS) |
| Total Monthly | $63 | $79-87 | $332-391 |
Additional one-time or variable costs:
- Broker deposit: $500-$10,000 depending on what you trade
- Trading commissions: Varies by broker ($0 on Tradovate micro futures, $0.35-$2.50/contract elsewhere)
- Prop firm evaluation: $147-$300 one-time fee (alternative to self-funded trading)
Most cost-effective setup: TradingView Essential ($12.95) + PickMyTrade ($50) + Tradovate with commission-free micro futures = $62.95/month total.
You need the TradingView Essential plan ($12.95/month billed annually) as the minimum for webhook-based automated trading. Here's the comparison:
| Plan | Monthly Price | Webhooks? | Active Alerts | Best For |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Basic (Free) | $0 | No | 1 | Not suitable for automation |
| Essential | $12.95 | Yes | 20 | 1-3 strategies, few symbols |
| Plus | $24.95 | Yes | 100 | Multiple strategies/symbols |
| Premium | $49.95 | Yes | 400 | Prop firm multi-account traders |
| Ultimate | $99.95 | Yes | 800 | Professional/institutional |
How many alerts do you need? Each TradingView alert on a strategy covers both buy and sell signals. So 1 strategy on 1 symbol = 1 alert. If you trade NQ, ES, and CL with one strategy each, you need 3 alerts. The Essential plan with 20 alerts is sufficient for most individual traders.
Here are three real-world automated trading setups with total costs:
Setup 1: Budget Micro Futures Trader
- TradingView Essential: $12.95/month
- PickMyTrade: $50/month
- Tradovate (commission-free micros): $0 trading fees
- CME Market Data: $0 (included with some prop firms) or $4/month
- Total: $62.95-$66.95/month
Setup 2: Prop Firm Trader (5 accounts)
- TradingView Plus: $24.95/month
- PickMyTrade: $50/month (covers unlimited accounts under same login)
- Prop firm accounts: Evaluation fees are one-time, not monthly
- Total: $74.95/month
Setup 3: Multi-Broker Professional
- TradingView Premium: $49.95/month
- PickMyTrade (multiple broker connections): $50-100/month
- Interactive Brokers VPS: $30/month
- Market data: $12/month
- Total: $141.95-$191.95/month
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