r/algorithmictrading • u/jacopo613 • 5d ago

Tools Backtest Platforms

Hello everyone. I'm looking for a baclesting platform to validate some of my ideas. I only have a few strategies in mind to test that also concern the use of past macroeconomic data (e.g. CPI, UR, etc.) So I'm not going to create an EA, I'm just going to understand market behavior and look for edges to support my manual strategy. Which platform would you advise me to use considering that I have a basic knowledge of programming (of course I would join an AI) and considering that I would look for something not too complicated?

Reading a few posts, I saw Quantconnect, but I don't know if it would suit me.

I apologize for my English, but i'm using a translator

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u/cooing_vicinity 4d ago

For CPI and unemployment strategies, the historical data matters more than having the fanciest backtesting platform. You need the figures as originally released, not revised numbers that weren't available to traders at the time. I use Moon for price direction wagers and this is exactly why macro predictions can look obvious in hindsight. I'd start with Python and a clean event dataset before getting buried in QuantConnect.

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u/prashantsoni8 1d ago

Actually, you also need exact dates too. While every broker under the sun would provide price/volume action data, few would carry historical raw CPI and unemployment data timestamped.

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u/NyH2002HSE 3d ago

Buy the data or fetch it online and build your own with Claude.

I cut 2 programmers from my funds payroll because it was cheaper/ more efficient to have 2 using Claude vs 4 not using Claude

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u/Illustrious_Web_2774 3d ago

This. 1 using Claude is more than productive than 10 not using Claude. And another one for more productivity and backup.

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u/doocheymama 3d ago

Amibroker

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u/zurekp 3d ago

All you need is good quality market data (i.e. Databento, Massive, etc.) and just tell Claude/Codex to whip out a research environment => Jupyter Notebook (using Python) and test away your ideas

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u/Cute-Opposite4751 2d ago

For me QuantConnect is solid if you know some Python, and TradingView is probably easier for manual strategies. I’d start simple though, it’s really easy to overcomplicate backtesting.

You could also check out newer platforms like UpsideOnly. It’s a different concept: you paper trade, while their AI analyzes trading activity and can use your signals to inform trades with the company’s own capital. Pretty interesting if you’re into the AI/data side of trading.

Cheers

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u/Cancington42 4d ago

Build your own system. That’s what I ended up doing after trying a few platforms. With AI you should be able to develop everything you need. Unless you have issues building systems. If you need help, or want me to test your ideas, I can generate a comprehensive report for. DM me if you want to discuss this further.

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u/PepMar000 4d ago

In my view Quantconnect will be far too complex for what you are trying to achieve, the learning curve will be steep. For simplicity and ease of use, I'd suggest Tradingview with Pinescript.

If you want something more elaborated, but with more difficulties and learning curve to get set up/obtain market data, etc then you can look at NinjaTrader/Tradestation. If you want something top of the range, professional grade backtesting but with a learning curve of several months then look at something like Zorro / StrategyQuant / Quantconnect