Best Data Feed for ATAS in 2026: Rithmic vs CQG, dxFeed, IBKR and More

Rithmic is the strongest all-round choice for traders who use ATAS for Footprint charts, Smart Tape, Heatmap analysis and detailed order-book work. It delivers fast, non-aggregated futures data and supports direct order execution through ATAS. More importantly, Rithmic is currently the only connection that supplies data to the ATAS MBO DOM — Market by Order shows individual resting orders and their queue position instead of only combined volume per price. That also makes Rithmic required for the ATAS MBO tools: Iceberg Tracker, Sweeps Tracker and Stop Runs Tracker.

Advantages: full Level 2 depth, detailed tick-by-tick data, MBO DOM support, direct trading with server-side stops, wide availability through futures brokers and prop firms.

Disadvantages: more expensive than CQG through some brokers, sensitive to unstable internet or high CPU load, OCO handling is platform-side rather than server-side, and Aggregated Quotes must be disabled for MBO, which increases data load.

Cost for ES + NQ: at AMP Futures, CME Level 2 costs $17/month plus a $25 monthly Rithmic connection fee per user ID — about $42/month, plus ~$0.10 per contract per side for live routing.

Verdict: choose Rithmic for the most complete ATAS experience, especially MBO, liquidity analysis and accurate tick-based order flow.

CQG is the most attractive alternative if you need reliable Level 2 data and direct execution but not the MBO DOM. It supports a large number of futures brokers and exchanges, and provides live quotes, trading, server-side stops and server-side OCO orders — protective logic stays active on the server even if ATAS or your internet connection fails.

Advantages: real-time Level 2 depth, direct trading, server-side stops and OCO, broad broker support, usually lower fixed cost than Rithmic.

Disadvantages: no MBO DOM support, a CQG login usually works in only one third-party platform at a time, and your broker may need to enable ATAS under the CQG platform identifier AdvancedTS.

Cost for ES + NQ: at AMP, CME Level 2 is $17/month with routing at ~$0.10 per contract per side — no Rithmic-style $25 connection fee in this example.

Verdict: the best price-to-performance option when standard Level 2 Market by Price data is enough and you want to trade directly from ATAS.

dxFeed is a standalone market data provider — subscribe directly and connect it to ATAS without opening or funding a futures brokerage account. It delivers real-time and historical Level 2 data and suits traders who execute elsewhere but use ATAS purely for analysis. ATAS also includes 15-minute delayed dxFeed data for testing.

Advantages: no brokerage account required, full Level 2 depth, real-time and historical data, simple integration, can serve as the quote provider while a separate broker connection handles orders.

Disadvantages: no order execution, no current MBO DOM support, and several ATAS chart types are unavailable with dxFeed — including Delta, Reversal, Order Flow, Cumulative Trades and special Range variants. Footprint charts are limited to minute- and second-based candles.

Cost for ES + NQ: the ATAS-specific dxFeed offer lists CME Level 2 at about $37/month for self-certified non-professionals.

Verdict: the simple, broker-independent analysis feed — less suitable if you depend on ATAS special chart types or want to trade through the same connection.

IBKR sends market data and orders to ATAS through Trader Workstation, which must be installed, running and configured for API access. The main advantage is cost: the US Securities Snapshot and Futures Value Bundle ($10/month) plus US Futures Value Bundle PLUS ($5/month) covers CME Group depth — and the $10 base fee can be waived with enough monthly commissions, cutting effective data cost to about $5.

However, IBKR does not send trade direction to ATAS — ATAS reconstructs it from Bid/Ask data, so Delta can differ from other feeds and may change after refreshing a chart. ATAS explicitly warns that IBKR market data can differ significantly from other connections, and the connector works only for the US market.

Verdict: cost-effective for an existing IBKR futures client, but Rithmic or CQG is a better foundation for serious ATAS volume and order-flow work.

MT5 is not a standalone futures data vendor — ATAS receives whatever your MT5 broker provides. The decisive limitation: according to ATAS, the MT5 API sends only one update per second, so 1,000 trades within that second arrive as one combined update. That removes the detail Footprint, tape and Delta traders need. Also verify that your broker provides real exchange-traded CME futures rather than CFDs.

Verdict: fine for basic analysis or convenience — often $0 extra. For serious ES/NQ order flow, choose a true tick-based futures connection.

IQFeed offers wide futures and equity coverage, deep history and hundreds of simultaneous symbols — connectable to ATAS for analysis without a broker, but with no order routing. Based on the December 2025 fee schedule, a futures Level 2 setup includes the $108.15 core service, a $24.87 real-time North American futures surcharge, a ~$20–24 market-depth surcharge and the CME non-professional fee — roughly $165–170/month plus a $50 startup fee.

Verdict: sensible for multi-market research and scanning; excessive if you only need live ES and NQ Level 2.

CTS (now part of Plus500 Futures Technologies) powers the T4 platform. ATAS supports CTS quotes and direct trading with server-side stops across CME, CBOT, NYMEX, COMEX, EUREX and ICE through supported brokers. It is capable professional infrastructure, but less common among retail ATAS users, with no MBO DOM support and platform-side OCO handling. Rough reference: CTS Core at $25/month plus CME Level 2 at ~$15–17 — about $40+/month.

Verdict: a solid choice if your broker already provides it; rarely a reason to pick it over Rithmic or CQG solely for ATAS.

Best overall — Rithmic: maximum data detail, current MBO support and the advanced ATAS liquidity tools (Iceberg, Sweeps, Stop Runs Tracker).

Best value — CQG: accurate Level 2 Market by Price data, direct execution and server-side OCO protection at a low fixed monthly cost. Sufficient for most Footprint and conventional DOM traders.

Best without a broker — dxFeed: pay for the feed directly, no trading deposit, and a separate broker connection can still handle orders.

Best for existing IBKR users: very inexpensive when activity waives the base fee — chosen for convenience and cost rather than maximum Delta accuracy.

1. Choose Rithmic if you want MBO, the most detailed ATAS liquidity analysis, or use a Rithmic-based prop firm.
2. Choose CQG if you want the lowest-cost professional broker feed for standard Level 2, Footprint and DOM trading.
3. Choose dxFeed if you only need data for analysis and do not want a futures broker account.
4. Keep IBKR if you already trade there and low cost matters more than perfect Delta consistency.
5. Avoid MT5 for serious order flow, and choose IQFeed only when its broad standalone coverage justifies the much higher price.

For my own ATAS workflow, Rithmic is the first choice because MBO adds information that the other ATAS connections currently cannot display in the MBO DOM.

• ATAS: supported connections, quotes, trading, stops and OCO
• ATAS: market data sources and connection limitations
• ATAS: MBO DOM currently requires Rithmic
• AMP Futures: current CME Level 2 and connection fees
• dxFeed: ATAS subscription pricing
• Interactive Brokers: market data pricing
• IQFeed: current core service and exchange fees
• Plus500 Futures Technologies: CTS T4 package pricing

Pricing checked on August 29, 2026 and can change at any time. Professional subscribers pay substantially higher exchange fees. This article is educational and does not guarantee data availability, execution quality or trading results.