Which Trading Platforms Can You Use at a Futures Prop Firm?
The platform you trade on changes with the stage of the account, not with your own preference. Here is exactly when each one shows up.
During the evaluation and Pre-Funded stages, a Phoenix Trader Funding account trades on TFeed, Phoenix's own execution feed, or on dxFeed. Classic can choose either; Spark, Daily and Merit run on TFeed only.
Rithmic platforms such as Sierra Chart and MultiCharts open only once a Classic, Spark or Daily account is Live Funded, through the broker EdgeClear.
- Why the platform changes partway through
- The evaluation and Pre-Funded stage: TFeed or dxFeed
- Platforms available on each feed
- What changes when you go Live: Rithmic and EdgeClear
- So how many platforms is that, really?
- Who this fits
A trader who has spent years on Sierra Chart or MultiCharts asks a reasonable question before paying for an evaluation: can I trade on what I already use?
The honest answer at a futures prop firm is that the platform is tied to the stage of the account, not to your own setup.
Two surprises come from assuming otherwise: one is discovering that a Rithmic platform is not available during the evaluation, the other is discovering that a TFeed platform other than Phoenix's own Odin needs a second account and a copier running underneath it just to show a live chart.
Why the platform changes partway through
A prop firm evaluation is not a live brokerage account. It runs on simulated capital against real market prices, which is what makes the pass or fail rules enforceable without real money changing hands on every trade.
Phoenix Trader Funding runs that simulation on one of two systems: dxFeed, a market data and execution feed that includes real-time Level 1 pricing, or TFeed, Phoenix's own execution feed built for lower commissions.
An execution feed is the connection that places and fills your simulated orders; it is a separate thing from market data, which is the live price stream a charting platform needs to draw candles at all. TFeed carries no market data of its own, a distinction the TFeed FAQ page covers in more depth.
To see a chart on a third-party platform like NinjaTrader, Tradovate or TradingView while trading on TFeed, you need a separate leader account supplying real prices, with Thor, Phoenix's own trade copier, mirroring your executions into the TFeed account. That is a second account and a subscription, not a footnote.
Phoenix's own platform, Odin, skips both: it is built directly into the TFeed dashboard and is free to use.
The evaluation and Pre-Funded stage: TFeed or dxFeed
On a Classic account, you choose the feed at signup and it carries through the Pre-Funded stage unchanged; the full size and pricing lineup sits on the Classic accounts page. Spark, Daily and Merit accounts run on TFeed only; none of the three offers a dxFeed option.
If a dxFeed platform is the reason you are comparing prop firms in the first place, that restriction decides which Phoenix account family is worth opening.
Merit is worth naming separately here rather than folding it into the Spark and Daily row above: it is TFeed only like they are, with round-turn commissions down to $2.18 on a 1-mini position (the same $1.09 per side above, doubled), but there is no separate simulated stage to run the feed through.
The $2,000 account itself is what gets reviewed for up to 30 calendar days, and it trades on TFeed throughout, both during that review and once it goes live.
| What you get | TFeed | dxFeed |
|---|---|---|
| Market data | Not included; needs a leader account | Level 1 included on every account |
| Commissions (ES / MES, per side) | $1.09 / $0.36 | $2.18 / $0.71 |
| Available on | Classic, Spark, Daily, Merit | Classic only |
| Pre-Funded accounts at once | 5 (sub-caps: 3 Spark, 3 Daily, 3 Classic Growth or Scale, or 5 Classic Starter) | 3 |
| Saga trading journal | Free, optional | Free, required |
dxFeed comes with Level 1 market data included on every account type, so a dxFeed platform shows live prices without anything extra to buy. TFeed, by contrast, costs less to trade: on the E-mini S&P (ES), dxFeed charges $2.18 per side against TFeed's $1.09; on the Micro E-mini (MES), it is $0.71 against $0.36.
Level 1 market data comes with the account on dxFeed, and from the leader account covered above on TFeed. Level 2 order book depth on top of dxFeed costs an extra $15 a month per exchange, or $40 a month for a four-exchange bundle, renewing on the 1st under CME's rule; that is separate from anything TFeed, Thor or a leader account charge.
TFeed is the cheaper choice for frequent trading, since its per-side commissions run about half of dxFeed's. dxFeed is the simpler choice when one account, one login and nothing else to configure matters more than the savings.
Platforms available on each feed
- On both feeds: Atas (free license through the dxFeed checkout), Quantower (needs an addon on TFeed), Volumetrica, DeepChart, DeepDom, and Odin, Phoenix's own platform, free with TFeed and also reachable on a dxFeed account
- TFeed only: NinjaTrader, Tradovate, TradingView
- TradingView on TFeed connects two ways: through Tradovate, or through Thor's own native TradingView integration using webhooks
NinjaTrader and Tradovate reach TFeed through Thor, mirroring executions in from the leader account covered above.
Thor is a real product with its own $39 a month subscription, separate from whatever the leader account's own data subscription costs; see what it does beyond copying trades on the Thor page.
What changes when you go Live: Rithmic and EdgeClear
The path to Live Funded differs by account family. Classic and Spark unlock it after four payouts plus a risk sign-off.
Daily unlocks on lifetime amount paid rather than a payout count: $1,200 on a Seed, $3,000 on a Starter, $6,000 on a Growth. Merit skips the wait differently again: it has no Pre-Funded stage at all, so a Merit account is live-funded the moment it clears its own review.
Whichever route gets you there, every Classic, Spark or Daily account that reaches Live Funded trades through the same broker: EdgeClear, on Rithmic. That is the point at which Sierra Chart, MultiCharts, Jigsaw, Bookmap, MotiveWave and the rest of the Rithmic platform roster become available.
None of them connect to a TFeed or dxFeed evaluation account at any size; they are a Live-stage benefit, not an evaluation one.
Merit trades on TFeed only, and stays there at every stage, including once it is live and under no daily drawdown at all.
So how many platforms is that, really?
For Classic, Spark and Daily, counting the six platforms that run on either feed, the three that run through TFeed only, plus the full Rithmic roster available once Live, an account is reachable from more than 20 named platforms across its lifetime. That count is accurate, but it is not the same claim as "trade on anything, from day one."
A specific Rithmic platform is not available during the evaluation on any Phoenix account family.
Who this fits
It comes down to whether you are willing to pick the evaluation platform based on the feed, or whether the platform is the one thing you will not compromise on.
- Fits: a trader who reads the TFeed cost honestly (a leader account and Thor) and is comfortable choosing the feed first
- Does not fit: a trader who needs Sierra Chart, MultiCharts, Jigsaw, Bookmap or MotiveWave for the evaluation itself, since none of them connect to TFeed or dxFeed before Live Funded
Can I trade a Phoenix Trader Funding evaluation on Sierra Chart or MultiCharts?
No. Sierra Chart, MultiCharts, Jigsaw, Bookmap and MotiveWave are Rithmic platforms, and Rithmic access through EdgeClear opens only once a Classic, Spark or Daily account reaches Live Funded, regardless of size.
What is the difference between TFeed and dxFeed?
dxFeed is a market data and execution feed that includes Level 1 pricing on every account, so a dxFeed platform shows live prices with nothing extra to add. TFeed itself carries no market data: reaching a third-party charting platform on TFeed, for example NinjaTrader, Tradovate or TradingView, needs a separate leader account supplying real prices, with Thor mirroring executions into the TFeed account.
Phoenix's own platform, Odin, is built directly into the TFeed dashboard and needs neither one. TFeed's commissions also run about half of dxFeed's ($1.09 against $2.18 per side on the ES).
A leader account for market data is part of choosing TFeed at all: TFeed itself carries no price feed, so anything beyond Odin needs one supplying real prices. Reaching NinjaTrader, Tradovate or TradingView's webhook route on top of that also means Thor, at $39 a month. Odin is the one platform that needs neither.
Do I need Thor to use TradingView during the evaluation?
Not always for Thor specifically, but a TFeed chart still needs the leader account covered above regardless of route, since TFeed itself carries no market data. On top of that, TradingView has two ways in: through Tradovate, or through Thor's own native TradingView webhook integration. Only the second route needs Thor running underneath the account.
Can a Spark, Daily or Merit account use dxFeed instead of TFeed?
No. Spark, Daily and Merit accounts all run on TFeed only; dxFeed is a Classic-only option. Merit stays on TFeed for its entire life, including once it is live.
Odin is the only TFeed platform with nothing extra to add. Atas, Quantower, NinjaTrader, Tradovate and TradingView all sit on top of the leader account covered above, whichever license or subscription each one needs beyond that.
Which of these platforms are free, and which cost extra?
Odin is free either way, built into the TFeed dashboard and also reachable on a dxFeed account. Atas carries a free license through the dxFeed checkout and Quantower needs a separate addon on TFeed; on TFeed, both still sit on top of the leader account covered above, the same as NinjaTrader and Tradovate.
NinjaTrader and Tradovate reach TFeed through Thor's $39 a month subscription, on top of the leader account and the evaluation fee.
What is the "leader account" TFeed needs, and what does it cost?
A leader account is a separate account carrying real market data, which Thor mirrors into your TFeed account so a third-party platform can show live prices; execution still happens on the TFeed account itself.
Phoenix Trader Funding does not publish a price for the leader account itself, since it depends on the data source a trader connects, so budget for that alongside Thor's $39 a month subscription before assuming TFeed is cheaper overall.
See the full setup steps for your feed and platform before you start.
Read the connection guideNew funded-account types are trialled at Phoenix Labs as real, tradable accounts before they join the permanent offer. The ones that work graduate; the ones that do not are retired.