Jeremy Biberdorf
By: Jeremy Biberdorf
Apr 24, 2023

QuantConnect Review 2024

Jeremy Biberdorf
By: Jeremy Biberdorf
Apr 24, 2023

Disclosure

Disclosure: This page may contain affiliate links. This means we earn a small commission (at no additional cost to you) if you purchase a product through our links.
Disclosure: This page may contain affiliate links. This means we earn a small commission (at no additional cost to you) if you purchase a product through our links.
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4.3/5

4.3 rating based on 5 ratings

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In a nutshell: QuantConnect is a leading algorithmic trading platform that provides traders with a unified API for research, backtesting, and live trading. With a community of over 220,000 members, 500,000+ backtests per month, $2 billion in volume per month, and +7% returns over the market, QuantConnect may be a platform worth checking out.

QuantConnect may be award-winning and fast-growing, but is it the right quant analytics platform for you? Keep reading for our comprehensive QuantConnect review so you can see how it aligns with your trading needs and preferences.

Pricing
Free | $0 per user/monthResearcher | $8 per user/monthTeam | $20 per user/month
Trading Firm | $40 per user/monthInstitution | $80 per user/monthPrice per month when billed annually
Pros & Cons
Pros
  • Comprehensive platform for research and trading
  • Customizable cloud-based tools
  • Simplified backtesting
  • An open-source algorithmic trading engine
  • Live trading (integrations with many brokers)
  • Large community
Cons
  • A fairly steep learning curve for beginners
  • Documentation could be more thorough and better organized

What is QuantConnect?

QuantConnect is an advanced algorithmic trading platform tailored for traders to develop, test, and execute their bespoke trading strategies. Utilizing an open-source trading engine named LEAN, the platform offers a combination of flexibility and power, allowing users to operate either in the cloud or on-premise.

QuantConnect caters to a vast community, delivering a wide array of features like high-fidelity backtesting, multi-asset support, and seamless broker integrations. With a focus on providing tools on par with leading financial institutions, QuantConnect aims to bridge the gap between individual traders and cutting-edge trading technology.

Whether QuantConnect is right for you, however, will depend on your unique trading goals and preferences. Keep reading to learn more, including how it works and what its top features are.

Learn More About QuantConnect

External QuantConnect Reviews & Ratings

SiteRating
Java Code Geeks4.2

Here are some reviews from traders who have experienced the platform firsthand:

“I’ve been using Quantconnect for about two years but they’ve just released new capabilities for options research, based on user feedback, that prompted me to add a review.
They listen to, care about, and build new features for their users (free features).
Highly recommend.”
“I wasn’t a programmer, took a python basics course on youtube and their free bootcamp course and I was surprised how quickly I picked up object oriented programming and algorithmic trading coding on their platform. The stocks data is free up to seconds timeframe, after a long research on competitors I choose quantconnect and it was up to my expectations.”
“QuantConnect has been an invaluable partner for my personal trading and for a university class that I teach. The community is incredibly supportive, and the leadership team are accessible which is almost unheard of in trading platforms these days. In my class, my graduate level students have been able to personally engage and implement constructs like Fama French factors, and QuantConnect has been an active supporter to facilitate my students learning. It’s incredible to join the community, have access to a variety of detailed trading algorithms, instructional videos, and see my students feel confident implementing week-to-week. I don’t think there’s anything like QuantConnect out there today, and I’m a big supporter of their efforts. I can’t imagine my own trading or teaching my class without it!”
“I have been using QuantConnect for over a year now.
I started out using their free tier, which basically lets you do everything that you need to do to get started and more (coding, backtesting, access to historical data).
Due to this I was able to learn how to use platform at my own pace without feeling pressured by any fees or costs.
When I first started the documentation was still pretty spotty and it was difficult at first but I have always received fast and detailed replies by their staff and other community members, they have since improved their documentation and I have improved from being a beginner on the platform to being one of the helpful community members,
I couldn’t be happier with how QuantConnect and my own trading journey is evolving!”

How Does QuantConnect Work?

QuantConnect runs on an open-source algorithmic trading engine called LEAN. It was developed by over 150 engineers to create an advanced and lightning-fast platform for traders to allow them to compete with the tools available to the top financial institutions around the globe.

LEAN can be run in the cloud or on-premise, and since it’s open-source there’s a lot of freedom for users to modify it as needed. Users can code locally in their preferred development environment, then sync their projects to the cloud to work with QuantConnect’s IDE wherever they may find themselves.

To get a better idea of how QuantConnect works, let’s take a look at some of its top features.

QuantConnect Features

Here are a handful of QuantConnect’s many innovative features:

  • Leading backtesting – QuantConnect provides users with terabytes of free financial data that can be used for accurate backtesting of strategies. Plus, these tests can be run with minimal (or no) code changes. Custom data can also be imported to model existing trading portfolios and avoid the look-ahead bias.
  • Multi-asset support – Users with QuantConnect can enjoy the privilege of trading many assets, including equities, forex, futures, CFDs, and crypto.
  • Broker integrations – QuantConnect supports many broker integrations, including with leading platforms like InteractiveBrokers and TD Ameritrade, as well as many crypto exchanges (including Coinbase and Binance).
  • Cloud-based – Users can easily take their work on the go thanks to QuantConnect’s cloud-based research. Code can be synced up from any given development environment to QuantConnect’s cloud.
  • Parameter optimization – QuantConnect offers parameter sensitivity testing that gives users the ability to run hundreds or even thousands of backtests via their scalable cloud platform. It’s easy to see your strategy’s parameter sensitivity with their visualization options.
  • Live trading – QuantConnect has hosted more than 250,000 live strategies over the past decade or so, and their platform processes more than $1 billion on notional volume each month. It’s simple to execute trades directly through one of the many integrations (as mentioned above).

QuantConnect Pricing & Plans

QuantConnect does offer a free plan, and it includes unlimited backtesting, data for various assets, and community support.

QuantConnect also offers four paid plans. When billed annually, they range from $8 per user per month up to $80 per user per month:

  • Researcher | $8 per user/month
  • Team | $20 per user/month
  • Trading Firm | $40 per user/month
  • Institution | $80 per user/month

The Team and Trading Firm plans require at least 2 users, whereas the Institution plan starts at 5 users.

Is QuantConnect Worth It?

Is QuantConnect worth it? Well, that depends. Traders who are brand-new to programming and trading may struggle with the learning curve. For highly motivated individuals or people with programming experience, QuantConnect can be a great platform for research, analysis, and trading.

For those who take the time to surmount the learning curve, they will have access to a robust platform that can automate many tasks and provide cutting-edge data analysis. This makes it likely worth it in the long run for people who learn the platform.

To check out QuantConnect for yourself, click here to see how it aligns with what you’re looking for in a quant analysis platform.

Get Started With QuantConnect