Rithmic is a well-regarded futures market data provider and order routing service known for delivering fast and reliable trade execution. Their flagship platform, R | Trader™, is tailored for professional traders and prop firms, offering advanced features such as real-time market data, order management, and risk management tools. It supports multi-asset trading and enables users to create and deploy custom trading programs through R/ API+.
The premium version, R | Trader Pro™, adds features like trade-from charts and automated Excel exports for $25 per month. As reviewed by Trading Funder, R | Trader™ is frequently utilized by futures funded trading programs to evaluate traders due to its high-speed execution and comprehensive capabilities, making it a preferred platform for serious futures traders and prop firms.
What is Rithmic?
When the question is asked by a trader, then basically Rithmic is two things:
- A Futures Market Data Provider.
- And They provide Order Routing to your brokerage
To be able to provide those services and more, Rithmic created R | Trader™ which is a dynamic software that enables better and faster trading, because the ultimate goal is prioritizing the execution of the trades of its users at an efficient and rapid rate. The R | Trader™ is a trade execution software that is designed in such a way that traders enjoy high-quality performance irrespective of whether they are professional traders or part of prop firms.
Users of the R | Trader™ software can build their trading programs using R/ API+, and deploy them on the trading platforms they are using, while also linking such trading programs to the R | Trader™ platform. The R | Trader™ platform is a multi-asset trade execution platform that allows Rithmic to operate and maintain all deployments of its software on behalf of its users.
What is R | Trader™?
R | Trader™ is Rithmic’s top-notch trading and real-time risk management screen, as it displays trades, market depth, quotes, and option strikes to traders in real time. It is the proprietary trading software from Rithmic that enables traders to initiate, modify, and cancel orders, while also viewing their order history, performance, positions, and risk limits. Furthermore, the R | Trader™ platform fully supports trailing stops, OCOs, brackets, and group orders.
What are the differences between R | Trader™and R | Trader Pro™
The R | Trader Pro™ is almost the same as the R | Trader™, as it also incorporates all the features discussed above. The major differences are that the R | Trader Pro™ includes charts that users can trade from, and a fee of $25 is required to access and use it. On the other hand, the R | Trader™ is free to use.
What are the functionalities available on R | Trader™?
- Options Board: the R | Trader™ platform makes Options on Futures available and users can view and trade these Options via the Options Board. This affords traders the chance to examine both standard Futures markets and the Options on Futures markets.
- Order history: this can be searched, viewed, and analyzed by the user within the R | Trader™ platform directly from the Rithmic infrastructure.
- Microsecond Timestamps: since R | Trader™ is powered by Rithmic which is a high output order routing and market data engine, it publishes all transmission timestamps within R | Trader™ so that traders can see the speeds with which they are interacting with the exchanges.
- Quote board: R | Trader™ incorporates efficient, flexible, and customizable quote board options for traders that are interested in monitoring classes of multiple assets, correlating or divergent markets, and other market information that can be extrapolated from this data.
- Order book: this gives the user access to functions like market depth, price action, and simple order entry. Through this, the trader can configure OCO orders, Bracket order templates, and other exit and entry strategies.
What are the additional functionalities available on R | Trader Pro™?
- R | Trader Pro™ includes charts
- It makes it possible for traders to automate a time exit for an open trading position.
- Automated excel exports: through R | Trader Pro™, traders can have their trade executions or any other type of transaction saved as an Excel or CSV file for trade logging and record-keeping purposes.
- It also has a demo account that contains all the aforementioned functionalities in which the trader can trade the futures market without the need to risk any funds. It also enables the trader to test their strategy, get familiar with the platform, and experience Rithmic’s customer service.
Pros and Cons of R | Trader™
what are The pros of R | Trader™?
- Full essential functionality
- It has the fastest data feeds and order-routing available
- Its design makes it highly suitable for swift execution of transactions in the futures market
- The price of the subscription is low as well as the fee charged as commissions.
what are The cons of R | Trader™?
- Limitation to only futures trading
- The interface could be intimidating for those without substantial knowledge and experience
- There is no support for beginners
What about the Rithmic Support?
Rithmic provides users with restricted customer support to ensure that its platform is installed properly. This is why it is expected for users of the platform to be comfortable with the full range of advanced functionality that is available since customer support is virtually absent for new traders or day traders that lack technical proficiency.
Relationship between R | Trader™ and Futures Funded trading programs
Funded trading programs are those that allow traders to prove themselves worthy of being funded by prop firms, especially those that focus on futures trading. Since R | Trader™ is designed towards futures trading and day traders, it is the perfect platform for prop firms to test and evaluate these intending traders.
Why do Futures Funded trading programs use R | Trader?
Futures Funded trading programs employ R | Trader™ as administrators, they can carry out everything traders use it for on behalf of any of their accounts. Through the R | Trader™. Futures Funded trading programs can activate and deactivate users, accounts, record fills and order cancellations that were executed outside the R | Trader™ platform.
Funded trading programs can also set rules or risk limits that the traders need to follow, like:
- Trailing Drawdown
- Daily loss limit
- Weekly loss limit
- Number of contracts allowed according to a Scaling Plan
- Follow a consistency rule
- Define the profit target
- And many more options…
With its low price and high quality, it means that the firms do not have to charge traders exorbitant fees to sign up for their evaluation tests which is how they will determine which traders are eligible for funding.
During the evaluation phase where traders are tested for funding eligibility, the R | Trader™ demo account is what traders work with and it incorporates live market conditions so that traders get the feel of trading in a live market even though the funds being used are virtual. This makes it possible for traders to quickly get up to speed in the evaluation phase thus allowing them to transition seamlessly by the time they qualify for funding from the futures prop firms they signed up with.
This is why R | Trader™ is not just attractive to independent traders or investors, but also to brokers and prop firms that provide selected traders with the funds to trade. All the features mentioned above except probably the limited customer support makes the R | Trader™ a very suitable platform for futures funded trading programs.
Futures Funded trading programs that use R | Trader™
| The program |
|---|
| Topstep Trader |
| Leeloo Trading |
| Earn2trade |
| Apex Trader Funding |
| Uprofit Trader |
| ONEUP Trader |
Conclusion about R | Trader™
Rithmic’s R | Trader™ is a highly efficient futures market data and order routing platform, essential for both professional traders and futures-funded trading programs. It offers robust features like real-time market data, order management, and risk management, making it ideal for prop firms evaluating traders. The premium version, R | Trader Pro™, adds tools like trade-from charts and automated Excel exports, available for $25 per month. As noted by Trading Funder, its fast execution speeds and ability to handle multi-asset trading make it a go-to platform for firms like Topstep, Leeloo Trading, Earn2Trade, and Apex Trader Funding. Despite its strengths, such as low fees and fast order routing, its limitations include a futures-only focus and a lack of beginner support.
Rithmic’s platform is well-suited for evaluation phases in futures-funded trading programs, as it replicates live market conditions in demo accounts, allowing traders to seamlessly transition to live accounts. The Pro Drawdown feature, combined with tools like trailing stops and OCO orders, makes it a favorite for firms looking to impose strict risk management rules on traders. Overall, R | Trader™ is a powerful, cost-effective solution for serious traders and futures prop firms alike.
