TradeDay and NinjaTrader 8: Which Feed Your Credentials Log Into

TradeDay splits its accounts by broker at checkout. The first step of its pricing widget asks you to choose a platform — Tradovate or Rithmic — and whichever you pick is the broker your account is created on. The registration links carry the same split: the Rithmic version of each tier has an -rm- in its URL, paired one for one with the Tradovate version at the same price. TradeDay also publishes that a trader cannot split a trading account across different brokers, so the choice you make on that screen decides what your credentials are for.

If you took the Rithmic side, TradeDay does not issue you a separate Rithmic username. Your Rithmic login is your TradeDay members-area username with TD_ in front of it, together with your TradeDay dashboard password — the same pair you use at members.tradeday.com. TradeDay repeats that prefix instruction on every one of the thirteen Rithmic platform entries in its help centre, which tells you how often people leave it off. It also notes that changing your TradeDay password changes your Tradovate password with it.

On an evaluation or a Funded Sim account, those credentials log into Rithmic’s paper-trading system. The settings TradeDay publishes for R|Trader Pro are System “Rithmic Paper Trading”, Gateway “Chicago Area”, Orders on, Market Data on, Allow Plugins on and Aggregated Quotes off. TradeDay spells that system name several different ways across its own pages, so match the sense rather than hunting for one exact string, and note that the gateway is platform-dependent — its Finamark entry says AMERICAS while the others say Chicago Area. For Funded Live, TradeDay publishes no Rithmic system or gateway that we could find, so do not guess at one; ask TradeDay when you reach that stage.

The part that matters to NinjaTrader users is where NinjaTrader sits on that list. TradeDay lists NinjaTrader only under its CQG platforms, and directly beneath its Rithmic heading it states that it does not support NinjaTrader Desktop with Rithmic accounts, adding that users who want NinjaTrader Desktop must have a Tradovate/CQG account. That is TradeDay’s published position. Its multiple-accounts article separately states that a trader cannot hold one evaluation on Tradovate and another on Rithmic. So the side you choose at signup is the decision that matters here: confirm with TradeDay what you may run on your account before you buy, not after. The steps further down follow the Tradovate/CQG route, which is the one TradeDay documents for NinjaTrader.

What TradeDay issues and supports

• Two broker sides, chosen at signup. Tradovate/CQG or Rithmic, identically priced, with the same tiers. TradeDay publishes that a trader cannot split a trading account across different brokers.
• CQG platforms. Tradovate, NinjaTrader, TradingView and Jigsaw — TradeDay notes you need your own license for TradingView and Jigsaw.
• Rithmic platforms. R|Trader Pro, Quantower, ATAS, MotiveWave, Bookmap, Jigsaw, Sierra Chart, EdgeProX, Finamark, Volfix, WealthCharts, MultiCharts and Overcharts.
• Credentials. No separate broker username — your TradeDay dashboard username with the TD_ prefix, and your dashboard password, which is self-service to change.
• Market data. Level 1 top-of-book data on the CME group exchanges is free on the evaluation, and TradeDay says it carries the same feed into Funded Sim. You cannot bring an outside feed.
• Account stages. Evaluation, then Funded Sim once you pass and complete four onboarding steps, then Funded Live — a sub-account of TradeDay’s master account at their broker, roughly five days of broker KYC and AML, and professional data at $156 per month per exchange, because TradeDay says the exchange classes you as a market professional at that stage.

What you need before you start

• NinjaTrader Desktop installed and up to date, with the rights to restart it.
• Certainty about which side your TradeDay account sits on. It is the choice you made at checkout, and the Rithmic registration links are the ones carrying -rm- in the URL. If you are not certain, ask TradeDay before you set anything up — this matters more than any setting below.
• Your TradeDay dashboard credentials to hand, remembering the TD_ prefix on anything Rithmic.
• The market data agreement signed the way TradeDay documents for your side — its NinjaTrader instructions have you sign the Tradovate market data agreement first, and its Rithmic instructions have you accept two CME agreements on first sign-in to R|Trader Pro.
• Windows, if you intend to run R|Trader Pro on the desktop; macOS and Linux traders use R|Trader Pro Web.

Connecting a TradeDay Tradovate/CQG account to NinjaTrader 8

These steps follow TradeDay’s own NinjaTrader setup article, which is written end to end for the Tradovate/CQG side.

1. Turn on Multi-Provider and restart

In NinjaTrader go to Tools > Settings > General, tick Multi-provider, press OK, then close NinjaTrader completely and reopen it. The Configure button appears on the Control Center > Connections menu after that restart and not before, which is the usual reason people conclude their install is broken. If the menu still looks wrong afterwards, our note on a missing Configure entry walks through the rest.

2. Sign the market data agreement first

TradeDay’s NinjaTrader setup article has you sign the Tradovate market data agreement before you build the connection. Do it in that order. A connection made first will log in and then sit there with no prices moving, and an unsigned agreement is hard to tell from a bad password once you are staring at an empty chart.

3. Add the connection in Control Center

Open Control Center > Connections > Configure. In the Available list, select the entry named NinjaTrader — that is the entry that carries Tradovate prop accounts. There is also an entry labeled Tradovate in the same list; it reads like the obvious choice, and it is not the one these accounts use.

4. Enter the credentials and set the account type

TradeDay’s instructions route this connection through NinjaTrader’s own evaluation-services sign-in at account.ninjatrader.com rather than through any Rithmic login, and that article has you sign in with your TradeDay credentials, the same TD_ username and password as your members area, because TradeDay uses single sign-on with Tradovate. Set Account Type to Simulation for a prop account unless TradeDay’s own instructions say otherwise for the stage you are on. Give the connection a name you will recognize later — the firm and the account size is usually enough — and save it.

5. Connect, then check what actually came back

Choose the connection from Connections and watch the Control Center. The Accounts tab should list your TradeDay account, and the account name there is your proof that you connected to the right thing rather than to a leftover simulation account. If the connection is rejected, read the Log tab before changing anything: it usually names the cause. One detail worth knowing is that TradeDay’s article scripts an email for traders to send NinjaTrader support explaining that they are using an evaluation services provider and not Rithmic — a useful reminder that this route is not a Rithmic login at any point.

What we have seen: a TradeDay Rithmic login in NinjaTrader

TradeDay announced Rithmic on its blog on August 10, 2026, and its help centre still lists NinjaTrader only on the Tradovate/CQG side. Our connection reports show what happened when one trader connected a TradeDay Rithmic login anyway. On September 30, 2026, a customer of ours connected it in NinjaTrader 8.1 on the stock Rithmic Paper Trading (Chicago) entry, the same system TradeDay publishes for R|Trader Pro; two earlier attempts on Rithmic Paper Trading (Europe) failed. By October 1 he had it connected next to four other Rithmic logins, a live AMP account plus Apex, Lucid Trading and Tradeify, with our Unlimited Prop Firm Connections add-on keeping them all up at once.

That is one trader, and it shows the connection can work, not that TradeDay supports it. TradeDay’s written position is unchanged, so if you are choosing a side at checkout and NinjaTrader is your platform, the Tradovate/CQG side is the one TradeDay documents. If you already hold a TradeDay Rithmic account, ask TradeDay what you may run on it before you rely on NinjaTrader. For the System entry other firms connect on, see our measured list of Rithmic System entries by prop firm.

Questions we get about TradeDay and NinjaTrader

I already bought a Rithmic account. Can I use NinjaTrader Desktop on it?

TradeDay states in writing that it does not support NinjaTrader Desktop with Rithmic accounts, and that traders who want NinjaTrader Desktop must have a Tradovate/CQG account. It also states that a trader cannot hold accounts on both brokers at once. We are not in a position to tell you what TradeDay will or will not do about an account you have already paid for, so contact them directly, describe the platform you intend to use, and let them tell you what your options are.

My Rithmic login keeps getting rejected

Start with the TD_ prefix on the username, because that is the failure TradeDay warns about on every single platform entry. After that, check that the password you are typing is your current dashboard password — it is shared with Tradovate, so a change in one place moves the other. Then check the system and gateway your platform is set to against the ones TradeDay publishes for that specific platform, since the gateway is not the same string in every entry.

Where do I turn market data on?

In R|Trader Pro, go to Settings > Market Data, tick each exchange you need — CME, CBOT, NYMEX, COMEX — click Apply, then restart R|Trader Pro. Nothing is enabled by default. On your first sign-in you are also asked to accept two CME agreements. TradeDay says you cannot bring an outside data feed, so the entitlement has to come through them.

Do I have to keep R|Trader Pro open?

Yes, unless the platform you are using is set to connect to Rithmic directly. TradeDay’s instruction is that R|Trader Pro must be open and connected before you open any other Rithmic platform. Most platforms expose a toggle — plugin mode, or login via R|Trader Pro — that decides which of the two behaviours you get.

Can I run Rithmic accounts from other firms in NinjaTrader as well?

TradeDay’s one-broker rule is published for accounts held at TradeDay: a trader cannot split a trading account across different brokers there. What you may hold at another firm, and what you may run it on, is governed by that firm’s own terms, so read them and ask that firm if anything is unclear. Our Unlimited Prop Firm Connections add-on lets you connect and manage multiple Rithmic accounts at the same time, from one window, with per-connection monitoring, and it tells you which System entry your firm uses, or adds that entry to NinjaTrader’s System list when it is missing. Our guide to running multiple Rithmic connections in NinjaTrader explains the one-connection limit.

Related

• TradeDay discount codes and current promo
• Connecting a TradeDay Tradovate account to NinjaTrader 8
• The general Tradovate connection guide
• All prop firm connection guides

Affordable Indicators, Inc. is not affiliated with or endorsed by Rithmic, NinjaTrader, or any prop firm or broker named here; your firm’s and broker’s own terms govern how you may use your account, so check with them first.