Straight answers to what traders actually ask before subscribing to an Amibroker data feed.
No filler, and no "it depends" without a real reason why.
What is an Amibroker data feed and why do I need one?
AmiBroker itself has no built-in market data. It's a charting and backtesting engine, not a data source, so you need a third-party feed to push live prices, tick data, or historical bars into it. Without one, your charts just sit blank.
Does Amibroker come with its own live market data?
No, and this trips up a lot of new users. AmiBroker.com sells the software license. The data has to come from a separate vendor, whether that's a broker API, a DDE plugin, or a dedicated data feed service built for AmiBroker.
How much does an Amibroker data feed cost in India?
Prices for retail Indian traders generally run ₹419 to ₹700 a month, depending on symbol limits, backfill depth, and whether commodity and currency segments are bundled in or charged separately. Amiprofits starts at ₹419/month for all segments with no symbol cap.
What is tick-by-tick data, and how is it different from 1-minute data?
Tick data records every single trade as it happens. A 1-minute feed only gives you one candle summarizing 60 seconds of activity. For scalping or precise entry timing, that gap matters a lot. If you're swing trading on daily charts, it barely matters at all.
How much historical backfill do I actually need for backtesting?
It depends what you're testing. A moving-average crossover on daily bars works fine with a few years of EOD data. An intraday strategy needs real 1-minute history, and testing it across more than one market cycle, not just the last calm six months, usually needs at least a year of 1-minute data plus a longer EOD history to see how the setup behaved in different regimes.
Can I use a free Amibroker data feed for live trading?
Free feeds exist and some are fine for learning AFL or testing indicators. For live trading, be careful. Free tick data is often delayed, capped on symbols, or unstable during volatile opens, exactly when you need it most.
What's the difference between NSE and MCX data feeds for Amibroker?
NSE covers equity, index futures, index options, and currency. MCX is a separate exchange for commodities like crude oil, gold, and natural gas. Some providers bundle both into one feed; others charge for MCX as an add-on, so check that before subscribing if you trade commodities.
Do I need a broker account to use an Amibroker data feed?
Not for the data itself. A data feed just gets prices into your charts. You'll still need a broker for actually placing trades, but the two are separate services and don't have to be from the same company.
Is Amibroker data feed legal in India?
Yes. Buying market data from a licensed vendor to display in AmiBroker is completely legal. The real caution is about which reseller you use: stick to established providers rather than unofficial cracked copies of AmiBroker itself, which is a separate issue from the data feed.
What's the difference between EOD data and real-time data?
EOD, or end-of-day, data gives you one closing price per day, updated after market hours. It's fine for long-term backtests but useless for intraday decisions. Real-time data streams prices as the market moves, which is what you need to watch a live chart or run an intraday scan.
How many symbols can I realistically track without lag?
This depends more on your system and internet connection than on the feed itself. Most retail setups handle a few hundred symbols comfortably. Beyond that, older machines or slow connections start to show delay, even if the provider's plan technically allows unlimited symbols.
What causes latency in an Amibroker data feed, and does it matter?
Latency mostly comes down to server load, your internet connection, and how the feed is built, whether it pushes data directly or polls at intervals. For most swing and positional traders, a second or two of lag changes nothing. For scalpers reacting to order flow, it can be the difference between a good fill and a bad one.
Can I use the same data feed for MT4 charts too?
Some providers offer both AmiBroker and MT4 feeds under one subscription; others don't. If you trade across both platforms, it's worth confirming this upfront rather than paying for two separate feeds.
What happens to my charts if the data feed disconnects mid-session?
Charts freeze at the last received tick until the connection resumes. Most feeds auto-reconnect within seconds, but if you're in an active trade during a disconnect, that gap is exactly why uptime numbers matter more than marketing copy suggests. Ask any provider what their actual uptime looked like on high-volatility days, not just their average.
Do I need AFL coding skills to use a data feed?
No. The data feed and AFL, AmiBroker's scripting language, are separate things. You can run a data feed with zero coding and use ready-made AFLs that come bundled with most subscriptions. Coding only matters if you want to build custom strategies from scratch.
Is it cheaper to buy data and AFLs separately, or as a bundle?
Usually the bundle wins. Buying tick data and premium AFLs from separate vendors adds up fast. Amiprofits includes 10+ premium AFLs at no extra charge on top of the ₹419/month feed, worth factoring in if you were planning to buy strategies separately anyway.
Is 99.5% uptime actually good, or should I expect more?
99.5% works out to roughly 3.5 hours of downtime a month if spread evenly, though in practice it's usually a handful of short blips rather than one long outage. Anything above 99% is reasonable for a retail data feed. Be skeptical of anyone promising 100%; no live feed genuinely guarantees zero downtime.
Will I lose my historical data if I switch providers?
No. Your AmiBroker database stores historical data locally on your computer, not on the provider's server. Switching providers doesn't erase what's already backfilled; you'd just start receiving new live data from the new feed going forward.
What should I check before buying a data feed subscription?
Ask about actual symbol limits, not just the headline number, how much 1-minute and EOD history is included, whether commodity and currency segments cost extra, and what support looks like if the feed drops mid-session. A free demo of 3 to 7 days is standard in this market, so use it before committing to a year-long plan.
Does an Amibroker data feed work on Windows 11?
Most modern Amibroker data feed apps, including Amiprofits, run fine on Windows 10 and 11, both 32-bit and 64-bit AmiBroker. If you're still on an older Windows version, check compatibility with the specific provider first, since some older feed apps haven't been updated in years.