How we test
Facts come from the vendor first
For every product we read its own pricing, documentation and product pages and record what they say, with the link and the date we checked. Where a vendor does not state something, we say it is not stated rather than guess.
What we look at in a backtesting tool
| What | What we check |
|---|---|
| Data | How far back the history goes, whether companies that later delisted are included, whether fundamentals are dated by when they were filed |
| How you build a test | Code (which language), a visual builder, or plain language through an AI assistant |
| Rigor | Trading costs, out of sample or walk forward testing, how results are reported |
| Price | The cheapest plan that includes backtesting, and what a free tier allows |
| Going live | Whether a strategy can trade, and through which brokers |
| AI | Assistants, natural language builders, MCP connectors |
Winners, and the ones to skip
We do not rank every tool on one number. A coder who wants full control and a trader who wants to describe a rule in plain English need different tools, so we name a winner in each category and say why. We also say plainly when a tool is weaker, overpriced for what it does, or no longer maintained. No participation trophies.