CrossTrade for Prop Traders on NinjaTrader and Tradovate

Why CrossTrade exists

A funded futures account comes with rules the firm enforces after the fact: a daily loss limit, a floor that trails your best balance, a time you must be flat by. The platforms most prop traders use don't enforce your own limits before the firm's, and they don't talk to each other. NinjaTrader 8 has no remote API, so a TradingView alert can't place an order in it on its own. Running five evaluations means placing every trade five times.

CrossTrade fills those gaps for NinjaTrader 8 and Tradovate. It turns TradingView alerts into orders, copies trades between accounts you own, puts your own limits on each account so they trip before the firm's, and tracks an evaluation against the firm's numbers. Choosing the firm still comes first, because the rules that decide whether a tool fits are buried in each firm's help center.

The four tools

Each one has its own page: how it works, how to set it up for prop accounts, and what it won't do.

Trade Copier Trade one account, fill the rest The CrossTrade Trade Copier mirrors a leader account's trades to your follower accounts, with its own size ratio and instrument rules per follower. It runs inside NinjaTrader 8, or in the cloud for Tradovate accounts (so your computer can be off). Each copier works within its own platform. Pro plan and upHow the copier works Account Manager Set your limits tighter than the firm's The CrossTrade Account Manager puts a monitor on each account. When a limit you set is hit, it can flatten the account, cancel orders, and stop it for the session. The usual setup is a daily loss stop and a drawdown guard with a buffer inside the firm's real limits, so your rule fires before theirs does. Pro plan and upHow the Account Manager works TradingView automation Turn TradingView alerts into orders on your futures account CrossTrade takes a TradingView alert and places the order on your NinjaTrader 8 or Tradovate account through a personal webhook. One alert can go to several accounts, and every alert passes through guardrails you set first: trading windows, a max position count, and a kill switch. Every paid planHow alerts become orders Trade Journal Track your evaluation against the firm's rules The Prop Eval Tracker in CrossTrade's trade journal checks your account against the numbers that decide an evaluation: profit target, max drawdown (trailing or static), daily loss, and a consistency pass or fail. It works with NinjaTrader 8 and Tradovate accounts. Every paid planHow the journal tracks an evaluation

Where it runs

NinjaTrader 8 XT Add-On

Install the XT Add-On inside NinjaTrader 8. It places orders, reads positions, and runs the copier and the risk monitors locally, so NinjaTrader has to be open and connected. It works with the connections your firm gives you in NinjaTrader, including Rithmic.

Tradovate CrossTrade cloud

Link your firm's Tradovate login to CrossTrade through Link Demo. Alerts, the copier, and the risk monitors run in CrossTrade's cloud against Tradovate's API, so nothing is installed and your computer can be off.

The two sides don't mix: the copier can't copy from a NinjaTrader account to a Tradovate account. CrossTrade's prop firm connection guide covers the settings for each firm's NinjaTrader connection, and the platforms guide here shows which firms run on which platform.

Which firms' rules leave room for each tool

Read from each firm's own published rules, the same ones on its firm page. A filled dot means the firm's rules leave room for that tool; it isn't the firm's endorsement of CrossTrade. Hover or tap through to the tool's page for the reason behind each empty dot. 7 firms' rules leave room for all four. At 8, mostly firms that ban automated trading, only the journal fits, because it reads trades and places none.

Rules leave room for it Not an option at this firm

Firm	Trade Copier	Account Manager	TradingView automation	Trade Journal
FTMO Futures NinjaTrader 8, Tradovate	Yes: Firm rules leave room for it	Yes: Firm rules leave room for it	Yes: Firm rules leave room for it	Yes: Reads your trades, places none
Funded Futures Network NinjaTrader 8	Yes: Firm rules leave room for it	Yes: Firm rules leave room for it	Yes: Firm rules leave room for it	Yes: Reads your trades, places none
FundedNext Futures NinjaTrader 8, Tradovate	Yes: Firm rules leave room for it	Yes: Firm rules leave room for it	Yes: Firm rules leave room for it	Yes: Reads your trades, places none
Lucid Trading NinjaTrader 8, Tradovate	Yes: Firm rules leave room for it	Yes: Firm rules leave room for it	Yes: Firm rules leave room for it	Yes: Reads your trades, places none
MyFundedFutures NinjaTrader 8, Tradovate	Yes: Firm rules leave room for it	Yes: Firm rules leave room for it	Yes: Firm rules leave room for it	Yes: Reads your trades, places none
TradeDay NinjaTrader 8, Tradovate	Yes: Firm rules leave room for it	Yes: Firm rules leave room for it	Yes: Firm rules leave room for it	Yes: Reads your trades, places none
Tradeify NinjaTrader 8, Tradovate	Yes: Firm rules leave room for it	Yes: Firm rules leave room for it	Yes: Firm rules leave room for it	Yes: Reads your trades, places none
Apex Trader Funding NinjaTrader 8, Tradovate	No: Bans automated tools	No: Bans automated tools	No: Bans automated tools	Yes: Reads your trades, places none
Bulenox NinjaTrader 8	No: Fine print limits outside tools	No: Fine print limits outside tools	No: Fine print limits outside tools	Yes: Reads your trades, places none
Earn2Trade NinjaTrader 8, Tradovate	No: Bans trade copiers	No: Fine print limits outside tools	No: No published automation policy	Yes: Reads your trades, places none
Elite Trader Funding NinjaTrader 8, Tradovate	No: Only allows copiers on its own list	No: Bans automated tools	No: Bans automated tools	Yes: Reads your trades, places none
Funded Futures Family NinjaTrader 8, Tradovate	No: Bans trade copiers	No: Bans automated tools	No: Bans automated tools	Yes: Reads your trades, places none
Phidias Propfirm NinjaTrader 8, Tradovate	No: Bans automated tools	No: Bans automated tools	No: Bans automated tools	Yes: Reads your trades, places none
Take Profit Trader NinjaTrader 8, Tradovate	No: Only allows copiers on its own list	No: Bans automated tools	No: Bans automated tools	Yes: Reads your trades, places none
Top One Futures NinjaTrader 8, Tradovate	No: Bans automated tools	No: Bans automated tools	No: Bans automated tools	Yes: Reads your trades, places none

Not on NinjaTrader 8 or Tradovate, so none of the tools connect: Topstep, Alpha Futures, DayTraders.com.

Read the firm's rules first

CrossTrade's own pricing page says it's designed for traders using their own capital, and that using it on a prop account can breach a firm's terms and cost you the account or its profits. CrossTrade doesn't decide whether your setup follows your firm's rules, and neither do we: the firm does.

Before you connect anything: check the firm's rule on automation, on trade copiers (including any named list of approved copiers), on how many accounts you can run, and on VPS or VPN use. Every firm page here lists them with the firm's own wording and a link to the source.

That's also why the tool pages never pitch something a firm's rules exclude. A firm that bans automation gets the journal and nothing else; a firm that only allows named copiers doesn't get the copier.

Getting started

Pick the firm and read its page here. Note its automation, copier, and account-limit rules.
Start the trial. Every new CrossTrade account gets a 7-day free trial, no credit card required.
Connect the account. Install the XT Add-On for NinjaTrader 8, or link your firm's Tradovate login through Link Demo.
Set your limits before anything else. Put an Account Manager monitor on each account, inside the firm's limits, where the firm's rules leave room for it.
Test on a sim account. Run the copier or your alerts on sim first. CrossTrade's pre-live checklist is the list we'd use.

Questions traders ask

Is CrossTrade allowed at my prop firm?

That's the firm's decision, not ours or CrossTrade's. Every firm page here shows the firm's own rules on automation and trade copiers, with the source, and the grid above reads those rules for each tool. If your firm's rules are unclear, ask the firm before you connect anything.

Does CrossTrade work with Rithmic accounts?

Through NinjaTrader 8. CrossTrade connects to NinjaTrader 8 and Tradovate, so an account that connects to NinjaTrader over Rithmic works through the XT Add-On like any other NinjaTrader connection. NinjaTrader allows only one Rithmic connection at a time.

Does my computer need to stay on?

For NinjaTrader 8 accounts, yes: everything runs through the XT Add-On inside NinjaTrader, which has to be open and connected. For Tradovate accounts, no: alerts, the copier, and the Account Manager run in CrossTrade's cloud.

Can it copy trades from NinjaTrader to Tradovate?

No. The NinjaTrader 8 copier and the Tradovate copier are separate, and each copies only within its own platform.

What does it cost?

CrossTrade's plans are on its pricing page. TradingView alerts and the journal come with every paid plan; the Trade Copier and Account Manager need Pro or higher. Every new account starts with a 7-day free trial, no credit card required. Code BREAKDOWN takes 10% off.

Firms set their own rules on third-party tools and change them often; the firm's current policy is the one that counts. CrossTrade is a tool, not a promise of fills, protection, or a passed evaluation. Futures trading carries substantial risk of loss.