What is TickSurfers?
TickSurfers is a subscription-based, web-based charting platform for equities, futures, options, FX, and crypto.
Read the full answer →
- Options Builder Optimization, watchlist & more
- Volume Profile Trade journal, broker connection
- Indicators & Code Built-in studies and pure JavaScript
- Volume Profile
- Indicators
TickSurfers Chart
A charting platform for serious traders.
Backtest, walk-forward, options, and custom studies — the tools traders use to find an edge, in one web chart.
A free account is required to open the chart. Create one to use the chart before you buy Pro.
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The short answer
What is TickSurfers?
TickSurfers is a web-based charting platform for traders who want to test an idea, not just look at a chart. Chart equities, futures, options, FX, and crypto in your browser, write an indicator or strategy in plain JavaScript, then backtest and walk-forward test it before you risk capital.
Nothing to install. A free account opens the chart. Pro adds the research tools: backtesting, parameter optimization, walk-forward analysis, the options chain and builder, and private studies.
Built for futures and options traders, systems traders, and developers who want to test ideas against historical data before risking capital. Past performance does not guarantee future results.
Create free account or compare plansAt a glance
- Free to start
- A free account opens the chart.
- Runs in your browser
- Desktop and mobile. No install.
- One workspace
- Charts, options, watchlists, and journal.
- Pro research
- $30/mo or $300/yr — save $60 annually.
From idea to tested strategy in three steps
No data subscription and no desktop install. Start with a free account, then add the research tools when you are ready.
1
Create a free account
Sign up, open the chart in your browser, and pick a symbol. Nothing to install and no data setup.
2
Load a study or write your own
Start from a built-in indicator, or write an indicator or strategy in pure JavaScript in the in-chart editor.
3
Validate before you trade
On Pro, backtest the idea, grid-search the inputs, then walk-forward test it to see whether the edge holds out of sample.
Everything you need to research, validate, and trade
A full charting workbench: live data, scriptable indicators and strategies, statistical validation, and options analysis.
Strategy Backtest
Run any built-in or custom strategy across full bar history. Get a complete trade log, equity curve, win rate, drawdown, profit factor, and per-trade option markers on the chart.
Parameter Optimization
Grid-search any combination of strategy inputs, symbols, and timeframes. Rank by built-in metrics or write your own fitness script in JavaScript.
Walk-Forward Analysis
Roll in-sample optimization and out-of-sample validation across the bar history to confirm parameter stability — not just curve-fit numbers on a single window.
Multi-Chart Layouts
Open one, two, or a grid of charts side-by-side. Link backtest, optimization, walk-forward, and options panels to specific panes via colored slot binding.
Options Chain & Builder
Browse full chains with Greeks, IV, and last/volume columns. Build long calls, spreads, condors, custom multi-leg strategies, and visualize P/L with breakeven markers on the chart.
See the options builder →Code in Pure JavaScript
Write indicators, strategies, and optimization fitness scripts in pure JavaScript — no proprietary language to learn. Optional WASM/WAT for performance-critical studies. In-chart editor, TA helpers, and drawing primitives included.
Watchlist with Alerts
Multiple watchlists, custom number/string/formula columns, price alerts (above, below, cross), per-row strategy scans, and one-click self-optimization per symbol.
Drawing & Bar Replay
Trendlines, horizontal/vertical lines, rectangles, circles, triangles, text. Bar-replay scrub with autoplay to study setups bar-by-bar.
Trade Journal
Log every trade — equity, futures, multi-leg options — with entry/exit, stops, profit targets, notes. Auto-computed win rate, win/loss ratio, biggest winner/loser, streaks.
Indicators Built by the Pros
TickSurfers ships with the studies futures traders, systems traders, and professional analysts actually use — plus exclusive series you will not find anywhere else.
Jake Bernstein Indicators
Official rules-based indicators from a 50+ year veteran trader: Moving Average Channel, 8 Open Close, Divergence Triggers (Momentum, MACD, CCI, DPO), and the Daily Sentiment Index.
Explore Jake Bernstein indicators →Futures Premium (Backwardation)
The Futures Premium / Backwardation indicator recommended by Larry Williams. Aligns directly with the contextual trading methods he teaches.
View backwardation →Market Internals
Tools used by prop desks like SMB Capital: ADD ratio, Cumulative TICK, VOLD ratio, RVOL, AVOL, and Volume Z-Score.
Browse market internals →Seasonality
A unique seasonality indicator that highlights bullish and bearish windows up to a year forward — for futures, commodities, equities, and crypto.
View seasonality →Expansion Contraction Indicator
Brian Latta's concurrent, dual-perspective system built on Jake Bernstein's methods — 30+ tradable conditions in one indicator.
View Expansion Contraction →Full Indicator Catalog
Browse the entire library — momentum, breadth, internals, volume, futures, divergence triggers, and Jake Bernstein systems.
All indicators →Self-Optimizing Strategies on Every Symbol
Stop tuning a strategy by hand for every market. One click runs a bounded grid-search on recent history, stores the best parameters per symbol, and re-optimizes on your schedule — across the chart, the watchlist, and every backtest you fire afterwards.
One-click per chart
Self-optimize the active chart's strategy with a single toolbar action. Best parameters apply immediately and persist with the workspace.
Per-row in the watchlist
Run the same self-opt across an entire watchlist. Each symbol gets its own best parameter set — no manual tuning row-by-row.
Best params, remembered
Optimal inputs are stored per symbol and reused on every backtest, scan, and chart load until you re-optimize.
Re-optimize on policy
Configurable on-trade re-optimization keeps parameters fresh as market regime shifts — without rewriting the strategy.
Use the free chart, or upgrade to Pro for research.
Create a free account to use the chart before you buy Pro. Pro ($30/mo or $300/yr; you save $60 on the annual plan) adds backtesting, walk-forward analysis, options research, and private studies. Jake Bernstein indicators are a $750 one-time add-on and require Pro.
Questions new traders ask
Short answers to the questions that decide whether TickSurfers is right for you. Each one links to the full explanation.
What is included at no charge versus Pro?
A free account is required to open the chart. Pro ($30/month or $300/year; you save $60 on the annual plan) adds backtesting, walk-forward analysis, options tools, and private indicators.
Read the full answer →Does the charting platform work on Windows, Mac, Linux, and mobile?
Yes. TickSurfers Chart is web-based — it runs on desktop and mobile with no desktop install required.
Read the full answer →What strategy research tools are included with Pro?
Pro includes strategy backtest, parameter optimization, and walk-forward analysis on one shared runner.
Read the full answer →Can I write my own indicators and strategies?
A free account includes pure JavaScript coding, including optional WASM/WAT. Private and shared indicators are Pro-only.
Read the full answer →Can I try TickSurfers before buying Pro?
Yes. Create a free account to use the chart before you buy Pro.
Read the full answer →Need professional help or mentorship?
At TickSurfers, we are not just developers — we are active traders, offering the same tools we use to research and test trading ideas. Trading involves risk of loss. Need guidance on building a trading plan, mastering indicators, or trading options? Schedule a call with Brian Latta for expert support.
For mentorship from one of the industry's top Futures traders, explore the Jake Bernstein Mentorship Program for Futures Trading Education — a third-party educational program that TickSurfers does not operate. Results vary and are not guaranteed.
