Last Updated on July 11, 2023
Overcharts is a comprehensive trading platform used by professionals worldwide and designed with the technical trader in mind. With robust technical analysis and charting tools, Overcharts continually evolves to deliver the best trading experience.
In the words of Mauro Frasson, CEO and founder of Overcharts: “If we really started to fear innovation and the spark of resourcefulness would go out, then it would be like taking away our soul, the essence that makes us what we are.”
This ethos embodies the Overcharts experience. It seeks to deliver an innovative and adaptive trading experience while continuously innovating and incorporating emerging trends and customer feedback.
Pros and Cons
Pros:
- Endlessly customizable charting and drawing options
- A high-end graphics engine supports as many indicators as the trader needs
- It is reasonably priced, considering the number of features available
Cons:
- Overcharts isn’t a brokerage, so you must connect it to a third party for trade execution and data sourcing.
- The graphics engine is too powerful and can be overwhelming for some machines.
Features
Although Overcharts doesn’t have an integrated brokerage connection like some other trading platforms, they support many popular futures and FX brokers like Interactive Brokers and more (check the list below). The platform also supports the crypto exchange Binance.
They also support many popular data feeds, including Yahoo Finance and Rithmic. Any broker that provides a Rithmic data feed can be connected to Overcharts, opening up a broad spectrum of opportunities for the trader.
What Can I Trade on Overcharts?
You can trade anything your connected broker supports – futures, stocks, FOREX, and any other asset that trades on secondary markets (assuming your brokerage provides access).
Charting in Overcharts
In addition to the many indicators, which we’ll cover shortly, Overcharts offers various chart customization tools. Overcharts uses a 4k graphics engine, so it has enough resources to display as many indicators or charts as you need. Each chart can have as many as 100 million bars, so you will likely run out of tools and indicators long before Overcharts becomes unable to support your strategy.
Overcharts’ chart tools include:
- Multiple data feeds from many supported brokers, so you can ensure that you have the most accurate information.
- Templates to save your indicators across windows.
- An option to overlay charts with differently scaled prices to see the big picture.
- Resolution adjustment – just because Overcharts can support the high-resolution output doesn’t mean your graphics card can.
Overcharts also supports a universe of chart styles, so that you can choose whatever fits your trading strategy – whether it is candles, bars, dots on close, or any other of the nine chart style options that Overcharts offers.
Drawing Tools in Overcharts
There is an abundance of drawing tools, and you can use your drawing as a template across multiple windows. With Overcharts’ drawing tools, you can overlay standard lines, shapes, Fibonacci studies, and many more – their offering is really extensive.
Setup
Setup is simple, but traders should know that Overcharts is restricted to Windows computers or Macs running a virtual Windows environment. After downloading the software, you must create an account or log into an existing one. This is fast and typical of any website registration process.
You’ll then need to connect your data feeds by finding your feed in a preset list or manually adding the connection. Make sure you have your login information for the data feed ready because you can’t use Overcharts’ login for this portion. Once you’re connected, you’ll see three green dots.
And that’s it – your initial setup is complete, and you’re ready to trade.
For those needing extra support getting started, Overcharts also offers a comprehensive installation guide on their website.
User Interface
The user interface is invaluable since it is very customizable. In addition to charting, users can overlay the trade panel however it suits them. Active windows in Overcharts are called Workspaces, and each Workspace is independent of the others. This lets the trader designate active trading charts from the ones they want to monitor.
The order and order status interfaces are equally helpful and can show as much or as little information as the trader needs. You can submit single or multiple orders as part of a strategy and set the orders as market, limit, iceberg, market if touched, and other types.
The position information is displayed in a small and easy-to-read window. This lets you maximize your Workspace’s charting availability. The position box can be customized, but at baseline shows quantity, average price, and P&L. The background is also red or green, depending on profit or loss, so that you can monitor it with the corner of your eye while trading.
What Indicators are Available in Overcharts?
Chart analysis and indicator options are where Overcharts really shines. The selection of tools is top-notch and delivers a comprehensive experience for any technical trader, no matter the strategy. Overcharts offers:
Chart Columns
Chart columns are set up next to the main chart and are vertical columns displaying information of your choice, with new columns and data feeds added with every software update. Some of the standard chart columns are:
- Spread: showing a current price and the bid and ask prices. It helps you get in and out of trades at the best time and avoid mispricing due to wide spreads.
- Pulling and stacking: this displays the current spread compared to a previous snapshot to gauge increasing interest and liquidity,
- P&L: displays the profit and loss to show you the current status of an open position.
TPO Profile
A TPO profile shows trading activity at a designated price. This can help visualize range-bound stocks and identify support and resistance. Overcharts’ TPO profiles are highly customizable and configurable, supporting long-term profiling over multiple years.
Volume Bubbles
Volume bubbles are a helpful visualization tool that shows the volume of trading activity as a bubble, where more giant bubbles indicate greater volume and vice versa. This helps traders identify and follow whales trading large quantities around specific prices to pursue a potentially imminent trend. Like TPO profiles, the bubbles are very customizable for trader-specific strategies.
Market Depth Map
The market depth map further helps identify support and resistance by showing volume change dynamics at different levels. This indicator only shows current data, and users cannot use it for historical visualization.
Volume Ladder
The volume ladder is an easy way to see the bid/ask, the spread, and the volume within the standard chart bars. This gives you a quick bird-eye view of the market, without having to flip between screens. There are also customizable options covering additional statistical displays and the overall look of the ladder.
Volume Profile
The volume profile shows volume at different price levels to help see if there are more buyers or sellers at a particular price point. You can tweak the volume profile to define the session, period (intraday, long-term, etc.), and bid/ask style.
System Requirements
To start with Overcharts, your computer must have Windows 7, 8, 8.1, 10, or 11. Overcharts isn’t available on a Mac as a standalone program but can still run if you set up a Windows Virtual Machine.
Overcharts doesn’t specify minimum hardware requirements. Since the platform is filled with so much data, traders must determine whether their computer can support Overcharts and complex trading strategies powered by a vast number of indicators and lots of information.
Pricing
Overcharts offers multiple pricing tiers:
- Free: new users get a free 60-day trial with all features and data feeds included
- $29.95 (All Inclusive): the priciest tier gives access to all features, including live trading and all data feeds
- $24.95: This tier restricts data feed selection to two
- $19.95: only one data feed is enabled, and users are limited to selecting between Tradestation, Directa, or Oanda
The prices above are for the one-year subscription and are the most cost-efficient option. Traders who want to try it out (beyond the free trial) can select between six months, three months, or one month – but the two data feed and single data feed options aren’t available for one-month subscribers.
Support
Overcharts has a comprehensive support system. In addition to the complete guide we linked earlier, users can access an online consultation center that helps address the most common questions or potential issues. There are also video tutorials on Overcharts’ YouTube for visual learners or those who want to follow a step-by-step process.
Overcharts also offers live technical support, a dedicated page for bug reporting, and the ability for traders to suggest new features for future software updates.
Past Issues
Most of the reported user issues are raised by traders with incompatible machines that couldn’t match the Overcharts’ powerful engine.
Since the data feed feature relies on many factors working behind the scenes, some traders also need help establishing or maintaining a data feed. Since this is a common issue, Overcharts offers designated pages for each significant data feed source to troubleshoot problems.
Users have reported issues with customer service’s responsiveness over the past two years, but Overcharts says this was due to understaffing during the pandemic and has already been fixed.
Conclusion
Overcharts is among the best futures, forex, and stock market platforms. With its powerful engine, advanced traders can use as many indicators or drawings on innumerable charts, limited only by the resources of their computer setup.
The sheer choice of options in charting sets Overcharts apart. Although it isn’t a brokerage, the scope of data feed and brokers you can connect makes Overcharts a valuable trading platform for beginner and advanced users.
