Amibroker vs MetaStock: A Detailed Comparison (2024)

Trading, in its true essence, is an art. It requires intricate observational power summed up with robust analytical tactics for the conclusive rapid decision making. Several brokerage firms offer trading solutions, while several online software assists investors in trading on the web. When it comes to a segment of online trading software, Amibroker and MetaStock are worth a mention. The charting packages of both the software are fairly rich and come with almost equally powerful tool sets. Traders often come across the dilemma of selecting one of these tools. We have done a a detailed feature wise comparison of Amibroker vs MetaStock. Please read through to learn more.

MetaStock has been a very popular charting software among technical analysts from more than 30 years. It’s first version was launched in 1985 which was DOS based. It has around 250+ inbuilt indicators with the flexibility to build your own indicators. It allows for extensive back testing of your own trading systems with its MetaStock Enhanced System Tester. With support for building your own system for trading, the scanning system called MetaStock Explorer, and Expert Advisor to help you interpret the trading signals you get, it’s comprehensive enough to cover the basic needs of a beginner traders. The custom indicators are built in MetaStock using MetaStock formula language. This language is very similar to Microsoft excel formulas.

The software includes one of the most powerful analysis tools to assist you in making decisions regarding buy or sell of a particular stock. Additionally, it is customizable and hence can assist you in taking your trading practices to the next level.

System Requirements for MetaStock Pro Version

• Operating system – Windows 7, Windows 8 and 8.1, Windows 10 (32-bit and 64-bit versions)
• Processor – 800 megahertz (MHz) processor
• RAM – 512 RAM
• Video – Video card and monitor supporting at least 256 colors at 1024×768
• Hard Disk – 500 MB or greater available space (primarily for scanning / backtesting results)
• Internet connection – 256KB upload and download

Amibroker, developed by Dr. Tomasz Janeckzo is one of the most popular trading software used by traders across the world. Be it the amazing speed the platform offers, or the advanced multiple-currency support, Amibroker finds its takers across every section and segment of the trader community. Amibroker takes automation to the next level with its integrated Batch processor. In simpler words, Amibroker would still work while you are sleeping and bring in returns on the basis of reliable trading decisions.

Amibroker too has around 250 inbuilt Technical indicators and the flexibility to create your own indicators. In order to create custom indicators or Trading algorithms using Amibroker, one should use Amibroker Formula Language (AFL) . Amibroker offers rapid array and matrix processing tactics, without the need to write loops. Hence, statistical calculations won’t trouble you with this platform. It also has a very powerful backtest and optimization engine with multi-threading support. Object oriented drawing tools, drag and drop indicator creating capabilities, modern customizable user interface, multiple time frame on charts, popular built-in indicators makes Amibroker a very robust Trading platform.

System Requirements for Amibroker

• Operating system – Windows 7, Windows 8 and 8.1, Windows 10 (32-bit and 64-bit versions)
• Processor – Pentium 450 MHz or higher
• RAM – 128 MB RAM
• Video – 256 color graphics card (high color recommended) 800×600 minimum screen resolution
• Hard Disk – 20 MB Hard Disk Space
• Internet connection – 256KB upload and download

Check out our Amibroker tutorial series at the below link:

Amibroker Tutorial Archives

Amibroker is a far superior all round product when compared to MetaStock, and yet it’s only a quarter of the price of Metastock. Amibroker even offers a fully featured trial version. AFL is easier to learn as compared to Metastock formula language. Amibroker’s backtest engine is faster and robust when compared with MetaStock. Also it has a more user friendly interface.

Metastock is limited to analyze only Metastock formatted data. However, you can import data in a document format and use it for Metastock data. On the other hand, Amibroker can read different data types, including Metastock format. Well, you can integrate trading data directly from free sites such as Google Finance, Yahoo etc along with data from paid sites such as eSignal, IQFeed, etc.

Metastock has been exponentially losing its popularity since last decade, and Amibroker has been growing it’s customer base. We strongly recommend Amibroker as the best charting and backtesting platform if you are confused between Amibroker vs MetaStock.

Also, check out some of the cheaper Alternatives to Amibroker available in India