“Is smooth and easy to trade.
The only problem is that I work with tick charts, and when I leave the computer for more than a few minutes I need to reload the graphs to guarantee that’s the data is “good”.
But is 15 sec to reload, and not a huge problem, probably a configuration in computer is enough for don’t sleep”
“MW is versatile with several editions at various price points to satisy all customers with different needs. Supports multiple brokerages seamlessly as well as third party tools to enhance.”
“I’ve been using MotiveWave for over a year and have developed numerous custom studies and strategies for the platform. Here’s my honest take:
The Good
1. Excellent Charting Tools – MotiveWave’s charting is top-tier, with smooth rendering, flexible layouts, and robust drawing tools.
2. Order Flow & Volume Imprint Built In – No need for costly third-party add-ons; MotiveWave includes strong native capabilities for order flow and volume analysis.
3. Solid Selection of Common Indicators – Covers most of the widely used studies right out of the box.
4. Broad Broker & Data Feed Support – Works with multiple brokers and data feeds, making it easy to adapt to different markets.
5. Cross-Platform – Runs on Windows, macOS, and Linux, which is a big plus if you’re not a Windows-only trader.
The Bad
1. Custom Studies Require Java Knowledge – If you don’t understand object-oriented programming, development will be a steep climb.
2. Poor SDK Documentation – While powerful, the SDK is under-documented, which slows development.
3. Excessive Boilerplate Code – Even simple indicators or backtests require large amounts of code.
4. Weak Automated Trading Out of the Box – There’s no native, robust automation; trading via alerts is clunky and unreliable.
My Experience
I’ve developed many custom studies and strategies in MotiveWave, but the barrier to entry is high for non-programmers. If you want custom tools and don’t code Java, you’ll likely need to hire a developer.
The platform itself is stable and works as expected for charting and discretionary analysis. However, my attempts with the only available third-party automated trading study were disappointing as it relied on an “alerts on steroids” approach and often missed trade entries and exits.
Because of these limitations, I now use MotiveWave primarily as a charting and analysis platform, while running my actual automated trading through Python with brokers that offer a Python API.
Bottom Line:
MotiveWave is an excellent charting platform with strong built-in order flow tools and multi-broker support. If you just need charting and analysis, it’s great. If you want serious automation or strategy development without coding, you may want to look elsewhere or be prepared to invest time and money into custom development.”
