Compared
Flowsurface and Swiftedge: free order flow on desktop or in the browser
Flowsurface is a free, open-source desktop app for crypto order flow: an order book heatmap, footprint charts, time and sales and a DOM ladder, drawn on your own computer from the exchanges' live feeds. Swiftedge Depth is free too, with no account and nothing to install: it opens in any browser, on a phone as well, with up to 15 days of order book history from the start.
What Flowsurface offers
From Flowsurface's own pages, checked on 9 November 2026 (flowsurface.com, the README on GitHub and release v0.9.0):
- A native desktop app for macOS, Windows and Linux (x86_64 and ARM64). Open source (GPL-3.0 for the app), free, with no paid plan mentioned, and its README says it has no telemetry or analytics.
- Order flow. A heatmap of the order book over time built from live trades and the book, with adjustable price grouping and an optional volume profile; footprint charts by time or tick count with imbalance and naked POC studies; time and sales that can merge several tickers; a DOM ladder; TPO and volume profile studies; big trades; and indicators you can script yourself.
- Markets. Crypto markets on five exchanges, perpetual futures and spot, fed straight from each exchange to your computer. Its site notes that some exchanges limit access from certain regions.
- History. Charts build from live data while the app runs. An optional backfill loads past trades for candlestick charts, from one exchange or from a server you run yourself.
- Noted on its pages. The macOS app is not code-signed, so you allow it manually, and multi-window support is switched off on Windows.
What Swiftedge Depth offers
| Swiftedge Depth | What you get |
|---|---|
| Markets | Bitcoin, Ethereum, Solana, XRP, gold, silver, WTI crude oil, the US 500 and the US 100 perpetual futures |
| Order book heatmap | Resting bids and asks out to about 2 % from price, a new column four times a second |
| Trades | Every trade as a bubble sized by volume and colored by the aggressive side |
| Chart types | Line, candlesticks (1 minute to 4 hours, seconds with Swiftedge Plus) or a footprint chart: buying and selling at every price inside each candle, with POC and delta |
| Imbalance tools | Stacked imbalance zones and a live order book and volume imbalance readout |
| Studies | Volume profile (session, day, week, visible range), TPO, VWAP bands, 20 classic indicators and CVD divergence |
| History | The last 15 days (90 days with Swiftedge Plus), zoomable down to the raw book |
| Positioning | Swiftedge Positioning: where leveraged positions would be liquidated, by price, with the upper wall, lower wall, flip, fast walls and max liquidation, on the chart and on the positioning page |
| Alerts | Chart alerts for price and large walls while the tab is open, and free server alerts that work with the tab closed (browser push, Telegram or a webhook) on Swiftedge Alerts |
| Extras | CVD, VWAP, real liquidations, 26 drawing tools, a live levels page and a liquidation heatmap |
| Paper trading | Free paper trading on the live order book: market orders walk the book, limit orders wait in the queue, fees, funding and up to 10x, plus the free Order Flow Cup |
| Price | Free, no account, in the browser |
Next to Depth: Swiftedge Terminal with up to 16 live panels, free Swiftedge Alerts that work with the tab closed, free paper trading filled against the live order book, the free Order Flow Cup and a free data API and MCP server for AI assistants. All free, with no account.
The difference that matters
Install or browser. Flowsurface is a program you download and install on a computer. Depth opens in a browser tab on any device, including phones and tablets, so the same chart is on your desk and in your pocket.
History. Flowsurface draws the heatmap from the moment it runs. Depth loads up to the last 15 days of the order book from Swiftedge's servers as soon as it opens (90 days with Swiftedge Plus), so last night's walls are already on the chart.
Markets. Flowsurface covers many more crypto pairs, spot and perpetual, across five exchanges. Swiftedge covers nine perpetual markets: Bitcoin, Ethereum, Solana and XRP plus gold, silver, WTI crude oil, the US 500 and the US 100.
Open source and scripting. Flowsurface is open source and lets you script indicators. Swiftedge is not open source and has no scripting; it has 30+ built-in indicators, alerts that work with the tab closed and paper trading on the live book.
Which one fits
- Flowsurface fits when you want a native desktop workstation, open source, many crypto pairs on several exchanges and your own scripted indicators.
- Swiftedge fits when you want nothing to install, the chart on your phone too, order book history the moment it opens, gold and the US indices next to crypto, free alerts and paper trading on the real order book.
Common questions
Is Swiftedge a free alternative to Flowsurface?
For watching the live order book, every trade and a footprint chart, yes: Swiftedge Depth is free, needs no account and runs in the browser. Flowsurface is free too, open source and installed on your computer, and covers more crypto pairs.
Does Flowsurface run in the browser or on a phone?
Flowsurface's site calls it a desktop app, for macOS, Windows and Linux, on 9 November 2026. Its pages do not mention a browser or phone version. Swiftedge Depth runs in any browser, phones included.
Which one shows more history when it opens?
Swiftedge Depth opens with up to 15 days of the order book (90 days with Swiftedge Plus). Flowsurface builds its heatmap from live data while it runs, with an optional backfill of past trades for candlestick charts.
Is Flowsurface open source?
Yes, the app is GPL-3.0 according to its README. Swiftedge is not open source; its core tools are free in the browser.
Can I paper trade on Swiftedge?
Yes, in Depth and Terminal, free and with no account: a market order fills level by level against the live order book and a limit order waits in the queue. See free paper trading.