Compared
Sierra Chart and Swiftedge compared
Sierra Chart is a long-running desktop charting and trading platform, known for speed, Numbers Bars (its footprint), market depth history and custom studies in C++. Swiftedge is narrower and free: the live futures order book and footprint for Bitcoin, gold, Ethereum and Solana, with options context for the three cryptocurrencies, in a browser tab, with no download and no account.
What Sierra Chart offers
From Sierra Chart's own pages, checked on 25 October 2026 (sierrachart.com, service packages):
- Packages. Monthly service packages from 26 to 56 USD a month, with discounts of up to 35 % for paying 12 months ahead. Numbers Bars, the TPO chart and the Market Depth Historical Graph are in the packages with advanced features (from 36 USD a month).
- Data. Its own Denali feed for futures, stocks and indices (exchange fees extra), plus cryptocurrency data and a delayed feed. The packages with external connectivity add brokers such as Interactive Brokers, CQG and Rithmic.
- Custom studies. The Advanced Custom Study Interface and Language for your own indicators and trading systems.
- Platform. Desktop software with a free trial.
What Swiftedge offers
| Swiftedge Depth | What you get |
|---|---|
| Markets | BTCUSDT, XAUUSDT, ETHUSDT and SOLUSDT perpetual futures, Binance USDⓈ-M 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 coloured by the aggressive side |
| Chart types | Line, candlesticks (1 second to 4 hours) 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 | At least the last 24 hours, zoomable down to the raw book |
| Options context | GEX levels (call wall, put wall, gamma flip) from Deribit, OKX and Bybit, the Swiftedge Options chain, and the same levels as a free GEX levels API (JSON, CSV and a TradingView feed) |
| 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 |
| Price | Free, no account, in the browser |
Next to Depth, Swiftedge Options shows the live Bitcoin, Ethereum and Solana options chain from Deribit, OKX and Bybit with estimated dealer gamma, and Swiftedge Terminal puts every live panel on one screen.
Which one fits
- Sierra Chart fits when you want a fast, deeply configurable workstation for futures and stocks, with your own studies, replay and order routing, and you are comfortable with desktop software and a learning curve.
- Swiftedge fits when you follow crypto futures and want the order book heatmap, footprint, crypto options levels (GEX, max pain) and real liquidations ready to read in a browser or on your phone, free.
Swiftedge is not a trading platform: it places no orders and has no scripting. Its order book and trades come from Binance futures.
Common questions
Is there a free alternative to Sierra Chart for crypto order flow?
For reading the Bitcoin, gold, Ethereum or Solana futures order book and footprint, Swiftedge is free and needs no account or download. It does not offer Sierra Chart's trading, custom studies or other markets.
Can I get crypto GEX levels next to the order book?
Yes. Swiftedge estimates gamma exposure from Bitcoin, Ethereum and Solana options on Deribit, OKX and Bybit and draws the call wall, put wall and gamma flip directly on the order book chart.
Does Swiftedge have a volume profile?
Yes. Depth draws session, day, week and visible-range volume profiles with POC, value area and naked POCs, plus VWAP bands.