Futures traders often end up with accounts on more than one platform: some at firms that run on Tradovate, others on Rithmic systems such as Apex or Bulenox. A Tradovate to Rithmic trade copier lets you trade the Tradovate account and have every order repeated on the Rithmic accounts, including stop loss and take profit orders.
Both are futures platforms with a net position per contract and the same dated contract symbols, so ES on the master becomes ES on the slave without any mapping. To trade a smaller contract on the Rithmic side, add an alias with a multiplier, for example ES=MES|10 so one ES becomes ten MES. Sizes are copied in whole contracts, rounded to the nearest, and anything below half a contract is skipped. On the Rithmic side, Heron Copier keeps one connection per login and does not use Rithmic market data, so R|Trader Pro can stay open. The Tradovate master is connected through Tradovate's own sign-in page.
Tradovate and Rithmic accounts run in the Heron Copier cloud only, so there is nothing to install and no VPS to keep running.
How to set up Tradovate to Rithmic copying
- Add your Tradovate account as the master in the dashboard. Connect it with your Tradovate login on Tradovate's own sign-in page, so your password is never sent to Heron Copier.
- Add your Rithmic account as the slave and pick the master it copies from. Connect it with your Rithmic username, password and system (for example Apex, Bulenox or Rithmic 01).
- Choose a volume sizing method. Contract symbols are the same on both platforms; add an alias only if the slave should trade a different contract, such as micros instead of minis.
- Launch. Cloud accounts are usually online in under 60 seconds, and the dashboard shows every copied trade, balance and position live.
About Tradovate and Rithmic
Tradovate is a cloud-based futures platform owned by NinjaTrader Group. It runs in the browser, on desktop and on mobile, and also powers NinjaTrader Brokerage and many futures prop firm accounts.
Rithmic is a futures order routing and data service rather than a single app. Traders reach it through R|Trader Pro or third-party platforms such as NinjaTrader, and futures prop firms such as Apex and Bulenox run their accounts on it.
For everything else about each platform, see the Tradovate Trade Copier and Rithmic Trade Copier pages.
Tradovate vs Rithmic
| Detail | Tradovate (master) | Rithmic (slave) |
|---|---|---|
| Made by | Tradovate (NinjaTrader Group) | Rithmic |
| Markets | CME Group futures and micro futures such as ES, NQ, MES and MNQ | CME Group and other exchange futures, including micros |
| How Heron Copier connects | Tradovate login on Tradovate's own sign-in page, so your password is never sent to Heron Copier | Rithmic username, password and system (for example Apex, Bulenox or Rithmic 01) |
| Position model | Net position per contract | Net position per contract |
| Trade size | Whole contracts | Whole contracts |
| Symbol names | Dated contracts such as ESZ6 or MNQH7 | Dated contracts such as ESZ6 or MNQH7 |
| API speed | Real-time order and position updates | Real-time order and position updates |
| Partial closes sent to slaves (as master) | Yes | Yes |
| Partial closes received (as slave) | Yes | Yes |
| Position resync on its slaves | Yes | Yes |
| Local version | No, cloud version only | No, cloud version only |
| EA / cBot hosting | No | No |
Things to check before you start
- Turn on Position Resync if you want the Rithmic slave to check that every copied position is still open on the master.
- NinjaTrader 8 desktop accounts that connect through Rithmic or CQG are not covered by the Tradovate connection. Connect those through Rithmic instead.
- Auto symbol mapping, additional TP/SL in pips and TP/SL offsets are not available on Tradovate and Rithmic slaves.
Frequently asked questions
Can one Tradovate master copy to several Rithmic accounts?
Yes. Add as many Rithmic slaves as you need, each with its own volume sizing, symbol mapping and risk limits. In the cloud every account uses one cloud seat.
Can I copy from Rithmic to Tradovate instead?
Yes. Every trading platform Heron Copier supports can be a master or a slave. See the Rithmic to Tradovate trade copier.
What happens if a trade fails to copy?
Turn on failed trade copy notifications to get an e-mail alert. The account logs in the dashboard also show the reason, for example a symbol that doesn't exist on the slave or a size below the minimum.
Is there a free trial?
Yes, 7 days with 2 cloud accounts. During the trial a futures slave copies every trade at a fixed 1 contract; a paid license unlocks the other sizing methods.
