AmiBroker is a Windows application for charting, scanning and portfolio-level backtesting, scripted in its own AFL language. The right alternative depends on whether you want another application like it, or want to leave the application model and write your own code.
Why traders look for AmiBroker alternatives
- They work on a Mac or on Linux. AmiBroker runs on Windows, and Mac users need Boot Camp or a virtual machine.
- They want to write strategies in Python or C++ rather than AFL.
- They want ready broker extensions, or a subscription instead of a licence.
- They want written fill rules and repeatable runs.
AmiBroker alternatives compared
Details below were checked in November 2026, against each vendor's own pages.
| Tool | Type | Language | Runs on | Price |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| WealthLab | Portfolio backtester and trading application | Visual blocks, C# | Windows | $399.95 a year, or a $1,595 lifetime licence |
| RealTest | Portfolio backtester | Its own script syntax | Windows | $389, then $159 a year for updates |
| MultiCharts | Charting and trading application | PowerLanguage; .NET edition | Windows | From $99 a month, or a lifetime licence |
| Zorro | Compact coding environment | lite-C, C++; calls R and Python | Windows, other systems with special installs | Free for private users under limits; Zorro S €35 a month |
| QuantConnect | Cloud platform | Python, C# | Browser, or LEAN locally | Free tier, paid plans |
| Reamer Research, Reamer Server | Libraries | Python, C++, or any language that can call C | Linux; Reamer Research also on Apple Silicon Macs and Windows through WSL2 | $20 a month and $24,000 a year |
Desktop applications
- WealthLab, formerly Wealth-Lab, backtests portfolios with shared capital, and builds strategies from visual blocks or C#. Extensions add data and brokers such as Interactive Brokers, Schwab and Alpaca. See How do Reamer Research and Reamer Server compare with WealthLab?
- RealTest tests many strategies together at portfolio level, with an optimizer and walk-forward support. Its script syntax is closer to filling in a spreadsheet than to programming. It writes next-day order lists, including templates for Interactive Brokers' Basket Trader.
- MultiCharts combines charts, testing and automated trading, with Portfolio Trader and walk-forward optimization on its Advanced plan. See How do Reamer Research and Reamer Server compare with MultiCharts?
Code-first tools
- Zorro offers C or C++ with a built-in optimizer, charts and broker connections. The free version has a $30,000 annual profit limit and a $15,000 capital limit, and corporations need Zorro S.
- QuantConnect runs Python or C# strategies in the cloud with data and brokers included. See What are the best QuantConnect alternatives in 2026?
- Reamer Research and Reamer Server supply the research and order-management core for your own program. Reamer Research fills orders under a public execution specification, with byte-identical runs on a fixed seed and bars of any type, and has Monte Carlo resampling built in. Reamer Server runs your pre-trade gate and a broker connector you write. They have no scanners or live charts; Reamer Research's offline trade viewer charts each closed trade. See How do Reamer Research and Reamer Server compare with AmiBroker?
How to choose
| If you want | Look at |
|---|---|
| Charts, scans and AFL with a lasting licence | Stay on AmiBroker |
| Visual blocks or C# with broker extensions | WealthLab |
| Multi-strategy portfolio tests with simple scripts | RealTest |
| Charts and automated trading in one application | MultiCharts |
| C or C++ with tools included, at low cost | Zorro |
| Your own system in Python or C++, on Linux, a Mac or Windows through WSL2, with fills you can read | Reamer Research and Reamer Server |
See Who are Reamer Research and Reamer Server for? Reamer Research is $20 a month, cancel any time, and Reamer Server has a paid 30-day trial; see pricing.