Rithmic vs CQG: Which Data Feed Should You Use with ATAS?

Before you place a single trade in ATAS, you need to answer one question: Rithmic or CQG? This isn’t a minor technical detail — your data feed determines the quality of every number on your screen. Every footprint cell, every volume profile level, every DOM update flows through your data feed. Choose wrong, and you’re building your analysis on a shaky foundation.

At Empathy Edge Markets, we’ve used both extensively. Here’s what actually matters.

What Is a Data Feed and Why Does It Matter?

A data feed is the pipeline that delivers real-time market data from the exchange to your trading platform. When you see a price tick in ATAS, it traveled this path:

Exchange (CME, ICE, etc.) → Data Feed Provider (Rithmic/CQG) → Your Broker → ATAS

The data feed provider handles the heavy lifting: connecting to exchange servers, normalizing the data, and streaming it to your platform with minimal delay. The quality of this connection directly affects:

• Tick accuracy — are you seeing every trade, or are some being aggregated?
• Latency — how quickly does a trade at the exchange appear on your screen?
• Order routing — how fast does your order reach the exchange when you click buy or sell?
• Reliability — does the feed drop during volatile moments when you need it most?

For order flow traders using ATAS, this matters more than for someone just watching candlestick charts. Footprint charts, delta analysis, and cluster charts require every single tick to be accurate. A data feed that aggregates or delays ticks will produce misleading footprint data.

Rithmic: The Futures Specialist

Rithmic (formally Rithmic LLC) was built specifically for futures trading. Their infrastructure sits in the same data centers as the CME, which gives them a structural advantage for US futures products.

Rithmic Strengths

• Low latency for CME products. Rithmic’s co-located servers deliver tick data in microseconds. For retail traders, you’re looking at sub-millisecond display latency — effectively real-time.
• Tick-by-tick data. Every trade is delivered individually, not aggregated. This is essential for accurate footprint charts in ATAS.
• Transparent pricing. Most brokers charge between $25–$50/month for Rithmic market data (CME bundle). What you see is what you pay.
• Native ATAS integration. ATAS was essentially built around Rithmic. The connection is rock-solid, order routing is seamless, and you get full DOM and order flow capabilities.
• Wide broker support. AMP Futures, Optimus Futures, Dorman Trading, EdgeClear, and dozens more offer Rithmic.

Rithmic Weaknesses

• Primarily US-focused. Coverage of European (Eurex) and Asian exchanges is limited compared to CQG.
• No native crypto or forex. Rithmic is pure futures infrastructure.
• Occasional connectivity issues during extreme volatility. This is rare but has happened — notably during flash crash events.

Rithmic Typical Costs

• CME Level 1 Bundle: ~$27/month
• CME Level 2 (depth of market): ~$53/month
• Platform fee: $0 (included with most brokers when using ATAS)
• Exchange fees apply on top of data fees

CQG: The Global Coverage Player

CQG (Continuum) has been around since the 1980s and offers access to a much broader range of global exchanges. It’s the feed of choice for traders who work across multiple markets.

CQG Strengths

• Broader market access. CQG connects to 75+ exchanges worldwide, including Eurex, ICE, SGX, HKEX, ASX, and more.
• Reliable infrastructure. CQG’s uptime record is excellent, and their data normalization across different exchanges is consistent.
• Built-in charting. CQG has its own charting platform, which some traders use alongside ATAS.
• Flexible data packages. You can subscribe to specific exchanges rather than buying bundles you don’t need.

CQG Weaknesses

• Higher latency for CME products. Not dramatically worse than Rithmic, but measurably slower — we’re talking low single-digit milliseconds of difference. For most retail traders, this won’t matter. For aggressive scalpers, it might.
• More expensive overall. CQG data packages tend to cost $10–$20/month more than equivalent Rithmic packages.
• Fewer ATAS-focused brokers. While many brokers support CQG, the futures-specialist brokers that cater to ATAS users tend to push Rithmic first.
• Tick aggregation on some plans. Lower-tier CQG plans may aggregate ticks, which degrades footprint chart accuracy. Make sure you’re on a plan that delivers tick-by-tick data if you’re using ATAS for order flow.

CQG Typical Costs

• CME Real-time data: ~$35–$45/month
• Eurex data: ~$20/month additional
• ICE data: ~$15/month additional
• Platform/connection fee: varies by broker ($0–$25/month)

Head-to-Head Comparison

Which Brokers Offer Which?

Rithmic only: Dorman Trading, EdgeClear

CQG only: Rare — most brokers that offer CQG also offer Rithmic

Both Rithmic and CQG: AMP Futures, Optimus Futures, Phillip Capital (StoneX)

Neither (own feed): Interactive Brokers (uses IB native feed)

For the full broker comparison with data feed options, see our broker overview.

Our Recommendation

For 90% of ATAS traders: choose Rithmic.

If you’re trading US futures — ES, NQ, CL, GC, the Micros — Rithmic is purpose-built for this. It’s cheaper, faster for CME products, delivers tick-by-tick data by default, and integrates with ATAS seamlessly. Every footprint cell and delta calculation will be based on the most accurate data available.

Choose CQG if:

• You trade European futures (FDAX, Euro Stoxx, Bund) regularly
• You need access to Asian or Australian exchanges
• Your broker only offers CQG
• You want a single data feed that covers multiple asset classes

The good news is that switching between Rithmic and CQG in ATAS is straightforward — it’s a connection setting, not a platform migration. So if you start with Rithmic and later need CQG for international markets, the transition is painless.

Final Note

Your data feed is the raw material of your analysis. Everything you see in ATAS — every footprint chart, volume cluster, and DOM level — is only as good as the data behind it. Don’t cheap out on data quality to save $10/month. Get tick-by-tick data on a reliable feed, and build your trading on a solid foundation.