Software Alternatives, Accelerators & Startups

Backtrader VS Plot Digitizer

Compare Backtrader VS Plot Digitizer and see what are their differences

Backtrader logo Backtrader

Backtrader is a complete and advanced python framework that is used for backtesting and trading.

Plot Digitizer logo Plot Digitizer

All-in-One Tool to Extract Data from Graphs, Plots & Images
  • Backtrader Landing page
    Landing page //
    2021-09-30
  • Plot Digitizer Landing page
    Landing page //
    2023-06-17

Backtrader features and specs

  • Versatility
    Backtrader supports a wide variety of data sources and formats, as well as different types of financial instruments, allowing for extensive backtesting and live trading capabilities.
  • Community and Documentation
    The platform has a strong community and comprehensive documentation, making it easier for new users to get started and for experienced users to troubleshoot and optimize their strategies.
  • Python Integration
    Written in Python, Backtrader allows users to leverage Python's extensive ecosystem of libraries for data analysis, machine learning, and other financial computations.
  • Open Source
    As an open-source project, users can modify and extend the platform to meet their specific trading and testing needs without restrictions, and contribute to its development.
  • Flexibility in Strategy Design
    Backtrader offers a flexible and intuitive framework to design complex trading strategies, enabling users to test multiple strategies with different parameters efficiently.

Possible disadvantages of Backtrader

  • Steep Learning Curve
    Despite its flexibility, new users may find Backtrader's extensive features and options overwhelming, requiring a significant amount of time to learn and effectively utilize.
  • Performance Issues
    For very large datasets, Backtrader might experience performance bottlenecks or require additional optimization, as Python is not the fastest language for high-frequency backtesting.
  • Limited Technical Support
    As a community-driven open-source project, Backtrader might lack the formal technical support and customer service that comes with commercial trading platforms.
  • Complexity in Live Trading
    Transitioning from backtesting to live trading can require significant additional setup and potential custom development, especially in integrating broker APIs.
  • Outdated Resources
    Some educational materials and tutorials may be outdated, leading to confusion due to interface or feature updates that are not well-documented.

Plot Digitizer features and specs

  • User-friendly Interface
    Plot Digitizer offers a simple and intuitive interface, making it accessible for users of varying technical skill levels.
  • Supports Multiple File Formats
    The tool supports a variety of file formats, including PNG, JPEG, and PDF, offering flexibility in terms of input data.
  • Precision and Accuracy
    Plot Digitizer provides precise and accurate data extraction, ensuring reliable outputs from digitized plots.
  • Versatile Application
    It can be used for various types of graphs and charts, such as line graphs, scatter plots, and bar charts.
  • Cross-Platform Compatibility
    The application is web-based, which allows it to be used across different operating systems without needing additional software installations.

Possible disadvantages of Plot Digitizer

  • Limited Free Features
    The free version may have limited features compared to the paid version, which could restrict functionality for some users.
  • Internet Dependency
    As a web-based tool, Plot Digitizer requires a stable internet connection for use, which might be a limitation in areas with poor connectivity.
  • Learning Curve
    While the interface is generally user-friendly, new users may still require time to understand all available features to use the tool efficiently.
  • Potential for Manual Errors
    Manual calibration and adjustments might introduce errors, especially when dealing with complex or high-density plots.
  • Performance Limitations
    Very large or complex datasets might impact the performance and speed of the tool, potentially leading to longer processing times.

Backtrader videos

Backtrader Python Review

More videos:

  • Review - Algorithmic Trading with Python and Backtrader (Part 1)
  • Review - Backtrader Live Forex Trading with Interactive Brokers (Part 1)

Plot Digitizer videos

Plot digitizer

Category Popularity

0-100% (relative to Backtrader and Plot Digitizer)
Finance
100 100%
0% 0
Data Extraction
0 0%
100% 100
Tool
100 100%
0% 0
Data Visualization
0 0%
100% 100

User comments

Share your experience with using Backtrader and Plot Digitizer. For example, how are they different and which one is better?
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Social recommendations and mentions

Plot Digitizer might be a bit more popular than Backtrader. We know about 3 links to it since March 2021 and only 3 links to Backtrader. We are tracking product recommendations and mentions on various public social media platforms and blogs. They can help you identify which product is more popular and what people think of it.

Backtrader mentions (3)

  • My reality of trading and how i wish i had never started.
    I do like what I see and hear about backtrader.com. I would say they are a notable exception to my general rule of not trusting or using backtesting frameworks. However, I still think it is important to understand how the framework you are using works. So if you are using backtrader for backtesting you still need to put in the time to understand the backtesting engine. Source: over 3 years ago
  • My reality of trading and how i wish i had never started.
    What about backtrader.com? And I feel like it would be step 2 after you at least have something to backtrade and test haha. Source: over 3 years ago
  • I need to know what can go wrong with my 'masterplan'
    Backtesting is basically applying your strategy on historical price data to see if it makes money. I've used Backtrader it works decently well: https://backtrader.com/. Source: almost 5 years ago

Plot Digitizer mentions (3)

  • [OC] Autism rates are driven by changes in policy and diagnostic criteria, not vaccinations
    Data: The CDC data estimating national autism rates only shows data every other year since 2000 (https://www.cdc.gov/ncbddd/autism/data.html). I used California data from Nevison (2018) (https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6223814/ ) to show a longer-term historical trend. While it doesnโ€™t completely match the national data during the overlapping years (and I wouldnโ€™t expect it to), I have no reason to... Source: about 3 years ago
  • graph website/app?
    There are several, yes. Here is one, and here is anther, and here is a third. There is a detailed comparison here. Source: about 3 years ago
  • Show HN: Data Painter โ€“ A Different Way to Interact with Your Data
    I found this... Something like what you have in mind? (not Foss) https://plotdigitizer.com/. - Source: Hacker News / over 3 years ago

What are some alternatives?

When comparing Backtrader and Plot Digitizer, you can also consider the following products

QuantConnect - QuantConnect provides a free algorithm backtesting tool and financial data so engineers can design algorithmic trading strategies. We are democratizing algorithm trading technology to empower investors.

WebPlotDigitizer - WebPlotDigitizer - Web based tool to extract numerical data from plots, images and maps.

Quantopian - Your algorithmic investing platform

DigitizeIt - Sometimes it is necessary to extract data values from graphs, e.g.

CloudQuant - Crowd based algorithmic trading development and backtesing for stock market trading.

GraphClick - GraphClick is a graph digitizer shareware for Mac OS X which allows to automatically retrieve the original (x,y)-data from the image of a scanned graphor fom QuickTime movies.