Non-professional versus professional market data status

Non-professional versus professional market data status is the declaration that sets your exchange data price. A non-professional subscriber is an individual who uses real-time exchange data only for their own trading. A professional subscriber is anyone the exchange rules leave outside that definition, such as a firm or a registered adviser. The note on why market data costs money separately from software split one month's bill into its parts. This note follows one year of costs for a Liquivue trader and shows what changes when the status changes.

Who decides your status

The exchange writes the definitions, and your broker or feed provider asks you to declare a status when you subscribe. The questions usually cover three points:

1. Whether you use the data only for your own personal trading.
2. Whether you trade for a company, a fund or another person.
3. Whether a securities or futures regulator registers or licenses you.

A trader who answers yes to the first question and no to the other two usually qualifies as non-professional. Read your provider's version of the agreement, because the exact wording differs between exchanges. Some providers add their own conditions. Sierra Chart's Denali feed gives the non-professional rate only to traders with a verified live funded futures account, and it checks that account every month.

What the status costs on four price lists

These are monthly prices for depth on one CME Group exchange, from the vendor and broker pages in this site's cost audit, checked in October 2026. The yearly figure is the monthly price times 12.

The professional price is between 4 and 11 times the non-professional price on these lists. The gap is largest on plain depth from CQG and Denali.

One year in Liquivue, worked through

All trader details below are an example. Sam trades ES and NQ, which both list on CME, so one exchange covers both. Sam pays for Liquivue yearly at €192, which works out to €16 a month. Liquivue connects to futures through Rithmic or the NinjaTrader bridge, and the Liquivue terms list provider, exchange and broker charges as separate from the licence.

Sam's broker uses the AMP June 2026 non-professional schedule from the cost audit. CME depth costs US$17 a month and the Rithmic user fee costs US$25.

In month 7, Sam starts trading part of a friend's account for a share of the profit. Trading for another person usually ends non-professional status, so Sam must tell the broker. The audit does not hold AMP's professional rate, so take the CQG card as a guide. Six months at US$13 and six at US$145 add up to US$948 for the depth line, against US$156 for a full year at the non-professional rate.

The Liquivue licence stays at €192 in both cases. The Liquivue price list shows no separate professional tier, so only the data lines move.

Why order-level data raises the stakes

Liquivue has experimental iceberg detection, and it needs live CME order-level data, also called market by order. On the Bookmap marketplace, Rithmic CME market by order costs US$40 a month for a non-professional and US$171 for a professional. A professional who wants order-level data on all four CME Group exchanges pays US$630 a month for the bundle on that list. Price the data before you plan a workflow around a feature that needs it.

Status on other platforms

Bookmap sells BookmapData at the two prices in the table, and the audit notes say not to quote the non-professional price to professional users. Sierra Chart Denali charges US$145 per exchange to professionals and to anyone without a funded account. The software price on these platforms does not change with your data status. The data line does. A professional on Denali pays US$145 per exchange, more than three times the US$46 Sierra Chart Package 11 licence.

What a status declaration does not settle

Your declaration does not lower the price if the exchange rules say you are professional. Tell your provider when your situation changes, as Sam did in month 7. This note does not give legal advice on the definitions. Ask your provider in writing if your situation is unclear.

A check you can run

Open your data subscription page and find the status you declared. Then read the three questions above against your current trading. If any answer changed since you subscribed, ask your provider which rate now applies and write the answer in your records with the date.