Real time market data streaming plans

We’re always looking to deliver an easy, affordable, and transparent trading experience for our customers. One of the ways we do so is by providing free snap quotes that show real-time bid/ask prices on demand for major North American exchanges such as the TSX, NYSE, NASDAQ, and OPRA on our Questrade Trading and QuestMobile platforms.

For those interested in getting into more advanced trading, our free data package now includes real-time level 1 streaming data for TSX and TSXV, plus CBOE One Summary (providing limited level 1 data for US stocks and ETFs listed on AMEX, NASDAQ, NYSE, ARCA, and BATS exchanges), all viewable through our Edge platforms.

However, if you’re an active trader who needs an in-depth view of the markets, we’ve got you covered. You can subscribe to additional paid level 1 & 2 data to receive real-time information on trading volumes, prices, market makers, time & sales, and more. You can choose from one of our data packages or from individual add-ons.

What’s the difference between data levels?

For most markets, there are 3 levels of data available:

Snap quote: each time you click the snap quote button, you’ll find out what the current ask size, bid size, and last price are for the security you’re looking up. You have to keep clicking the button to check the current market price as it does not update automatically.

Level 1: shows real-time bid, ask, and last prices for securities trading on a stock exchange. Level 1 quotes provide basic information that is usually enough for the average investor. There may be limitations if the data is sourced through CBOE One Summary instead of directly sourced from the markets. Level 1 streaming data will only display on Questrade Edge platforms.

Level 2: shows the full picture of what’s happening for exchange listed securities. You get access to markets’ bid/ask prices at multiple levels in the order book, giving you information about trade volumes, market maker bids, and more. Level 2 streaming data will only display on Questrade Edge platforms.

To learn more about the data levels see our Basics of Market Data article, or follow the links to learn more about reading level 1 and level 2 data.

Available market data package rebates

Market data package rebates are easy to get, and automatically applied! As long as you reach total commissions of $48.95 or higher, you receive a $19.95 rebate each month on whichever package you’re subscribed to. That said, if you generally generate commissions of $48.95 per month, you can receive our real-time options data package for free!

The best is yet to come: if you’re an active trader and you subscribe to either the advanced Canadian or American data package, and you generate commissions of $399.95 per month or higher, the entire package fee of $89.95 will be waived.

Rebates are not available for individual data add-ons.

Other benefits of market data packages

Subscribing to advanced market data packages can also give you access to active trader pricing, which allows you to access even lower fee pricing for trading commissions.

How to sign up for market data packages

If you’re interested in signing up for market data, log in to Questrade and from the top navigation select Account Management > Market Data. In this section, you’ll see the current market data package you are subscribed to (the default is the free setting). Each package lists the markets for which it provides coverage.

If you want to subscribe to a different market data package, it's as simple as clicking the new market data package. Your market data will start streaming the next time you log in, and your new commission plan structure will take effect the next business day.

Available market data packages

At Questrade, we offer several market data packages. Click the accordion to learn more about each: