ATAS vs Bookmap: Footprint or Heatmap?

At a glance

What ATAS is built for

ATAS is order-flow and volume-analysis software, not a broker. It's built around footprint charts, with 400+ variations and imbalance detection, alongside Smart Tape, Smart DOM, a Bid/Ask Tape, an MBO DOM, and volume and market profiles. Market Replay, on PLUS and up, replays sessions tick by tick with full DOM data. Classic ATAS runs on Windows; ATAS X, which also runs on macOS, is in beta, as are the heatmap and the options modules.

Read the full ATAS review →

What Bookmap is built for

Bookmap shows the order book itself changing over time: a heatmap of resting limit orders, with volume bubbles marking where and how much has traded. It's aimed at reading liquidity directly. Cumulative volume delta is on every tier, Record & Replay lets you step back through a session tick by tick, and the Footprint and DOM Pro add-ons are included only on Global Plus. It runs natively on Windows and Mac, with a separate Bookmap Web product.

Read the full Bookmap review →

Free plans and real-time data

Both free plans let you try the software, but neither gives you real-time futures data. On ATAS, START and PLUS show traditional futures on a 15-minute delay, and that includes the €999 PLUS lifetime licence; real-time traditional futures needs PRO or ULTRA. On Bookmap, the free Digital tier has delayed stock and futures data and shows one symbol at a time. Our Bookmap review doesn't establish which paid tier first allows real-time futures.

On both, real-time futures data is a separate subscription from a provider you connect. ATAS doesn't publish what that data costs; Bookmap's pricing page gives example ranges.

What each route costs

Each vendor's prices are shown in its own currency. This page doesn't convert them, add them into one total, or say which is cheaper, because the currencies differ and data depends on your provider and exchanges.

• ATAS plans (euros): START is free; PLUS is €24.95/month; PRO is €69.95/month; ULTRA is €89.95/month. Billed yearly, they're €19.95, €39.95, and €49.95 per month. Lifetime licences are €999 (PLUS), €1,799 (PRO), and €1,999 (ULTRA). EU residents are charged VAT at their country's rate.
• ATAS data: not included on any plan, and ATAS doesn't publish what it costs.
• Bookmap tiers (US dollars): Digital is free; Digital Plus is $19/month; Global is $49/month, $39/month billed yearly, or $990 lifetime; Global Plus is $99/month, $79/month billed yearly, or $1,990 lifetime.
• Bookmap data: not included in any package. Bookmap's example ranges include BookmapData at roughly $34–79/month, dxFeed futures at around $37/month per exchange, and Rithmic at around $40–101/month.

For NinjaTrader, MotiveWave, and TradingView alongside these two, see our order flow software cost comparison.

Trading from the platform

Bookmap documents order placement from the chart or DOM on Global Plus, routed to a separately connected, funded brokerage account; its knowledge base names Rithmic, Tradovate, CQG, Interactive Brokers, TradeStation, and GAIN Futures among the supported connections. The sources behind our ATAS review don't document which connections can place orders.

Both vendors use the term "cross-trading," but for different things. For ATAS, Cross-Trading (on PRO and ULTRA) means analysing E-mini contracts while executing on Micro contracts. For Bookmap, cross-trading is its name for executing orders through a connected broker. They aren't the same feature.

Which fits which trader

ATAS fits if

• You read order flow mainly through footprint charts and profiles. Footprint charts, Smart Tape, Smart DOM, and volume and market profiles are ATAS's core; its heatmap is still in beta.
• You want a free plan to learn the tools first. START has no time limit, as long as you accept 15-minute-delayed futures data and no Market Replay.
• You would rather pay once, with real-time futures. The PRO lifetime licence (€1,799) is the lowest-priced ATAS licence with real-time traditional futures; the €999 PLUS licence stays on delayed futures.

Bookmap fits if

• You mainly want to read liquidity. Bookmap's heatmap of resting orders and volume bubbles is its core product, rather than one tool among many.
• You want a native Mac desktop app or a web version. Bookmap runs natively on Windows and Mac and has a separate Bookmap Web product. ATAS runs on macOS only as ATAS X, which is in beta.
• You want to trade from the platform through a documented broker. Bookmap lists the connections that support order execution on Global Plus. Which ATAS connections can route orders isn’t documented in our sources.

What this comparison doesn't cover

This isn't a setup guide, and it doesn't compare the two heatmaps or footprint tools feature by feature. It doesn't cover Bookmap's trial or refund terms, which our Bookmap review doesn't establish, or prop-firm arrangements, and it doesn't add up an all-in monthly cost. Using ATAS and Bookmap together isn't documented in our sources. For what heatmaps, the DOM, and footprint charts show, see our Order Flow guide. For Bookmap alongside a full futures platform, see Bookmap vs NinjaTrader.