At a glance
QuantConnect and Horizon both take a strategy from an idea to live trading through your own broker, and they part ways on who writes the code. QuantConnect is built for people who code: you write the algorithm in Python on its LEAN engine, backtest it in the cloud and deploy it to a brokerage. Horizon builds the strategy from a plain-English description, shows you the rules it tested, and adds a marketplace of strategies that creators are running live.
Side by side
| Question | Horizon | QuantConnect |
|---|---|---|
| What it is | HorizonAn investing platform. Copy strategies that creators are running live, or describe your own idea in plain English and run it through your own broker. | QuantConnectA cloud platform for researching, backtesting and live-trading algorithmic strategies, built on its open-source LEAN engine. |
| How you build a strategy | HorizonDescribe the idea in plain English. Horizon turns it into rules you can read, edit and test. No code. | QuantConnectWrite the algorithm in Python in its web IDE, or locally with the LEAN CLI. Its AI assistant, Mia, can draft and edit the code from a description. |
| Where strategies run | HorizonIn your own account at Binance, Bybit, Coinbase, Hyperliquid, Kraken, Robinhood, Webull, TradeStation, Tradier, E*TRADE, tastytrade and moomoo, or on Horizon Paper with simulated money. | QuantConnectIn QuantConnect's cloud on a live trading node, routed to a connected brokerage such as Interactive Brokers, Alpaca, Schwab, TradeStation, Binance or Kraken. |
| Markets | HorizonUS stocks and ETFs through the stock brokers; crypto spot and derivatives through the exchanges. No forex or CFDs. | QuantConnectUS equities and ETFs, options, futures, index options, forex, CFDs and crypto, depending on the brokerage. |
| Backtesting | HorizonEvery strategy is backtested on historical data before it runs, and you see the rules it tested. | QuantConnectYes. Cloud backtests with fee, slippage and margin modelling, plus a research notebook environment. |
| Paper trading | HorizonYes. Horizon Paper runs any strategy with simulated money at real market prices. | QuantConnectYes, on a paid tier. QuantConnect Paper Trading runs the algorithm on live data with simulated capital. |
| Copying other people's strategies | HorizonYes. Discover lists creators' strategies with live track records. Creators keep 80% of what subscribers pay. | QuantConnectYou can clone community strategies and follow the ones the Strategy Explorer tracks live. There is no marketplace of strategies to subscribe to. |
| Pricing model | HorizonDiscover is free. The Builder plan is a subscription, monthly or yearly, with a 14-day money-back guarantee. | QuantConnectA free tier for backtesting and research. Live trading, paper trading and brokerage connections start on the paid tiers. Current prices on quantconnect.com. |
| Holds your money? | HorizonNever. Funds stay with your broker. Horizon can place trades for a strategy but cannot withdraw money. | QuantConnectNo. Orders go to the brokerage you connect. |
Choose Horizon if
- You would rather describe a strategy than write and debug Python.
- You want to read the rules a strategy trades in plain language, and edit them the same way.
- You want a strategy running in minutes, not a project.
- You want to copy strategies that creators are running live, or publish your own and earn from subscribers.
Choose QuantConnect if
- You write Python and want full control of the algorithm, down to order routing and custom data.
- You trade options, futures, forex or CFDs, which Horizon does not run.
- You want to run the engine on your own machine. LEAN is open source.
