About PlatformScore
Why I built this
I'm Rick Castro, and I built PlatformScore to solve a headache I lived with for years.
There are dozens of futures trading platforms, and every one of them offers a different mix of order-flow tools like footprint charts, DOM, volume profile, and tape. Beginner platforms give you little or none; as traders look to graduate to something more capable, most have no straightforward way to compare what one platform actually offers over another. On top of that you're trying to weigh the time it'll take to get productive out of the box, all while keeping track of pricing that constantly changes.
I dealt with exactly that problem myself, and I couldn't find a single objective place to compare it all. So I made one.
The idea is to be something like a NerdWallet for futures trading software: one place, one consistent rubric, and an honest, apples-to-apples read on features, setup, and value, so you can make a better decision across a confusing field of choices.
Who's behind it
It's just me, Rick Castro. I've been trading since 2017 and trading futures since 2021, as a swing and intraday trader. I trade both live cash and with prop/funding firms, including Blue Sky, Phidias, and Take Profit Trader.
I don't come from an institutional background, my experience is eight-plus years in the trenches, doing the work with real money on the line. I share that work publicly:
- YouTube, 5,000+ subscribers and growing, with videos on order-flow topics and live-streamed trades, including real payouts, wins and losses, and systematic entries.
- Substack, a daily newsletter with market recaps and the setups I'm watching for the next session.
- X (Twitter), @tradewrick.
How I keep this objective
PlatformScore's scoring model is front-facing by design, you can see the full methodology and every weighting. Platforms are rated on the same rubric whether or not they're affiliate partners, and the platforms I've personally traded on get an added hands-on editor's note. My aim is to be the most objective comparison in this space: no hype, no pay-to-win rankings, just a consistent read on what each platform is really worth.
Get in touch anytime, corrections, questions, or partnership inquiries.
Futures trading carries substantial risk. Nothing on PlatformScore is financial advice.