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NinjaTrader 8 includes built-in footprint chart functionality called Volumetric Bars through its Order Flow+ add-on. It shows bid and ask volume at each price level inside your candles, giving you a basic view of order flow activity. But “basic” is the operative word. Third-party footprint indicators like SidiFootprint take the same underlying data and deliver significantly more depth, automation, and customization.
This comparison shows you exactly what NinjaTrader’s Volumetric Bars offer, where they fall short, and what a third-party footprint indicator adds to your trading. If you’re deciding whether the built-in tool is enough or whether upgrading makes sense, this guide gives you the facts to decide.
What NinjaTrader Volumetric Bars Offer
Volumetric Bars are part of NinjaTrader’s Order Flow+ suite, which is included with a Lifetime license ($1,099 one-time) or available as a monthly add-on ($99/month). Here’s what you get:
- BidxAsk display: Shows bid volume on the left and ask volume on the right at each price level within a candle.
- Bar delta: The total net buying vs. selling for the entire bar, displayed at the bottom.
- Basic imbalance highlighting: Cells where volume exceeds a threshold on one side are color-coded.
- Customizable colors and fonts: Basic visual settings for background, text, and highlighting.
For traders who need a simple, clean view of bid/ask volume without additional complexity, Volumetric Bars work. They’re integrated directly into NinjaTrader’s chart engine, which means no third-party installation and guaranteed compatibility with platform updates.
Where Volumetric Bars Fall Short
NinjaTrader’s built-in footprint was designed as a starting point, not a complete order flow analysis tool. Here are the specific limitations that impact your trading:
Single Profile Only
Volumetric Bars display one data view per chart. If you want to see BidxAsk and Delta simultaneously, you need two separate chart windows. SidiFootprint’s dual-profile system shows two different data views on the same chart, saving screen space and keeping all context in one place.
No Automatic Zone Tracking
When the built-in tool highlights an imbalance, that’s where it ends. It doesn’t track whether those imbalances stack vertically (stacked imbalances = potential support/resistance) or extend those zones forward as future reference levels. SidiFootprint automatically detects stacked imbalances and extends them forward as support/resistance zones until price tests or breaks through them. This eliminates the need to manually draw and maintain levels.
No VPOC Tracking
Volumetric Bars show you the VPOC within the current bar, but they don’t track naked VPOCs (unretested Volume Points of Control from previous bars). Naked VPOCs are among the most reliable price magnets in futures trading. SidiFootprint tracks them automatically, extends them forward, and applies delta-based coloring to show whether the VPOC formed under buying or selling pressure.
Limited Detection Features
The built-in tool doesn’t detect absorption patterns, exhaustion prints, or finished auctions. These are some of the most actionable signals in order flow trading. SidiFootprint includes automatic detection for absorption (high volume without price extension) and exhaustion (declining volume at bar extremes), with configurable volume filters and alert triggers.
No Alert System
Volumetric Bars have no built-in alerts. You can’t set up sound, text-to-speech, or email notifications for delta events, imbalance formations, or zone breaks. SidiFootprint includes a full alert system for all major order flow events, letting you monitor markets without staring at every tick.
Limited Customization
Volumetric Bars offer basic color and font settings. SidiFootprint has 910+ individual settings covering every visual element, detection algorithm, filter, and rendering option. This level of granularity lets you tune the display precisely to your trading style, instrument, and timeframe.
Feature-by-Feature Comparison
Here’s a direct comparison of the key features:
Display modes: Volumetric Bars offers BidxAsk. SidiFootprint offers six modes per profile (Volume, Delta, Delta %, Ask, Bid, Trades) with three rendering styles (Brick, Volume Bar, Volume Profile).
Profiles: Volumetric Bars has one profile. SidiFootprint has two independent profiles that can show different data simultaneously.
Imbalance detection: Volumetric Bars highlights cells above a threshold. SidiFootprint adds diagonal/horizontal calculation modes, minimum volume filters, and automatic stacked zone tracking with forward extension.
VPOC tracking: Volumetric Bars shows per-bar VPOC only. SidiFootprint tracks naked VPOCs, naked Value Areas, and applies delta-based VPOC coloring.
Market Memory Zones: Not available in Volumetric Bars. SidiFootprint’s proprietary algorithm identifies high-probability reaction zones based on VPOC position, bar structure, wick conditions, and volume requirements.
Alerts: None in Volumetric Bars. Full sound/TTS/email alert system in SidiFootprint.
Tick Replay requirement: Volumetric Bars requires Tick Replay for accurate historical rendering (doubles data load). SidiFootprint works without Tick Replay.
Settings count: Volumetric Bars has approximately 20-30 settings. SidiFootprint has 910+.
Performance Impact
This is an area where the comparison is nuanced. Volumetric Bars are lightweight because they’re simple. SidiFootprint does more, so it processes more data. However, SidiFootprint’s ability to work without Tick Replay actually results in lower overall system load in many setups, because Tick Replay doubles the data that NinjaTrader needs to process for historical bars.
If you’re running Volumetric Bars with Tick Replay enabled, switching to SidiFootprint without Tick Replay may actually improve your chart loading speed despite the indicator being more feature-rich.
Who Should Stay with Volumetric Bars
If you’re new to footprint charts and want the simplest possible starting point, Volumetric Bars are fine. They show you the core data (bid/ask volume per level) without configuration complexity. If you primarily use other analysis methods and only glance at footprint data occasionally, the built-in tool may be all you need.
Who Should Upgrade to a Third-Party Indicator
If footprint analysis is central to your trading process, you’ll outgrow Volumetric Bars quickly. The lack of automatic zone tracking, naked VPOC management, alerts, and dual-profile display means you’re spending time on manual tasks that a dedicated indicator handles automatically.
Serious order flow traders need the automation. Tracking stacked imbalances by eye, manually drawing VPOC levels, and constantly switching between display modes slows your decision-making. These are precisely the tasks that SidiFootprint automates.
Try the Difference
The most objective way to compare is to run both side by side. Install SidiFootprint’s free 14-day trial, apply it to the same chart as NinjaTrader’s Volumetric Bars, and trade for a few sessions. Pay attention to how often you notice stacked imbalances before the built-in tool, how naked VPOC tracking changes your profit targeting, and how the dual-profile display reduces the number of charts you need open. Most traders who make the comparison don’t go back to the built-in tool.
