summary: a decision guide to help you figure out whether the all access plan fits how you trade.

for the full feature comparison and pricing details, see edgeful subscription plans and pricing.

the short version: the essential plan gives you all of edgeful's research tools — 150+ reports, WIP, screener, edgeful AI, TradingView and NinjaTrader indicators. the all access plan adds algorithmic trading strategies and automated execution. this article helps you figure out which one fits how you actually trade.

everything in essential, plus:

you want hands-off execution. you've been using edgeful's reports to find setups manually — gap fills, IB breakouts, ORB plays — and you want those same patterns traded automatically while you're away from the screen or focused on other setups.

you trade futures through a supported broker. the algos execute through a supported broker. if you're already on one of these platforms, the connection is straightforward.

you want to test strategies against real data before going live. the algo analyzer lets you see how each strategy has performed historically — win rate, average return, drawdown. and the algo optimizer goes further: sweep thousands of setting combinations to find the best version of any strategy, then validate the winners on out-of-sample data before going live. both are all access only.

you're running a prop firm account. several edgeful members use the algos on ProjectX prop accounts. automated execution means consistent entries without the emotional decision-making that can blow an eval.

you prefer manual trading. a lot of edgeful members use the reports, WIP, and screener to build a daily bias — then execute their own trades based on that data. if that's your workflow and you like being hands-on, essential gives you everything you need.

you're still learning how edgeful's reports work. spend time understanding the data first. the screener, what's in play, and edgeful AI are all designed to help you build a process around the numbers. once you've got a rhythm, all access is there if you want to automate parts of it.

you don't trade futures (yet). the algos currently run on futures contracts through supported brokers. if you're trading stocks, ETFs, or crypto using edgeful's reports and TradingView indicators, essential covers you.

we get this question a lot — "show me the real-world performance of the algos before I commit." it's a fair question, and the answer is the opposite of what most companies will tell you.

we don't publish numbers on any specific algo because you control virtually every input — position size, win rate target, risk-to-reward, time-of-day filter, even which signals the algo acts on. two members running the same algo with different settings will get completely different results. so any number we'd post would be based on our settings, not yours — which would be misleading at best.

most algo companies keep the strategy in a black box. that's how they can market one clean equity curve — they pick the settings, they pick the period, and you take it as-is. ours work the opposite way. you see exactly how each algo is built, and you decide how it runs.

that's also why the algo optimizer matters more than a published performance number ever would. it runs against historical data using your settings — your position size, your risk-to-reward, your filters — and shows you what the edge looks like for the way you'd actually trade it. the algo analyzer does the same thing for backtests you've already run in TradingView.

getting the algos working for your style takes time and customization. the optimizer shortens that loop — but it's still on you to find the version that fits your account size, your risk tolerance, and the markets you trade.

the all access plan is $250/mo more than essential ($299/mo vs. $49/mo). whether that makes sense depends entirely on your trading.

the question isn't "is $299/mo worth it?" — it's "will automated execution and access to the optimizer improve my trading enough to justify the difference?" if you're consistently missing setups because you're not at the screen, second-guessing entries, struggling with execution discipline, or stuck guessing at algo settings, all access solves a specific set of problems.

if your process is working and you enjoy the manual side, essential has everything you need to keep building on that.

the algo analyzer and optimizer give you the data to evaluate this for yourself — you don't have to guess whether the strategies are working. the numbers are right there. for the full breakdown of how the algos work and how to set them up, see algorithmic trading on edgeful — overview and using the algo dashboard.

a few things that might help: