We now provide free BATS-based real-time charts for US stocks as an alternative to the official real-time data that ExtraRT and PRO subscribers get. Free users, Basic members and Extra members now see free BATS-based real-time charts for US stocks instead of the 20-minute delayed charts they used to receive.  (Note: Non-US stocks are still delayed by 15 minutes.)

It is important to understand that there are some significant differences between free BATS-based real-time data and "official" real-time data however:

• The "official" real-time data that ExtraRT and PRO subscribers see comes directly from the NYSE, Nasdaq, or TSX stock exchanges.  It is the "official" data for a particular stock.  If you place a typical trade order with your broker, they will execute the trade using those prices.

• The BATS real-time data that appears on our non-ExtraRT charts comes from the BATS exchange.  The data is often very similar to the "official" data from the major exchanges, but there can be small differences in prices.  The volume information that the BATS exchange provides is much, much lower than the volume data from the major exchanges.

• Because BATS real-time data is different from the "official" data, we highlight it in yellow on our charts.  "Official" real-time data is highlighted in green.

• We only display BATS real-time data for 20 minutes on our charts,  After that, we replace the BATS real-time bar(s) with delayed "official" bars from the major exchanges.  For 1-minute and 5-minute charts, we place a vertical, dashed yellow line on the chart to show where the free real-time bars end and the official bars begin.

• We do not display volume information with the free real-time bars because the volume data from the BATS exchange is so much smaller than the official volume data.  We also do not display any volume-based indicators in the BATS section of the chart.

• Not all stocks that we track have BATS real-time data available for them.  There is no BATS real-time data currently available for Pink Sheet stocks.  Other thinly traded stocks will probably also not have BATS data either.