[chollida1]

> They don't get it for free--"tape" fees are a major source of exchange revenue.

This is the truth. It's pretty outrageous the prices the exchanges charge for real time data.

Though to be fair they are pretty good about letting you pay for what you want.

Most offer: - 15 minute delayed quotes, - real time top of book, - depth of book and the - raw fast data feed with not additions.

Pick what you want.

[apaprocki]

Anecdote: I once asked how much it would cost if I enabled myself for realtime access to every exchange we offer and I was given the ballpark figure that it would cost the company $80k/year. Exchanges charge a lot.

[chollida1]

Hmm, that seems cheap :)

TSX, NYSE, and NASDAQ are around $5000/month each for full depth of book.