Best Stock Analysis Apps, Software, and Research Tools

Investing without one of the best stock analysis apps is like investing with a blindfold.

However, with real-time updates, rigorous analyses, and robust charting, you can make more informed investment decisions and reach your financial goals.

29 Best Stock Analysis Apps

Below I’ve created the top list of the best stock analysis apps. Some are free, and others have a hefty price tag, but they can help you reach your investment goals.

  1. Motley Fool Stock Advisor
  2. Motley Fool Rule Breaker
  3. Seeking Alpha
  4. Seeking Alpha’s Alpha Picks
  5. Seeking Alpha Premium
  6. Benzinga Pro
  7. Trade Ideas
  8. Morningstar
  9. Stock Rover
  10. MarketXLS
  11. TradeStation Analytics
  12. TradingView
  13. Webull
  14. Scanz
  15. Finviz
  16. TC2000
  17. Thinkorswim
  18. eSignal
  19. TrendSpider
  20. E*Trade
  21. Ninja Trader
  22. VectorVest
  23. UncleStock
  24. MetaStock
  25. MarketWatch
  26. Daily Stocks
  27. Yahoo Finance
  28. Stock Guru
  29. Equity Set

1. Motley Fool Stock Advisor

COST: $89 for the first year, then $199 each year after

Motley Fool Stock Advisor is for the more conservative investor. Like Rule Breakers, it’s a newsletter that offers foundational stocks, ‘best buys now,’ and two new stock picks each month. The newsletter is meant for buy-and-hold investors and focuses on well-established companies.

When you subscribe to Stock Advisor, you can see their historical picks to see their performance. Over the years, Stock Advisor has had a 356% return versus the S&P 500’s return of 117%. You also get access to a community of like-minded investors to toss around investing ideas.

Motley Fool Stock Advisor is one of the top picks for buy-and-hold investments. The stocks won’t make quick profits but typically provide a higher return than the S&P 500 when held long-term.

2. Motley Fool Rule Breaker

COST: $99 for the first year, then $299 each year after

Motley Fool Rule Breakers is a paid subscription for investors who want to invest in emerging markets and growth companies. You won’t find trending stocks in this newsletter, but instead, stocks that ‘break the rules.’

The companies suggested have a significant advantage in their industry, excellent management, a lot of press, and substantial price appreciation.

Rule Breakers provides a list of starter stocks, ‘best buys now,’ and two new stock picks monthly.

3. Seeking Alpha

COST: Free

Seeking Alpha is one of the top investment research subscriptions. The free version is quite robust and helps investors without spending money on a subscription. It includes access to stock analyses via email, real-time news updates, Wall Street ratings, extensive charting, and some content.

However, keep in mind the content is limited on the free subscription.

4. Seeking Alpha’s Alpha Picks

COST: $99 for the first year, then $199 annually

Seeking Alpha’s Alpha Picks is an email newsletter with the top stock picks sent every two weeks. The stocks are chosen based on their exclusive system using fundamentals, such as profits, valuation, growth, and forecasts.

The newsletter includes the stock names and why you should invest in them. Based on data-driven information, you’ll also receive regular updates on why you should keep these investments in your portfolio.

5. Seeking Alpha Premium

COST: $119 a year for the first year and $239 each following year

Seeking Alpha Premium is for intermediate investors looking for extensive research options in one place. They have 16,000+ contributors providing analyses with in-house editors vetting the information.

In addition to its research articles, it offers many analysis tools, market data, and even crowdsourced debates.

Premium offers a recommendation service that considers all current news, stocks, and charts to help you create the right portfolio. You’ll also have access to author ratings to determine which information to use in your decisions and advanced stock screeners.

The Stock Quant Ratings in the Seeking Alpha subscription rank stocks from best to worst based on the Seeking Alpha Quant Model, various SA authors, and analysts from Wall Street. The list also gets ranked from the various analyses available on the platform to give subscribers the most helpful information.

6. Benzinga Pro

COST: $0 – $177 / month

Benzinga Pro is a streaming platform with the latest news for your stock research and analysis. On Benzinga Pro, you’ll find:

  • Actual trades from day traders to help you learn the current top picks
  • Real-time access to the hottest stories affecting the market
  • Get stock audio updates if you’d rather listen than read the latest news
  • High-quality stock scanner
  • Real-time stock alerts

Benzinga Pro offers the fastest news feed out of any research program today. With custom filters, news exclusives, and a keyword search, you can quickly get your hands on the information you need to make the most profitable and helpful decisions.

Benzinga Pro offers many pricing options, from free to $177/month. Choose the plan that includes the features you need. Most people choose the Basic Plan for $27/month, but the Essential Plan with advanced news features and a real-time scanner is helpful too.

7. Trade Ideas

COST: Standard $84/month and Premium $167/month

Trade Ideas is a stock scanner that’s imperative for active traders. However, it works well for beginning and expert day traders, providing real-time market data and powerful stock research tools. They also recently added stock simulations to help you make real-life decisions without any money.

Its stock screener is fast, and it has advanced charting capabilities. It also has extensive backtesting software and powerful educational tools for beginners and experts. Their AI system alert stream helps investors with automated trading and fast stock scans to make important day trading decisions.

Trade Ideas also recently released a TI Swing Picks Newsletter for $17 a month that provides five new trade ideas each Monday to help with your stock picks.

8. Morningstar

COST: $34.95 monthly or $249/year (includes a free 7-day trial)

Morningstar has provided helpful market information for 40+ years, providing a different outlook than most other research subscriptions.

They focus on the best funds, and a subscription includes the following:

  • Analyses of various funds
  • Stock screeners
  • Real-time observations
  • X-Ray vision into your current holdings

9. Stock Rover

COST: $7.99 – $27.99/month

Stock Rover is great for all investors. Think of it as a roundup of all data research tools you find on the internet in one place. Not only do you get the latest news and market alerts, but you’ll have access to fundamental data research tools, including:

  • Robus screening
  • Extensive comparisons
  • Research reports
  • Up-to-the-minute portfolio updates
  • Charting

Stock Rover has plans from $7.99 – $27.99/month. The Essentials Plan is the entry-level plan packed with helpful research tools and data.

10. MarketXLS

COST: $56 –  $150/month

MarketXLS is an Excel-based portfolio management software program. It includes access to premium research and tools. It has thousands of built-in tools to help you build a portfolio. The data is institutional level and provides information on:

  • 13,500+ stocks
  • 3,100+ ETFs
  • 26,800+ mutual funds
  • Millions of options
  • 9,600 crypto

In MarketXLS you can stream live data for stocks and options, filter historical data, and perform technical analyses on your own. You’ll also have access to 97+ educational videos.

Plans start at $56/month and go up to $150/month. However, real-time streaming is only available in the higher plans.

11. TradeStation Analytics

COST: Free if you have a TradeStation brokerage account that meets minimum activity requirements. Otherwise, it’s $99 per month for individuals or $199.99 per month for professionals.

TradeStation Analytics is a powerful technical analysis platform that ensures you have the right information to make effective investing decisions. With TradeStation Analytics, you can:

  • Access to technical and fundamental analyses
  • Learn to optimize your options trading
  • Access to premium market data
  • Access to advanced charting
  • Back-test your strategies
  • Try simulated trading before risking your money

12. TradingView

COST: The basic plan is free, but you can also upgrade to plans that range from $14.95 per month – $59.95 per month.

TradingView is a stock research tool that uses charting, drawing tools, stock screeners, and technical analysis. TradingView believes in charting and researching before investing, providing all the tools to do it.

TradingView is primarily a charting platform, but they have a social aspect that allows you to chat with over 30 million other investors to run past or get ideas from them. It’s a platform built for aggressive investors who want free stock analyses and the views of millions of others.

13. Webull

COST: Free

Primarily, Webull is a stock trading app (commission-free), but they also offer free technical analyses, including:

  • Advanced charting
  • Technical indicators
  • Level 2 quotes
  • Watchlists

14. Scanz

(Formerly Known As EquityFeed)
COST: $169/month

Scanz is a stock scanning platform made for day traders and swingers. You can create any customized scan you need and have results in seconds. You can also subscribe to the pro scanner and scan results pre or post-market to be ready to pounce on the market when it opens.

With Scanz, you’ll enjoy the following:

  • Easy Scanner – Scans the stock market from 5 AM to 8 PM, so you’re ready to make your move
  • News Scanner – The fastest news feed from over 100 news sources for active traders to make their move quickly
  • Breakouts – Get alerts before everyone else about significant movements that could affect your trading decisions

Active traders get everything in one window to help make fast decisions when day or swing trading.

15. Finviz

COST: Free or $24.96/month paid annually.

Finviz is a stock screener and analyst for powerful market overviews. There’s a free and paid version; even the free version is powerful. You can screen for almost any scenario, including technical indicators.

With the free account, you can have 50 screener presets. You can also customize your reporting, but paying for premium provides access to real-time data, fundamentals, backtesting, 200 presets, data before and after the market opens, and up to 100 portfolios.

16. TC2000 (Worden)

COST: $8.32 – $74.98/month billed annually

TC2000 is a stock screening software that’s also a trading platform. However, their commissions for trading are high, so you may want to look elsewhere for your brokerage.

Their research tools, however, are powerful. You can get up-to-the-minute stock news and alerts, run stock scans, and create watch lists. In addition, you’ll have access to over 70 technical indicators and powerful drawing tools.

You’ll have access to pre-market news, condition testing, and advanced charting opportunities. Its most notable feature is the Condition Wizard, which allows you to build almost any scenario and see how they unfold.

TC2000 offers unlimited practice with its trading simulator and creates multiple exit strategies to help you pull the trigger faster.

17. Thinkorswim (TD Ameritrade)

COST: $0 for trades, and you get the research and tools if you use the brokerage

Thinkorswim is an advanced trading platform from TD Ameritrade, but it also has extensive software and research tools.

You can trade stocks, options, futures, and forex. Any asset you trade on thinkorswim has extensive charts you can customize, including changing the timeline to match your goals. In addition, you can use their simulator to practice trading in real-time without money, and they have an extensive educational section to help investors.

18. eSignal- Top Pick for Fast Data and Charting

COST: $58 – $391/month

eSignal provides fast data and charts to help you make informed investment decisions. All charts on eSignal are fully customizable, so you understand the data you receive. It also includes powerful scanners and backtesting to test your strategies before activating them.

They provide data the fastest (in their words, warp speed), allowing you to execute trades within seconds.

19. TrendSpider – Top Pick for Stock Analysis and SaaS Solutions

COST: $28.05 – $82.45/month

TrendSpider is highly technical, with many chart types and options to analyze your stock market picks. Its integrated stock screener and real-time alerts provide up-to-the-minute data, and it works on any browser.

Here’s what you can expect:

  • Automated technical analysis
  • Results on searches in 60 seconds or less
  • Actionable charts
  • Backtesting

20. E*Trade

COST: Free

E*TRADE is a stock trading platform with robust research and educational tools, so it’s worth adding to the list.

Traders get access to third-party research, Bloomberg TV, and breaking news. The analysis tools and charts are beginner-friendly but also powerful for experienced investors. The information isn’t meant for day traders, but anyone looking for long-term buy-and-hold investments can use the robust information provided on E*TRADE and save money.

21. Ninja Trader

COST: $720 for an annual lease or $1,099 to own it.

NinjaTrader is a free platform for advanced charting, backtesting, and simulations. With NinjaTrader, you can:

  • Create custom charts to trade futures and stocks
  • Get real-time updates
  • Create custom alerts
  • Use the Option Chain to handle options expirations
  • Access to Level II data

22. VectorVest

COST: $69 – $149 per month

VectorVest is your assistant, telling you what to buy, sell, and when. You can analyze any stock for free or with a paid subscription, and have a large variety of resources, including:

  • Green Book to help you make more informed decisions
  • Portfolio analysis to see what you should keep and what should go
  • Fundamental and technical analysis of stocks
  • Webinars
  • Daily Stock Picks
  • Updates on market conditions
  • Screeners
  • Connect to a partner broker to manage your account in real-time

23. UncleStock

COST: Not disclosed

UncleStock is a fundamental stock screener that screens 60,000+ stocks with 500+ fundamentals. In total, they use over 18,000 metrics to analyze each stock. As a result, you’ll receive many different averages, deviation statistics, and profitability indicators.

UncleStock uses several scoring models, including Slater and Greenblatt, and offers overall advice and price targets.

It covers many world markets and provides plenty of free educational opportunities and powerful backtesting.

24. MetaStock

COST: $69 – $127 per month (one-time purchase options starting at $499)

MetaStock offers research tools for self-directed investors. They use various methods, including technical analysis and market data, to help active traders scan, analyze, and backtest strategies.

They have programs for most types of traders but focus mostly on day and swing traders reading stocks, futures, options, and FOREX. This program is not for beginning investors but experienced investors looking to level up their trading.

25. MarketWatch

COST: $8 – $9 per month

MarketWatch offers up-to-the-minute stock market news from around the world. They also provide data and analysis in real-time to help you make important financing decisions. In addition, they include some vital research tools but aren’t as robust as most other platforms.

A subscription to MarketWatch provides access to exclusive content, watchlists, and newsletters.

26. Daily Stocks

COST: $29.99 to purchase

Daily Stocks Pro is an iOS app that filters the stock market, finding stocks with the highest potential. You can get the following with the Daily Stocks app:

  • Stock scans
  • Candlestick charts
  • List of reversals
  • Technical indicators
  • Streaming quotes
  • Set up a watch list
  • Community discussion page

27. Yahoo Finance

COST: $24.99 – $34.99 per month

The Yahoo! Finance app delivers the latest market news and personalized alerts to help you make informed investing decisions. You’ll get all the information in real-time so you can act fast when something big happens. It’s not a very customizable app, so what you see is what you get, but if you’re looking for generalized market information, Yahoo! Finance is the place to get it.

28. Stock Guru

COST: $398

Stock Guru is a messaging program that offers real-time updates, analytics, and more to help you make investing decisions.

Subscribers get the following:

  • Watchlists
  • Real-time text alerts
  • Extensive research is done for you
  • Trading handbook
  • 15-minute strategy call
  • Access to exclusive webinars

29. EquitySet

COST: EquitySet offers a free subscription, but for more detailed charting and analyses, you must sign up for a premium account. There’s a free 7-day trial, and then they disclose the cost.

EquitySet rates over 4,500 stocks and their fair values for retail and professional investors. EquitySet offers stock research reports with the most critical data to make long-lasting decisions. It also includes:

  • Stock screeners
  • Top performers
  • Real-time charts
  • Important statistics and metrics
  • Company overviews
  • Dividends earnings
  • Competitor data
  • Market Insights

EquitySet’s goal is to help you make your own decisions. They don’t force buy or sell decisions on you but instead empower you with the information needed to make those decisions.

Best Stock Research Features to Consider

When looking for the best stock research programs, consider these features.

Price

Price is most important because it reduces your profits. Some apps can cost hundreds of dollars a month, and others are free. There are many between those two numbers, so know what you want to spend and focus on that price range.

Tools and Educational Resources

What tools and resources do you want? If you’re a beginner, you don’t want overwhelming information that will confuse you and make you not want to invest. However, if you’re experienced, you want an app that can meet your level of expertise and teach you more about investing.

Customer Support

Pay close attention to how you reach customer service. For example, some apps only allow email support, and others have 24/7 phone support. If you’re a frequent trader, chances are you’ll want more accessible customer service.

Tracking Tools and Watchlists

All stock research apps should have tracking tools and watchlists, but look at what’s offered in each subscription. Some limit your watchlist and tools to a smaller number, especially with free apps, so know what you need before choosing an app.

Charting Tools and Analytics

Charting tools and analytics are a big part of all stock apps. They can get complex, so ensure you know what you’re getting and that you can use the information. Look for specific features like backtesting and simulators to test your strategies.

What Your Stock Analysis Apps Should Do

Your stock app should do what you need to make profitable investment decisions. Of course, no two investors will have the same needs, but here’s what you should require overall.

Trusted and Transparent Research

Your stock research app should provide the research you need and can use. In addition, the app should be transparent in how they provide the information, what it costs, and how you can use it. The information should be actionable, including why you should choose a specific stock. You should get the rationale behind the decisions and not just a command to ‘buy or sell XYZ.’

Fundamental and Technical Analysis

All stock research apps should provide fundamental and technical analysis. The fundamental analysis refers to how a company handles its finances and management. The technical analysis refers to the stock price, history, and when you should buy or sell.

How to Choose Software for the Best Stock Analysis App

Choosing the right software for stock analysis is a big decision. Here’s how I choose the software for my needs.

  • Determine What Type of Trading You Will Do: First, determine the type of trading. As you noticed, some apps are for a day or swing traders, and others are for beginners or buy-and-hold investors. Next, decide what goals you have for your portfolios and use them to determine which app is right for you.
  • Your Market Choice: Some apps only focus on one market, while others are worldwide. Decide where you want to focus and choose the app accordingly.
  • Your Budget: As you saw, each app has different prices. Some are free but have limited features, while others cost hundreds of dollars a month. Decide how much you want to spend based on how actively you’ll invest and how frequently you want to trade.
  • Your Risk-Tolerance: If you’re a buy-and-hold investor, you probably want a simple app that provides basic information but nothing too overwhelming because you won’t trade often. On the other hand, if you’re a riskier investor and want to day or swing trade, your risk tolerance is higher, and you may need a more robust app with complex information.

Frequently Asked Questions

Stock research apps are a great addition to any brokerage account. Knowing the right app for you and using the information provided can be a game changer in your investing journey.

How do I find the best stocks to invest in?

To find the best stocks for beginners, you must look at your factors. What are you trying to achieve? How much can you invest? What is your risk tolerance? These answers will help you choose the right stocks.

What is the best free stock analysis software?

Seeking Alpha is one of the best free stock analysis software programs. Of course, they have a premium and pro version, but if you don’t mind ads, you’ll get robust information you can use without spending a dime with their free version.

Where should I invest $1,000 today?

Diversify your $1,000 investment into stocks, bonds, and other investments of varying risks. Don’t put it all in one stock or even all in the stock market. Instead, diversify and take advantage of different markets.

Why is stock analysis important to decision-making?

Stock analysis is crucial to investing because it gives you more angles to consider. You aren’t just investing in a company today but also relying on its past and future earnings.

Leave a Comment