Best Stock Screeners and Scanners For Day Trading

Updated July 25, 2024

Are you a new investor looking for a stock screener to help you dive into stock trading? Or are you an expert trader looking for stock screener options different from your current ones? 

Stock screeners are vital research tools for investors who want to make a solid presence in the trading world. They provide a summary of different parameters per the search criteria, making it easy for investors to narrow down the stocks they want to work with.

Unfortunately, there are tons of stock screeners available out there in the world meaning it can be time-consuming and tiresome to navigate through the many choices available. So, we decided to delve deep into this topic and come up with a comprehensive list of the best stock screeners for the money.

Hopefully, this list will make it easy for you to find a screener that changes your investment strategy for the better.

#1

Trade Ideas

Trade Ideas is a platform that provides traders with real-time stock scanning, strategy backtesting, and automated trading tools to help them generate and execute profitable trading ideas.

4.5 of 5 stars

#2

TradingView

TradingView is a web-based platform that offers advanced charting tools, social networking features, and stock market analysis for traders and investors of all skill levels.

4.5 of 5 stars

#3

Zacks 

Zacks Investment Research is a leading provider of independent investment research, offering analysis, ratings, and recommendations on stocks to help investors make informed decisions.

4 of 5 stars

#4

Seeking Alpha

Seeking Alpha is a platform for investment analysis, providing articles, research, and market commentary from stock market experts and individual contributors to help investors make better-informed decisions.

4 of 5 stars

#5

TC2000

TC2000 is a comprehensive trading platform that offers advanced charting tools, real-time data, and scanning capabilities to assist traders in making informed decisions in the stock market.

4 of 5 stars

#6

BlackBoxStocks

Blackbox stocks is a stock trading platform that provides users with real-time alerts, advanced options trading tools, and a community-driven approach to help traders identify profitable opportunities in the market.

4 of 5 stars

#7

FINVIZ

Finviz is a stock market research platform that offers a variety of tools including stock screening, technical analysis, and market news aggregation to help traders and investors make informed decisions.

4 of 5 stars

#8

Stock Rover

StockRover is a stock research platform that provides users with powerful screening tools, in-depth fundamental analysis, and portfolio management capabilities to help investors build their investment portfolios effectively.

4 of 5 stars

Top 8 Best Stock Screeners and Scanners in 2024

This list details some of the best stock screeners on the market today. In summary the top names in our selection are as follows:

1. Trade Ideas


Trade Ideas is an excellent platform for swing or day traders who love taking on new opportunities. Being vast, new users can find it hard to understand the platform. Additionally, many traders are good at analyzing technical data but can't comprehend complex data quickly, yet time is of the essence in trading. But thanks to AI inclusion, the platform users get instant suggestions and relevant data for convenient trading.

The comprehensive charting features of Trade Ideas make it stand out. The capability of users to open/view up to 20 different charts simultaneously is beneficial for traders to analyze and compare assets. It's also easy to adjust the timeframes of your search from shorter (minutes) to longer (months or years). Also, the wide range of technical indicators helps traders to customize charts for detailed analysis.

Traders can use the pre-built stock scans or use customizable ones for efficient results. With the unique odds maker backtesting tool, traders can past-check the effectiveness of a specific strategy before trying it out. Notably, the site only deals on Canadian and US-listed stocks. Trade Ideas has no free plan; it has a standard one of $84/month and a premium plan of $167/month. 

Pros

  • Detailed stock scanning
  • Customizable scans
  • Great backtesting tool
  • Helpful AI integration
  • Dedicated education and training resources

Cons

  • Complex interface
  • Limited to Canadian and US-listed stocks

2. TradingView


TradingView's powerful stock scanner and technical analysis function make it a go-to stock screener for many traders. Users get data tradable assets, including ETFs, OTC shares, and stocks, making their selection process easy. The technical analysis features include custom indicators and different timeframes.

The social community network for traders on the platform allows them to share charts and ideas on improving their trading strategies. TradingView has a charting interface with features like stock screener, financial data, trading volume, test trading strategies, and alerts. The results of each search are viewable in a table format for easy sorting or further filtering. 

Any drawbacks encountered during the data search may be due to information overload. In this case, you can't include custom indicators such as S&P500 relative chart in the scan. Beginner traders can use the 30-day free trial option to try the platform before subscribing to the $12.95 up to $14.95 monthly subscription plans.

Pros

  • Multiple built-in indicators
  • Includes international funds
  • Great social community network
  • Ideal for both beginner and expert investors
  • Free-trial plan

Cons

  • Has many features that can be overwhelming
  • Has many features that can be overwhelming

3. Zacks


Whether you would like to research the fundamental aspects of a company or look into technical issues like stock charting, Zacks will do that for you. You can choose your most relevant stocks from the multitude of selection criteria as per your search criteria. Alternatively, you can use the excellent predefined stock screens to search for specific companies that meet your trading strategies. 

Zacks's unique ranking algorithms help provide insights into current dividend income data, stock price strength, and fundamental data analysis. It is available in over 200 countries, and its users can trade on over 90 international market exchanges. This explains why the platform is great for active traders, options traders, and investors interested in foreign stock exchanges. 

While Zacks doesn't have a free plan, it has a 30-day free trial period, and if you don't like it, there's a 90-day money-back guarantee. However, the free version displays content based on past performances and can prove hard to keep up with current market trends. The premium Zacks plan costs $249 annually, while the ultimate plan is $2,995 per year.

Pros

  • Offers access to international exchanges
  • Custom screeners
  • Unique ranking algorithms
  • Provides both technical and fundamental analysis
  • Robust screening criteria

Cons

  • No free plan

4. Seeking Alpha


The Seeking Alpha stock analysis website is ideal for investors who want crowdsourced opinions on OTC and listed stocks, mainly in the United States. Users are free to contribute views and research articles, while readers can also freely comment. In addition to user-generated research, the platform rates stocks based on Wall Street analysis, aggregate contributors' ratings, and its quantitative rating.

Depending on the above aspects, the site assigns grades and ratings for each stock from 1 to 5. Other factors like momentum, growth, value, profit rate, and EPS revisions are graded from A to F.  Despite all these ratings, Seeking Alpha doesn't include filters for technical analysis and price action. Therefore, the platform isn't great for traders interested in technical analysis of market metrics.

There are three pricing options: basic (free), premium, and pro. The three payment plans make Seeking Alpha suitable for beginner and expert traders. The basic version offers users limited access to specific specs. The premium plan costs $239 annually and provides all screener ratings, data ratings, and user-generated research ideas. Finally, the pro plan, which costs $499 annually, grants access to exclusive interviews, top ideas, and newsletters.

Pros

  • Customizable screeners
  • In-depth stock analysis
  • A free plan
  • Great stock ranking system
  • Awesome community for idea sharing

Cons

  • Mostly ideal for self-guided investors
  • Limited access to foreign exchanges

5. TC2000


TC2000 has, for over 20 years, tirelessly offered traders excellent stock scanning and screening services. It includes a trading platform, charting, and a stock filter covering options and ETFs. Users can access the platform through a desktop application, browser, or mobile app. The platform is popular among day traders as it helps them manage charts, order positions, and use the market scanner on a single page. 

You can customize the screening criteria and lay it on top stock charts to make visual charts. This charting capability makes TC2000 exceptional from other stock screeners. There's also an option for you to modify alerts to get timely updates after the proper alignment of your custom combination. 

The platform is user-friendly and thus great for beginner traders. Moreover, they can use the free version and then proceed to the premium one for $10 per month, which is still lower than most stock screeners on this list. Users can also use this web-based platform by installing its robust mobile app.

Pros

  • Great mobile app
  • User and beginner-friendly
  • Customizable screens
  • Budget-friendl
  • Free plan available

Cons

  • No crypto
  • Requires high-resolution monitors for best results

6. BlackBoxStocks


BlackBoxStocks provides swing and day traders with the best technical analysis tools for efficient trading. Some primary features include live streaming, trade alerts, live discord, dark pool data, and a robust stock/options scanner. Traders have a choice of scanners: options flow scanner, premarket/post-market scanner, automated trading scanner, and dark pool scanner.

In the morning, the premarket scanner shows you the biggest market movers on NASD/NYSE. On the other hand, the options scanner analyses the data to display real-time market trends. The dark pool scanner is an advanced tool that dives into mysterious markets and gives related timely results.  

The volatility indicator is handy for monitoring the movement of stocks or options. Moreover, the Alert Logs Volatility tab is helpful for guidance on directions, market actions, stock trends, etc. Traders can use the uncensored social community platform to engage with other traders. BlackBoxStocks subscription plans are $99.97 monthly and $959 annually.

Pros

  • Provides dark pool data
  • Ideal for options trading
  • Automated trading scanner
  • Live discord
  • Provides detailed data on stocks

Cons

  • Quite expensive monthly subscription prices

7. FINVIZ


FINVIZ is a platform that's primarily known for its stock screening capabilities. However, it doesn't only offer stock screening; it also provides other financial market visualization features like forex, backtests, features, and crypto. The FINVIZ platform's ability to incorporate technical, descriptive, and fundamental analysis helps traders get a quick overview of current market trends. 

Other notable features include heat maps, news, insider trading, economic calendars, and data summaries of their performance. Though the interface layout can seem busy to new users, it's easy to master. Though FINVIZ has no mobile app, users can access the website from any device.

This stock scanner helps traders scan thousands of US-listed stocks to a few of the best stocks they can buy or sell. Traders can use either the free or paid version of FINVIZ, which is a plus for new users who want to try it. The paid version, FINVIZ Elite, has a monthly subscription plan of $39.50 and $299.50 per year. Premium users get data on real-time stock prices, backtesting, and customizable screener settings. 

Pros

  • Has a free plan
  • Robust filters
  • Offers after-market data analysis
  • Simple user interface
  • Offers market visualization

Cons

  • No preset screeners
  • Limited to US stocks

8. Stock Rover


This popular scanner is ideal for buying and holding stock traders into long-term investments. The screener in-cooperates 140 preset scans, although users can customize their scans featuring about 500 metrics.

Besides fundamental analysis, the site has tools that deal with portfolio management. You can link the tools to all your brokerage accounts to help balance and analyze your portfolio. 

The free plan includes data analysis and portfolio management tools but no scanner. An essentials plan of $7.99/month is limited to a scan of 250 metrics and some essential data analysis tools. A premium plan of $17.99/month, exports data, includes multiple metrics charts and scans using over 350 metrics. 

As per the price plans above, it is inarguable that Stock Rover is the best stock screener for traders interested in dividend and value investing. Similarly, the subscription costs are on the lower end, thus making it the best fit for investors interested in a budget-friendly site that still offers quality data. 

Pros

  • Provides portfolio rebalancing
  • Customizable scans
  • Detailed data analysis
  • Allows integration with brokerage accounts
  • Budget-friendly

Cons

  • Not beginner-friendly
  • Many features require third-party brokerage linkage

How do you choose the best stock screeners?

Whether you are a stock picker or day trader, you should be interested in accessing platforms that offer detailed data analysis. The platforms should have outstanding screeners that can sift quickly through the thousands of stocks on the global market. This allows you to make real-time decisions on which stocks to invest in.

If you are a new trader, start with stock screeners with free options like Seeking Alpha, TC2000, Zacks, Trading View, and FINVIZ. As you learn the trade and gain more confidence, you can move to robust and detailed stock screening tools like Trading Ideas and Stock Rover. 

Start trading with low amounts of money and steadily increase with time as you advance from a beginner to a pro trader. Think of trading as a gambling game and not an investment. Rule of thumb: always trade with money you can afford to lose. 

Factors for choosing the best stock screeners

The massive number of stock screening tools on the market makes it hard for traders to select ones that fit their investment criteria. The selection process can be time-consuming and costly (in terms of data).

Here are the aspects we used to narrow down the above list of best stock screeners:

  • Clarity of purpose - Before choosing a particular stock screener, you should know the type of traders it can serve. Is it specialized in stock trading alone, or does it offer other services like forex, options, and crypto?
  • Value and cost - The above products offer competitive prices at premium rates to ensure you get value for money. Some platforms like Trading View, FINVIZ, and Seeking Alpha offer free versions to allow users to try them out before paying the subscription fees.
  • Ease of use - Some platforms have easy-to-use interfaces, give timely alerts, have customizable screeners, or have mobile apps for easy accessibility. Others are web-based platforms or have a complex interface that takes users time to understand.
  • Range of available markets - Many traders focus on specific markets to trade their assets and stocks. A stock screener with a wide variety of markets is essential to traders interested in investing in multiple markets. Hence, they will look for stock screener platforms capable of handling their investment needs.

Conclusion

Aspiring, intermediate, and expert investors are always looking for ways they can use to remain on top of the game. Stock screeners are vital tools investors can rely on to suit their long-term and short-term goals.

With the above diverse stock screener options, investors can confidently venture into stock trading. The main pointers to look for when searching for the best stock screeners are the features, pricing, and simplicity of use. 

Jerry Garnes

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About the Author

Jerry Garnes is a seasoned writer in personal finance. His informative and insightful pieces have been featured by esteemed platforms like Bankrate, The Street, and Business Insider. In addition to his financial expertise, Jerry is a passionate poet and musician with a deep love for nature.

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