Best Swing Trading Platforms and Software Tools

Home to one of the largest collections of swing trading indicators, TradingView stands out as probably the best swing trading platform in town.

One thing you need to keep in mind is that this is an advanced charting platform meaning it offers everything you’d expect from MT4 or MT5 plus a lot more. Once you’re on board TradingView you won’t need go for searching for anything else out there as everything is provided under one roof here.

By everything we’re talking about the charts, drawing tools, indicators, hot keys and all manner of tools one typically needs to analyze the markets.

And the best part? This platform offers a clean user interface that is minimalistic and user-friendly.

This all-round approach by TradingView is perhaps why the software is trusted by millions of active traders drawn from across the different markets ranging from crypto to stocks.

So, whether you are an experienced swing trader or a complete newbie, this is highly likely the best charting platform you will come across.

If you are an active trader, Moomoo is yet another trading platform you will want to check out. This suite comes with a host of powerful tools all of which are highly user friendly and beginner-friendly. The platform is pretty solid in such a manner that it would prove a perfect choice even for veteran traders.

One of the things we absolutely like about Moomoo is the fact that they have a commission-free trading policy. Unlike other brokers that charge you a commission each time you open a trade, these guys pretty much let you do that for free – and instead make their money through spreads. This win-win arrangement makes Moomoo one of the best platforms for anyone looking to protect their cash while trading.

Another perk that comes with trading on Moomoo is that they provide real-time access to Level 2 Market Data – and once again, this is all done at free of charge. 

And that not all, this platform provides you with all the stuff you need to excel, ranging from stock screening tools, heat mapping, institutional tracking, and even paper trading. And if you are a fun of fundamental analysis, this Moomoo has all the juice you need ranging from the latest earnings calendar to the earnings hub all of which go a long way in ensuring you enjoy a generous access to the latest financial information.

Trade Ideas is one of the industry favorites thanks to its unparalleled use of AI and customizability. At its very core, this platform is a technical analysis tool that brings together a variety of functionalities ranging from stock scanning, charting, training and education.

Talking about education, the platform provides one of the most robust user guides in the industry along with free daily support sessions. What’s more, the platform offers multiple video playlists which can come in handy in helping inexperienced traders sharpen their skills.

As we have already mentioned, Trade Ideas offers a variety of advanced features including advanced AI functionalities. In 2016, the platform launched its very own AI named “Holly” – often claimed to have outperformed the markets time and time again.

Unlike most other platforms, here the AI tools are used for more than just pattern recognition. Instead, these are fully-fledged trading assistants that can even open and close trades for you. If you are a swing trader, that’s the kind of flexibility you need to move your performance to the next level.

TrendSpider is one of the best alternatives for TradingView especially for anyone looking for a tool that excels at unusual options flow analysis as well as automated technical analysis.

Talking about automated technical analysis, Trendspider is renowned for the fact that it allows you to design your very own trading bots. So, whether you want to automate your chart analysis process or backtest some strategies, whatever it is, this is the perfect platform for you.

Trendspider deploys artificial intelligence (AI) to track Fibonacci retracements, break out points, candlestick, and trendline formations. In doing so it helps speed up your technical analysis enabling you arrive at trading decisions with remarkable ease and accuracy.

Overall, with TrendSpider you get to play around with over 200 technical indicators which you can use to identify potential entry/exit points, price patterns, reversal points, and trends in general.

Perhaps the platform’s main selling point is that it is adaptable – meaning it provides you with a versatile trading environment. Its unique features which include integrated indicator scanners and Raindrop candles highlight its unique approach.

And the best part? TrendSpider is always there to help you tailor your alerts and customize your entire analytics process. By combining adaptability with precision, this platform offers a unique package making it a leading contender for the best-rated swing trading alert service.

Known for its cutting-edge stock brokerage services, First Trade is one of the best platforms for swing traders. It provides a wide host of educational tools and is a fantastic choice for beginners.

Through First Trade, one can purchase all manner of securities ranging from cryptocurrency, options, stocks, ETFs, and mutual funds among others.

Regulated by SEC and FINRA, this platform comes with all the bells and whistles you would expect from a top-tier swing trading service. From friendly fees to mobile-compatibility and a great selection of asset classes – you name it.

The icing on the cake is that this service offers free options trades. We’re talking about $0 per trade and $0 per contract. On top of that, it has a variety of specialized tools such as Trade Ideas and OptionsWizard all meant to help you discover new trading opportunities.

And if you love to trade gaps, First Trades has exactly what you need thanks to its built-in ability to trade the market even in the pre- and after-market sessions.

FinViz (short for financial visualizations) is one of the highly rated stock screeners for swing traders. The powerful tool comes with a wide host of features specifically meant to help you identify potential trading opportunities. Thanks to this tool, you can conveniently identify stocks by filtering them on the basis of factors such as technical indicators, price, volume, and capitalization.

What’s more, the platform allows you to create custom filters that you can use for your unique style of trading – this is a big win for advanced traders tired of using premade filters.

The platform provides real-time quotes, news, and charts, enabling swing traders to keep up with the market trends.

 Above all, if you are fond of trading based on news developments, FinViz has all the muscle you need for that. In a nutshell, this is the best site to use whether you prefer technical, fundamental analysis or both. 

As a value investor you can always use the platform’s built-in tools to identify undervalued stocks on the basis of things such as price-to-book ratios, price-to-earnings ratio among other measurements. Likewise, as a growth investor, you can still bank on this tool to find high-earning stocks or once that have been recently upgraded.

We could go on and on but we think our point has been made – FinViz is among the richest swing trading platforms available out there.

Although not predominantly marketed as a swing trading platform, Think or Swim is fast becoming popular among short and medium-term traders. The desktop platform is fast, easy to use, and above all designed for popular operating systems among them Linux, Unix, Mac, and Windows.

The default layout of Think or Swim comes with a handy column (located on the left-hand side) which provides a number of functions including a chart, watchlist, news window, video screen and account data among others. Atop the list sits the main menu which is home to some of the popular perks of Think or Swim such as education, charts, trade, and scan.

Overall, as far as user-friendliness is concerned, Think or Swim offers what could easily be the best deal in the market.

The whole Think or Swim is a fantastic platform as it comes with all the indicators, scanners, and drawing tools you need to make it in the world of trading. 

Unfortunately, to be able to optimally use these features there is a steady learning curve involved compared to TradingView for example.

This is an excellent choice for complete newbies as well as intermediate traders. Worth noting is that the website boasts a really good user experience and their charts are some of the best you’ll come across. What’s more, this platform provides you with access to all manner of tradeable securities ranging from crypto and forex to options, ETFs, and even futures.

If you’re into options trading you’ll be glad to learn that WeBull has a zero-commission policy. Also, their futures prices stand at $0.25 per contract which is quite low.

Another notable aspect of WeBull is that it is entirely targeted at young investors thanks to its futuristic mobile application, low fees, neat interface, and best of all, a $0 account minimum policy. Another perk that comes with using WeBull is the absence of account inactivity or annual fees.

Despite all these cost-saving perks, WeBull offers some of the most advanced features any swing trader would desire and without skimping.

Swing Traders from all corners of the world troop to Robinhood for its fee-free policy especially on services that other brokerages charge for. 

Other than that, Robinhood boasts a sleek interface whether on mobile or desktop. In fact, beginning March 2024, the company started rolling out advanced updates that enable users to further customize their app dashboards. Part of these updates is the ability to track specific stocks – which is a boon for most swing traders.

24-hour trading is yet another perk that comes with Robinhood. The reason why this is a big deal is that it makes it possible to purchase your favorite assets even during after-market hours. This can come in handy especially if you happen to live outside the US or prefer to trade after normal business hours. Once again, this is a powerful feature that most stock trading companies are yet to start offering.

And although most pundits rate it below the likes of WeBull when it comes to usability, one thing is clear – the Robinhood ultra-low-cost approach is unbeatable. This is true especially considering that there are no ACH transfer fees, inactivity fees or annual account maintenance fees. Plus, you don’t even need to worry about maintain an account minimum and you can even trade crypto for free.

In a nutshell, Robinhood is a powerful platform every swing trader on a budget should seriously consider going for.

Conclusion

Swing trading is one of the most profitable forms of trading especially when done using the right tools. Whether you want to leverage the superior charting power of TradingView or simply want to automate everything using Trade Ideas, it is our hope that the list of platforms mentioned above will be of great use to you.

Remember, in some cases you may need a combination of tools or a few months of learning to be able to make good use of most of these tools.