The post Best Stock Research Platforms by Stjepan Kalinic appeared first on Benzinga. Visit Benzinga to get more great content like this.
Benzinga readers often choose Benzinga Pro or eToro as the best stock research platforms.
Every responsible investment starts with research. In the past, investors relied on a few sources and performed calculations and chart drawing on their own. Today, they find the best stock brokers for research.
Technology has changed this, and the information you need is accurate, fast and often free. As the retail market surges, the cloud access security broker market is projected to grow at a rate of 20% by 2025.
Learn more about the best stock research tools in place of stock brokers for research and how you can inform your investment planning now.
Quick Look Best Stock Research and Trading Platforms:
- Best for Active Day Trading: Benzinga Pro
- Best for Fundamental Analysis: Stock Rover
- Best for Mixed Portfolios: eToro
- Best for Stock Screening: Finviz
- Best for Niche Research: Seeking Alpha
- Best for Technical Analysis: Trading View
Contents
6 Best Stock Research Platforms
There are a number of stock research platforms on the market. Get started with our top picks, and find a service that meets your individual needs.
1. Best for Active Day Trading: Benzinga Pro
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Price: Free trial, $99 to $177 per month
Benzinga Pro is a real-time financial news trading platform designed for active traders. The interface is web-based and fully modular. With the options like many workspaces, split screens or pop-out windows, you will easily adjust it for your own style.
Beyond news, you will have access to other actionable data – unusual options activity, block trades, opening gaps and others.
Benzinga Pro is focusing on the speed and accuracy of the information. If you are a day trader who needs to stay on top of the latest news but can’t afford to watch the feed, you will appreciate the audio alerts. Through a “Squawk” service you can set an audio news feed to alert you for opportunities through the day.
2. Best for Fundamental Analysis: Stock Rover
Stock Rover is a comprehensive stock analysis and screening tool that gives investors access to high-quality research tools, educational content, expert analysis and more. Stock Rover goes well beyond standard analysis tools, offering account holders 1 of the most comprehensive sets of screening criteria and research qualifications that we’ve seen. For example, users can filter investment opportunities using over 650 metrics with Premium Plus access.
Stock Rover offers 4 different plan tiers, which can become confusing for new investors who aren’t exactly sure which tools they’ll use. However, free accounts offer a wide range of functionality that gives users a better feel for Stock Rover’s setup, along with a free trial of Premium Plus functionality. Getting started with a Stock Rover account is also exceptionally easy — we were able to open our free account in under 60 seconds.
Best For
- Professional investors who need high-quality analysis and research tools
- Visual learners who benefit from seeing data laid out using charts and graphs
- Anyone searching for the widest array of screening metrics
- Incredibly comprehensive range of investment analysis tools
- Over 650 screening criteria included on Premium Plus plans
- Simple account opening and brokerage account linking
- Free accounts available
- Wide variety of plan options that can be more confusing for new investors
Stock Rover is a cloud-based investment research platform that provides research tools, expert analysis, financial education and portfolio management. Since retail investors built the platform, you can expect the user experience to be of the highest level.
Stock Rover offers a free basic service and 3 different paid plans. Even the free plan includes valuable features like newsfeed and broker access integration.
The interface is well-organized and intuitive to use. If you are an investor who likes charts and graphics, you will love Stock Rover’s streamlined data visualization tools.
Advanced features are where this platform reaches the full potential. Even if you rely on advanced metrics like Piotroski F-Score or Altman Z-score, you can still expect to find them all there, along with hundreds of others.
Although Stock Rover might be overwhelming for new users, it’s among the leading services for stock analysis.
3. Best for Mixed Portfolios: eToro
eToro is a broker that offers access to over 25 of the world’s most popular cryptocurrencies and 1600 stocks. They have a few unique education and useability tools. Traders can begin buying and selling in as little as 10 minutes.
eToro’s unique CopyTrader feature allows new investors to “copy” the buy orders of professional investors, while the company’s eToro Club feature provides investors with a range of additional education tools and resources.
Best For
- Traders looking for an easy-to-use platform
- Traders who want to practice their trades using a virtual account before entering the market
- Simple platform that is easy to master
- CopyTrader feature that allows new traders to copy the same strategies used by professionals
- Virtual dummy account that gives you $100,000 to practice trades
- High non-trading fees
eToro is a platform known for its cryptocurrency options, stocks and ETFs. While you can research your stocks within the platform, you also get the benefit of a powerful trading experience that includes:
- Full or fractional stocks
- Trade with as little as $10
- Mix crypto and stocks in one portfolio
- Zero commissions
When you use eToro, you also have access to a massive amount of information from detailed price charts to technical analyses of every stock. You can review current events, compare the risk presented by a stock to your current holdings and invest with wisdom.
4. Best for Stock Screening: Finviz
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Price: Free, $24.96 to $39.50 per month
Finviz is a web-based stock research platform. Since its launch in 2007, the platform has kept its simple yet functional interface.
Finviz is known for its excellent stock screening capabilities. You can easily filter stocks based on the various parameters:
- Fundamental: Price/earnings, price/free cash flow, debt/equity and many others
- Technical: Beta, average true range, below/above moving averages
- Descriptive: Sector, market cap, dividend yield
Advanced features like customized filters, portfolio alerts or data export are available in a premium plan.
The only downside is the platform offers data only for U.S. markets – NYSE, the Nasdaq and Amex.
5. Best for Niche Research: Seeking Alpha
Seeking Alpha, the world’s largest investment community platform, provides investors with excellent financial informational content on stocks, exchange-traded funds (ETFs) and cryptocurrencies. The company has been at the forefront of alternative financial services since 2004 when it was founded by Wall Street analyst David Jackson.
Seeking Alpha focuses on facilitating its subscribers’ wealth building and portfolio growth through providing extensive research on stocks and other assets. Seeking Alpha also empowers investors to make more informed investment decisions with a high-quality blend of fundamental analysis tools, market data, reliable news and crowdsourced debate.
In addition to a free Basic service, the company currently offers 2 paid subscription products: Seeking Alpha Premium that caters to most investors and Seeking Alpha Pro that is aimed at high net worth individuals and investment professionals. The company also provides access to its Seeking Alpha Marketplace that lets you choose from more than 150 paid investment services.
Best For
- Investors
- Stock traders
- ETF traders
- World’s largest crowdsourced investment community
- In-depth financial market research
- Opinion and informational articles by highly experienced professionals
- Crowdsourced debate lets you interact directly with other traders or investors
- Focuses mostly on U.S. and Canadian stocks
Price: Free, $19.99 to $299.99 per month
Seeking Alpha (SA) is a crowd-sourced investment research platform. It provides news, analysis and data to financial market investors through its website and mobile app.
SA operates a Freemium business model, offering the basic service for free and more advanced features like dividend grades, quant ratings or short ideas through a monthly subscription.
The crowdsourcing model draws a lot of interest to the platform, and you can find research on almost every niche. You will have to read through a lot of material to gain a broad perspective and find the quality authors that match your interests.
6. Best for Technical Analysis: TradingView
TradingView is a powerful stock screener, charting platform and research powerhouse providing a massive range of tools investors can use to learn more about the markets. Some of TradingView’s most impressive features include its fully operational mobile app, wide range of screening criteria, custom script incorporation and much more.
In addition to charting and research tools, TradingView also offers a wide range of educational tools. View news feeds associated with each asset, read articles, view real-time market data and even watch livestreams with professional traders to improve your skills. Paper trading accounts are also available to help you master TradingView’s wide selection of tools.
Although TradingView’s content can be overwhelming for newer traders and investors, the platform remains among the most impressive research hubs on the internet.
Best For
- Professional investors
- Investors with programming experience
- Traders who need minute-by-minute updates
- Impressive selection of research tools
- Comprehensive stock screening
- Free accounts available
- Wide selection of engaging educational resources
- Customer service choices not all-inclusive
- Higher-tier plans out of some investors’ budgets
- Certain areas of the website poorly organized
Price: Free, $14.95 to $59.95 per month
TradingView is a cloud-based platform that focuses on advanced charting and the social aspect of trading. If you rely on technical analysis, you’ll find useful tools on TradingView regardless of your strategy.
Beyond the advanced charting technology, the platform is also known for:
- Free and accurate market data: Even on the free plan you will have access to numerous data feeds from 40+ exchanges.
- Active community: TradingView has an active community of traders and analysts. You will find fresh ideas every day, conveniently classified by type and asset class. You can easily follow and interact with your favorite authors.
- Mobile app: If you are often on the move, you’ll love the mobile app. Due to the full account sync, all the work you do on the web platform will be automatically accessible from your mobile device (and vice-versa).
What is a Stock Research Platform?
The stock research platform is a financial information provider. It can take various forms, but the most common is a cloud-based web platform. While some platforms provide you with elaborate opinions, others give you the tools to gather information and make your own conclusions.
Here are few questions to guide your comparison of platforms:
- Do you need real-time data?
- Are you focusing on descriptive or diagnostic analytics?
- Do you need advanced charting features?
- Do you need broker access?
- Are you investing in a small niche or foreign markets?
Best Online Stock Brokers for Research
To purchase stocks, you need to open a brokerage account. If you need a broker, check our list of favorite online brokers and the table below.
Interactive Brokers is a comprehensive trading platform that gives you access to a massive range of securities at affordable prices. You can buy assets from all around the world from the comfort of your home or office with access to over 150 global markets. Options, futures, forex and fund trading are also available, and most traders won’t pay a commission on any purchase or sale.
IBKR is geared primarily toward experienced traders and investors but now with the availability of free trades with IBKR Lite, casual traders can also acclimate to IBKR’s offerings.
Best For
- Access to international markets
- Active traders
- Detailed mobile app that makes trading simple
- Wide range of available account types and tradeable assets
- IB SmartRouting provides significant price improvement vs. industry
- Fractional trading allows investing regardless of share price
- Industry’s lowest margin rates
- Earn more by lending your fuly-paid shares
- Beginner investors might prefer a broker that offers a bit more hand-holding and educational resources
Magnifi is an intelligently designed marketplace that allows investors to access data-backed information about various investment opportunities. The company combines standard brokerage tools with artificial intelligence (AI) to promote financial competence. Magnifi distinguishes itself from the crowd by offering an AI-powered search feature and an AI-powered investment assistant. Magnifi offers a technology-forward platform that aims to promote confident and capable long-term financial investments.
Best For
- Long-term investors
- Individuals interested in personalized assistance
- New investors that are eager to learn how to start investing
- Access to an AI-powered investing assistant with a Magnifi Personal account
- Commission-free investing
- Over 15,000 possible investments
- Available mobile application
- Limited methods of communication with customer service
CenterPoint Securities is ideal for active traders who demand access to advanced tools and services. While investors and casual traders are likely to be content with the basic offerings of traditional online brokerages, active traders will benefit from CenterPoint’s suite of advanced trading tools. If you value execution quality, access to short inventory, advanced trading platforms, and accessible customer service, CenterPoint is an excellent choice.
Best For
- Intermediate to Advanced traders
- High-volume traders
- Momentum traders
- Short sellers
- Unrivaled access to short inventory
- Flexible order routing for improved executions
- Discounts for active traders
- Advanced platform with fast executions
- Reliable customer service
- Not designed for beginner or low-volume traders
Webull, founded in 2017, is a mobile app-based brokerage that features commission-free stock and exchange-traded fund (ETF) trading. It’s regulated by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA).
Webull offers active traders technical indicators, economic calendars, ratings from research agencies, margin trading and short-selling. Webull’s trading platform is designed for intermediate and experienced traders, although beginning traders can also benefit.
Webull is widely considered one of the best Robinhood alternatives.
Best For
- Active traders
- Intermediate traders
- Advanced traders
- No account maintenance fees or software platform fees
- No charges to open and maintain an account
- Intuitive trading platform with technical and fundamental analysis tools
- Does not support trading in mutual funds, bonds or OTC stocks
This publicly listed discount broker, which is in existence for over four decades, is service-intensive, offering intuitive and powerful investment tools. Especially, with equity investing, a flat fee is charged, with the firm claiming that it charges no trade minimum, no data fees, and no platform fees. Though it is pricier than many other discount brokers, what tilts the scales in its favor is its well-rounded service offerings and the quality and value it offers its clients.
Best For
- Novice investors
- Retirement savers
- Day traders
- World-class trading platforms
- Detailed research reports and Education Center
- Assets ranging from stocks and ETFs to derivatives like futures and options
- Thinkorswim can be overwhelming to inexperienced traders
- Derivatives trading more costly than some competitors
- Expensive margin rates
How Research Platforms Help Investors
Investing without research is investing blindly. Modern research platforms help you by delivering fast and accurate data in a convenient format.
Regardless of your experience, budget or investing style, you will be able to find a platform that suits your needs. However, remember not to spend too much time on it. Like everything in economics – research also has diminishing returns.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I invest without a broker?
Yes. You can through a direct stock plan (DSP), but it is limited to companies that offer it. Also, you would deal with every individual company whose stock you want to buy. Using an online brokerage account is a more streamlined process allowing you to buy or sell any security from anywhere.
Can brokers steal your money?
Yes. But now it is rare since it is much easier to follow the digital print that money leaves. However, regulation has played layers of security that protect you from such scenarios. Brokers have to keep your funds separated from their capital so you don’t lose the funds in case of their insolvency. Your funds are protected through the Securities Investor Protection Corporation (SIPC) up to the sum of $500,000 ($250,000 for cash).
Which stock brokers for researsch are best?
Check out Benzinga’s guide to the best stock brokers for research above.
The post Best Stock Research Platforms by Stjepan Kalinic appeared first on Benzinga. Visit Benzinga to get more great content like this.
