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Scanning for new stock trades does not have to be a time consuming activity if you know the right websites to go to. The best free stock screeners offer investors the data and usability they need to efficiently screen for stock picks.
Like my list of the best free stock chart websites, this list focuses in on the best stock screeners and scanners available to stock traders and casual investors. The criteria used in this ranking includes depth of filter criteria, selection of both fundamental and technical filters, ease of use, and extra functionality.
Best Free Stock and ETF Screeners
- TradingView – Best Overall
- FINVIZ – Best Fundamental Screening
- TD Ameritrade – Best Real-time Stock Scanner
- Yahoo Finance – Basic and Simple
- MarketSmith – Best for CANSLIM investors
1. TradingView
TradingView (if first link doesn’t take you direct, try this one) is my favorite site for stock and ETF screening because the site offers the best overall combination of quality data and ease of use. The screener uses a modern HTML5 design, which makes it extremely user-friendly. The selection of fundamental and technical data available to screen is also vast, and customizing data ranges is a breeze. I love the fact that I can easily swap between ETFs only or stocks only. I also appreciate being able to screen by a large selection of market indices. Hands down, TradingView is my go-to site for free stock charts and free stock screening in 2020.
Pros: Fully featured stock and ETF screener with an excellent selection of fundamental and technical data. List alerts and advanced filter customization are all included for free.
Cons: Data exports and streaming real-time quotes requires paid subscription to TradingView Pro.
2. FINVIZ
The FINVIZ.com stock screener ranks second on my list of top screeners because of it large selection of criteria, user-friendly interface, and overall functionality. FINVIZ offers a thorough selection of both fundamental and technical data, and all results are cleanly shown. Perhaps my favorite feature is the ability to be able to hover over any stock ticker to see a chart pop up instantly. On the downside, there is no filter option to view only ETF or stock results.
Pros: Large selection of fundamental and technical criteria, easy to use, quick hover stock charts.
Cons: No way to filter only ETFs or only stocks and tool is not very mobile-friendly. Advanced features like data exporting, customized filters, and backtesting locked behind FINVIZ ELITE paywall.
3. TD Ameritrade
TD Ameritrade is a $0 online broker best known for its thinkorswim trading platform, which comes loaded with trading tools. For screening and scanning, I use the Stock Hacker tool. Like most other screeners, Stock Hacker is loaded with filter options. That said, Stock Hacker is best used as a real-time scanner, since the trading platform includes free real-time streaming stock quotes. For example, you can scan real-time for stocks with specific technical patterns like flags, channels, and wedges. As one can surmise, TD Ameritrade’s goal is to get you hooked on the trading platform so you fund your account and switch to the broker for everyday trading. TD Ameritrade was ranked first overall by StockBrokers.com in their 2020 Online Broker Review.
Pros: Includes streaming real-time data, easy to use, full feature set, and is built right into thinkorswim which means quick access to dozens of other trading tools.
Cons: To download and use thinkorswim, you at least have to open an account (no minimum deposit).
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4. Yahoo Finance
The Yahoo Finance stock screener is very basic, but what it lacks in its depth of technical and fundamental criteria to be filtered, it gains with simplicity. Alongside ease of use, the free stock screener includes free streaming quotes, ESG data filters, and results include columns of popular Yahoo Finance fundamental data. Also, in addition to a traditional results list, results can be viewed as a heatmap.
Pros: Simple, easy to use, includes streaming quotes and ESG filters, heatmap view.
Cons: Notably small list of criteria available for screening, “Rate of Return” and “Valuation” locked behind paywall, no data exporting supported.
5. MarketSmith
Rounding out my 2020 list of top stock screeners is MarketSmith. MarketSmith is the charting package from investors.com (Investors Business Daily). First, it is important to note that MarketSmith is not free, nor is it cheap. To gain access to the screener, which includes all the William O’Neil metrics and ratings, you have to subscribe. That said, the charting platform is terrific. All in all, for investors who are seeking access to proprietary fundamental ratings to help them identify and surface viable stock picks, then MarketSmith is worth a look.
Pros: Excellent charting package includes access to the screener alongside IBD’s entire list of proprietary ratings.
Cons: To gain access to the stock screener, you have to sign up for MarketSmith, which costs $149.95/month.
Have a question about stock screeners? What’s your favorite screener tool? Tweet this post and tag me, @InvestorBlain!
