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Stock Scanners and Software

  • Updated May 17, 2024
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Stock Scanners

Stock scanners and screeners are integral tools to search the markets for specific trading criteria. They are great for finding setups and stocks to trade. Stock screeners help narrow potential plays, save time, and create an edge or trading system. It’s important to rely on something other than a scanner to make your trading decisions. We’ve provided a list of some of the most popular companies. Just click any of the links to read our reviews.

List of the Best Stock Scanners

Stock Scanners
Trade Ideas Logo

Trade Ideas

Trade Ideas is our favorite stock scanner, and they are a household name in the industry. We love them because they’re easy to use once set up. They provide a ton of data with a simple interface, and their engineers constantly improve it. It helps us work smarter, not harder.

A high-of-day momentum scanner is important with day trading. Trades with massive volume, bullish breakouts, and high of the day are at our fingertips. This stock scanner is mostly associated with the day trading crowd. However, there is a setting or “channel” for every trader.

Day trading happens quickly, and you can get frustrated trying to find moves before they end. This scanner often finds stocks to trade before other stock screeners.

Trade Ideas has a default “channel bar” where you can easily access many different settings that will scan for stocks within a set niche. For example, biotech, volume, pre-market, options, and penny stocks, to name a few specific channels. Everything you could ever want to see is there for you to use. 

We like their option scanner because we know when option plays happen in real time. Whether you’re looking to trade calls and puts or spreads and condors, there’s a channel for you. They are top-notch compared to other stock scanners out there.

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Finviz Logo

FinViz

FinViz has free and paid options for its stock scanners. This is a browser-based scanner. There are many different filters available for you to scan. For example, you can scan for candlestick patterns, RSI, market cap, unusual volume, etc.

There is a scan for every trading and investing style. You can customize scans, save them, and share them with others. Here’s our free stock scanner for finviz pinch plays.

It has a feature on its home page called a heat map (pictured below). This is separated into sectors and shows you exactly what’s happening in the market. You also have access to major news sources and blogs.

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Finviz Heatmap
ThinkorSwim Review

ThinkorSwim

ThinkorSwim scanners have got you covered. They provide their stock scanners free to their clients who have a brokerage account with them. They have default scans you can use. However, you can also build and customize scans of your own. You’ll also have access to their simulated trading platform.

You can practice trading based on the tickers from the scan there. They also have a news section, and their charting is unmatched. This platform is probably one of the most popular platforms to trade from because it’s a one-stop shop.

You can access charting, technical analysis tools, alerts, news, and stock scanners to make a few without having to pay an arm and a leg. That, in and of itself, makes it great for new traders. 

When we started, many of our community members were looking for more economical platforms, and we’re big proponents of TOS. We recommend not spending money on fancy stock scanners until you can afford them. We show you how to use them daily in our trade rooms.

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TrendSpider Logo

TrendSpider

TrendSpider is the leader in algorithm trading, especially in technical analysis. Sometimes, we can make mistakes in drawing out trend lines and patterns, which can cause us to make a bad trade. This platform combines math and computers to give solid technical analysis.

They have automated Fibonacci Retracements. Which, because of the automation, have pinpoint accuracy. Just think of the edge that can give you as a trader. To have the most accurate profit targets drawn out for you.

They can also recognize candlestick patterns. You can choose which pattern to look for, analyze the chart, and highlight it. This platform also allows you to set alerts. A stock market scanner can find you the plays, and you can set the alerts to go off when they hit your criteria. 

They also have backtesting and multifactor alerts! That means you can be alerted when RSI drops below a certain level, and a specific trend line is tested, for example. They also have a pattern and indicator scanning tool. Do you love a good daily hammer candlestick with oversold RSI levels? Whatever setup you fancy, this platform lets you use their default scans to create and edit your own. 

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Blackbox Stocks Logo

BlackBox Stocks

Stock scanners like BlackBox Stocks are another one that impressed us. They are good for penny stocks, mid-caps, and options. This platform is all about ease, which means it is very convenient to use.They display everything on a single screen. You don’t have to go through different pages to find what you want.

It’s all right there at your fingertips. Their stock trading scanner alerts you to potential trades using high-frequency trading strategies. In this case, they look at pre-market and post-market information coupled with social media. They pair that with their scans, and you’ll be notified of potential plays.

Another great aspect of this scanner is its news feed. They have an all-day streaming news feed included in their membership. That means you don’t have to pay for a streaming news service on top of scanners. That in and of itself is a great value. They also call out trades they make, which is a huge bonus in helping you understand what they see and trade.

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Benzinga Logo

Benzinga Pro

Benzinga has a lot of features. Not only do you get a full news feed, but you also get rumors, analyst ratings, economic calendars, and sentiment indicators. You also get volume and price movers, options alerts, and trader floor commentary. 

Scanners like Benzinga Pro are another tool the Bullish Bears team uses. They are known for their news streaming service. We know the stock market is a tug-of-war between buyers and sellers. As a result, news moves markets. Being able to trade the news is key!

Traders need to be current on the happenings of stocks and the market. Earnings, management, news, and quarterly reports affect stocks.

As traders, you must focus on a lot to ensure your trade works. You can’t be distracted, and that means reading the news. Benzinga Pro has its Squawk feature. This feature audibly reads out breaking news to you. As a result, you’re not missing anything that could potentially affect trades before they hit the stock scanners. This is great if you’re looking for volatility. We are hunters of volatility as day traders. 

Awareness of potential volatility moves before everyone else gives you the edge and a better entry. Their scanner is another great part of their service. They can be by sector or, if left blank, for all stocks. If you’re an intraday trader, you can set their scanner to look at intraday time frames and scan accordingly.

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Stock Rover Logo

Stock Rover

Are you looking for probably the best fundamental stock screener out there? You’d be hard-pressed to find a better research tool out there. Why? Because they have so many powerful tools in one place. Comparing stocks against other stocks, find the safest plays to invest in.

Their site is web-based and accessible even on a tablet or phone. They compute fair values and margin of safety and warn you about trends (in either direction) that deserve your attention.

Also, they score companies for quality, growth, value, and sentiment, making it easy to decide what kind of stocks are hot and complete flops. As a technical trader, this is of huge value to me because it helps me understand why people are buying at support or selling at resistance without doing all the hard fundamental work (research).

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What Does a Stock Scanner Do?

Stock scanners allow traders to search for stocks based on volume, price, patterns, and specific technical indicators. They can identify potential trade setups by filtering stocks to designated criteria tailored to the trader’s requirements. Scanners and other trading tools or technical analyses are often used to confirm the trade setup.

It’s important to realize that scanners are only as good as the trader using them. They should be used as a guide to finding stocks to trade potentially, not for calling out trades for you. All trading decisions are ultimately your decision, not the technology that you’re using.

How Do You Use a Stock Scanner & Screener?

  • Screen, scan, and filter for specific stock criteria
  • Used for day trading, swing trading, or long-term trading
  • Filter by specific patterns or moving average setups
  • Search for stocks holding high of the day and looking to break out
  • Live screen the markets for momentum plays

Stock scanners are important trade tools. They can often get overlooked when you start because you learn many other things. However, stock scanners are great for narrowing down potential plays, saving time, and creating an edge or trading system you can rinse and repeat.

In a world filled with hundreds of thousands of stocks to trade, they are essential to becoming a profitable trader. We’ll show you how we use our scanners when we live stream each day in our trade rooms.

Final Thoughts: Stock Scanners

Please do your research before purchasing any scanners. The ratings above are our opinions and do not constitute a recommendation to go with any of these companies. We may receive affiliate commissions from scanners on this page. 

Frequently Asked Questions

Stock scanners are essential tools for traders to find stocks to trade, but they are only as good as the trader executing the trades. They can help you to determine potential stocks to trade up. It's up to you to decide if the setup is right to trade, which requires technical analysis and fundamental analysis research.

ThinkorSwim, TradingView, BarChart, FinViz, and Stock Rover each offer free stock scanners with the ability to upgrade to receive more customizable features.
  • Stock Scanners
  • Trading Journals
  • Charting Software
  • Fundamental Analysis Research
  • Technical Analysis Research
  • Stock Simulators
  • Trading Apps
  • Portfolio Management Software
  • High-speed Internet - needed to execute orders
  • Broker - choose a broker with high-speed order executions
  • Stock Scanners - day traders use scanners to find gap and go and momentum stocks
  • Breaking News - news tools are helpful to confirm why a stock is breaking out
  • Simulator - stock simulators are helpful for day traders to practice their trading strategies
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