Best Stock Charts (Reviewed & Compared)

The ability to precisely analyze stocks is crucial for any serious investor or trader. We've tested the leading platforms to find the top contenders including our top-rated pick TradingView which scored the highest based on our criteria. Here is our final selection of the best free stock charts.

List of the Best Free Stock Charts

Here are our selections for the best free stock charts, summarized.

1. TradingView (overall best free stock charts)
2. MetaTrader 4 (best downloadable stock chart software)
3. Koyfin (free stock charting with portfolio information)
4. BigCharts (100% free stock charts)
5. BarChart (best for comparing financial information against an asset)
6. Yahoo Finance (best stock charting platform for beginners)
7. Stock Rover (free stock charts with market information)

Free Stock Charts Compared

To make it easier to determine which free stock charts are best, we've included a table comparing each platform's key features below:

Top Stock Charts Reviewed

1. TradingView - Overall Best Free Stock Chart

TradingView, used by over 50 traders and investors worldwide,is our top pick for the best free stock charts because it supports several asset classes, aggregates prices across multiple stock markets, and supports custom Pine Script. While it may seem, on the surface, that TradingView caters solely to experienced, active traders, the platform's intuitive interface makes it perfect for beginners, too.

While some may prefer the MetaTrader software, TradingView is web-based and available as a desktop or mobile app. It also doesn't require linking a broker account. Therefore, TradingView is far more accessible to on-the-go traders as well as people wishing to check prices and plot technical analysis strategies without being restricted to a certain broker's supported assets.

The market-leading free stock charting software, available in light and dark modes, already comes bundled with over 75 technical indicators and a complete suite of drawing tools for performing technical analysis. You can also save multiple layouts to separate macro and intraday charts. However, one of the biggest advantages of TradingView versus other free charts is its focus on user-generated content.

TradingView lets people create custom scripts and strategies, elevating users above the status quo. Thousands of community scripts are available, including spins on typical indicators like a Relative Strength Index (RSI) impact heat map or entirely new scripts like Golden Pocket. TradingView's editors collate their top picks, and users can view how many likes a script has to determine its viability.

While its selection of technical indicators and custom scripts already cements TradingView as the best platform for performing detailed analysis, the company also lets you overly company financial information, like operating income or research and development expenses, to help you determine how a company is performing on a fundamental level, improving users' decision making.

Another extremely useful feature is the ability to compare two assets on the same chart. Ideal when trying to determine which trade offers the most profit potential or comparing two companies to get an idea of the wider market, it's an invaluable tool not offered by all the free stock chart websites we've reviewed. TradingView also offers multi-charting support, but it's restricted to paid plans.

Although it boasts one of the most feature-rich and unrestricted free TradingView plans, there are benefits to acquiring a paid TradingView subscription. You can set up multiple charts on one screen, add more technical indicators to a chart, and create several automated alerts that will inform you via email when an asset hits a certain price or activates a certain strategy or indicator.

TradingView collates prices from multiple stock markets and offers a phenomenal variety of useful features in its free version. Users can pay between $12.95 and $49.95 for monthly subscriptions, offering vastly increased limits and quality-of-life improvements. However, with the platform providing traders and investors with everything they need at zero cost, TradingView offers the best stock charts.

Pros

• Custom scripting support
• All critical features are available for free
• Aggregates prices across multiple brokers/stock markets
• Accessible to every device

Cons

• Large price jump between paid plans

Create a free account with TradingView to analyze the markets.

2. MetaTrader 4 - Best Downloadable Stock Charts

Alongside TradingView, MetaTrader is the most popular option for people searching for the best free stock charts. The downloadable software connects to a brokerage account, letting users execute trades directly within the software. MetaTrader is a highly advanced charting platform with massive customizability, perfect for anyone looking for a professional-grade day trading platform.

MetaTrader connects directly to your brokerage account, so its supported assets vary based on which platform you're using. Furthermore, it's worth noting that you'll receive separate account details for each brokerage account and may have to download a separate MetaTrader client, which can be rather convoluted. However, WebTrader lets users access MetaTrader's features online, boosting accessibility.

MetaTrader lets users access a multitude of popular technical indicators so that they can perform detailed chart analysis without switching to another platform. Like TradingView, MetaTrader offers drawing tools so you can perform analysis on live price data. However, accessing the tools is far more cumbersome as they're obscured by multiple drop-down menus, making them harder to use.

MetaTrader 4 offers unparalleled customizability. The free stock chart software lets users change chart size and the number of charts to their exact preferences, a rarely seen feature that makes comparing assets a breeze. Moreover, you can load custom indicators/scripts or purchase them directly from other traders using the in-built marketplace, meaning you're not limited to MetaTrader's in-the-box tools.

MetaTrader is completely free and doesn't charge its users any commission, making it a strong choice for anyone looking for a feature-rich platform with one-click trading. However, your broker must support MetaTrader for you to be able to use the software, which could cause some compatibility issues.

MetaTrader is one of the best free stock chart apps for people requiring advanced charts at zero cost. However, the platform's outdated interface leaves much to be desired and significantly complicates the platform, possibly limiting its reach to experienced traders who've previously used external charting/trading software.

Pros

• Entirely free
• Support for custom indicators/scripts
• Can connect to a broker for one-click trading

Cons

• Outdated interface
• Not supported by all brokers

3. Koyfin - Best Free Stock Chart With Market Dashboard

Why we picked it

Koyfin is an innovative stock charting dashboard offering a massive amount of market information in a busy yet straightforward package. While the platform could be daunting for new investors as it throws a lot at users, its info-packed interface will appeal to experienced traders needing to quickly compare macroeconomic factors, company information, and market details to make an informed buy/sell decision.

Unlike TradingView, available online or as a desktop/mobile app, Koyfin is exclusively web-based, meaning you'll need a computer to extract ample value from the platform. While unlikely to dissuade people with a desktop trading setup, if you frequently move around and trade while at work or away from home, portability is a critical factor and a major benefit of using TradingView.

Koyfin has designed its interface very well. Users can access technical indicators, market information overlays, and a complete drawing tool suite with just a few clicks. However, although the platform supports popular indicators like Bollinger Bands or EBITDA, many less widely used indicators available on TradingView, like the Awesome Oscillator, still need to be added to Koyfin.

The largest benefit to Koyfin is its customizable dashboards. You can compare and add company overviews, valuations, and performance to a dashboard, making it easy to determine how the market is fairing with a quick glance. You can change sizing, display companies, and create multiple dashboards to switch interfaces for different workflows, like intraday or day trading.

Koyfin offers a free plan that contains the majority of its features but with certain limits. For example, free users can only create two dashboards. However, the $39 monthly plan increases limits substantially, while the $79 subscription lifts limits entirely, offering users unrestricted access to the platform and all its services.

Koyfin is one of the most innovative free stock charting apps. It lets users browse lots of information on a single screen, helping experienced traders/investors streamline their workflow and offering more time for finding profitable opportunities. While the platform could be challenging for novices to use, it's ideal for seasoned traders requiring market information more than technical indicators or scripting support.

Pros

• Highly customizable
• Plenty market information
• Can create multiple dashboards

Cons

• Only available online
• Some technical indicators are missing

4. BigCharts - Best Entirely Free Stock Charts

Why we picked it

BigCharts is a free service provided by MarketWatch that lets users browse stock charts, analyze price data, and perform detailed analysis. While the interface needs to be updated, BigCharts is highly functional, offering many technical indicators and the ability to compare charts. Therefore, the platform could be best for people with a strict budget who require detailed financial charts.

BigCharts is available exclusively via web browser - no mobile app or desktop download exists. For our review of the best free stock charts, we tested BigCharts on mobile. We were disappointed to find the site is poorly optimized with a chart so small it's almost impossible to perform meaningful analysis. Therefore, if mobile support is a priority, an option with a dedicated app is worth considering.

Despite being outdated, BigCharts still offers ample analysis tools. Users can set up common overlays like Moving Averages, Money Flow, and MACD. However, BigChart offers far fewer indicators than TradingView and MetaMask. Furthermore, drawing directly on the chart is not supported by BigCharts, making it challenging to spot trades or critical price levels.

BigCharts is a no-frills charting platform and doesn't offer many features outside the typical. However, the platform lets users compare two assets or a particular stock against an index like the S&P 500, which helps determine the strength of an asset against the wider market.

Despite not packing as many features as TradingView or MetaTrader, BigCharts remains a perfectly capable platform for performing quick analysis at zero cost. Although the platform's lack of drawing tools will impact its usefulness in the hands of professional traders, having access to a charting platform with zero costs is massively helpful for beginners making their first foray into the market.

Pros

• 100% free
• Compare assets and indices
• Access to many indicators

Cons

• No drawing tools
• Overly basic charts

5. BarChart - Best for Charting Company Financials

Why we picked it

BarChart is another excellent option for investors and traders seeking free stock charts. The company offers an outstanding depth of information on particular assets and the wider market. Furthermore, BigCharts provides a comprehensive set of indicators and drawing tools, making it a great platform if you base your investing decisions on macroeconomic factors or company financials.

Like BigChart, BarChart is available as a web platform exclusively. Therefore, if you want to perform analysis on a dedicated app, you'll need to select another option. Thankfully, however, BarChart is optimized for mobile devices, so it's possible to use indicators and drawing tools without a desktop device. That said, the mobile version of BarChart could be more responsive.

The platform is packed with analytical tools. You can change the range from 1 day to 20 years, compare assets together, and access multi-screen charting. Furthermore, the platform supports many indicators, including less common options like VWAP. BarChart also lets you overlay charts with fundamental factors like accrued expenses and inventory to understand better how a company is performing.

Outside of its phenomenal charting capabilities, BarChart excels in delivering market and company information. The platform releases new stock picks daily and shares companies trending within the market. Furthermore, BarChart collates assets by sector, trading volume, liquidity, and performance against the market to make finding new opportunities without a stock screener far easier.

Similarly to TradingView, BarChart offers a powerful free plan and lets users expand any limits with a paid subscription. BarChart bills customers annually at $99.00 for its Plus plan and $199.95 for its Premier plan. Premium subscriptions entitle the user to increased page views, customizable sizes, more chart templates, and a better range of company information.

BarChart is an excellent free stock charting app. The platform uses real-time data for stock prices and offers an incredible depth of company information. The ability to overlay charts with financial information will also suit people who prefer fundamental analysis. However, you can only view 20 charts and cannot access historical price data before 2000 with a free plan, limiting its viability for traders.

Pros

• Great analysis tools
• Overlay company financials
• Lots of market information

Cons

• Page visits are limited on a free plan
• No dedicated app

6. Yahoo Finance - Best Beginner Charting Software

Why we picked it

Yahoo Finance is one of the most popular sources of financial information worldwide. Millions worldwide use the site, which provides users with access to in-depth company financial information news pertaining to individual companies and the market from a macro perspective. Despite offering excellent information, Yahoo Finance is quite a basic platform suited to beginners.

Yahoo Finance is available online and as a mobile app for Android and iOS devices, meaning it's accessible to most of the population. The free service enables users to perform technical analysis and back their reasoning with news articles without paying a cent.

Despite being a fairly simplistic platform, Yahoo Finance is packed with technical indicators and drawing tools, making it great for analysts. A mixture of common indicators like Moving Averages (MA) and less common options like the Disparity Index are available, so Yahoo Finance can cater to most strategies.

Yahoo Finance is a capable charting platform with an interface reminiscent of TradingView. However, the platform's main benefit is its impressive social aspects. Each ticker has a conversions section so users can connect with like-minded people to discuss their thoughts. Furthermore, the platform has thousands of articles relating to stocks and finance designed to improve the decision-making process.

While Yahoo Finance may initially seem like a basic platform, it packs a punch. Because it boasts a simplistic interface, TradingView offers a more manageable route for beginners wishing to start performing their own analysis without dealing with the complexities of software like MetaTrader.

Pros

• Beginner-friendly
• Lots of stock/finance news
• Highly capable charting

Cons

• It could be overly simplistic for advanced users
• Lacks advanced features like scripting

7. Stock Rover - Free Charting Software with Integrated Market Infomation

Why we picked it

Stock Rover is a unique charting software bundled with market insights and portfolio management tools. It offers a free plan and premium subscriptions with a lengthened feature list. Ideal for traders who base their decisions on fundamental data, Stock Rover provides industry heat maps and lists of market movers/sector performance. However, the platform is so information-dense it could be difficult for a beginner to navigate.

Unfortunately, Stock Rover is only available as a web platform. However, the company has tried to appeal to mobile users by creating an experience optimized for smaller screens. However, this feature is only available on premium plans, so users not wanting to subscribe will be forced to use the unwieldy desktop platform from their mobile.

Stock Rover offers charting capabilities, but during testing for our best free stock chart review, we found them difficult to locate, which isn't ideal. That said, once you find where the charts are located, you can access 17 technical indicators, but many popular options are not included. Additionally, while you can overlay some fundamental data and events, few are available, limiting its usefulness.

While Stock Rover lacks the charting versatility of TradingView, the platform does offer a vast quality of market information. You can view a company's financial information, including returns versus benchmarks, analyst estimates, valuation, and growth. Stock Rover also collates articles from news sites for each ticker it supports, providing additional reading to users.

Stock Rover charges between $7.99 and $27.99 monthly for its premium services. With paid plans, users can connect Stock Rover to a brokerage, access portfolio management, and view research like stock ratings and alerts.

While Stock Rover's premium plans offer many features, its basic plans are limited and outshined by platforms like TradingView. Furthermore, with the platform being difficult to navigate and locking a lot of its utility behind paid plans, it's difficult to recommend Stock Rover over TradingView.

Pros

• Overlay fundamental data
• Access company financial data
• Lots of sector-related information

Cons

• Mobile support is limited to paid plans
• Many features are locked behind a paywall

What to Look For in the Best Free Stock Charts

When selecting the best free stock charts, you must consider critical elements of the platform, like its analysis tools, supported instruments, and support for external scripts. It's also worth considering helpful additional features, like TradingView's support for overlaying a company's financial information on this price chat. Below, we've highlighted a few of the most important things to consider.

Drawing Tools and Techincal Indicators

If you're looking for the best stock charting software, you'll likely use it to analyze whether a stock is worth buying. Therefore, your stock chart of choice must offer ample drawing tools and technical indicators. Some platforms only offer a few basic indicators or lack the ability to save your analysis, so it's important to keep your preferred trading style in mind when making a selection.

Useful Tools

Checking which tools a charting website offers is also critical if you want to trade stocks. Each platform will have a different set of tools and features. Still, a few of the most important include multi-charting support, the ability to compare assets quickly, and the option to create alerts when an asset hits a certain price or triggers a strategy.

Scripting Support

While most charting software will offer in-built technical analysis tools, sometimes they don't align with your chosen strategy. As such, loading custom indicators and scripts is a huge plus. Some platforms, like TradingView, offer simple scripting languages, making creating automated tools easier. Furthermore, certain platforms let users upload their creations for the public, vastly increasing library size.

Range of Instruments

Another key decision-making factor when selecting stock charting software is the range of instruments. Some platforms will only support assets from a particular stock exchange, for example, the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE), which could cause problems if you want to invest in international stocks. Additionally, you should consider if a platform supports other asset classes and indices like the S&P 500.

Frequently Asked Questions

Which Stock Charts Offer Portfolio Tracking?

Several options we've looked at during our article on the best free stock charts include portfolio tracking services. We found that StockCharts, Koyfin, BarChart, and Stock Rover offer portfolio tracking tools. Each platform's portfolio management tools are comparable, so selecting a platform based on aspects other than portfolio tracking capabilities is best.

What Are The Best Free Stock Charts?

After conducting in-depth research on the best free stock charts, we determined that TradingView offers the optimal blend of powerful features, including scripting support, a stock screener, and excellent customizability. Moreover, the platform's free subscription is far more feature-rich than competitors, which locks critical features and certain indicators behind a paywall.

Which Stock Charts Offer the Best Free Tools?

Unfortunately, many free stock charts withhold major tools for paying users. However, during our testing, we found that TradingView lets you access the best variety of features, assets, and charting tools of any free stock charting subscription. Furthermore, with the platform offering paid plans to remove certain limits, TradingView can grow with you as your trading experience grows.

What Assets Can You Track on TradingView?

TradingView is one of the most comprehensive charting platforms in the world. It lets you track multiple asset classes, including stocks, commodities, indices, forex, bonds, futures, and cryptocurrencies. As TradiingView supports every major asset class, it's by far the best platform for users wishing to track a mixed bag of instruments.

Final Verdict

Our article has looked at some of the best free stock charts available. However, while each option we've discussed has merits, one platform has claimed the top spot by a wide margin.

TradingView offers unparalleled utility with phenomenal charting capabilities often integrated into brokers. The platform's free plan comes with everything needed to perform detailed analysis, with paid subscriptions lifting limits to offer users more power. Moreover, with custom scripting support and the ability to chart multiple asset classes, TradingView is the most versatile and best free stock chart by far.

Disclaimer: The above is a sponsored post, the views expressed are those of the sponsor/author and do not represent the stand and views of Outlook Editorial.