Chart patterns are a great way to keep track of price movements over a period of time. They can help you identify possible reversals in price, which play an important part in setting up the trade. Moreover, when you know which time frame or chart pattern is best for when, or what to look for in when making trading decisions.
Have you ever wondered if there is a best time to trade? What about what kind of charting software is best for intraday trading? Are the recent advances in trading technology worth the cost of entry? Do you know how to use candlestick information to your advantage? You may start with a simple question, but it doesn’t have to stop there. Best Charts For Day Trading will provide you with the answers and show you how to use the latest tools and software on your computer or on your mobile device.
TradingView
TradingView’s free version provides access to 3 simultaneous indicators. You can also apply indicators created by other TradingView members. We found TradingView’s interface a bit more difficult to read and to navigate than some other charting options but liked TradingView’s snapshot gauge display that clearly indicates combined buying signals (or selling signals).
Tradingview allows you to find your inner Picasso, allowing you to draw anything you’d like on your chart, including notes, price direction arrows or anything else that you find useful when making a trading decision. Many other charging options only allow you to draw straight lines, such as those used to indicate resistance and support. You can also display multiple charts at once, splitting your display so you can take in the big picture.
To access all of TradingView’s features, you’ll need a subscription, with a pro plan starting at $14.95 a month and additional plans ranging up to $59.95 per month.
- Pros: Most flexible stock charts, excellent community features including chat rooms, easy sharing, and over 100 charting tools and indicators included.
- Cons: Community features take time to learn.
FINVIZ
FINVIZ also offers very useful charts. Automatically generated technical analyses, including a candlestick chart, support and resistance levels, and moving averages are available.
An upgrade to FINVIZ Elite will buy you real-time data, intraday charts and advanced charting tools. For simpler analysis and trend trading, running a chart after market close is often enough to be a useful tool for trades you plan to execute the following day. However, free charts can’t be modified with FINVIZ.
FINVIZ’s clean charts and quick overview — even the free versions — are also a great way to confirm or disprove your analysis from other charting data. FINVIZ charges a $39.50 monthly cost and $299.50 annual cost. Both offer Elite feature access and provides access to real-time and pre-market data, advanced charting capability and an advanced screener. You can also unlock backtesting so you can see which indicators matched up with actual market events.
- Pros: Simple stock charts come with automated technical analysis. Additional fundamental data is also displayed right below each chart and includes analyst ratings.
- Cons: Very basic stock charts offer no way to even set a time range without upgrading to a paid subscription.
Benzinga Pro
Benzinga Pro is a real-time news streaming services packed with trade alerts, market screeners, audio alerts and much more. It’s designed for fast-paced traders who need access to the right information at the right time.
The major benefit of Benzinga Pro is its ability to deliver real-time streaming news. The platform is designed to help traders get access to breaking news in real-time. but you can also sign up for trade alerts, audio alerts and more.
Benzinga Pro has TradingView charts within the platform, including all indicators. The only thing it lacks is the ability to share indicators and charts.
Choose the Basic plan for $99 per month or the Essential plan for $147 per month. You can save 20% on both plans when you opt for an annual subscription.
TD Ameritrade
TD Ameritrade is a full-service online broker that is best known for its trader technology. I’ve had an account for well over a decade and love their charting package included with the thinkorswim desktop platform, which was ranked first overall by StockBrokers.com in their 2021 Broker Review. There is no minimum deposit to open an account and download the trading platform. Whenever you are ready to trade, just fund your account. TD Ameritrade charges $0 for everyday stock and ETF trades.
- Pros: Excellent charts with over 300 optional technical indicators. Real-time streaming data included.
- Cons: Even though no minimum deposit is required, you still need to open an account first to download the trading platform.
Yahoo Finance
Yahoo Finance upgraded its entire charting experience in the Spring of 2019. Today, Yahoo Finance offers clean HTML 5 charts that are clear, easy to use, and ideal for everyday investors. Yahoo Finance is also an excellent website for stock quotes, research, and news (less the annoying ads). Unfortunately, the new charts restrict advanced features like key event overlays, requiring a subscription to Yahoo Finance Premium for $34.99/mo.
- Pros: Clean, full screen stock charts are easy to read and customize.
- Cons: The best features are locked away behind a paywall.
Google Finance
Google Finance provides a very simple charting solution for investors. What makes Google’s charts so nice is the ability to just Google search for the ticker and instantly have a simple chart pull up. For example, try Googling, “Apple stock chart”.
- Pros: Clean, full screen stock charts are easy to read and customize.
- Cons: The best features are locked away behind a paywall.
StockClock
Powered by Benzinga, StockClock’s fast financial newsfeed lets you gather insight way before stocks start moving. You can filter stocks by the criteria important to you, including price, market cap, movement and more.
Build your own watchlist with powerful segmenting tools and get real-time price alerts sent directly to your smart device with push notifications. You’ll know exactly when a stock hits a certain price.
You can access StockClock for just $10 per month and you can save 20% by billing annually.
Seeking Alpha
Seeking Alpha is an all-inclusive financial platform that helps you track your portfolio, study financial instruments and learn about the markets. With a powerful newsletter and email alert system, you get a holistic view of stock market. Plus, the site allows you to check stock charts for any asset.
Using the power of TradingView, Seeking Alpha ensures that traders can review the activity of any security up to 5 years in the past, using a range of indicators that appear on the screen along with the stock’s current trajectory. The chart sits on a light background, the orange coloring is easy to read and it sits in stark contrast with indicators that you might choose to display. Plus, you can use the site’s charts whether you’re a member or not.
Stockcharts.com
Despite its decidedly old-school feel, Stockcharts.com offers clean charts with lots of indicators that are easy to find and apply to your chart. The free version of StockCharts.com limits overlays and indicators and also limits the size of the chart. Depending on your screen size and charting needs, the paid version may be a worthwhile investment if you enjoy StockCharts.com’s functionality.
Paid subscribers are treated to more charting tools as well. StockCharts.com also several other free tools and other goodies, including predefined scans so you can find stocks with bullish or bearish chart indicators as well as StockCharts TV, which analyzes live charts of current price action in the markets. Subscription prices for stockcharts.com currently range between $14.95 and $39.95 per month and you can kick off your subscription with a free 1-month trial.
- Pros: One of the original free stock chart websites. Charts are easy to read, customize, and share.
- Cons: No HTML 5 charting or free streaming real-time data.
Conclusion
Best Charts for Day Trading are an essential part of any day trader’s toolkit. Each one offers quick access to what you need to know whenever the market opens. Access candlestick patterns, market indicators, and intra-day technicals, making it easy to monitor what’s moving your way. With pre-installed expert annotations, these Best Charts provide an instant resource to deep dive into what you need to know — whether you’re a beginner or a seasoned pro.