It is essential to be as strategic as possible when it comes to investing. One way to do this is by using a stock screener. A stock screener allows you to filter stocks based on specific criteria that are important to you. This can help you find the best investment opportunities. This blog post will outline the 5 best free stock screeners available today.
The 5 best free stock screeners to help you invest wisely
The top 5 best free stock screeners you can use right now are:
Let's dive deeper into each of these so you know what to expect, what makes them a valuable option, and how you can get the most value from each.
TradingView
The TradingView screener is an excellent option for almost all types of investors. It has a user-friendly interface and is very customizable. For example, you can filter stocks by over 150 criteria. This includes technical indicators, fundamental data, and descriptive data.
Most importantly, this screener is entirely free and fully available online, so you don't need to download additional software to find attractive investment opportunities. Lastly, the screener offers data coverage for almost all essential stock exchanges worldwide.
The downside is that you need a premium account to export the screener data as well as save your own custom screener and get notifications when new stocks appear that match your criteria. Nevertheless, this is a must-have feature for active investors and worth the $14.95/month subscription fee.
Pros
- User friendly
- Free, robust option
- Fully available online
- Comprehensive data coverage
Cons
- Need a premium account to export data
- Cannot save the custom screener on the free version
Finviz
Finviz is another web-based stock screener that offers a great free option as well as paid subscriptions. The free version gives you access to essential filtering criteria such as price, volume, and market capitalization. In addition, you can also view technical indicators, fundamental ratios, and descriptive data.
However, you cannot save your custom screens or export the data. In addition, unlike TradingView, the structure is a bit more complicated and less aesthetically pleasing, and more importantly, the data is limited to U.S securities, and the free version shows distracting ads from time to time.
The paid subscription starts at $24.96/month and gives you access to more comprehensive filtering criteria such as fundamental data and detailed technical analysis indicators. You also get real-time data and the ability to save custom screens, backtest ideas, and export data. For active investors, a paid subscription is an excellent option to consider.
Pros:
- Free option available
- basic filtering criteria included
- Lots of customization options
Cons:
- Cannot save custom screens or export data on the free version
- Paid subscription is required for more comprehensive filtering and real-time data
- Limited to U.S securities
- Less intuitive to use
- Includes distracting ads on the free version
StockRover
Stockrover is a web application that offers both free and paid plans. The free version gives you access to limited filtering criteria, watchlists, basic charts, and delayed quotes. You also get real-time data for U.S markets only. The real benefit of this option is the ability to customize the screener based on your preferences across hundreds of different stock metrics and criteria.
Moreover, you can access pre-built screeners based on fundamental qualities, momentum, etc. The downside is that this flexibility and functionality are limited in the free version, and you need to create an account to even access the screener, unlike the other alternatives.
The paid subscription starts at $11.99/month and gives you access to more comprehensive filtering criteria, fundamental data, detailed charts, and real-time quotes for global markets. You also get the ability to save custom screens, backtest ideas, and export data.
Pros:
- Free option available
- Comprehensive filtering criteria included
- Watchlist feature
Cons:
- Need to create an account before accessing it
- Limited to U.S securities on the free version
- Paid subscription is required for more comprehensive filtering and global market data
- More complicated to use
Yahoo Finance
Yahoo Finance is a great free option for investors who are just getting started. It has a user-friendly interface and offers basic filtering criteria such as price, volume, and market capitalization. You can also view technical indicators, fundamental data, and descriptive data.
However, you cannot save your custom screens or export the data, and on the free version, the screener options are minimal. This option is recommended if you just want to briefly look at a list of companies and perhaps take advantage of the website's ample news and data coverage.
Pros:
- User friendly
- Fully available online
- Comprehensive data coverage
Cons:
- Need a premium account to export data
- Cannot save the custom screener on the free version
- Limited filtering criteria and customization on the free option
Investing.com
Investing.com is a good free option for investors looking for global market data. It offers basic filtering criteria such as price, volume, and market capitalization. You can also view technical indicators, fundamental data, and descriptive data. The interface is intuitive and straightforward to use. Moreover, it allows you to easily compare companies in the same sector and industry, including industry-specific metrics in many cases, and then export them to your watchlist.
However, you cannot save your custom screens or export the data. The interface is somewhat outdated, and the screener options are limited on the free and paid versions compared to the alternatives.
Pros:
- Free global market data
- Simple interface
- Ability to compare same sector companies
- Easily export results to the watchlist
Cons:
- Limited screening options on both free and paid options
- Difficult to customize
- Cannot save the data without an account
The Verdict
If you are looking for a free stock screener you can access online that provides you with ample customization, it is recommended you use TradingView. However, if you are looking for a more robust paid service, then checkout Stockrover, which offers you a lot more customization, the ability to backtest, and tons of other valuable features at a competitive price.
What is a stock screener, and how does it work?
A stock screener is a tool that investors and traders use to filter stocks based on specific criteria. For example, a trader might use a stock screener to find all the stocks that are trading below their 200-day moving average.
There are many different types of stock screeners, but most work in a similar way. First, you specify the criteria you want to use to filter the stocks. For example, you might want to only see stocks trading at a PE ratio below 20 and in the communications industry.
Then, the stock screener will show you a list of all the stocks that meet your criteria. From there, you can further research the stocks that interest you and decide whether or not you want to invest in them or simply add them to a watch list.
There are many different stock screeners available, both free and paid. In this article, you can see above the best free and paid stock screeners that you can use to help you invest wisely.
What to look for in a stock screener
When you are looking for a stock screener, there are a few things that you should keep in mind.
First, you want to ensure that the stock screener is easy to use and navigate. The last thing you want is to waste hours figuring out how to use the tool.
Second, you want to ensure that the stock screener has all the features you need. For example, if you are only interested in stocks with a return on invested capital above 15% (ROIC), make sure that the stock screener has these criteria.
Third, you want to make sure that the stock screener is accurate. There is no point in using a stock screener that is not going to give you accurate results.
Fourth, you want to make sure that the stock screener is up to date. The last thing you want is to use a stock screener that is outdated and does not have the most recent data.
Finally, you want to make sure that the stock screener is available at a price you are willing to pay. There are many free stock screeners out there, so you should not have to spend a lot of money for a good one.
In the guide above, we have taken care of many of those critical factors and only included the screeners that we believe are best for stock analysis.
What criteria should you use when screening stocks?
When you are screening stocks, there are many different criteria that you can use. However, not all of them will be relevant to your investment strategy.
Here are a few examples of criteria that you might want to use:
– Price to earnings ratio (P/E ratio)
– Earnings per share (EPS)
– Price to book ratio (P/B ratio)
– Debt to equity ratio (D/E ratio)
– Return on invested capital (ROIC)
– Free cash flow (FCF)
You can also use technical indicators such as moving averages or support and resistance levels. However, these are not as ideal for most investors since they only give you a short-term view of the stock.
The best way to determine which criteria are most important to you is to experiment and see which ones help you find the best stocks based on your investment style. In addition, you can do backtesting to see if your stock picking criteria would have been successful had you implemented it in the past.
Lastly, we recommend checking out this video to show you what are the best ways to screen and find good stock investment opportunities.
Tips for using a stock screener to get the most out of your investment portfolio
When you are using a stock screener, there are a few tips that you should keep in mind to get the most out of your investment portfolio.
First, you should always remember to diversify your portfolio. This means that you should not put all your eggs in one basket and invest only in stocks that meet your criteria, especially as an inexperienced beginner. Instead, you should diversify and invest in a variety of stocks or ETFs to reduce your risk.
Second, you should not blindly follow the results of the stock screener. Just because a stock meets your criteria does not mean that it is a good investment. You should always do your own research before investing in any stock. You can check out our recommended process here.
Third, you should always be prepared to sell a stock if it no longer meets your criteria. This is why it is important to regularly review your portfolio and make sure that all the stocks in it are still suitable investments.
Finally, you should always remember that past performance is not indicative of future results. Just because a stock has done well in the past does not mean that it will continue to do well in the future.
These are just a few tips to keep in mind when you are using a stock screener. If you follow these tips, you should be able to get the most out of your investment portfolio.
How to build your own screener
If you want to build your own stock screener, there are a few things that you need to keep in mind.
First, you need to decide what criteria you want to use for screening stocks. As we mentioned earlier, there are many different criteria that you can use. However, not all of them will be relevant to your investment strategy.
Second, you need to find a good stock screener software that meets your needs. There are many different stock screener software programs out there, so you need to find one that is easy to use and has all the features that you need (see an upcoming Excel screener below).
Third, you need to backtest your stock screener to see if it is effective. This means that you need to test it out on historical data to see if it would have been successful in the past. This step is not always necessary, but it is great to sanity-check your investment assumptions and learn more about what makes a successful investment. For the most user-friendly and robust backtesting software, check out TrendSpider.
Lastly, you should always remember to diversify your portfolio. This means that you should not put all your eggs in one basket and invest only in stocks that meet your criteria. Instead, you should diversify and invest in a variety of stocks or ETFs to reduce your risk (particularly as an inexperienced beginner).
These are just a few things that you need to keep in mind if you want to build your own stock screener. If you follow these tips, you should be able to create an effective stock screener that will help you find good investment opportunities.
Excel stock screener
Excel is one of the best tools you can use for stock analysis. The tool was made specifically for financial analysis as well as any type of lightweight data analysis tasks. The beauty about Excel is that most people know how to use Excel, and it offers you the flexibility to conduct analysis any way you want in a short time frame.
Wouldnt it be great if there was a screener that worked on Excel? This would allow you to customize the screener to your exact personal needs and easily filter through long lists of companies and highlight the best investment opportunities.
From there, you could efficiently conduct further research and calculations all in the same place.
If this peaks your interest, then you are in the right place. Our team is developing a screening functionality for Wisesheets that will allow you to easily filter lists of companies based on the sector, exchange, key metrics, financial results, and more.
To get notified of the release, click here to join the Wisesheets discord and communicate with a community of like-minded investors.
Conclusion
In conclusion, a stock screener is a great tool that can help you find good investment opportunities. However, it is important to remember that you should not blindly invest in any stock that meets your criteria. Instead, you should always do your own research to make sure that the stock is a good investment. The best stock screeners you can use are TradingView, Finviz, StockRover, Yahoo Finance, and Investing.com.
If you follow these tips, you should be able to get the most out of your stock screener and find good investments for your portfolio.
Do you use a stock screener? What criteria do you use for screening stocks? Let us know in the comments below.
Best Regards,
The Wisesheets Team
