The best trading journal depends on what you trade. For stocks, options and crypto across many brokers, TradeZella and TraderSync are the broad choices. For one flat price, Edgewonk. For a free plan, TradesViz or Tradervue. For futures and prop-firm accounts, ExpectancyIQ, which we make, so weigh that bias as you read. Below: who each tool fits, what it costs, and when to skip it.
Best trading journals at a glance
| Journal | Best for | Starting price | Free option |
|---|---|---|---|
| TradeZella | Many asset classes, 500+ brokers, AI features | $35/mo ($26/mo billed annually) | None |
| TraderSync | Broad broker coverage and mobile apps | $29.95/mo | 7-day trial |
| Edgewonk | Trading psychology, one flat price | $197/yr | 14-day money-back guarantee |
| TradesViz | Free analytics, deep customisation | Free (stocks only) | Free plan, no time limit |
| Tradervue | Stock traders who want a free tier | Free, or $29.95/mo (Silver) | Free up to 30 trades/mo |
| ExpectancyIQ | Futures and prop-firm accounts | $120/yr (Pro) | 14-day trial, then read-only |
Prices are from each vendor's own pricing page and change often, so check before you buy. The full side-by-side, with asset classes, brokers and AI, is on our trading journal comparison.
How to choose a trading journal
Four questions sort most of the options out before you compare a single feature.
- What do you trade? Stocks-only tools are cheap or free. Futures, options and forex support is often on a higher plan, so read the plan table, not the homepage.
- Does it import from your broker? Manual entry stops after a few weeks. If your broker or prop firm is not supported, check that a CSV upload works cleanly.
- Does it show you what to change? A P&L chart tells you what happened. You want breakdowns by setup, time of day and mistake that tell you what to stop doing. See why keep a trading journal at all.
- Can you try it on your own trades? Demo data always looks good. Import a month of real trades during the trial.
The best trading journals compared
TradeZella
The most visible journal, and the one most "best journal" lists put first. It advertises 500+ broker and prop-firm integrations across stocks, options, futures, forex and crypto, plus AI features, backtesting and trade replay. Plans run $35, $59 and $99 a month ($26, $44 and $74 billed annually), with no free tier. AI use is metered by monthly credits.
Pick it if you trade several asset classes and want the broadest feature set. Skip it if you want to test on your own trades for free first. More in ExpectancyIQ vs TradeZella.
TraderSync
A long-running, multi-asset journal with 700+ supported brokers, mobile apps and an AI assistant. It starts at $29.95 a month and offers a 7-day trial rather than a free plan.
Pick it if you want broker coverage and a phone app. Skip it if you need more than a week to judge a tool. More in ExpectancyIQ vs TraderSync.
Edgewonk
Edgewonk is psychology-first: its Tiltmeter and Automated Edge Finder look for behavioural patterns in your trades. It is one plan with every feature, $197 a year or $35 a month, with a 14-day money-back guarantee. It has no AI assistant and no broker auto-import, so you upload files or enter trades by hand.
Pick it if you want one predictable price and care most about behaviour. Skip it if you want trades to arrive automatically. More in ExpectancyIQ vs Edgewonk.
TradesViz
The best free option for a stock trader. The free Basic plan has no time limit, one account and up to 3,000 executions a month, but covers stocks only. Futures, options, forex and crypto need a paid plan.
Pick it if you trade stocks and want deep, customisable analytics for nothing. Skip it if you trade futures and expect the free plan to cover them. More in ExpectancyIQ vs TradesViz.
Tradervue
One of the oldest journals, with 80+ broker integrations. The free plan is limited to 30 trades a month. Paid plans are Silver at $29.95 a month and Gold at $49.95; futures, forex and options support sits on Gold.
Pick it if you are a low-volume stock trader. Skip it if you take dozens of trades a day or trade futures on a budget. More in ExpectancyIQ vs Tradervue.
ExpectancyIQ
Built for futures and prop-firm traders, around two questions: is my edge real, and will I pass my challenge? Import a Tradovate, NinjaTrader, Topstep or MetaTrader 4 file, sync cTrader (Pro), or upload a generic CSV from any other broker, and every trade is matched and costed. The home screen then shows what you actually have: expectancy per trade, win rate against your break-even win rate, an equity curve with drawdown, and a Trade Score from 0 to 100.
What else you get, in plain terms:
- Prop-firm risk in one view. Distance to bust, daily loss-limit breaches, consistency, profit target and a trailing drawdown tracker, per account and per firm rule.
- Futures days counted correctly. The 5pm CT rollover starts a new trading day, so an overnight hold is not split across days that never happened.
- Your mistakes priced. Tag mistakes such as revenge trades and see what each one cost you in dollars.
- 53 report charts across Performance, Timing, Strategies, Markets, Mistakes & Habits, Risk & Prop and Forecast, each titled as the question it answers.
- AI Coach (Pro). Reviews a trade against your plan, sums up your day, grades your week A to F and answers questions about your results, using only your own figures. It has monthly limits.
- Forecast (Pro). Your chance of hitting the profit target before you bust, from your own trades.
- Daily journal and calendar. Notes, plans, tags and a PnL calendar on futures trading days.
Pro is $120 a year after a 14-day trial with no credit card, and the price you join at is the price you keep. When the trial ends, your account stays open read-only.
The trade-off: there is no dedicated stock or options broker integration, so equity traders are better served elsewhere on this list. Pick it if you trade futures through a prop firm. Skip it if you mostly trade stocks. See journaling for prop traders, journaling for futures traders and pricing, or start the free trial.
Free trading journal options
Three routes cost nothing. TradesViz's free plan is the most generous for stocks. Tradervue's free plan works for under 30 trades a month. A spreadsheet works at any volume if you build the maths yourself; see trading journal vs Excel and vs Notion, or start from our free trading journal template.
A TradeZella alternative: how to choose
Traders usually look for a TradeZella alternative for one of three reasons. Price: Edgewonk is $197 a year flat, TradesViz is free for stocks, and ExpectancyIQ is $120 a year. A free trial: TradeZella has none, while ExpectancyIQ, TradesViz and Tradervue let you test first. Futures focus: TradeZella is a generalist, so session handling and prop drawdown rules are where a specialist differs.
Best trading journal questions
What is the best trading journal for beginners?
Is there a free trading journal?
What is the best trading journal for futures traders?
What is a good TradeZella alternative?
Is a trading journal worth paying for?
Not sure yet? Import a month of your own trades into any shortlisted tool and see which one shows you something you did not already know. To try ours, start the free trial.