Yes, you can keep a trading journal for free. ExpectancyIQ gives every new account 14 days with no credit card, and the trial includes the journal, the trade import, the dashboard and most of the reports. It is a trial, not a free-forever plan: after 14 days your account stays open to read, and you subscribe to add or import more.
What the free trading journal includes
The trial covers importing, journaling and reviewing. The screenshots below are from the demo account, which is on Pro: the "Pro plan" label and the AI buttons are Pro features, and the rest is available on the free trial.
Import your trades instead of typing them
Upload a CSV from Tradovate, NinjaTrader, cTrader or Topstep, or a MetaTrader statement, and the file type is detected for you. Any other broker works through the generic CSV import, and you can undo an import. The trial allows 1 trading account.
Journal each trade
Every trade has a page for the setup, the plan (risk, planned reward-to-risk and stop), how you executed it and what your mindset was, with tags and mistakes you can add. The plan-versus-actual line shows how much of the planned R you captured.
A daily journal, and weekly and monthly reviews
The daily journal has a pre-market plan with a checklist, a 1–5 rating of how you felt, emotions and notes, next to that day's trades and win rate. Weekly and monthly reviews pull the period together so you can pick one thing to change.
Dashboard, calendar and reports
Home shows net return, win rate, average win against average loss, equity and drawdown, and a 0–100 Trade Score. The Calendar shows each day and week. Reports cover performance, timing, strategies, markets, mistakes and prop-firm risk, with 43 charts on the trial. The trading dashboard page walks through every card.
Prop traders get drawdown rules (static, trailing end-of-day and trailing intraday), daily and maximum loss limits, consistency and profit-target tracking at no extra cost. See the prop trader page.
Free trading journal vs Pro
The journal is the same on both. Pro adds the AI Coach, the remaining charts, more accounts and automatic sync. The table lists the differences that matter; the pricing page has every feature and the current price.
| Feature | Free trial | Pro |
|---|---|---|
| Length | 14 days, then read-only | While subscribed |
| Trading accounts | 1 | 5 |
| CSV and MetaTrader statement import | Yes | Yes |
| Automatic cTrader sync | No | Yes |
| Home, Calendar and Trade Score | Yes | Yes |
| Report charts | 43 of 53 | All 53 |
| Prop-firm drawdown and loss-limit tracking | Yes | Yes |
| Trade, daily, weekly and monthly journal | Yes | Yes |
| Trade screenshots | 20 a month | Unlimited |
| Insight cards | First 2 | All |
| AI Coach | A taste: 1 weekly report card and 3 trade reviews | Full |
| Export all your data | Yes | Yes |
What happens after the 14 days
Nothing is deleted. You can still sign in and read your trades, journal entries and stats. Importing, adding and editing need a subscription. If you decide the journal is not for you, you can export all your data first.
Check this before you commit your history to any free tool. Ask whether the free tier is time-limited, whether you can export, and what you lose when it ends. Those three answers matter more than the feature list.
Types of free trading journal compared
Most free options fall into one of four groups. Each fits a different stage.
| Option | Good for | Where it stops |
|---|---|---|
| Spreadsheet template | The first 20–50 trades, and deciding what to track | Every row is typed by hand; formulas break on odd fills |
| Free tier of a journal app | Logging a few trades a month | Limits on trades, accounts or history differ by product; check them |
| Broker or prop-firm dashboard | Accurate P&L | No setup, mistake or habit breakdown, and data stays with the broker |
| ExpectancyIQ free trial | Importing real history and testing the full journal | 14 days, then read-only; Pro for the rest |
For the head-to-head view see all comparisons and trading journal vs broker dashboard.
Start with a spreadsheet or the free app?
If you want a file you own and can edit, start with the Excel and Google Sheets template. It is free with no signup, and building the columns teaches you what to track. If you trade every day, or across futures sessions and several accounts, importing the broker file saves hours a month. The template's Trades sheet saved as CSV imports here, so you lose nothing by starting in the sheet.
How to start your free trading journal
- Create an account. No credit card.
- Add your trading account in Settings with its currency and starting balance.
- Import a CSV or MetaTrader statement. Until you do, Home shows a sample account you can click through.
- Open a trade and fill in the setup, plan and mindset. Add a pre-market plan to the daily journal.
- Review the week on Friday: win rate, average win against average loss, and one habit to change.
This page is educational, not financial advice; see the risk disclosure. The journal is part of the ExpectancyIQ trading journal.
Free trading journal questions
Is there a free trading journal?
Yes. Every new ExpectancyIQ account gets 14 days free with no credit card. That covers importing trades, the trade and daily journal, Home, the Calendar, the Trade Score, 43 report charts and prop-firm risk tracking. After 14 days the account stays open read-only. It is a free trial, not a free-forever plan.
Do I need a credit card to start?
No. Sign up, import a broker CSV and use the journal. A card is only asked for if you choose to subscribe.
What happens to my trades after the free trial?
Nothing is deleted. You can still sign in and read your trades, journal entries and stats. Importing, adding and editing need a subscription, and you can export all your data first.
What is the difference between the free journal and Pro?
Pro adds the AI Coach, all 53 report charts including Forecast, every insight, automatic cTrader sync, up to 5 trading accounts and unlimited screenshots. The journal itself is the same on both.
Which brokers work with the free journal?
Tradovate, NinjaTrader, cTrader, and Topstep are natively supported with auto-detection, MetaTrader imports from its Detailed Statement, and cTrader can also sync automatically once connected on a paid plan. Generic CSV, Generic CSV (Entry/Exit + Side), and Generic CSV (Fills) cover everything else via manual column mapping.
Is a free spreadsheet journal enough?
It can be, for the first few dozen trades. You type every row yourself, and formulas break when a partial fill or a session that crosses midnight does not fit the columns. A journal that imports your broker file removes the typing.