The Best Free Trading Journals of 2024

Every trader worth their salt knows that you need to have clear trading goals in mind going in if you want to succeed in the long term. It’s easy to have a highly successful day now and then, but consistency? That takes dedication!

Fortunately, you can take advantage of every trading opportunity if you know what to look for, what you need to improve on, and what you’re already doing that’s successful. The bad news is that figuring these things out takes a lot of time and effort. Well, at least it used to.

These days, there are plenty of online trading journal software options available that can help you analyze and improve your performance (without needing to write everything down manually!). This trading tool can help you track movements across multiple asset classes, track your profits/losses, and complete every single trade with confidence.

However, many of these trading solutions cost money, and not everyone has the space in their budget to pay for extra software. In today’s article, we’ll be taking a look at the best free trading journals to figure out how you can take your trading game to the next level without needing to spend a dime!

Top Picks

You’ll have a number of different free online trading journal software solutions to choose from. While all of them will track your trading performance and trade history to some extent, many of these platforms severely limit your ability to track previous trades.

After considering many different platforms, we’ve selected the three trade journal platforms below as our “Top Picks”. Able to work with a wide variety of brokers, imposing only reasonable limitations, and effective at organizing relevant data, we’re sure you’ll find the best free option for you in this list.

Tradervue

The “Basic Plan” from TraderVue is completely free to use for as long as you need. Perfect for tracking your trading history, this plan is useful for a variety of trading types—such as day trading stocks, options, or futures—across the financial markets. You can even use it as a forex trading journal!

The basic plan includes basic journaling and reporting (up to 30 trades per month), access to the sharing feature, a small variety of trading metrics, and trade imports. You can learn more about the various features included in the Basic Plan by clicking here!

Learn More About Tradervue

TradeMetria

Another trading journal that’s great for day traders is TradeMetria! The free version allows you to import up to 30 trades per month, which should be enough to monitor and improve your trading skills. For higher volumes, premium trade plans are available.

The free plan supports a wide variety of asset types including options, futures, forex, cryptos, and Cfds. It also has a number of different features that make it easy to track each individual trade, separating successful trades from the “needs-improvement” ones.

Some notable features of the free plan include access to historical performance data, analytics, metrics, and portfolio tracking. You can click here to join all of the other successful traders who’re already using TradeMetria!

Learn More About TradeMetria

Tradersync – A Unique Proposal

Standing out with its unique proposition, TraderSync offers a fresh approach for traders seeking a cost-effective journaling solution. With its free account offering, TraderSync invites users to experience its robust trading journal platform at no cost by integrating their Twitter account. This innovative feature allows traders to share their trades on Twitter in exchange for free access, creating a unique blend of trading and social networking.

TraderSync is a cutting-edge trading journal software that enables traders to enhance their trading performance by identifying patterns and reducing mistakes. This intuitive platform allows users to journal their trades in seconds, ensuring data is backed up and secured. The more frequently TraderSync is used, the sharper the trading edge it can offer.

The software identifies trading patterns and provides comprehensive feedback to users, helping them understand what strategies are working and where they are going wrong. TraderSync also allows users to boost performance by identifying common trading mistakes that result in losses, enabling them to avoid these pitfalls in future trades.

TraderSync comes with several innovative features, including Intraday Charting, Smart Trades Feedback, a Simulator for creating various trading scenarios, and an Evaluator for comparing the performance of different strategies. A unique feature is the Trading Market Replay Simulator that lets users practice day trading stocks anytime.

Users can also import their stock trade history from their trading platform easily and customize the software to fit their unique trading style. TraderSync supports over 240+ brokers for stocks, options, forex, futures, and crypto. The software is available on both iOS and Android, allowing users to record and review trades on the go. Data is securely stored on the cloud with Amazon Servers, ensuring its availability at all times.

Tradersync earns our highest recommendation.

Click here to learn more.

Learn More About Tradersync

TradesViz

Next on our list is TradesViz! The free version of this trading journal app only supports stock tracking, but it’s much more generous on trade imports than most other trading plans (offering up to 3,000 executions per month!). This makes it an excellent option for active traders.

It currently supports automatic imports for 34 different brokers, although—if you use a different brokerage—you can always input manual entries.

Using this journal for free will grant you access to PnL calendar data, the ability to monitor one trading account, real-time options flow, two indicators per chart, candlestick charts, and more!

If you want to be a profitable trader focusing on stocks but don’t have the budget to pay extra for trade journal software, TradesViz could be an excellent option for you.

What If You’re Willing to Pay?

All of the stock trading journals listed above have premium versions, but we’ve selected those ones specifically because they offer excellent services for free. True, there are many other free options around. However, we’ve only selected free services that we think provide a truly excellent experience for free!

Edgewonk

If you’re willing to pay—but are working with a small budget—-then we recommend using Edgewonk. Unlike many other software solutions, this trading behavior tracking software bills annually, rather than as a monthly subscription. This is excellent news if you’re just starting out with your trading business since it makes it extremely easy to figure out your annual expenses.

For only $169 per year, Edgewonk allows you to track a variety of asset types (stocks, futures, forex, CFD, commodities, and crypto), run trade analytics, track your performance, run backtests, and much more!

If you’re ready to truly take your trade planning to the next level then Edgewonk could prove an invaluable tool. Click here to learn about the extensive list of features included in this yearly flat-rate plan!

Learn More About Edgewonk

Efficient Trade Tracking

One of the first things an experienced trader will tell you is that efficient trade tracking is a cornerstone of any profitable strategy. Whether it’s an option trade or a set of forex trades, the key to consistency lies in your ability to analyze past decisions. This is where the magic of trading journals comes in.

Every trading day, these tools for traders collect key metrics like your entry and exit price, enabling you to examine your trades in granular detail. The ability to look back on previous options trade setups and analyze your trade rules is invaluable. It helps you to keep your trading activity in check, ensure your profit targets align with your strategy, and manage your risk.

Some trading journals go beyond mere logging and offer advanced reports. This feature allows you to take a deep dive into your trading performance, examining every nook and cranny for improvement opportunities. For example, you can assess the efficiency of your money management approach or evaluate whether a particular strategy consistently meets your profit targets.

Trading journals are also perfect for cryptocurrency trades. Given the volatility of digital currencies, keeping a meticulous record of every transaction can be a lifesaver. By studying your trade history, you can adapt your strategies to the often erratic behavior of crypto markets, enhancing your risk management strategies and overall trading performance.

Visualization and Trade Simulators

A vital component of the best free trading journals is their capacity to present data in a visually engaging manner. Beautiful charts and static charts, often with customizable chart settings, provide a visual narrative of your trading journey.

These charts can range from basic line graphs tracking your profit and loss over time to more complex candlestick charts illustrating the intraday ups and downs of your option trades. The beautiful charts not only make the complex world of trading more accessible but can also unveil patterns that might otherwise be overlooked.

Apart from tracking and visualization, a standout feature that sets top-notch journals apart is a trade simulator. The simulator acts as a sandbox, allowing you to test out strategies without risking real money. You can see how your decisions would have played out on a particular trading day or observe the potential consequences of certain risk management strategies.

Moreover, several of these trading platforms offer seamless integration with your brokerage accounts, allowing you to transfer your trading data without needing a credit card. This feature can be incredibly useful for tracking real-time trades and generating up-to-date reports.

To get the most out of these trading journals, consider these tips:

• Regular Updates: Make it a habit to record your transactions as soon as possible. The fresher the trade in your mind, the more accurately you’ll record the conditions, your thought process, and any observations.
• Include Details: Beyond the numbers, record your sentiments and the market conditions. This can provide a better understanding of why a trade was successful or not. Over time, you’ll start recognizing patterns and use them to your advantage.
• Review Regularly: Always review your journal entries. Look for trends, both good and bad. This can help you tweak your strategies and gain a better understanding of your trading habits.
• Use Analytics: Use the analytical tools offered by these journals. The patterns and statistics that these tools bring to light can guide you in refining your strategy.
• Share and Learn: Some platforms offer communities where traders share their entries and learn from each other. Utilize this feature to gain insights and understand different perspectives.

A trading journal is more than just a record of your trades – it’s a tool for learning, improvement, and eventual mastery in the trading world. The more effectively you use it, the more you’ll get out of it.

Final Thoughts

While you won’t be able to track unlimited trade using free trading journal software, free solutions still offer an excellent way to track your trading activities. With detailed reports, automatic trade imports, analytics, and solutions for every trading style, it’s never been easier to keep an accurate record of trades!

If you’re ready to spot trading patterns, refine your trading strategies, improve your performance over time, and start seeing your profits skyrocket then we highly recommend giving one of these journals a try. After all, what do you have to lose? They’re free!