FinViz Review 2023: Free version enough or should you upgrade?

What is FinViz?

FinViz (Financial Visualizations) is a stock screener that offers individual investors a single platform to screen for stocks, view market visualizations, backtest, read financial statements, view real-time quotes, set email alerts, and more.

This platform is optimal for the long-term and short term investors who wants to be able to find potentially profitable stocks that fit specific search criteria using customizable filters. Currently, the platform offers technical filters, descriptive filters, and fundamental filters.

Finviz was established in 2007 by Juraj Duris, who serves as the company’s president. Its headquarters are located in Slovakia. The site started as a passion project for Duris, who aimed to simplify financial data for individual investors and traders. Over the years, the platform has grown significantly and is now used by thousands of users worldwide, including individual investors, professional traders, portfolio managers, and even academic institutions.

FinViz provides three different versions of its services: one that doesn’t require you to register, one that requires you to register (but not pay), and a premium subscription.

External Finviz Review & Ratings

Here are some reviews from traders who have experienced the platform firsthand:

Features

As a whole, FinViz offers a lot of different portfolio management tools and technical analysis tools that are useful far beyond simply pulling stock quotes. Its core feature—the stock screener—allows you to scan over 8,500 stocks & ETFs using 67 different fundamental, descriptive, and technical filters (such as institutional ownership or valuation).

It offers a variety of stock charts including daily charts, bar charts, candlestick charts, and advanced charts with 17 chart indicators. Premium members have access to interactive charts.

The platform also supports heatmaps, shows insider trade information, offers news feeds for your list of stocks, is capable of running backtests, and can send you email alerts about important changes in the market (like an unusual volume of trade or large changes in stock prices).

Now that you have a general idea about the key features offered, let’s go into a bit more detail about FINVIZ Elite’s various features.

Stock Screener

The FinViz stock screener covers 8,500 stocks and ETFs. Although this certainly doesn’t include the entire market, most users will find the stock screener to be a valuable tool that covers most major assets.

Despite being fairly easy to use, the screener still has 67 fundamental and technical criteria that you can use to direct your search. It also allows you to use 30 different charting signals—such as insider buying/insider transactions or chart patterns—to help you hone in on potential investment opportunities.

Although many other platforms offer extra features like additional search filters or pre-built screeners, this is not the case with FinViz.

Heatmaps

Heatmaps is a simple but effective tool that visualizes the market by industry and sector. In addition to displaying color-coded assets (according to their performance), heatmaps also provide you with their current performance percentage.

To learn more about an asset, you need only to click on it.

Similarly, the “Groups” tool offers the same data but converts it into bar charts instead.

Charting

Charting is one of the most useful features on FinViz. The feature offers five different types of charts: candle, line, advanced, interactive, and performance-based. However, the last two are only available to those with monthly or annual subscriptions.

Similarly, there are four different time frames to choose from: monthly, weekly, daily, and intraday. Free users have access to every time frame except intraday.

Below each chart, additional data—such as market cap, earnings, and outstanding shares—is shown. Scrolling even further down grants access to news, income statements, balance sheets, cash flow, and additional information.

Portfolio

Portfolio is a feature that requires one to have either a free or paid account. Regardless, you’ll need to be registered to use this feature.

The feature itself allows users to create up to 50 unique portfolios, each containing up to 50 different tickers. This limit increases to 100 with a paid membership. Premium members can set portfolio alerts, but this feature is not available to free users.

Backtesting

This feature is only offered to FinViz Elite subscribers. Offering 24 years of data, 100+ indicators, and stock chart pattern detection, the backtesting feature makes it easy for investors to test strategies over long periods of time.

However, there are a few differences from FinViz Elite’s backtesting service when compared to alternatives. For example, the feature doesn’t report trades, drawdowns, or ratios. In other words, it will give you the big picture but fails to delve into the details.

Additional Tools and Benefits of Using FinViz

FinViz goes beyond just being a stock screening and visualization tool. Its array of additional features provides invaluable insights for investors at all levels. Here are some of the unique features that make FinViz worth considering:

News & Market Data

In addition to its powerful screening and charting tools, FinViz is also an aggregator of financial news and data from trusted sources such as Bloomberg, CNN Money, and Wall Street Journal.

This feature ensures that users stay up-to-date with financial news that could impact their investment decisions. Additionally, the platform offers real-time quotes for registered users, enabling informed decision-making based on the latest market data.

Insider Trading Insights

FinViz provides a neat feature that tracks insider trading. It provides a list of transactions made by company executives, which could be a useful indicator for investors to predict the future movement of a company’s stock.

Futures and Forex Markets

FinViz also provides an overview of futures and forex markets. These sections provide charts, quotes, and heatmaps for a variety of futures and forex pairs. This is a beneficial feature for traders who wish to diversify their investment portfolios beyond stocks.

Easy-to-use Interface

One of the stand-out features of FinViz is its user-friendly interface. The platform is designed with simplicity in mind, making it easy to navigate even for beginners. The filters and tools are straightforward, and the visual representation of data makes it easier to interpret and understand the market trends.

Educational Resources

FinViz also offers a range of educational resources to help novice traders understand the complexities of the stock market. These resources include a glossary of financial terms, helpful articles, and tutorials on how to use the platform.

Pricing & Plans

There are three different ways you can use FinViz. We’ll explain a bit about each option below.

Unregistered

Even as an unregistered user, there’s still plenty of information you’ll have access to. For starters, you’ll be able to view FinViz’s comprehensive list of stocks across the stock market, both as a whole and as individual stocks.

Clicking on—or searching up—a stock ticker will bring up a delayed chart, news feeds for that stock, stock information (such as average volume, ROI, price change, etc.), and statements that go back three years.

Registered

By registering to the site for free, users can enjoy a few more features. A registered account can track up to fifty portfolios, use fifty tickers per portfolio, and use a maximum of 50 screener presets. These accounts also have access to layout customization.

FinViz Elite

By paying $39.50 per month (or $299.50 per year with annual billing) for a FinViz Elite subscription, users can unlock the full capabilities of FinViz.

This grants them access to real-time data, intraday, fundamental, & advanced charts, technical studies, backtesting, alerts, custom screener ranges, and more.

This plan also raises their portfolio limit up to 100, ticker limit up to 100, and screener presets up to a maximum of 200.

Limitations

FinViz has a few limitations that make it a poor choice for day traders (these same issues make it less attractive to an advanced trader). For starters, the “real-time data” only updates once a minute, meaning you won’t be able to watch the market live.

The interactive charting feature doesn’t allow you to save notes nor add indicators, and the backtesting reports could afford to be a bit more detailed.

Is FinViz Elite Worth It?

When deciding if a subscription like FinViz Elite is worth the investment, it’s essential to consider what you’re getting for the cost and how these additional features will assist you in your investment strategy.

FinViz Elite offers several unique features compared to the free and registered versions, which can be extremely valuable for active and serious investors.

Real-Time Data: With access to real-time quotes, charts, and screening, you can now make decisions based on the latest market information. This could provide a critical edge, especially for short-term traders, day traders, and swing traders.

Advanced Charts and Technical Studies: FinViz Elite offers access to advanced charting and technical studies, including intraday charts. Use these resources to identify trends, patterns, and signals that can guide your trading decisions. Regular practice and study can help you become proficient in these techniques over time.

Backtest Your Strategies: Use the backtesting feature to validate your trading strategies against historical data. This can be an invaluable tool for risk management and strategy refinement. Remember, while backtesting cannot predict future results with certainty, it can provide insight into potential strategy performance under different market conditions.

Email Alerts: Elite members also get the benefit of email alerts for price changes, insider trading, rating changes, and news. These alerts can save a lot of time and ensure you never miss significant market events.

Extended Fundamental Data: While free and registered users have access to financial statements for the past three years, Elite users can view data from the past eight years. This feature allows for a more detailed analysis of a company’s financial health.

Enhanced Screener Capabilities: The screener is a key tool on FinViz, and with Elite, users get several enhancements. You can have more tickers per portfolio (up to 500), more portfolios per user (up to 100), more screener presets (up to 200), and the ability to export screener results.

Ad-Free Experience: The Elite subscription also offers an ad-free experience, which can make using the platform more enjoyable and less cluttered.

The value of these features will depend largely on your trading style and the frequency of your trades. For casual investors who make infrequent trades and don’t rely heavily on technical analysis, the free or registered version of FinViz may suffice.

However, for active traders or those who require extensive data and advanced charting tools, FinViz Elite could be well worth the investment. The real-time data, advanced charting, and email alerts are features that could potentially enhance trading performance and pay for the subscription cost over time.

Is there a free trial for Finviz Elite?

Currently, Finviz does not offer a free trial period for their premium Elite service. However, this doesn’t mean that you’re left in the dark about what the platform has to offer. Users can explore the basic capabilities of Finviz by using their free version, which provides delayed quotes, charts, and screenings, as well as limited access to other features. This allows you to get a good feel for the functionality and interface of the platform before making a financial commitment.

If you find the Finviz platform aligns with your needs and are considering upgrading for access to the real-time data, advanced charts, and other additional features offered by Finviz Elite, the pricing structure is straightforward. It costs $39.95 per month if paid on a monthly basis. However, if you decide to pay annually, the price comes down significantly to an average of $24.96 per month – a considerable discount for long-term commitment.

The decision to upgrade should be based on your specific needs as an investor or trader. Finviz Elite can be a powerful tool, offering in-depth analysis, real-time data, and advanced features that can significantly aid in making informed trading decisions.

Who is FinViz Best For?

Understanding who can benefit most from FinViz is crucial when considering this tool for your investment strategy. Here’s a look at the types of investors who can gain the most from what FinViz has to offer:

• Long-term Investors: FinViz is an exceptional tool for long-term investors. The platform’s comprehensive data, including a plethora of fundamental factors like P/E ratios, dividend yields, insider transactions, and more, allow investors to make informed decisions based on solid data. Additionally, FinViz’s portfolio feature is a great tool to keep track of investments and monitor their performance over time.
• Swing Traders: Swing traders who hold positions for days or weeks can benefit greatly from FinViz’s screening tools and charts. The platform’s ability to scan for specific patterns and setups can help swing traders identify potential trading opportunities. Additionally, the platform’s heatmap and news feed features can help swing traders stay aware of significant market trends and news that may influence their trading decisions.
• Beginner Investors:For those just starting out in the world of investing, FinViz is an excellent resource. Its user-friendly interface and visual data representation make it easy for beginners to understand the basics of the stock market. The educational resources, including articles and a glossary, can also help newcomers familiarize themselves with financial terms and concepts.
• Value Investors: Value investors can also greatly benefit from FinViz. The platform’s powerful screener allows investors to search for undervalued stocks based on various criteria such as low P/E ratios, high dividend yields, or low price-to-book values. The platform’s extensive data on fundamentals also provides valuable information for this type of analysis.
• Investors Seeking Diversification: FinViz is not only about stocks. The platform also covers futures and forex markets, making it a great tool for investors looking to diversify their portfolio across different asset classes.

While FinViz can offer useful features to any investor, it’s particularly suited for these groups. Its ability to provide a wide array of data, coupled with its easy-to-use interface, makes it an indispensable tool for many. Whether you’re a novice or a seasoned trader, FinViz has something to offer you.

FinViz Review – Final Thoughts

FinViz is an incredibly versatile and user-friendly platform that caters to the needs of a wide variety of investors, from beginners to long-term investors, swing traders, and those seeking to diversify their portfolios. Its robust stock screener, financial visualization tools, and extensive data offerings make it a powerful resource for anyone interested in investing.

Despite its limitations, particularly its less-than-real-time data updates and somewhat limited charting capabilities, FinViz offers significant value, particularly for its free version. The premium Elite subscription does provide additional advanced features, but the value for money will depend on your individual needs and trading style.

The platform’s user-friendly interface and visual representation of data are particularly beneficial for beginners, while the stock screener, heatmap, and backtesting tools can provide valuable insights for more experienced investors. Additionally, the news aggregation feature and insider trading insights offer unique perspectives on market trends and company-specific news.

Given all the features and tools it offers, FinViz is a robust platform that can greatly aid in making informed investment decisions. Whether you’re a beginner investor or an experienced trader, FinViz is worth considering as a part of your trading toolkit.

You can start using FinViz for free by clicking here!