Seeking Alpha vs Morningstar 2023

Jeremy Biberdorf By: Jeremy Biberdorf  
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When it comes to investing, the more you know the more likely you are to succeed. Companies Seeking Alpha and Morningstar are designed to help investors gather information allowing them to analytically invest their money.

So, when comparing Seeking Alpha vs Morningstar, which one is best?

Let’s take a look at some of the similarities and differences they have to offer.

Seeking Alpha is Better for:Morningstar Investor is Better for:
Intermediate to AdvancedBeginner to Intermediate Investors
Financial and business newsStocks, ETFs, Mutual Funds
Stock analysis on email alertsNot receiving spammy emails
Wall Street ratings for every stockLower Risk Portfolio Building
Comparing stocks side-by-side with peersReducing risk
Investing on the go or carrying out in-depth research and analysisGathering Information

Morningstar allows investors to gather information on companies and determine if they are worth investing in. It does this by offering exclusive stock evaluations, ratings, and research reports.

You can read a full review on Morningstar here.

Seeking Alpha Premium uses a combination of in-depth tools and analyses that helps you make informed investment decisions. They do this by educating investors via their Quant ratings, Author ratings, and Wall Street ratings.

For each stock, Morningstar also provides a fair value assessment, allowing you to determine if it is overvalued or undervalued in a matter of seconds.

Read a full review on Seeking Alpha here.

Seeking Alpha Morningstar
Annual Subscription Fees Basic Service The basic edition is available for free and gives users access to valuable information about stock research, such as Wall Street Ratings, news updates, and more. $249 for Morningstar Investor ($199 first year price with Modest Money plus 7 days free)
Securities Analyzed Stocks, ETFs or REITs Stocks, Mutual Funds, ETFs
Investing Approach Advanced charting, data visualizations, technical and fundamental analysis Quantitative (starred) and qualitative (gold, etc.) approaches distinctly separated by different ranking systems
Best Use Better investment decisions Low Risk Investing
Current Promotion

Discount Available Here

Discount Available Here

Save $50 on an annual membership with coupon code MM50
Modest Money Overall Rating
4.5 rating based on 5 ratings
4.0 rating based on 5 ratings

Seeking Alpha VS Morningstar: Determining Factors?

The three determining factors when comparing Seeking Alpha vs Morningstar are

  • Cost
  • Performance & track Record
  • Organization of Information

Let’s take a closer look below.

Factor 1: Better Organization

For each stock or fund, Morningstar provides a researched analyst report produced by one of the company’s analysts.

Compared to contributor articles on Seeking Alpha, these reports are easier for beginners to understand.

Seeking Alpha goes one step further by providing A-F ratings for certain valuation indicators like price-to-earnings ratio and price-to-cash flow.

Seeking Alpha Is Preferable to Morningstar for Organizing Information

  • A-F rating for valuation indicators
  • Articles are written by contributors
  • Multiple perspectives available

Morningstar: Organizing Information

Neither Morningstar’s tools nor its stock recommendations are intended for day trading or swing trading. Instead, it is intended for long-term investors, particularly those interested in basic analysis.

Morningstar concentrates on stocks, ETFs, and funds rather than FX, futures, or options.

Taking advantage of the free 7-day trial for the Investor service is recommended to decide if Morningstar is right for you properly.

Factor 2: Cost

It’s important to weigh up the cost of each service to determine which is right for you. Both have their advantages but Morningstar offers the best free option.

Yes, it’s limited but hey, it’s better than nothing.

When you move into the paid subscriptions consider what type of investor you are and which service will suit your trading style.

Both will pay for themselves in the long run.

Seeking Alpha’s Basic Subscription Costs Less Than Morningstar

  • Limited access to both Seeking Alpha and Morningstar’s websites is available for free, but in order to access most of the data and features, you’ll need to purchase a premium membership.
  • Cost for Seeking Alpha Premium is $239 annually or the Pro subscription can be availed for $2400 annually. Morningstar Premium is $249 annually or $34.95 each month.

You can save money on a Seeking Alpha subscription by using our coupon here!

Seeking Alpha Costs

Seeking Alpha Premium is $239 annually and the Pro subscription will cost $2400 annually.

Seeking Alpha Pro contains all of the features and advantages of Premium, in addition to the following:

  • Top Ideas
  • PRO content and newsletters
  • Short ideas portal
  • Idea screener/filter
  • VIP Service
  • Ad-free experience

We wrote an entire article on why we think Seeking Alpha is worth the price here!

Morningstar Costs

Morningstar offers a free 7-day trial while Morningstar Premium is going to cost you $249 annually or $34.95 a month.

It’s worth paying for Morningstar Premium if you buy individual stocks, mutual funds, or ETFs and need objective, data-driven analysis.

Morningstar’s subscription includes the following:

  • Instant X-Ray is a great tool providing analysis of the diversification of your portfolio, including recommendations on how you can further diversify your risk. It also ranks your investment portfolio by risk level and shows your expenses for your assets and other vital data.
  • Stock, ETF, and mutual fund quote pages offer extensive information about a stock, ETF, or mutual fund.

You can read more about Morningstar Investor services here.

Factor 3: Performance

Let’s take a look at how the two stack up when comparing recent performance.

Seeking Alpha Performance

More than 20 million people visit Seeking Alpha’s website each month. This makes it one of the most popular websites for conducting stock research anywhere in the world.

These users are only interested in one thing: obtaining access to high-quality investment research.

The service provided by Seeking Alpha is made possible by more than 7,000 contributors who together produce over 10,000 articles every single month.

Over the years, Seeking Alpha’s backtested strategy has delivered very impressive returns, beating the S&P 500 year on year.

Check out our review of Seeking Alpha’s impressive app here.

Learn More About Seeking Alpha

Morningstar Performance

Morningstar as a company has seen exceptional growth. Here’s a quick look into how well the company has been doing over the past few years.

Morningstar’s revenue for the quarter ending September 30 saw a 9.16% increase year-over-year with over $1.8 Billion in revenue.

  • Morningstar’s annual revenue for 2021 was $1.699B, a 22.3% increase from 2020.
  • Morningstar’s annual revenue for 2020 was $1.39B, a 17.85% increase from 2019.
  • Morningstar’s annual revenue for 2019 was $1.179B, a 15.6% increase from 2018.

Learn More About Morningstar

Final Verdict

Seeking Alpha offers options suitable for your needs if you want to invest on the move or set aside time for more in-depth study and analysis.

Morningstar investor is best for active traders and beginner to intermediate investors.

Seeking Alpha offers a bunch of valuable information and individual viewpoints on every stock. It does take a little more analysis effort though.

Morningstar’s website is easy to use and has great tools for creating a portfolio of stocks, ETFs, and mutual funds.

We can’t split them the offer unique advantages depending on the type of trader you are. That decision is yours to make.

At least you know you can’t go wrong!

 

Jeremy Biberdorf

About the Author:

Jeremy Biberdorf is the founder of Modest Money. After working many years in the website marketing industry, he decided to take on blogging full time and also get his finances headed in the right direction. Also check out his contributions to Equities.com and Benzinga.