Best Trading Journal Apps in 2026: Comparing Features & Pricing

Why Every Serious Trader Needs a Journal

The difference between profitable traders and everyone else often comes down to one habit: journaling. Tracking your trades forces you to confront patterns you’d otherwise ignore—the revenge trades after losses, the position sizing mistakes during winning streaks, the setups that look good but consistently fail.

Spreadsheets work, but barely. Modern trading journal apps automate the tedious parts (importing trades, calculating statistics) while surfacing insights you’d never find manually. Some now use AI to identify behavioral patterns across thousands of trades. Others sync directly with your broker so every position appears automatically.

This comparison covers the best trading journal apps in 2026, from free options to premium platforms with advanced analytics. We’ve tested each one with real trading data to cut through the marketing and show you what actually matters.

What Makes a Good Trading Journal App?

Before diving into specific platforms, here’s what separates useful journaling software from glorified spreadsheets:

Automated Trade Import

Manual entry kills journaling habits faster than anything else. The best apps connect directly to your broker or accept standard file formats (CSV, Excel) from any platform. Some sync automatically after each trade—you log in and everything’s already there.

Meaningful Analytics

Raw P&L numbers don’t help you improve. Good journals break down performance by setup type, time of day, holding period, position size, and dozens of other variables. You should be able to answer questions like “How do my morning trades compare to afternoon trades?” or “What’s my win rate on breakout setups versus mean reversion?”

Psychology Tracking

Your emotional state affects your trading more than most strategies. Apps that let you tag trades with emotional states (confident, anxious, revenge trading) reveal patterns invisible in pure performance data. If your worst trades cluster around “frustrated” tags, you’ve found something actionable.

Platform Compatibility

For traders running automated strategies on a forex VPS, journal apps that integrate with MT4, MT5, or cTrader make tracking effortless. Look for platforms that support your specific broker and trading software.

Best Trading Journal Apps Compared

App	Best For	Starting Price	Free Tier	Broker Integrations
TradesViz	Free comprehensive option	$0/month	Yes (3,000 trades)	40+ auto-sync
Tradervue	Overall industry standard	$29.95/month	Yes (30 trades)	80+
TraderSync	AI-powered analysis	$29.95/month	No	900+
TradeZella	Day traders & community	$29/month	No	20+
Edgewonk	Best value annual plan	$169/year	No	MT4/MT5/cTrader
Stonk Journal	Completely free	$0	Yes (unlimited)	Manual only
Myfxbook	Forex traders	$0	Yes	MT4/MT5

1. TradesViz — Best Free Option

TradesViz offers the most feature-rich free tier in the trading journal space. With 3,000 trade executions per month at no cost, it handles more volume than most retail traders need. The platform has processed over 50 million trades for 100,000+ active users.

Key Features

The analytics depth rivals paid competitors. TradesViz provides 600+ performance statistics, 70+ interactive charts, and customizable dashboards with 600+ available widgets. Their AI-powered Q&A feature lets you ask natural language questions about your trading data—”What’s my average hold time on winning trades?” returns an actual answer.

The multi-asset simulator supports stocks, futures, options, forex, and crypto with historical replay functionality. This lets you backtest strategy modifications against your actual trading history rather than hypothetical scenarios.

Pricing

• Free: 3,000 executions/month, 50+ visualizations
• Pro: $18/month — Unlimited imports, 400+ visualizations, AI features
• Platinum: $26/month — Custom dashboards, pivot grid, simulators

Pros and Cons

Strengths: Generous free tier, comprehensive analytics, AI-powered insights, supports all major asset classes.

Weaknesses: Interface can feel overwhelming initially. Auto-sync limited to 40 brokers (manual import covers 200+ more).

Best for: Traders who want serious analytics without paying monthly fees.

2. Tradervue — Industry Standard

Tradervue has earned its reputation as the default choice for serious traders. Over 200,000 traders use the platform, and its community features create a network effect—you can share trades, follow successful traders, and learn from others’ analysis.

Key Features

The platform auto-syncs with 80+ brokers including Interactive Brokers, Charles Schwab, Fidelity, and most major platforms. After connecting, current and future trades upload automatically. Tradervue generates charts around each entry and exit point, showing exactly what the price action looked like when you pulled the trigger.

The community aspect distinguishes Tradervue from pure analytics tools. Mentorship features let experienced traders review your journal, and shared trades provide educational value you won’t find in isolated journaling apps.

Pricing

• Free: 30 stock trades/month, basic journaling
• Silver: $29.95/month — Unlimited trades, advanced reporting, mentoring tools
• Gold: $49.95/month — Risk analysis, exit analysis, commission tracking

Pros and Cons

Strengths: Industry-leading broker integrations, active community, comprehensive reporting, clean interface.

Weaknesses: Expensive compared to alternatives. No cryptocurrency support. Very limited free tier (30 trades).

Best for: Traders seeking comprehensive analysis with community learning opportunities.

3. TraderSync — Best for AI Analysis

TraderSync pushes the AI-powered analysis further than any competitor. Their Cypher AI analyzes your entire trading history, identifies patterns you’ve missed, and provides specific strategy recommendations. It’s like having a trading coach review every trade you’ve ever made.

Key Features

The platform connects to over 900 brokers—more than any other journal we tested. This breadth matters if you trade across multiple platforms or use less common brokers. TraderSync also offers iOS and Android apps for mobile journaling and trade review.

The AI assistant doesn’t just summarize statistics. It flags rule violations (“You entered before your setup confirmed”), identifies profitable patterns (“Your win rate jumps 15% when you wait for the first pullback”), and suggests strategy modifications based on your actual results.

Pricing

• Pro: $29.95/month — Full journaling, basic analytics
• Premium: $49.95/month — AI assistant, advanced reports
• Elite: $79.95/month — Everything plus backtesting and simulator

Pros and Cons

Strengths: Most broker integrations (900+), powerful AI analysis, mobile apps available, live chat support.

Weaknesses: No free tier. Highest pricing at elite level. AI recommendations require significant trade history to be useful.

Best for: Traders using multiple brokers who want AI-driven improvement suggestions.

4. TradeZella — Best for Day Traders

TradeZella focuses specifically on active day traders rather than trying to serve everyone. The platform emphasizes trade replay, backtesting, and community features that help you learn from other traders’ strategies.

Key Features

Trade replay lets you watch your trades unfold in real-time on historical charts. You can speed up, slow down, or step through bar-by-bar to analyze your entry and exit timing. This visual review catches execution issues that raw statistics miss.

The Playbooks feature tracks strategy-specific performance. Define your setups (breakout, pullback, reversal), tag each trade, and TradeZella shows which strategies actually make money versus which ones just feel good. The community Discord enables strategy sharing and peer feedback.

Pricing

• Basic: $29/month — Core journaling and analytics
• Pro: $49/month — Trade replay, backtesting, all features

Pros and Cons

Strengths: Excellent trade replay functionality, strategy-focused analytics, active community, clean interface.

Weaknesses: No free trial. Limited broker integrations (20+). No dedicated mobile app.

Best for: Active day traders who want visual trade review and community learning.

5. Edgewonk — Best Value

Edgewonk takes a different approach to pricing: one annual fee for everything, no tiers to navigate. At $169/year (roughly $14/month), it undercuts most monthly subscriptions while including features that competitors charge premium prices for.

Key Features

The psychology tracking stands out. Edgewonk includes a “Tiltmeter” that identifies when you’ve deviated from your trading plan, discipline efficiency scoring, and emotional state logging. Over time, these features reveal the behavioral patterns that cost you money.

For forex and futures traders running EAs on a MetaTrader VPS, Edgewonk integrates directly with MT4, MT5, and cTrader. Import your automated trading results alongside manual trades for complete performance tracking.

Pricing

• Single tier: $169/year (all features included)
• 14-day money-back guarantee

Pros and Cons

Strengths: Lowest annual cost among premium options, comprehensive psychology tracking, MT4/MT5/cTrader integration, gamification features.

Weaknesses: No monthly payment option. No free trial (only money-back guarantee). Requires significant trade data for meaningful insights.

Best for: Budget-conscious traders who prefer annual billing and want psychology-focused analysis.

6. Stonk Journal — Best Completely Free

If you want zero commitment and zero cost, Stonk Journal delivers a surprisingly capable journaling experience with no subscription, no ads, and no hidden upsells. The platform runs entirely on user donations.

Key Features

The trade-off for “completely free” is manual entry. There’s no broker integration or automatic import—you log each trade yourself. For traders making a handful of trades per week, this isn’t a dealbreaker. For active day traders, it becomes tedious quickly.

Despite the simplicity, Stonk Journal includes actual analytics: win rate, profit factor, average winner/loser, and basic performance charts. It supports stocks, options, forex, futures, and crypto. Setup takes about 15 seconds.

Pricing

• Free: Everything (donation-supported)

Pros and Cons

Strengths: Completely free forever, clean interface, quick setup, no account limits, supports all asset classes.

Weaknesses: Manual entry only (no automated imports). Limited analytics compared to paid options. No broker syncing.

Best for: Beginners, casual traders, or anyone who prefers manual logging.

7. Myfxbook — Best for Forex Traders

Myfxbook isn’t strictly a journaling app—it’s a comprehensive forex analytics platform that includes journaling functionality. For forex traders specifically, the combination of portfolio tracking, strategy backtesting, and community features makes it worth considering.

Key Features

The platform connects directly to MT4 and MT5 accounts, pulling every trade automatically. You get detailed analytics on drawdown, risk metrics, currency pair performance, and trading session analysis. The community aspect lets you publish verified track records and follow other traders.

Myfxbook also offers autotrade copying, economic calendars, and forex-specific tools that general journaling apps lack. If forex is your primary focus, the specialization provides value that multi-asset platforms can’t match.

Pricing

• Free: Core features (ad-supported)
• Premium: Available for advanced features

Pros and Cons

Strengths: Forex-specific analytics, MT4/MT5 auto-sync, verified track records, social trading features.

Weaknesses: Limited to forex/CFD trading. Interface feels dated. Ads on free tier.

Best for: Forex-focused traders who want specialized analytics and community features.

How to Choose the Right Trading Journal

With seven solid options, the “best” journal depends on your specific situation:

By Trading Style

• Day traders: TradeZella (trade replay, strategy playbooks)
• Swing traders: Tradervue (comprehensive analysis without overwhelm)
• Forex traders: Myfxbook or Edgewonk (platform-specific integrations)
• Multi-asset traders: TradesViz (supports everything with deep analytics)

By Budget

• $0/month: TradesViz (best free) or Stonk Journal (simplest free)
• Under $30/month: Edgewonk ($14/month equivalent) or TradesViz Pro ($18/month)
• Premium features: TraderSync Elite ($79.95/month) for AI analysis

By Broker Count

• 1-2 brokers: Any platform works
• 3+ brokers: TraderSync (900+ integrations) or manual import platforms

Spreadsheets vs Dedicated Journal Apps

Many traders start with Excel or Google Sheets. It works—to a point. Spreadsheets offer complete customization, cost nothing, and don’t require learning new software. For traders making a few trades per week, a well-designed spreadsheet might be all you need.

The limitations become obvious as trading frequency increases. Manual data entry takes time that compounds daily. Formula errors corrupt analysis. Charts require constant maintenance. Most critically, spreadsheets can’t automatically import trades from your broker—you’re copying and pasting every position.

Dedicated journal apps solve these problems through automation. Connect your broker account once, and every trade appears automatically with entry price, exit price, commissions, and timing. The software calculates statistics you’d spend hours building in spreadsheets. When your trading evolves, you’re analyzing patterns instead of debugging VLOOKUP formulas.

The break-even point typically comes around 20-30 trades per month. Below that, spreadsheets work fine. Above that, the time savings from automation justify a monthly subscription—especially when that time goes toward actual analysis rather than data entry.

Mobile Access Comparison

For traders who review performance away from their desktop, mobile app availability matters. Here’s how each platform handles mobile access:

• TraderSync: Full-featured iOS and Android apps with trade logging, analytics review, and AI insights
• TradesViz: Progressive web app (PWA) works on mobile browsers but no dedicated native apps
• Tradervue: Mobile-responsive website, no dedicated apps
• TradeZella: No mobile app currently available
• Edgewonk: Desktop-only software, no mobile version
• Stonk Journal: Web-based, works on mobile browsers
• Myfxbook: Full iOS and Android apps with portfolio tracking

TraderSync leads here with genuine native apps. If you want to review trades during commute or log emotional states immediately after exits, it’s the only option with proper mobile support. Myfxbook’s apps work well for forex traders specifically.

Setting Up Your Journal for Success

The journal you choose matters less than actually using it. Here’s how to build the habit:

Track Beyond P&L

Every trade should include: entry/exit reasoning, emotional state, setup type, and what you’d do differently. Raw numbers don’t teach you anything—context does. The goal isn’t creating a database—it’s building self-awareness about your trading decisions.

Review Weekly

Daily reviews create noise. Weekly reviews reveal patterns. Set a recurring time—Sunday evenings work well—to analyze your journal and identify one thing to improve. Don’t try to fix everything at once. Focus on eliminating your single biggest mistake until it disappears, then move to the next one.

Focus on Process

Profitable trades from bad processes hurt you long-term. Losing trades from good processes help you long-term. Your journal should help you distinguish between the two. Tag each trade with whether you followed your rules, regardless of outcome. Over time, you’ll see that rule-following correlates with profitability even when individual trades go against you.

Use Screenshots Liberally

Most journal apps support image attachments. Screenshot your charts at entry and exit. Include the broader timeframe context. When you review trades weeks later, these visual references prove invaluable—you’ll remember exactly what you saw when you pulled the trigger.

Frequently Asked Questions

What’s the best free trading journal app?

TradesViz offers the most comprehensive free option with 3,000 monthly trade executions, 600+ statistics, and AI-powered analysis at no cost. For complete simplicity with no limits, Stonk Journal is entirely free and donation-supported, though it requires manual trade entry.

Do professional traders use trading journals?

Yes. Most professional and institutional traders maintain detailed trade logs. The specific tool varies—some use proprietary systems, others use platforms like Tradervue—but consistent journaling is nearly universal among consistently profitable traders.

Can I use a trading journal with automated trading systems?

Absolutely. Platforms like Edgewonk and TradesViz integrate with MT4, MT5, and cTrader to automatically import EA trades. This lets you analyze your automated strategy’s performance with the same depth as manual trading.

How many trades do I need for meaningful journal analysis?

Most patterns become statistically significant around 50-100 trades. AI features in platforms like TraderSync work better with 200+ trades. Start journaling immediately—even small sample sizes reveal obvious mistakes.

Is Tradervue worth the monthly cost?

For active traders, yes. The automatic broker syncing, comprehensive analytics, and community features justify $30-50/month if you’re trading seriously. For casual traders or beginners, free alternatives like TradesViz provide similar core functionality.

What should I track in a trading journal?

At minimum: entry/exit prices, position size, P&L, and trade reasoning. For deeper analysis: emotional state, setup type, time of day, pre-trade checklist completion, and post-trade notes on what you’d change.

Can trading journals help with tax reporting?

Most journals export trade data in formats compatible with tax software. Tradervue and TraderSync specifically include commission and fee tracking that simplifies tax preparation. Always verify with a tax professional for your jurisdiction.