Best trading journals at a glance
No product wins every category. These are the segments each journal is genuinely strongest in, based on what its provider publishes. Products are listed alphabetically throughout; the order is not a ranking.
Best for notes-led review with the journal kept on your own device
- Free plan
- Free forever: unlimited manual trades and accounts
- Paid pricing
- Pro $18/mo or $180/yr
Best for an uncapped free manual journal
- Free plan
- Free forever: unlimited manual trades and accounts
- Paid pricing
- Pro $10/mo, billed monthly
Best for lower-cost multi-asset hosted journalling
- Free plan
- 30 imported orders/mo, 1 account, 3 open positions
- Paid pricing
- Basic $19.95/mo or $169/yr; Pro $29.95/mo or $249/yr
Best for granular analytics with tiered replay precision
- Free plan
- No ongoing free plan; 7-day trial advertised
- Paid pricing
- Pro $29.95/mo or $269.52/yr; Premium $49.95/mo or $449.52/yr; Elite $79.95/mo or $719.52/yr
Best for mentor and coach review across a broad broker list
- Free plan
- Capped at 30 imported trades per month
- Paid pricing
- Silver $29.95/mo, Gold $49.95/mo
Best for deep hosted analytics with a usable free stocks-only tier
- Free plan
- Basic free forever: 3,000 executions/mo, 1 account, stocks only
- Paid pricing
- Pro from $14.99/mo annually; Platinum from $22.49/mo annually
Best for replay, playbooks and AI-assisted backtesting in one hosted product
- Free plan
- No ongoing free plan published
- Paid pricing
- Essential $35/mo, Pro $59/mo, Ultra $99/mo
Trading journal comparison table
Every cell comes from the provider's own published pages. Ticked cells meet the stated benchmark for that column, listed under the table.
| Trading journal | Ongoing free plan | Paid pricing | Broker import and sync | Replay and backtesting | Where the journal lives |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Journalit | Free forever: unlimited manual trades and accounts | Pro $18/mo or $180/yr | Pro: any broker that exports CSV or Excel, via 17 built-in broker adapters or custom column mapping; sync for MetaTrader 4 and Tradovate | No built-in replay | Files on your device |
| StonkJournal | Free forever: unlimited manual trades and accounts | Pro $10/mo, billed monthly | File-based import only; broker API sync listed as upcoming | Not documented | Hosted account |
| Trademetria | 30 imported orders/mo, 1 account, 3 open positions | Basic $19.95/mo or $169/yr; Pro $29.95/mo or $249/yr | API sync, file upload or manual entry; Tradovate auto-syncs | PnL simulator on all plans; no trade replay documented | Hosted account |
| TraderSync | No ongoing free plan; 7-day trial advertised | Pro $29.95/mo or $269.52/yr; Premium $49.95/mo or $449.52/yr; Elite $79.95/mo or $719.52/yr | Unlimited imports and auto-sync on every plan | Replay on all plans; automated backtesting is Elite only | Hosted account |
| Tradervue | Capped at 30 imported trades per month | Silver $29.95/mo, Gold $49.95/mo | Standard file import plus Broker Sync on a large platform list | Not published on the pages we checked | Hosted account |
| TradesViz | Basic free forever: 3,000 executions/mo, 1 account, stocks only | Pro from $14.99/mo annually; Platinum from $22.49/mo annually | 250+ platforms and 70+ auto-sync connections advertised | Replay, simulators and backtesting are Platinum only | Hosted account |
| TradeZella | No ongoing free plan published | Essential $35/mo, Pro $59/mo, Ultra $99/mo | 500+ broker and prop-firm integrations with automatic fill imports | Replay excluded from Essential; AI backtests capped per plan | Hosted account |
What a tick means in each column
- Ongoing free plan:
- Free plan with no cap on manually recorded trades
- Paid pricing:
- Full feature set for under $20 a month
- Broker import and sync:
- Publishes a count of platforms that sync automatically
- Replay and backtesting:
- Trade replay included on at least one plan
- Where the journal lives:
- Journal stored as files on your own device
Ticks cover only these 5 columns, so a product can be an excellent fit and carry none. Each product section below carries the date its figures were last confirmed; follow the source links there before you buy. Scroll the table sideways on a narrow screen.
What happens if you stop paying
Most comparisons skip this, and it is the one thing you cannot undo later. Here is what each provider actually publishes, quoted from its own terms rather than assumed.
A fair warning about a claim you will see elsewhere, including from companies that would like your business: it is not true that hosted journals simply delete your history when you cancel. 2 of the 6 hosted products here publish the opposite, and 4 publish nothing we could retrieve either way. The real difference is not deletion, it is who decides. With a hosted journal your continued access is whatever the provider's terms say it is, and those terms can change. With a journal kept as files on your own device there is no policy in between you and your trading history.
- Journalit
Nothing to retrieve. The journal is already files on your own computer, so cancelling Pro stops imports and sync while every trade, note and screenshot you have written stays exactly where it is, and the free plan keeps working. The counterpart is that backups and keeping those files safe are your responsibility, not a provider's.
- StonkJournal
Not published, as far as we can tell. StonkJournal links to terms, a privacy notice and a security page, but all three were unreachable when we checked, so we cannot say what happens to a cancelled account. The links are below if you have better luck.
- Trademetria
Trademetria answers this directly in its pricing FAQ: "Nothing. Your data will continue there until you terminate your account." Closing the account deletes your data apart from limited sign-up and billing records, and exporting trades is included on every plan, the free one included.
- TraderSync
There is no ongoing free plan, and the billing policy does not say what happens to your data once a subscription ends. Deleting your account is immediate and irreversible, with backup fragments removed after 30 days.
- Tradervue
Cancelling leaves what Tradervue's terms call a "no-charge, reduced-functionality access option", and its privacy policy says account data is kept for the life of the account plus 24 months.
- TradesViz
Paid features run to the end of the paid period, after which the terms say access to them is "stopped, prohibited or limited". A free Basic plan exists, but the terms do not say a cancelled account converts to it automatically, and nothing we could retrieve states what happens to the trades themselves.
- TradeZella
There is no ongoing free plan. TradeZella publishes a cancellation article, but we could not retrieve what it says about your data, so there is nothing here we are willing to summarise. The article is linked below.
How we compared these trading journals
Journalit publishes this guide and is one of the products in it. That is a conflict of interest, so here is exactly how the products were chosen and how the facts were checked.
- 1
Selection before scoring
We included products that are routinely shortlisted for general trading-journal use and that publish enough plan detail to compare fairly. Edgewonk was considered and left out of the table because it publishes no ongoing free plan and bills on a non-standard 16-month cycle, which makes a like-for-like monthly price comparison misleading. Spreadsheet workflows were also excluded because they are not a product with published plans. - 2
Primary sources only
Every price, plan cap and feature claim comes from the provider's own pricing page, help centre or documentation. Third-party reviews were used for context, never as the source of a price or a hard feature claim. - 3
No guessing
Where a provider does not publish something, the cell says so. Nothing here is inferred from a competitor's marketing or a third-party review. - 4
No overall winner
Products are grouped by what they are best at. Journalit is not awarded an overall first place, and its limitations are listed in the same format as everyone else's.
Related Journalit guides
Every product was checked against its provider's own pages, most recently on 14 September 2026. If you are narrowing a specific decision, these pages go deeper than this overview.
The trading journals in detail
Each product gets the same treatment: who it fits, what it costs, what genuinely stands out, and where it falls short.
Journalit
Best for notes-led review with the journal kept on your own device
Journalit is a trading journal that runs inside Obsidian, so trades, notes, screenshots and reviews are written to files on your own computer rather than to a hosted account. The manual journal is free and open-ended; Pro is the automation layer.
Free plan
The free plan is ongoing rather than a trial. It covers unlimited manual trades and unlimited trading accounts, notes and screenshots, analytics and dashboards, recurring review workflows and built-in templates. The core journal works without a Journalit account.
Pricing
Pro is $18 per month, or $180 per year, which works out at $15 per month when billed annually. Pro adds Trade Import, which has built-in adapters for 17 brokers and platforms and offers manual or AI-assisted column mapping for anything else that exports CSV or Excel, plus MetaTrader 4 and 5 statement import, sync for MetaTrader 4 and Tradovate, and the Economic Calendar. Rithmic and cTrader sync are limited previews rather than generally available integrations.
What stands out
- The journal is stored as files on your device, so it can be backed up, searched and moved without exporting from a vendor account.
- Notes, screenshots and recurring reviews are part of the trade record rather than a text box attached to a metrics dashboard.
- Account types include Demo, Evaluation and Funded, with prop-firm drawdown models, profit targets and recurring challenge costs tracked per account.
- Trade Import is not limited to a supported-broker list: 17 brokers and platforms have a built-in adapter, and manual or AI-assisted column mapping handles any other CSV, Excel or table-style export, with mappings saved as reusable templates.
- Futures traders on Tradovate, or on NinjaTrader brokerage accounts with Tradovate account access, can sync rather than retype fills.
Limitations and trade-offs
- Journalit requires Obsidian. That is a workflow choice, and it will not suit a trader who wants a conventional hosted dashboard.
- There is no built-in trade replay engine, so bar-by-bar replay needs a separate tool.
- Trade Import and all broker or platform sync require Pro. Free accounts can analyse and preview supported files but cannot commit imported trades.
- There is no standalone Journalit mobile app. Mobile use is through Obsidian on iOS and Android.
- Rithmic and cTrader sync are limited previews rather than generally available integrations.
StonkJournal
Best for an uncapped free manual journal
StonkJournal keeps manual journalling genuinely unlimited on its free plan and charges a single low monthly price for file import and AI. It is explicit that it does not yet offer live broker synchronisation.
Free plan
The free plan is $0 forever with unlimited trades and unlimited accounts, no trial and no card required. It covers stocks, options, futures, forex, crypto and indices, auto-detected multi-leg options, stats and equity curve, a calendar heatmap and weighted risk-rule compliance scoring.
Pricing
Pro is $10 per month, billed monthly. It adds Smart Import, the AI Coach, AI Chat and an aggregated all-accounts view.
What stands out
- Manual logging, unlimited trades and unlimited accounts stay on the free plan, with separate cash, prop, IRA and futures accounts.
- Risk management rules produce a weighted compliance score on every trade.
- Pro is the cheapest paid tier in this comparison at $10 per month.
Limitations and trade-offs
- StonkJournal states it currently supports file-based import rather than live broker synchronisation; broker API sync is listed as a future feature.
- Smart Import and the AI features sit behind Pro.
- The journal is hosted. StonkJournal documents Supabase for hosting and database services.
Trademetria
Best for lower-cost multi-asset hosted journalling
Trademetria covers equities, options, futures, forex, crypto and CFDs at a lower price point than most hosted rivals, and puts its AI features on every plan including the free one.
Free plan
The free plan is $0 per month and allows 30 imported orders per month, 1 trading account and 3 open positions, across equities, options, futures, forex, crypto and CFDs.
Pricing
Basic is $19.95 per month or $169 per year and raises the cap to 500 imported orders per month with 1 account and 200 open positions. Pro is $29.95 per month or $249 per year with unlimited imports, 50 accounts and unlimited open positions. Annual pricing is displayed as both a monthly equivalent and a yearly total.
What stands out
- AI Insights and an AI Assistant are listed on every plan, including the free one.
- The integrations table distinguishes upload-only platforms from auto-sync platforms; Tradovate supports both.
- A PnL simulator is available on all three plans.
- Trademetria documents an installable progressive web app for iPhone and Android.
Limitations and trade-offs
- The free plan caps you at 30 imported orders a month and 3 open positions, which suits low volume only.
- Basic still allows only one trading account; multi-account traders need Pro.
- NinjaTrader and Rithmic Trader are listed as upload-only rather than auto-sync.
- Trademetria’s own pages give conflicting platform counts, 1,500+ on the integrations page and 140+ in the pricing FAQ.
TraderSync
Best for granular analytics with tiered replay precision
TraderSync is a paid hosted journal with a deep reporting set, trade replay on every plan and an AI assistant metered by messages per day. Replay precision and automated backtesting are the main reasons to move up a tier.
Free plan
TraderSync does not publish an ongoing free plan. Its billing policy advertises a 7-day free trial with full access to most features, excluding trade and execution exports.
Pricing
Pro is $29.95 per month or $269.52 per year, Premium is $49.95 per month or $449.52 per year, and Elite is $79.95 per month or $719.52 per year. Active account limits are 5 on Pro, 20 on Premium and 50 on Elite.
What stands out
- Trade replay is included on every plan, at 1-minute precision on Pro, 1-second on Premium and 250 milliseconds on Elite.
- The plan comparison covers stocks, forex, crypto, equity options, futures options, CFDs, futures and indices on all three tiers.
- The Cypher assistant is available on every plan at 5, 15 and 60 messages per day; Cypher Coach is Elite only.
Limitations and trade-offs
- There is no ongoing free plan, so the journal stops working when you stop paying.
- Pro caps strategies at 3, trade plans at 1 and playlists at 3; those become unlimited only on Premium and above.
- Automated backtesting sits on Elite, the most expensive tier.
Tradervue
Best for mentor and coach review across a broad broker list
Tradervue is a long-established hosted journal built around imported executions, tagged setups and reporting. Its mentor and mentee sharing is part of both paid plans rather than a top-tier extra.
Free plan
Tradervue publishes an ongoing free plan. Its documented limit is 30 imported trades per calendar month, counted as grouped trades rather than individual executions.
Pricing
Silver is $29.95 per month and Gold is $49.95 per month. The pricing page publishes monthly billing only; no annual price is listed. Both paid plans list unlimited trade imports, unlimited trading accounts and unlimited mentors or mentees. Gold adds trade exit performance analysis, max potential P&L analysis and commissions and fees support.
What stands out
- Unlimited mentors and mentees are included on both paid plans, which suits traders working with a coach or running a small group.
- Exit performance analysis on Gold compares your actual exits against the best potential exit P&L on the same trade.
- The supported-platform list includes Tradovate, NinjaTrader and Rithmic R | Trader alongside the usual equities brokers.
Limitations and trade-offs
- The free plan stops being useful quickly for an active trader at 30 grouped trades a month.
- No annual billing discount is published, so the effective yearly cost is higher than several rivals.
- Tradervue documents two import methods, Standard Import and Broker Sync, but warns that sync may not be available with every broker.
TradesViz
Best for deep hosted analytics with a usable free stocks-only tier
TradesViz is analytics-first, with a large number of charts, AI review checks and a simulator set. Its free Basic plan is generous on execution count but restricted to stocks and a single account.
Free plan
Basic is described as free forever and allows up to 3,000 executions per month, one trading account and stocks only. Pro and Platinum advertise a 7-day free trial.
Pricing
Pro is $19.99 per month or $14.99 per month billed annually. Platinum is $29.99 per month or $22.49 per month billed annually. Annual pricing is displayed as a monthly equivalent rather than a yearly total, and promotional prices were also displayed when we checked. Pro allows 10 trading accounts and Platinum allows 20.
What stands out
- TradesViz advertises more than 250 supported brokers and platforms and more than 70 auto-sync connections.
- The AI Coach trading review runs a fixed set of deterministic checks, 16 on Pro and 18 on Platinum.
- Platinum adds an advanced simulator, trade replay, options execution simulation and an options strategy backtester.
- Tradovate, NinjaTrader and Rithmic all appear on the supported futures list, with Rithmic auto-sync handled through a Google Drive method.
Limitations and trade-offs
- The free Basic plan is stocks only, capped at one account, and limits chart images and indicators per trade.
- Replay, simulators and backtesting require Platinum, the top tier.
- Unlimited imports across other asset classes start at Pro.
TradeZella
Best for replay, playbooks and AI-assisted backtesting in one hosted product
TradeZella bundles journalling with replay, manual and automated backtesting, AI agents and a trading community. It is the broadest hosted feature set in this comparison and also the most expensive at the top tier.
Free plan
TradeZella does not publish an ongoing free plan. The pricing page presents three paid tiers.
Pricing
Essential is $35 per month or $315 per year, Pro is $59 per month or $531 per year and Ultra is $99 per month or $891 per year. Annual pricing is shown as both a monthly equivalent and a yearly billed total. Active account limits are 1 on Essential, 50 on Pro and unlimited on Ultra.
What stands out
- TradeZella advertises more than 500 broker and prop-firm integrations with automatic fill imports, alongside upload and manual entry.
- Manual backtesting is on every plan; automated AI backtests are 10 per month on Pro and 100 per month on Ultra.
- Mentor Mode, Spaces and a trading community are built in, with invite rights widening on higher tiers.
- Zella AI credits are 500, 1,500 and 3,000 per month across the three plans, and reset each billing month.
Limitations and trade-offs
- Essential is limited to one active account and excludes trade replay, which is a headline reason people choose TradeZella.
- There is no ongoing free plan, so access to the journal ends when you stop paying.
- AI usage is metered by credits rather than being unlimited on any tier.
How to choose a trading journal
Pick the constraint most likely to make you abandon the journal within a month, then choose the product that removes it.
You do not want to type trades in
Start from your broker or platform, not from the journal. Check the provider’s own integrations list for your exact platform and whether it is auto-sync or upload-only, because the two are often mixed in the same table. TradeZella advertises more than 500 integrations with automatic fill imports, TradesViz publishes an explicit auto-sync count, 70+ of its 250+ platforms, and Journalit covers any broker that exports CSV or Excel through a documented export path or custom column mapping, with sync on a shorter list. All of it is Pro.
You trade futures on Tradovate or NinjaTrader
Support for these platforms varies more than the marketing suggests. Trademetria lists Tradovate as auto-sync but NinjaTrader and Rithmic as upload-only. TradesViz lists all three, with Rithmic auto-sync through a Google Drive method. Journalit syncs Tradovate directly and covers NinjaTrader brokerage accounts that have Tradovate account access.
Your edge comes from written review, not metrics
Most hosted journals treat notes as a field attached to a trade. If the writing is the point, look for screenshots, recurring review templates and links between notes as first-class parts of the record rather than an afterthought.
You want to replay and backtest inside the journal
This is the clearest reason to pay. TraderSync includes replay on every plan and raises precision by tier. TradeZella gives unlimited replay from its middle tier and adds automated AI backtests. TradesViz puts replay and its simulators on Platinum. Journalit does not have a replay engine.
Budget is the binding constraint
Separate an ongoing free plan from a trial. Journalit and StonkJournal both keep manual journalling unlimited at no cost. TradesViz allows 3,000 stock executions a month free. Tradervue and Trademetria cap the free tier at 30 trades or orders a month. TraderSync and TradeZella have no free plan.
You want to keep the record yourself
6 of the 7 products here are hosted services, so your journal lives in an account you do not control and leaves through an export feature. Journalit is the exception: trades, notes and screenshots are files on your own device, which also means backups and portability are your responsibility.
What Journalit does differently
Journalit publishes this guide, so treat this section as the disclosed advert it is. The facts are the same ones used in the table above.
Journalit is a trading journal that runs inside Obsidian, a free notes app for desktop and mobile. Instead of keeping your trading record in a hosted account, it writes every trade, note and screenshot to files on your own device. You do not need to have used Obsidian before: you install it, add Journalit from the Community Plugins directory, and an onboarding wizard creates your first trading account.
The split between free and paid is also different from most of this category. Manual trades, accounts, notes, screenshots, analytics, dashboards and recurring reviews are free and uncapped. Pro, at $18 per month or $180 per year, buys the automation: Trade Import for broker exports and spreadsheets, MetaTrader statement import, sync for MetaTrader 4 and Tradovate, and the Economic Calendar.
The honest trade-offs: it runs inside Obsidian rather than a browser dashboard, there is no built-in trade replay or simulator, there is no standalone mobile app. Rithmic and cTrader sync are limited previews rather than generally available integrations. If replay drives your process or you want a hosted mobile-first product, one of the other 6 will fit better.
Check the claims yourself
Each link goes to the Journalit page or documentation that the rows in this guide were taken from.