Best Trading Journal Software 2026: 6 Tools Compared

There is no best trading journal, only the one that fits your broker, your markets and your budget. Every provider calls itself the number one. What actually decides whether you keep using a journal is simpler: do your trades get in automatically, are costs included, can you try it first and can you take your data with you.

We compared six tools on exactly those points. On October 3, 2026 we checked each provider’s pricing page, terms and help center, and we rechecked the prices on October 6: Edgewonk, TradesViz, Trademetria, TraderSync, Tradervue and TradeZella. This is a documentation comparison, not a hands-on test; four of the tools have their own detailed review, linked below. This article follows our editorial policy.

Trading journal software in 30 seconds

• Free options: a spreadsheet, the free plans of TradesViz (stocks only), Trademetria (30 orders a month) and Tradervue (30 trades a month).
• Cheapest paid plans: about $20 a month at TradesViz and Trademetria; Edgewonk is $197 a year with no monthly option.
• Refunds are rare: only Edgewonk promises a 14-day money-back guarantee. TradeZella, TraderSync and TradesViz state that they do not refund.
• Automatic sync varies widely: TraderSync syncs 80 of 502 listed brokers, Tradervue 5 of 82. Check your own broker before anything else.
• Watch the costs: on some cheaper plans, commissions and fees are not tracked, so results look better than your account.

Which journal fits you? A decision guide

What matters most to you right now?

• Start free and keep full control of your data→Spreadsheet
• A free journal for stocks with automatic sync→TradesViz
• One yearly price, a refund window and a focus on psychology→Edgewonk
• Automatic sync with Interactive Brokers, Schwab or Tradovate, and a trial→TraderSync
• Low monthly price with costs tracked from the free plan→Trademetria
• Several prop firm accounts and polished reports→TradeZella
• US day trading with charts and a mentor→Tradervue

A starting point, not a ranking. Check your broker on the provider's list before you pay.

Comparison table: price, free plan and refunds

Tool	Cheapest paid plan	Try before you pay
Edgewonk	$197 a year	14-day refund
TradesViz	$19.99 a month	free plan, 7-day trial
Trademetria	$19.95 a month	free plan, feature test
TraderSync	$29.95 a month	7-day trial
Tradervue	$29.95 a month	free plan, trial
TradeZella	$35 a month	none

Prices in US dollars from each provider’s pricing page, rechecked October 6, 2026, before tax. Yearly billing is cheaper at most providers; details in the sections below.

• TradesViz Pro$19.99per month
• Trademetria Basic$19.95per month
• TraderSync Pro$29.95per month
• Tradervue Silver$29.95per month
• TradeZella Essential$35.00per month
• Edgewonkyearly only$197 a year

Prices rechecked October 6, 2026, before tax. Edgewonk sells only a yearly plan ($197, about $16.40 a month), so it has no bar.

How we compared the tools

We used the same five questions for every tool. They come from what makes a journal work in practice, as described in our guide on how to keep a trading journal.

1. Import: which brokers connect automatically, which need a file upload, and is your market supported?
2. Costs: are commissions and fees included in the results, and on which plan?
3. Price and terms: what do you pay, is there a free plan, a trial or a refund?
4. Data portability: can you export your trades if you leave?
5. Evidence: what did we verify on the provider’s own pages, and what is only advertised?

We did not rank the tools or give stars. A journal that is ideal for a US day trader with DAS Trader can be useless for a swing trader at a European broker.

The six tools in detail

Edgewonk: one yearly price and a refund window

Edgewonk sells one plan with all features for $197 a year. EU and UK buyers pay VAT on top. It has no trial but the only clear 14-day money-back guarantee in this comparison. The focus is on trading psychology: an automatic weekly Edge Finder scan, a Tiltmeter for rule breaks and session report cards.

• Import: auto sync for MetaTrader 4 and 5 brokers and prop firms; most other brokers, including Interactive Brokers, by fast file import.
• Costs: commissions and fees are listed as a feature.
• Limits: no monthly plan, no app, a basic backtester, and no login after you cancel.

Full details: our Edgewonk review.

TradesViz: the strongest free plan

TradesViz has the most generous free plan in this comparison, but only for stocks. The free Basic plan imports up to 3,000 executions a month (single fills, not trades) for one account and includes automatic sync. Pro costs $19.99 a month ($14.99 billed yearly), Platinum $29.99 ($22.49 yearly).

• Import: “250+ supported brokers and platforms, with 70+ auto-sync connections”, according to its broker list, plus sync through Plaid for many US and Canadian brokers.
• Costs: commission and fee tracking is not part of the free plan.
• Price and terms: 7-day trial for Pro and Platinum. The FAQ says plainly: “We do not offer refunds for any subscription purchases.”
• Extras: a large statistics library; trade replay and the trading simulators are in Platinum only.

Our view: the best free starting point for stock traders. Once you need costs, other markets or exports, you are in a paid plan.

Trademetria: low price, costs tracked early

Trademetria is the cheapest monthly option and tracks commissions and fees even on the free plan. The free plan allows 30 orders a month and one account. Basic costs $19.95 a month ($169 a year), Pro $29.95 ($249 a year).

• Import: “140+ brokers”, according to the provider. Automatic broker sync is a Pro feature; Free and Basic import by file.
• Export: from Basic upward; not on the free plan.
• Price and terms: you can test all features for 200 page views. Refunds are only issued if coding errors persist that the team cannot fix.

Our view: a good value choice if you import by file anyway and want costs in your numbers from the start.

TraderSync: the widest automatic sync

TraderSync connects automatically with more brokers than any other tool we checked. Its broker list has 502 entries, and 80 of them sync automatically, including Interactive Brokers, Charles Schwab, TradeStation, Tradovate, tastytrade, NinjaTrader, MetaTrader 4 and 5, and Zerodha in India. Robinhood, Webull and Fidelity need file uploads.

• Price: $29.95, $49.95 or $79.95 a month; paying yearly saves 25 percent.
• Terms: a 7-day trial with exports locked; after that “all payments made are non-refundable”.
• Extras: Market Replay in every plan (1-minute precision on Pro), the Cypher AI assistant with 5 to 60 messages a day.

Full details: our TraderSync review.

Tradervue: charts and mentoring for US day traders

Tradervue is built for US day traders who share their journal with a mentor. Silver costs $29.95 and Gold $49.95 a month; a free plan allows 30 trades a month.

• Import: only 5 of 82 listed brokers import automatically; Interactive Brokers works by file upload. Stocks and options are supported on US markets only; futures cover Eurex and ICE too.
• Costs: commissions, fees and net P&L require Gold. Silver reports results before costs.
• Terms: cancelling means switching to the free plan, and the terms do not mention refunds.

Full details: our Tradervue review.

TradeZella: polished, but no way to try

TradeZella has the most polished interface and Prop Firm Sync, but no free plan, no trial and no refunds. Since July 2026 Essential costs $35, Pro $59 and Ultra $99 a month, about 25 percent less billed yearly.

• Import: “500+ brokers and platforms” according to the provider, by auto sync or file upload depending on the broker.
• Limits: Essential connects one account and has no Trade Replay. The terms state a “no refund policy after sign-up”.
• Extras: AI agents for tagging and session reviews, CSV export of trades.

Full details: our TradeZella review.

A spreadsheet first

For many traders, a spreadsheet is the right first journal. Excel, Google Sheets or LibreOffice Calc cost nothing, accept any date format and any market, and the data is yours. The price is manual entry and building your own reports.

Switch to software when manual logging becomes the bottleneck, usually when you trade daily or several accounts. Our journal guide has a column list you can copy into a sheet.

Four checks before you pay for any journal

• Your broker on the list: look up your broker on the provider’s own list and note whether it syncs automatically or needs a file.
• Costs included: make sure commissions and fees are tracked on the plan you buy.
• Reconcile once: compare the journal’s totals with your broker statement for the same month.
• Exit plan: check that you can export your trades, and save them before you cancel.

Tools we left out

We focused on tools that work for an international, English-speaking reader. Two journals from our German edition are not included here: Visual Trading Journal, a German-language tool that imports from Interactive Brokers and its German resellers, and FlowTrader AI, a new German-language journal without broker import at the time of writing. Both are covered on our German site.

Conclusion: start with your broker, not the feature list

The right journal is the one your trades flow into without daily work. If your broker syncs automatically with a tool, that tool will probably get used; if not, even the best reports stay empty.

Our suggestion: start with a spreadsheet or a free plan to build the habit. When you move to paid software, check the broker list first, then costs, then refund terms. TraderSync for the widest automatic sync, Edgewonk for a yearly price with a refund window, TradesViz or Trademetria for a low price, TradeZella if you want Prop Firm Sync and accept buying without a trial, Tradervue if you are a US day trader with a supported platform.

Frequently asked questions about trading journal software

What is the best trading journal software?

There is no single best one; it depends on your broker and markets. For automatic sync with many brokers, TraderSync leads our comparison; for a free stock journal, TradesViz; for a yearly price with a refund window, Edgewonk.

Is there a free trading journal?

Yes. A spreadsheet is free, and TradesViz (stocks only, 3,000 executions a month), Trademetria (30 orders a month) and Tradervue (30 trades a month) have free plans with limits.

Which trading journal syncs with Interactive Brokers?

TraderSync lists Interactive Brokers with automatic sync. At Edgewonk, Tradervue and Trademetria’s lower plans, Interactive Brokers trades come in by file upload. TradeZella lists it too; its broker page shows which method applies.

Which trading journals offer refunds?

Only Edgewonk states a clear 14-day money-back guarantee. TradeZella, TraderSync and TradesViz say they do not refund; Trademetria refunds only for unresolved coding errors; Tradervue’s terms do not mention refunds.

Do trading journals track commissions and fees?

Most do, but not on every plan. TradesViz does not on its free plan, and Tradervue only on Gold. Check this before you buy, because results without costs look better than your account.

This comparison was written by Karsten Kagels. It is based on the providers’ own pages checked on October 3 and 6, 2026, not on paid accounts or hands-on tests. Prices and features change; check the provider’s pages before you buy. This is not investment advice.