A profitable trader is a person who keeps a close eye on their investments, always seeking a way to optimize and improve their trading strategies. This remains true whether you’re talking about beginner traders or professional traders. However, keeping track of your trades can be a challenge!
In the past, using a spreadsheet trading journal was an effective way to keep track of trades. However, in the fast-paced world of modern trading, using a spreadsheet template simply isn’t going to cut it.
After spreadsheets, traders were next limited to downloadable trading journal software, which only allowed them to track trades from a single device. Thankfully, nowadays, traders can use cloud-based journals, which can be accessed from anywhere!
Of course, not every trading journal is created equal, which is why we’ve compiled the list you’ll soon see below. Keep reading to learn which platforms are the best trading journals of 2023!
What Makes a Good Trading Journal?
Before we get into the recommendations, it’s important to know what features you’ll want to look for in an online trading journal. Obviously, the ability to keep track of your trade history is a necessity, but to what extent will this function work? Some journals are limited to only a few supported platforms, but the best journals can be used with multiple trading platforms concurrently for maximum efficiency.
There are also the types of trades to consider. You don’t want a journal that can only track stocks (unless that’s all you trade!). Fortunately, many journals are capable of tracking other types of trades (like cryptocurrency trades), as well as importing your forex trading activity. Make sure to get a journal that matches your trading style!
Another thing we’d consider a prerequisite for being a “good” journal is having a mobile app. With a high-quality trading journal app at your disposal, you’ll be able to keep track of your trades even when you’re away from your trading desk.
Beyond this, a good trading journal should be able to provide in-depth analytics, possess a high level of customizability, be secure from third-party intrusions, and be easy-to-use.
TraderSync
TraderSync is a platform designed for day traders trading stocks, futures, and options (it can also be used by the forex trader!). For as little as $29.95/month, traders can set up trading journals to keep detailed reports of their trade history.
The platform is capable of importing trade data from multiple trading accounts automatically, although the basic trading plan is limited to one account. Using the data provided, TraderSync can provide a wide variety of reports, such as pricing reports, volume reports, setup reports, and more!
Eliminating the need to manually enter and analyze data, TraderSync is perfect for traders who want to have their entire trade history journaled automatically!
Pro Subscription: $29.95/month
The Pro subscription is the entry-level option. It is priced at $29.95 per month and provides the basics for someone looking to start their trading journey. It includes access to a mobile app for iOS and Android, a dashboard, trade journal, trades manual entry, setups tracking, mistakes tracking, and email support. Users also have access to a private account, trade charting, trade import, and the ability to manage multiple portfolios.
Premium Subscription: $49.95/month
Next is the Premium subscription. At $49.95 per month, you get everything included in the Pro subscription, plus some additional features. These include chat support, a calendar view, pricing report, and weekly report. More advanced tracking options are also provided, such as manual stop losses tracking, manual target tracking, and 1 automatic chart. This plan also includes the ability to track commissions and fees, as well as offering a custom tagging category and a holding time report.
Elite Subscription: $79.95/month
The Elite subscription, priced at $79.95 per month, is the most comprehensive offering. This subscription gives traders everything included in the Premium subscription and adds some highly sophisticated features. Subscribers receive an hourly report, setup report, mistake report, volume reports, and multiple automatic charts.
The Elite subscription also features automatic settings for commissions and fees, a running PnL, and MAE/MFE statistics. It adds automatic target and stop losses tracking, trading management tools, and artificial intelligence insights. Furthermore, it offers automatic spread detection, stock market replay, and advanced reporting such as sector report, market cap report, evaluator report, and simulator report. It also includes pre/post market chart data.
Curious about this AI-powered tool? Click here to learn more!
Learn More About TraderSync
Tradervue
Offering advanced features at an affordable price, Tradervue is another excellent trading journal that allows you to easily import trades from multiple online brokers.
While it’s not capable of providing real-time data, Tradevue excels when it comes to its reporting features. Using its risk analysis reports, a trader can quickly identify weak points in their trading strategy, making adjustments towards future success. It also offers loss charts, which can be used in chart studies to find both positive and negative patterns in your trading techniques.
Although the platform can be used for free with limitations, you’re much better off paying for a monthly subscription (which runs from $29 to $49 per month). Offering support for various asset classes, Tradervue is certainly a platform we can confidently recommend!
Basic Subscription: Free
Tradervue’s Basic subscription is free, allowing for up to 30 trades per month. It provides basic journaling, reporting features, and sharing capabilities, with support for trading stocks, options, futures, and Forex.
Silver Subscription: $29.00/month
At $29.00 per month, the Silver subscription lifts the trade limit, offering unlimited trades. It includes enhanced journaling, advanced reporting features, and unique tools like intraday and running P&L charts, Renko, Volume Bar, and Range Bar charts, and MFE/MAE statistics. Subscribers can also manage multiple independent trading accounts.
Gold Subscription: $49.00/month
Priced at $49.00 per month, the Gold subscription offers the most advanced features. It includes all the features of Silver, with additions like risk tracking and reporting, advanced filters, exit analysis, commission and fee support, and liquidity reports. The advanced reports expand to over 300 types, and image storage increases to 5 GB.
Click here to learn more about the full capabilities of the platform!
Learn More About Tradervue
Edgewonk
This flat-fee, highly customizable trade journal is perfect for those with lots of trading activity. With support for stocks, forex, futures, and CFDs, Edgewonk most likely has support for the asset type you trade.
Pro Subscription: $169.00/year
Edgewonk offers a Pro subscription at $169.00 per year (*VAT will be added for EU customers). This subscription offers a comprehensive suite of features designed to enhance and simplify your trading experience.
With the Pro subscription, you gain access to tools for trading various financial instruments including Forex, stocks, futures, CFD, crypto, and commodities. The subscription features several tools for in-depth analysis such as scaling in & out, missed trade analysis, backtester, tiltmeter, trade analytics, and equity graph.
Additional tools include holding time, weekday performance, instrument performance, trade management analysis, winrate over time, R-distribution, and trade comments. It also provides SQN, drawdown analysis, profit calendar, and efficiency analysis tools. Users can add trade screenshots and utilize the chartbook and future simulator.
The subscription also includes a notebook diary, sessions, advanced filters, and a dark mode feature for easy-on-the-eyes nighttime work. Furthermore, it includes email support and an ad-free experience.
The minimum subscription period for the Edgewonk Pro plan is one year, but you can cancel at any time to prevent future billing. Note that cancellation will result in loss of access to all Pro features.
Although there is a bit of a learning curve to using Edgewonk (due to its large selection of tools and features), we think that the platform is worth trying out for anyone who truly wants to become a successful trader.
You can find out more about this powerful trading journal software by clicking here.
Learn More About Edgewonk
Trademetria
Trademetria is an online trading journal platform that’s best suited to the occasional trader, rather than for active traders. Unlike other platforms, Trademetria only offers the option for manual entry of previous trades: no automated option are available to help you track your trading decisions in real time.
However, many of its key features—which are primarily analytical trading tools—will help you better navigate the financial markets, improve your trading style, and give you the insight to get the trading edge you need to make successful trades.
While the lack of automation may make this platform off-putting to some, we think that the advanced features like backtesting and the trade simulator make the platform worth considering.
Free Plan: $0.00
Trademetria’s Free plan lets you import up to 30 orders per month and track one account. It offers tracking for equities, options, futures, forex, cryptos, and CFDs. Users get access to features such as a daily journal, individual trade journal, historical performance, key metrics, and daytrader report.
Additional features include commission and fees tracking, a WYSIWYG journal editor, trade history calendar, and an analytics dashboard. The plan also supports unlimited strategy tracking, trade tagging, image uploads, and portfolio tracking. Users can also run their own challenges, use an API, and access a PnL simulator, instrument rankings, distribution by time, and market condition. It even includes strategy rankings, fundamental research, trade export features, and watch lists.
Basic Plan: $29.95/month
The Basic plan, priced at $29.95 per month, provides a more advanced trading experience, allowing users to import up to 100 orders per month with unlimited delayed quotes and the ability to track one account. It includes all the features offered in the Free plan.
Pro Plan: $39.95/month
For professional traders, the Pro plan is offered at $39.95 per month and allows unlimited order imports, unlimited delayed quotes, and tracking of up to 50 accounts. This plan also includes all the features available in the Basic plan.
You can learn more about the capabilities and limitations of this platform by clicking here!
Learn More About Trademetria
The Value of a Trading Journal
Trading journals are more than just logbooks for traders. They serve as a vital tool to optimize and improve trading decisions, and have proven to be a game changer in the trading industry.
Reflective Tool
A trading journal enables traders to record their trading activities, thoughts, and strategies in an organized manner. These records provide invaluable insights into the trader’s mindset at the time of each trade, allowing them to reflect on their decisions. This process can help traders recognize their weaknesses and strengths, enabling them to refine their strategies for future trades.
Performance Analytics
Modern trading journals are not simply record keepers but analytical tools. They use the data recorded to generate detailed analysis of a trader’s performance, identify patterns, calculate important statistics such as win rate, risk-to-reward ratio, and average profit/loss per trade. This quantitative data helps traders make data-driven decisions, improving their efficiency and profitability.
Emotional Management
Trading is as much about psychology as it is about financial knowledge. A trading journal allows traders to document their emotional state during each trade, providing insights into how emotions might be influencing trading decisions. Recognizing these emotional patterns can help traders manage their emotions more effectively, making more rational decisions and minimizing impulsive trades.
Accountability and Discipline
Having a trading journal creates a sense of responsibility and accountability. It obliges traders to record each trade and their reasoning behind it, fostering discipline and encouraging more thoughtful decision-making. Over time, this discipline can lead to more consistent and profitable trading results.
Learning from Mistakes
A trading journal is a powerful tool for learning from past mistakes. By keeping a detailed record of each trade, including the strategy used, the result, and the reflections on the trade, traders can look back and identify what went wrong in losing trades. This prevents them from repeating the same mistakes, turning these learning experiences into improved strategies and better trading results.
In conclusion, the value of a trading journal extends beyond mere record-keeping. It’s a reflective tool, an analytics provider, an emotional manager, a discipline enforcer, and a learning facilitator. Utilizing a trading journal is truly an investment in your trading success. If you aren’t already using one, it’s time to start!
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