For charts, start with TradingView’s free plan. For company research, Koyfin and TIKR have useful free tiers. If you already have a brokerage account, its own desktop platform is usually free with the account. If you write code, OpenBB is open source.
What “free” means
- Delayed or limited data. Many free plans show some markets on a delay or cap the history you can see.
- Limits. Fewer charts, indicators, alerts or screens than the paid plan.
- The broker’s terms. A broker platform is free because the broker wants your orders, and it works with that broker only.
- Exports. Getting your data out is often limited or paid.
The free options
| Tool | Free plan gives | The catch |
|---|---|---|
| TradingView | Charts, indicators, alerts and screeners in a browser or desktop app | Ads, limits on indicators and alerts, delayed data on some exchanges |
| Koyfin | Dashboards, financial statements, charts and screens | Limits on history, screens and watchlists; deeper data is paid |
| TIKR | Global financial statements, estimates and screening | Limited history and features on the free tier |
| OpenBB | An open-source research platform you can extend with your own data | Built for technical users; you bring the data sources and the setup |
| Broker platforms | Charts, quotes and order entry for account holders | Tied to one broker; research depth varies |
Broker platforms include Schwab’s thinkorswim and Interactive Brokers’ Trader Workstation, both free to use with an account at that broker.
When free stops being enough
Free tools are built for one person looking at a chart or a company. They stop being enough when the work becomes a team holding a book: several people covering companies, a model for each name, written reasons for owning each position, and decisions someone will ask about later. At that point the cost is no longer the licence. It is the hours spent rebuilding the picture by hand each morning.
Where Quantify Terminal fits
We build Quantify Terminal, and it does not belong on a list of free software: there is no public download today, and access is by application for funds and investment teams. It is here because many teams start with the free tools above and come to us when the morning work outgrows them.
What it does that the free tools do not: it reads the night’s filings, prices and news against your positions, proposes model changes from the figures in a company’s own filing with the previous value beside the new one, re-checks the assumptions behind each thesis, and records each decision with the evidence on screen.
Request early access or see the product.
Frequently asked questions
Is there a free Bloomberg Terminal?
No. Bloomberg is sold per seat on two-year subscriptions, at about $31,980 a year for a single terminal. Free tools cover parts of what it does.
Is TradingView free?
Yes, with a free plan that has limits and ads. Paid plans remove the ads and raise the limits.
Is free trading terminal software real-time?
Often not for every market. Many free plans show some exchanges on a delay, so check the data page for the markets you trade.
Is Quantify Terminal free?
No. There is no public free version; it is in early access for funds and investment teams, by application.