Despite their 20 years of existence, the Scanz vs Trade Ideas debate continues to divide day traders to this day.
And it’s no wonder.
These are 2 of the best stock scanners around.
Their ability to pinpoint intraday trading signals with speed and precision puts them in a league of their own.
Of course, it should go without saying that both have their unique selling points, making them better in certain areas than the other.
But on balance, which of them is best? Luckily, that’s just what we’re about to find out.
For the impatient amongst you, the short answer is Trade Ideas, which is currently running one of its periodic “Test Drives”. This is a 10-day trial that runs from April 19th to April 29th and lets you experience all of Trade Ideas’ premium features. Don’t hang around though, as these only happen a few times a year and the sign up deadline is April 23rd.
I go into more detail about this Test Drive below, which includes a chance to win $2400 as part of their CASHOLA Portfolio Master Challenge.
However, if you still want to get into the weeds and decide which one of these platforms is best for YOU, then read on.
What is Scanz?
Scanz is a real-time news feed and stock scanning platform designed for day traders.
While Trade Ideas offers something similar, what really sets Scanz apart is its user-friendliness, charting features, and ability to set news alerts for individual stocks.
Therefore, if you’re relatively new to trading, looking to perform in-depth technical analysis, or trade based off news catalysts, Scanz may be the best fit for you!
| Pros | Cons |
|---|---|
| User Friendly | Limited to US stocks |
| Level 2 Data | No Trading Community |
| News Scanner | Have to Purchase OTC Data Separately |
| Sophisticated Charting Tools | No Backtesting or Autotrading |
You can read my full Scanz review here, or jump straight into a 14-day free trial below!
What is Trade Ideas?
Trade Ideas combines stock scanning, backtesting, and AI autotrading all in one.
While it has a steeper learning curve compared to Scanz, it packs more scanning alerts and filters, which gives you greater flexibility with your trading strategies.
Unlike Scanz, the premium version of Trade Ideas also includes backtesting and autotrading. This means you can test any trading strategy on historical data and automate buy and sell rules through your broker.
In addition, a premium subscription includes access to its AI trading bot, “Holly”, which gives you trade suggestions based on statistical algorithms.
| Pros | Cons |
|---|---|
| Extensive List of Alerts & Filters | Clunky User Experience |
| AI Trading Assistant | Basic Charting & Technical Analysis Tools |
| Backtesting | No Level 2 Data |
| Autotrading | No News Scanner |
You can read my full Trade Ideas review here. Or, for a cheaper alternative, check out this Finviz review.
Trade Ideas vs Scanz Comparison
| Feature | Scanz | Trade Ideas |
|---|---|---|
| Real-Time Scanning |  | |
| OTC Stocks | | |
| Backtesting |  | |
| Autotrading | | |
| Artificial Intelligence | | |
| Level 2 Data | | |
| News Scanner | | |
| Broker Integrations | Interactive Brokers, TD Ameritrade | Interactive Brokers, E*Trade, eSignal |
| Regions | US | US, Canada |
| Alerts & Filters | Over 100 | Over 500 |
| Charts | 14 chart styles, more than 100 technical indicators, around 30 drawing tools | Basic candlestick charts, handful of technical indicators, basic drawing tools |
| Free Trial/Discount | 14-day Free Trial | 15% Off 1st Month or Year |
Pricing
Both companies frequently offer discounts and promotions on their scanners, so follow the links below to get the most up-to-date prices currently available.
Scanz vs Trade Ideas Similarities
Free Trial
Scanz offers a 14-day free trial all year round, without requiring any card details.
Unfortunately, Trade Ideas doesn’t offer a free trial “on demand”. Instead, they run 2-week trials a few times a year for a small fee.
As mentioned above, the next Trade Ideas Test Drive is coming up in April 2024, which lets all non-subscribers and Standard subscribers enjoy 10 days of Trade Ideas’ Premium features (outlined below) for a small fee of $7.77.
This 10-day trial runs from April 19th to April 29th, but the sign up period is open between now and April 23rd. However, if you want to access the full 10 days of Trade Ideas Premium, I suggest signing up before the official start date on April 19th.
In addition, Trade Ideas are running a paper trading competition from April 23rd – April 25th, dubbed the CASHOLA Portfolio Master Challenge. During this 3-day challenge, entrants will put their trading skills to the test in an attempt to outsmart the competition. Up for grabs is a $2400 Amazon gift card for the winner! Follow the link below to see the full contest rules and how to sign up.
These Test Drives only come around a few times a year, so the earlier you sign up the better in my view. You don’t want to be kicking yourself for missing this small window of opportunity to test one of – if not the – most popular stock scanner for day traders
Broker Integrations
Both stock scanners offer in-platform trading through various brokerage houses, however some of this functionality is still in beta stages.
Trade Ideas integrates with:
- Interactive Brokers
- E*Trade
- eSignal
Note, autotrading is only available with Interactive Brokers at the moment.
Scanz, meanwhile, integrates with:
- Interactive Brokers
- TD Ameritrade
However, Scanz claims that more integrations are coming soon.
Education
Both companies provide a wide range of educational resources to help you navigate their platforms, including video tutorials on how to get the best out of their different tools.
Trade Ideas even has a whole video series covering the basics of trading. It also has a free, live trading room that users can access daily to connect with other traders and in-house experts.
If this wasn’t enough, you can purchase 1-on-1 training sessions with seasoned pros to accelerate your learning even further.
While Scanz doesn’t offer such hands-on training, it has a vast library of blog posts giving you actionable advice on different trading strategies. For example, they show you how to find high relative volume stocks, and low float stocks with their stock scanner.
Trade Ideas vs Scanz Differences
Data
While both platforms provide pre and post-market data for all listed and OTC stocks in the US, there are a few key differences to bear in mind.
Firstly, Scanz streams pre-market data from 4:00 am EST, whereas Trade Ideas streams it from 7:00 am EST. As such, they are 2 of the best premarket scanners out there.
Secondly, OTC data has to be purchased separately for Scanz, while it is included in the Trade Ideas price.
Scanz also includes level 2 data, which lets you see a stock’s order book at different market makers. Trade Ideas doesn’t provide this data, however it connects to several brokers that do.
Lastly, Trade Ideas includes Canadian stocks, whereas Scanz is limited to US stocks.
Scanner Settings
Both platforms have more than enough metrics and filters to create complex scanning criteria.
However, if quantity is what you want, Trade Ideas has over 500 alerts and filters, compared to the 100+ indicators in Scanz.
While some of these are probably too granular for the average trader, it means that Trade Ideas has greater flexibility in terms of the scans you can create.
In terms of simplicity, however, I’d say that Scanz is the more intuitive of the 2 scanners, due to its “point-and-click” rule builder.
Another key difference is that Trade Ideas comes with around 40 pre-configured scans, while Scanz doesn’t have any at the moment (although they claim that more than 50 are coming soon).
User Experience
Despite offering similar services, both platforms have very different user experiences.
Scanz is divided up into different “modules”, including:
- Easy Scanner: Create quick, easy scans based on basic price and liquidity parameters
- Pro Scanner: Scanning module that lets you create more complex scans
- Breakout Scanner: Catch momentum trading signals as they happen in real-time, including new highs/lows, volume spikes, and moving average breakout stocks
- News Scanner: A constant, uninterrupted real-time stream of press releases, news, and SEC filings for all U.S. public companies
By comparison, Trade Ideas is organized into 48 pre-configured “Channels” that target specific “themes” or sectors popular with day traders.
Some of the most popular channels include:
- Pre-Market: See the stocks making big moves in the pre-market
- Short Squeeze: The place to find short squeeze stocks
- MOMO-Mentum: Locate insane momentum in the stock market
- Explosive Winners: See which stocks are up the most over the past day or week
- Penny Movers: A dedicated penny stock scanner that finds the most active penny stocks
Each channel has a unique layout, made up of individual windows, ranging from:
- Alert Windows: Real-time scans for particular price/volume “events” (new highs, pattern recognition, volume breakouts, etc)
- Top Lists: A top list window delivers the top 100 symbols based on your custom criteria and dynamically updates every 30 seconds
- Charts: Perform basic technical analysis or set price alerts on a stock’s price chart
- Stock Racing: A unique feature in Trade Ideas that helps you visualize where the real-time activity in your scan results lie
- News: Get the latest company news on earnings, press releases, and M&A activity
The settings for each of these, including the way they’re displayed, are fully customizable. Or, if you prefer, you can create your own scans and layouts from scratch.
This does require some drag & dropping, resizing, and “right-clicking” to get your ideal settings, which can feel a bit user-unfriendly and “clunky” to begin with (an area Trade Ideas could improve).
As such, I found Scanz a lot more intuitive to grasp initially. However, with a bit of perseverance, Trade Ideas becomes just as fluid to use.
News
While both platforms provide news for individual stocks, Scanz aggregates from a much larger group of sources (over 100) and news types, including:
- SEC Filings
- Earnings
- Press Releases
- M&A Deals
And more..
In addition, Scanz has a dedicated “News Scanner” while Trade Ideas doesn’t.
This means you can set news alerts for stocks on your watchlist so you never miss a potential catalyst.
Therefore, if news – and news scanning in particular – is important to you, Scanz is your preferred option.
Charting
Neither of these stock scanners are dedicated technical analysis or charting platforms, like MetaStock. Therefore, the charts aren’t really a centrepiece for either.
Having said that, charts are one area that Scanz has improved on drastically in recent years, and beats Trade Ideas hands down. In fact, it is one of the many reasons it wins my pick for the best Trade Ideas alternative.
While Scanz includes:
- 14 different chart styles (candle, bar, line, point & figure, etc)
- Over 100 different technical indicators (MACD, bollinger bands, stochastics, etc)
- Around 30 different drawing tools (Fibonacci retracements, Gann fan, regression channels, etc)
Trade Ideas only includes the following features:
Live Trading Room
Trade Ideas runs a live trading room daily, which is hosted by in-house pro trader, Barrie Einarson. He talks you through his trading process and the stocks catching his eye – in the pre-market and throughout the day.
This is a great way to see how experienced traders think about stock selection and put trading strategies into action. Not only that, but it’s a fun way of connecting with other traders through the chat room and hear about stocks that aren’t necessarily on your radar.
Unfortunately, this trading “community” isn’t a feature of Scanz, so you miss out on this social and educational aspect.
Backtesting
Trade Ideas (Pro) has a backtester called “OddsMaker”, which lets traders test the historical performance of their scans on up to 65 days of data.
Essentially, it lets you see how much money you could have made if you followed a certain strategy over a specified time frame. This is a great way to test out your scans before you commit real capital towards them.
Scanz doesn’t have a backtesting feature, so if this is what you’re after, Trade Ideas is the way to go.
Artificial Intelligence
Unlike Scanz, Trade Ideas Pro comes with an AI trading assistant called “Holly”. There are 3 variations of it with slightly different risk profiles and trading styles.
However, the concept is the same. Each night, Holly backtests more than 60 trading strategies on every stock in the US – amounting to millions of backtests each day.
Then, strategies with a win rate greater than 60% and a 2:1 risk/reward ratio are applied to real-time data the next day – giving you around 3-10 trade ideas each day.
As you can see, the historical performance of Holly’s “Moderate Risk Mode” has been very impressive.
Click here to see the full list of AI strategies that Holly utilizes.
Autotrading
Another feature that Trade Ideas (Pro) includes, but Scanz doesn’t, is autotrading.
Autotrading lets you automate any trading strategy through the Brokerage Plus module. These could be any of the pre-configured scans built into Trade Ideas, a strategy from Holly AI, or one your own backtested strategies.
Simply define the buy and sell rules and let Brokerage Plus handle the rest.
Summary
While Scanz has an edge on charts and news scanning, Trade Ideas takes the overall crown with a more powerful stock scanner, backtesting, artificial intelligence, and autotrading.