Guide · 6 min read
Best Free Stock Screeners of 2026
We compared the four most popular free stock screeners — Finviz, TradingView, Yahoo Finance and Day Trade Scanner — on the features that actually matter for day traders: real-time gappers, relative volume, catalysts and alerts.
The short answer
Generic screeners (Finviz, TradingView, Yahoo) are excellent for end-of-day research and chart browsing, but they were built for investors, not day traders. They miss the three things that decide whether a pre-market gapper is tradable: real-time relative volume, the catalyst behind the move, and free alerts on intraday triggers. Day Trade Scanner is purpose-built for those.
Feature comparison
| Feature | Finviz | TradingView | Yahoo | Day Trade Scanner |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Free tier | ||||
| Real-time pre-market gappers | Delayed | Delayed | ||
| Relative volume (RVOL) | Manual | |||
| Catalyst / news per row | ||||
| Short interest & days-to-cover | Paid | Delayed | ||
| Custom alerts (free) | 1 alert | |||
| Float filter | ||||
| After-hours scanner | ||||
| Mobile-friendly UI |
Finviz — best for free fundamentals
Finviz remains the gold standard for free fundamental screening — P/E, sector heatmaps, insider trades. But its quotes are 15-minute delayed on the free tier, and there's no concept of "catalyst" attached to a mover. Pre-market and after-hours scanning sit behind Finviz Elite ($39.50/mo).
TradingView — best charts, weak screener
TradingView's free charts are unbeatable, and its stock screener covers most filters you'd want. The catch for day traders: the free plan caps you at one alert, and you can't filter by intraday relative volume or attach a news catalyst to a result.
Yahoo Finance — best for casual research
Yahoo's screener works for slow-moving investment research. It lacks float, short interest, RVOL, and intraday alerts entirely. Not a day-trading tool.
Day Trade Scanner — built for the open
Day Trade Scanner is purpose-built for the first hour of trading. Every row in the scanner shows real-time gap %, 5-minute relative volume, float, short interest and the primary catalyst behind the move — the exact data a gap trader checks before entering. The free tier covers the top 5 gappers with locked filters; Pro ($0.99/week) unlocks the full universe and Elite ($1.99/week) adds the trade journal, gap replay and position sizer.
Which one should you use?
- Long-term investor researching fundamentals → Finviz.
- Swing trader who lives in charts → TradingView.
- Casual portfolio check-ins → Yahoo Finance.
- Day trading the open or scanning gappers in real time → Day Trade Scanner.
Try the scanner free
The free tier shows the day's top 5 gappers with live RVOL and catalyst tagging — no signup required to look.
Open the scanner →