Trade Ideas alternative that joins your scanner and your journal
Trade Ideas is one of the best known real-time scanners for US stocks, with AI generated signals and a deep library of scan templates. DayTradingSoftware takes a different route: a real-time scanner and a trading journal in one tool, where every logged trade remembers the scan state at entry, so you can see which of your own scans actually pay.
What traders use Trade Ideas for
Trade Ideas built its name on fast intraday scanning. Traders use it for premarket gappers, unusual volume, new highs and a large set of prebuilt channels, and the higher tier adds AI driven trade signals and simulated trading of those signals.
It is a scanning and idea generation platform. It does not include a trading journal, so most of its users keep their trade log somewhere else: a spreadsheet, a broker report or a separate journal app.
- Real-time scanning across US stocks with many prebuilt layouts.
- AI generated signals on the top tier.
- Backtesting of scan based strategies on the higher plan.
- No built-in journal for your own executions.
When Trade Ideas fits you better
We would rather you pick the right tool than the wrong one. Trade Ideas can be the better fit if you specifically want machine generated trade signals delivered to you, if you rely on its large library of ready made channels, or if you already keep a journal you like elsewhere and only need a scanner.
It is also a long established product with a large community of traders sharing layouts, which matters to some people more than having everything in one place.
One tool from scan to review
DayTradingSoftware covers the full loop of a trading day: a stock scanner with premarket gappers, top gainers, relative volume, new highs, halts and momentum change in 1 or 5 minutes, trading alerts on scan results, price levels, RVOL and VWAP crosses, watchlists with levels and notes, a trading journal with CSV import from popular US brokers, analytics, simple backtests and an AI day review.
Your journal knows the scan state at entry
The part a standalone scanner cannot do is connect a scan to the result. When you log a trade, the entry stores the gap %, RVOL, float and time of day the scan showed at that moment. After a few weeks, analytics show you which conditions you actually make money on, for example whether your gappers above 20% with RVOL over 5 work better before 10:00 ET than after.
No signals, no predictions
We do not generate buy or sell signals. The scanner shows the tickers that match the filters you set, and the AI day review reads only your own journal after the session to point out repeating mistakes, such as stops moved after entry. It never predicts the market.
DayTradingSoftware vs Trade Ideas at a glance
| DayTradingSoftware | Trade Ideas | |
|---|---|---|
| Real-time US stock scanner | Yes, premarket, regular hours and after hours on Pro | Yes |
| AI generated trade signals | No, the tool never suggests trades | Yes, on the top tier |
| Built-in trading journal | Yes, CSV import, tags, R-multiple, net P&L | No |
| Scan state stored with each trade | Yes, gap %, RVOL, float, time | No |
| Analytics by setup, hour and float | Yes | No journal analytics |
| Simple backtests | 20 or 200 per month by plan | Yes, on the higher plan |
| AI review of your own day | Yes | No |
| Team plan with roles and SSO | Desk, up to 10 seats | Not the focus |
| Price | $49, $149 or $499 per month, yearly from $24 per month | About $89 to $254 per month, as listed on their website in October 2026, check their site for current pricing |
What DayTradingSoftware costs
Starter is $49 per month, or $24 per month billed $288 per year. Pro is $149 per month, or $74 per month billed $888 per year. Desk is $499 per month, or $249 per month billed $2,988 per year, for up to 10 seats. Yearly billing is the default and saves 50%. There is no no-cost tier, only a one-time sample scan. Full details are on the pricing page.
Moving from Trade Ideas without losing your routine
Rebuild your favorite layouts as saved scans with filters for price, float, volume, gap %, RVOL, change % and ATR. Then import your broker executions as CSV so your history lands in the journal from day one. Many traders keep both tools for a few weeks and compare which scans they actually trade.
Trading risk
DayTradingSoftware is a software tool, not investment advice. Past performance and backtests do not guarantee future results. Trading involves substantial risk of loss.
FAQ
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Does DayTradingSoftware give trade signals like Trade Ideas
No. The scanner shows stocks that match your own filters and alerts fire on conditions you set. We never tell you what to buy or sell.
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Can I use Trade Ideas and DayTradingSoftware together
Yes. Some traders keep their existing scanner and use our journal, analytics and AI review, while others move scanning over as well. Your journal still stores the scan state when the trade came from one of our scans.
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Is the market data real-time
Yes. DayTradingSoftware uses licensed real-time US market data for the scanner, alerts and watchlists.
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Is there a trial
There is a one-time sample scan with three visible rows and one journal entry, so you can see how it works before choosing a plan.
Trade Ideas is a trademark of its owner. DayTradingSoftware is not affiliated with it.