This list ranks tools purely on how well they screen. Stock Simplifier is our product and it is not a screener, so it does not top this list. Finviz does, because for finding candidates fast it is genuinely the best of these.
How we ranked these
- How many criteria can you filter on? Depth separates a basic screen from a genuinely useful one.
- How fast is it? Screening is iterative. Slow tools discourage the experimentation that makes screening work.
- Is there a usable free tier? Screening is one area where free options are strong.
- What happens after the screen? A list of tickers is a starting point. What you do next is the part that decides your returns.
What a screener can and cannot do
A screener applies filters to a database and returns a list. That is the entire function, and it is worth being precise about it because the marketing in this category rarely is. A screener finds companies matching criteria you already decided on. It does not tell you whether those criteria are the right ones, and it cannot tell you whether any name it returns is a business worth owning.
This matters for how you judge the tools below. The differences between them are speed, the number of metrics available, how flexibly those metrics can be combined, and what happens after the list appears. Depth of database is largely a commodity; what separates them is the workflow around it.
The four things that actually differ
- Metric count and quality. Most cover the standard ratios. The gap opens on derived measures such as ROIC, free cash flow yield and multi-year growth rates, which some calculate and others leave to you.
- Logical flexibility. Can you express "gross margin above the five-year average" or only "gross margin above 40%"? Custom formulas are the dividing line between a filter and a research tool.
- What happens after the screen. A list of tickers is the beginning. Tools that carry you into ten years of financials and peer comparison save a step that otherwise happens in a spreadsheet.
- Coverage. Almost all of these are US-centric. If you hold companies listed elsewhere, that single fact eliminates most of the field before any other consideration.
The ranking
Finviz
Fast, capable and unusually generous on the free tier, with the clearest market heat map anywhere. For turning thousands of stocks into a shortlist in seconds, nothing here beats it.
Stock Rover
Around 700 fundamental metrics with strong portfolio analytics attached. If your screens are sophisticated, this is where they belong.
TIKR
Screening across 100,000 stocks worldwide, which matters if you invest outside the US.
Koyfin
A global screener with thousands of criteria inside Bloomberg-style dashboards, though the free tier now caps you at two saved screens.
Barchart
Screening across stocks, futures, options and forex, with a substantial free tier.
Simply Wall St
Screen and then understand what you found at a glance, across 90 markets.
Stock Simplifier
Not a screener. It answers the question a screener leaves you with: is this shortlisted company actually worth owning? Free plan, no card.
Side by side
| # | Tool | Price | Best for |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Finviz | Free, with a paid Elite tier | Best overall screener |
| 2 | Stock Rover | Free, then $80, $180 or $280/yr | Best for depth |
| 3 | TIKR | Free tier, around $180/yr Plus, around $600/yr Pro | Best for global screening |
| 4 | Koyfin | Free tier, then $39/mo Plus or $79/mo Premium | Best professional-style screening |
| 5 | Barchart | Free tier, then $29.95/mo or $199.95/yr Premier | Best multi-asset screening |
| 6 | Simply Wall St | $120/yr | Best visual screening |
| 7 | Stock Simplifier | Free plan, no card. Paid from $19.99/mo or $199/yr | Best for what comes after |
How to choose without over-thinking it
Answer three questions and the field narrows to one or two.
- Do you screen weekly or occasionally? Weekly justifies paying for depth and saved screens. Occasionally means a free tool is almost certainly enough.
- Do you hold anything outside the United States? If yes, coverage is the constraint and most of this list is out.
- Does the screen end your workflow or start it? If it starts it, the analysis features matter more than the filters.
Three mistakes that cost people money
- Screening on price rather than on business quality. A filter for low P/E reliably surfaces companies in decline, where the multiple is low because earnings are about to fall. Screen for quality first, then look at price.
- Over-filtering. Stack eight criteria and you get three companies, all of which pass by coincidence. Three or four well-chosen filters returning thirty names is a better starting point than a perfect screen returning one.
- Treating the output as a recommendation. A screen surfaces candidates. Every one still needs the same work, and a list you cannot evaluate is where most people quietly stop investing in individual stocks.