VOL. XCIV, NO. 247

★ A CURATED DIRECTORY OF FINANCIAL TOOLS AND RESOURCES ★

PRICE: 0 CENTS

Monday, January 5, 2026

Free programmatic picks

The Zen of Investing logo

Free Alternatives to The Zen of Investing

Zero-cost replacements ranked by category overlap, pricing, and platform access. Use this list to test The Zen of Investing before paying for another subscription.

View standard alternatives

Quick takeaways

GuruFocus is the closest drop-in replacement with overlapping coverage in Spin-offs, Special Situations, and Calendar while adding Screeners and Stock Ideas coverage and Global value-investing research platform covering ~100,000 stocks in ~100 markets plus 8,000+ institutional investors and 15,000+ mutual funds holdings, designed to provide historical financial and valuation data for long-term investors. and All-in-One Screener offers 500+ fundamental, valuation, profitability, growth, dividend, guru and insider filters, supports custom filters/formulas and screening by regions, countries, exchanges and user portfolios. features (category overlap ~100%).

Every pick keeps a free tier; start with GuruFocus, Stock Spinoff Investing, and Koyfin to road-test The Zen of Investing workflows without paying up front.

Need mobile access? GuruFocus, Koyfin, and Quartr bring phone-ready workflows that The Zen of Investing lacks.

Round out your stack with new coverage areas like Screeners, Stock Ideas, Stock Comparison, and Data Visualizations.

#1 Alternative

Analyst PickHands-on TestedFree Tier
Similarity score 896Category overlap: 100%

Shared coverage

Spin-offsSpecial SituationsCalendarBlogs

Assets: Stocks

Experience: Beginner, Intermediate, and Advanced

Platforms: Web

Pricing: Free

Why investors switch

  • GuruFocus adds mobile access for on-the-go monitoring.
  • Expands into Screeners, Stock Ideas, and Stock Comparison coverage beyond what The Zen of Investing offers.
  • Standout features include Global value-investing research platform covering ~100,000 stocks in ~100 markets plus 8,000+ institutional investors and 15,000+ mutual funds holdings, designed to provide historical financial and valuation data for long-term investors., All-in-One Screener offers 500+ fundamental, valuation, profitability, growth, dividend, guru and insider filters, supports custom filters/formulas and screening by regions, countries, exchanges and user portfolios., and Stock pages combine up to 30-year financial statements, valuation ratios, proprietary GF Score (quality, value, growth, momentum and GF value), dividend data, ownership, operating/segment metrics, filings, transcripts, PDF reports and downloadable charts/tables..

Adds coverage: Screeners, Stock Ideas, Stock Comparison, and Data Visualizations

Standout features: Global value-investing research platform covering ~100,000 stocks in ~100 markets plus 8,000+ institutional investors and 15,000+ mutual funds holdings, designed to provide historical financial and valuation data for long-term investors., All-in-One Screener offers 500+ fundamental, valuation, profitability, growth, dividend, guru and insider filters, supports custom filters/formulas and screening by regions, countries, exchanges and user portfolios., Stock pages combine up to 30-year financial statements, valuation ratios, proprietary GF Score (quality, value, growth, momentum and GF value), dividend data, ownership, operating/segment metrics, filings, transcripts, PDF reports and downloadable charts/tables., and Guru and institutional tools track portfolios and trades of thousands of investors, including real-time guru picks, 13F and 13D/13G data for all institutional investors (PremiumPlus+), mutual fund holdings, sector/geographic trends, ETF and options holdings.

#2 Alternative

Free Tier
Similarity score 856Category overlap: 100%

Shared coverage

Spin-offsSpecial SituationsCalendarBlogs

Assets: Stocks

Experience: Beginner, Intermediate, and Advanced

Platforms: Web

Pricing: Free

Why investors switch

  • Expands into Stock Ideas, Videos, and Newsletters coverage beyond what The Zen of Investing offers.
  • Standout features include Spin‑off Calendar: **Upcoming** table with parent/spinco, tickers, target timing, first‑trade date, and resource links; plus a **Completed** table with first‑day price, current price, and return since spin‑off., Premium research: ~1 new idea per month with detailed write‑ups, weekly email updates, and a live monthly video Q&A., and Community: members‑only **Discord** for discussion and Q&A with the author..

Adds coverage: Stock Ideas, Videos, and Newsletters

Standout features: Spin‑off Calendar: **Upcoming** table with parent/spinco, tickers, target timing, first‑trade date, and resource links; plus a **Completed** table with first‑day price, current price, and return since spin‑off., Premium research: ~1 new idea per month with detailed write‑ups, weekly email updates, and a live monthly video Q&A., Community: members‑only **Discord** for discussion and Q&A with the author., and PRO tier: direct access to the author (phone/email), watch‑list document, and live idea presentations.

#3 Alternative

Analyst PickHands-on TestedFree Tier
Similarity score 596Category overlap: 50%

Shared coverage

CalendarBlogs

Assets: Stocks

Experience: Beginner, Intermediate, and Advanced

Platforms: Web

Pricing: Free

Why investors switch

  • Koyfin adds mobile access for on-the-go monitoring.
  • Expands into Screeners, ETF Screeners, and Data Visualizations coverage beyond what The Zen of Investing offers.
  • Standout features include Global multi‑asset data terminal covering equities, ETFs, mutual funds, indices, government bond yields, FX, commodities, cryptocurrencies, news, transcripts and global economics in one interface, with financials, margins, consensus estimates and valuation ratios for all global stocks., Combination of live, 15‑minute delayed and end‑of‑day pricing: live/15‑minute delayed US equities & ETFs, 15‑minute delayed Canadian equities, end‑of‑day prices for other equity markets, live FX for ~60 pairs and bitcoin, plus live bond yields for 45 countries and yield curves for 20 countries., and Customizable watchlists, dashboards and macro dashboards with table views, historical graphs and scatter charts so you can monitor price, valuation, technicals, news and macro series in a single workspace..
  • Pair it with The Zen of Investing if you still need Spin-offs and Special Situations.

Adds coverage: Screeners, ETF Screeners, Data Visualizations, and Stock Comparison

Standout features: Global multi‑asset data terminal covering equities, ETFs, mutual funds, indices, government bond yields, FX, commodities, cryptocurrencies, news, transcripts and global economics in one interface, with financials, margins, consensus estimates and valuation ratios for all global stocks., Combination of live, 15‑minute delayed and end‑of‑day pricing: live/15‑minute delayed US equities & ETFs, 15‑minute delayed Canadian equities, end‑of‑day prices for other equity markets, live FX for ~60 pairs and bitcoin, plus live bond yields for 45 countries and yield curves for 20 countries., Customizable watchlists, dashboards and macro dashboards with table views, historical graphs and scatter charts so you can monitor price, valuation, technicals, news and macro series in a single workspace., and Equity, ETF and mutual fund screeners with thousands of filter criteria, percentile ranks, description search operators and saved “My Screens” views for repeatable idea generation.

#4 Alternative

Analyst PickHands-on TestedFree Tier
Similarity score 596Category overlap: 50%

Shared coverage

CalendarBlogs

Assets: Stocks

Experience: Beginner, Intermediate, and Advanced

Platforms: Web

Pricing: Free

Why investors switch

  • Quartr adds mobile access for on-the-go monitoring.
  • Expands into Financials, Transcripts, and Analyst Forecasts coverage beyond what The Zen of Investing offers.
  • Standout features include Global coverage of investor relations material from over 13,000 public companies across 27 markets, including live and recorded earnings calls, real-time and historical transcripts, filings and reports (e.g., 10-K/10-Q), and high-resolution slide presentations that are fully searchable., Free iOS and Android mobile app for live and recorded earnings calls, real-time searchable transcripts (including offline downloads), analyst consensus estimates, valuation multiples, and revenue segment splits, with no paywall for core qualitative research features., and Personal watchlists and dashboards with real-time updates, tailored earnings calendars, keyword alerts, and notifications when companies, products, or competitors are mentioned or when earnings calls go live; calendars can sync to Outlook, Apple, Google, and other personal calendars..
  • Pair it with The Zen of Investing if you still need Spin-offs and Special Situations.

Adds coverage: Financials, Transcripts, Analyst Forecasts, and Alerts

Standout features: Global coverage of investor relations material from over 13,000 public companies across 27 markets, including live and recorded earnings calls, real-time and historical transcripts, filings and reports (e.g., 10-K/10-Q), and high-resolution slide presentations that are fully searchable., Free iOS and Android mobile app for live and recorded earnings calls, real-time searchable transcripts (including offline downloads), analyst consensus estimates, valuation multiples, and revenue segment splits, with no paywall for core qualitative research features., Personal watchlists and dashboards with real-time updates, tailored earnings calendars, keyword alerts, and notifications when companies, products, or competitors are mentioned or when earnings calls go live; calendars can sync to Outlook, Apple, Google, and other personal calendars., and Quartr Pro is a desktop/web research platform used by hedge funds, asset managers, equity research and IR teams to search across all transcripts, filings, reports and slides at once, track narrative shifts, and conduct qualitative public-market research with significantly reduced manual document work.

#5 Alternative

Analyst PickHands-on TestedFree Tier
Similarity score 596Category overlap: 50%

Shared coverage

CalendarBlogs

Assets: Stocks

Experience: Beginner, Intermediate, and Advanced

Platforms: Web

Pricing: Free

Why investors switch

  • Stock Analysis adds mobile access for on-the-go monitoring.
  • Expands into Stock Ideas, Screeners, and ETF Screeners coverage beyond what The Zen of Investing offers.
  • Standout features include Covers 120,000+ global stocks and funds with quotes, news, financials, forecasts, charts, and statistics, aiming to be “the internet’s best source of free stock data and information for regular investors.”, Global coverage for stocks and ETFs, with 100,000+ tradable symbols across major U.S. exchanges (NASDAQ, NYSE, CBOE, OTC Markets) and many international markets; goal is to list every tradable stock in the world., and Individual stock pages combine real-time or delayed prices, key stats, full financial statements (income, balance sheet, cash flow), ratios, KPIs, dividend history, long price history, interactive technical charts, and company profiles..
  • Pair it with The Zen of Investing if you still need Spin-offs and Special Situations.

Adds coverage: Stock Ideas, Screeners, ETF Screeners, and Top Analysts

Standout features: Covers 120,000+ global stocks and funds with quotes, news, financials, forecasts, charts, and statistics, aiming to be “the internet’s best source of free stock data and information for regular investors.”, Global coverage for stocks and ETFs, with 100,000+ tradable symbols across major U.S. exchanges (NASDAQ, NYSE, CBOE, OTC Markets) and many international markets; goal is to list every tradable stock in the world., Individual stock pages combine real-time or delayed prices, key stats, full financial statements (income, balance sheet, cash flow), ratios, KPIs, dividend history, long price history, interactive technical charts, and company profiles., and Three real-time screeners (stocks, ETFs, IPOs) with 200+ indicators and filters, including country, exchange, sector, industry, index membership, dates (e.g., IPO date, ex‑dividend), and performance/valuation metrics; results update live as filters change.

#6 Alternative

Analyst PickHands-on TestedFree Tier
Similarity score 596Category overlap: 50%

Shared coverage

CalendarBlogs

Assets: Stocks

Experience: Beginner, Intermediate, and Advanced

Platforms: Web

Pricing: Free

Why investors switch

  • TradingView adds mobile access for on-the-go monitoring.
  • Expands into Screeners, ETF Screeners, and Data Visualizations coverage beyond what The Zen of Investing offers.
  • Standout features include Advanced multi‑asset charting with 20+ chart types, minute‑ and second‑level history, 400+ built‑in indicators, 100K+ community indicators, and 110+ smart drawing tools across web, desktop, and mobile., Comprehensive technical toolset including volume profile and footprint, candlestick pattern recognition, auto chart patterns, Seasonals, and intraday charts based on custom spread formulas., and Cloud‑based alerts for prices, indicators, strategies, drawings, and watchlists, with multi‑condition logic, second‑based triggers, and delivery via browser pop‑ups, email, TradingView apps, and webhooks..
  • Pair it with The Zen of Investing if you still need Spin-offs and Special Situations.

Adds coverage: Screeners, ETF Screeners, Data Visualizations, and Options & Derivatives

Standout features: Advanced multi‑asset charting with 20+ chart types, minute‑ and second‑level history, 400+ built‑in indicators, 100K+ community indicators, and 110+ smart drawing tools across web, desktop, and mobile., Comprehensive technical toolset including volume profile and footprint, candlestick pattern recognition, auto chart patterns, Seasonals, and intraday charts based on custom spread formulas., Cloud‑based alerts for prices, indicators, strategies, drawings, and watchlists, with multi‑condition logic, second‑based triggers, and delivery via browser pop‑ups, email, TradingView apps, and webhooks., and Global multi‑asset screeners (stocks, ETFs, bonds, crypto coins, CEX and DEX pairs) with 400+ filter fields, multiple timeframes, auto‑refresh, and data export for external analysis.

#7 Alternative

Analyst PickHands-on TestedFree Tier
Similarity score 584Category overlap: 50%

Shared coverage

CalendarBlogs

Assets: Stocks

Experience: Beginner, Intermediate, and Advanced

Platforms: Web

Pricing: Free

Why investors switch

  • Expands into Portfolio, Watchlist, and Dividends coverage beyond what The Zen of Investing offers.
  • Standout features include Simple web-based tracker that shows past, current, and future dividend income for each holding and portfolio, helping long-term investors see exactly what their portfolio is paying them., Dividend & DRIP reinvestment tracking: mark dividends as reinvested and instantly see the impact on portfolio income, yield on cost, and value without maintaining spreadsheets., and Comprehensive portfolio calendar that aggregates earnings reports, dividend declarations, ex-dividend dates, and pay dates into a monthly view alongside a portfolio news timeline..
  • Pair it with The Zen of Investing if you still need Spin-offs and Special Situations.

Adds coverage: Portfolio, Watchlist, Dividends, and Dividend

Standout features: Simple web-based tracker that shows past, current, and future dividend income for each holding and portfolio, helping long-term investors see exactly what their portfolio is paying them., Dividend & DRIP reinvestment tracking: mark dividends as reinvested and instantly see the impact on portfolio income, yield on cost, and value without maintaining spreadsheets., Comprehensive portfolio calendar that aggregates earnings reports, dividend declarations, ex-dividend dates, and pay dates into a monthly view alongside a portfolio news timeline., and 12‑month forward dividend income prediction with status labels for each payment ("Estimated", "Confirmed", "Paid") so investors can plan upcoming cash flow more precisely.

#8 Alternative

Analyst PickHands-on TestedFree Tier
Similarity score 584Category overlap: 50%

Shared coverage

CalendarBlogs

Assets: Stocks

Experience: Beginner, Intermediate, and Advanced

Platforms: Web

Pricing: Free

Why investors switch

  • Expands into Screeners, Stock Comparison, and Data Visualizations coverage beyond what The Zen of Investing offers.
  • Standout features include Modern web-based research terminal with dashboards, customizable watchlists, portfolio stats, and fundamental charting for 100,000+ global stocks, ETFs, and funds., Deep fundamental coverage: 10–20+ years of annual and 6–40+ quarters of quarterly financials by plan, with ratios, common-size statements, and adjusted metrics., and Rich segment & KPI database across ~2,300 large-cap names, including company-specific business KPIs that are hard to aggregate manually..
  • Pair it with The Zen of Investing if you still need Spin-offs and Special Situations.

Adds coverage: Screeners, Stock Comparison, Data Visualizations, and Portfolio

Standout features: Modern web-based research terminal with dashboards, customizable watchlists, portfolio stats, and fundamental charting for 100,000+ global stocks, ETFs, and funds., Deep fundamental coverage: 10–20+ years of annual and 6–40+ quarters of quarterly financials by plan, with ratios, common-size statements, and adjusted metrics., Rich segment & KPI database across ~2,300 large-cap names, including company-specific business KPIs that are hard to aggregate manually., and AI Copilot for conversational research, capable of summarizing earnings, screening for ideas, comparing peers, and explaining drivers with citations back to sources.

#9 Alternative

Analyst PickHands-on TestedFree Tier
Similarity score 584Category overlap: 50%

Shared coverage

CalendarBlogs

Assets: Stocks

Experience: Beginner, Intermediate, and Advanced

Platforms: Web

Pricing: Free

Why investors switch

  • Expands into Screeners, Stock Ideas, and Data Visualizations coverage beyond what The Zen of Investing offers.
  • Standout features include Institutional‑quality fundamental database with S&P Global CapitalIQ–powered financials and Morningstar data on 100,000+ stocks across 92 countries and 136 exchanges, including full statements and ratios for most listed equities., Detailed Financials tab exposing Income Statement, Balance Sheet, Cash Flow and Ratio views with configurable units/decimals and interactive tables, plus the ability to chart rows and compare multiple tickers over up to 20 years of history on Pro., and Global equity screener covering 100,000+ stocks across 92 countries and 136 exchanges, allowing filters by region, industry, financials, ratios, valuation multiples, Wall Street forecasts, growth rates, margins and more, with “Browse All Data” to explore all available criteria..
  • Pair it with The Zen of Investing if you still need Spin-offs and Special Situations.

Adds coverage: Screeners, Stock Ideas, Data Visualizations, and Stock Comparison

Standout features: Institutional‑quality fundamental database with S&P Global CapitalIQ–powered financials and Morningstar data on 100,000+ stocks across 92 countries and 136 exchanges, including full statements and ratios for most listed equities., Detailed Financials tab exposing Income Statement, Balance Sheet, Cash Flow and Ratio views with configurable units/decimals and interactive tables, plus the ability to chart rows and compare multiple tickers over up to 20 years of history on Pro., Global equity screener covering 100,000+ stocks across 92 countries and 136 exchanges, allowing filters by region, industry, financials, ratios, valuation multiples, Wall Street forecasts, growth rates, margins and more, with “Browse All Data” to explore all available criteria., and Valuation tooling with extensive forward and trailing multiples (e.g., EV/Sales, EV/EBITDA, P/FCF, P/E, REIT metrics like P/FFO and P/AFFO), historical multiple charts, peer comparisons via a Competitors tab and a Valuation Model Builder (Guided and Advanced) with plan‑based limits on saved models.

#10 Alternative

Hands-on TestedFree Tier
Similarity score 582Category overlap: 50%

Shared coverage

CalendarBlogs

Assets: Stocks

Experience: Beginner, Intermediate, and Advanced

Platforms: Web

Pricing: Free

Why investors switch

  • ORTEX adds mobile access for on-the-go monitoring.
  • Expands into Short Interest, Insider Data, and Quant coverage beyond what The Zen of Investing offers.
  • Standout features include Short interest and lending analytics including utilization, cost to borrow, shares on loan, and percentage of free float on loan, with intraday and real-time estimates from a large pool of lenders and brokers., Official U.S. exchange-reported short interest (bi-monthly) and European flagged shorts, alongside lending-based estimates., and Options coverage with unusual activity and flow detection; OPRA-sourced data gated by user agreement to OPRA terms..
  • Pair it with The Zen of Investing if you still need Spin-offs and Special Situations.

Adds coverage: Short Interest, Insider Data, Quant, and Data Visualizations

Standout features: Short interest and lending analytics including utilization, cost to borrow, shares on loan, and percentage of free float on loan, with intraday and real-time estimates from a large pool of lenders and brokers., Official U.S. exchange-reported short interest (bi-monthly) and European flagged shorts, alongside lending-based estimates., Options coverage with unusual activity and flow detection; OPRA-sourced data gated by user agreement to OPRA terms., and Alpha trading signals across themes like Short Squeeze, EPS, RSI, MACD, and Company Events, each with back-tested stats and intraday updates.

#11 Alternative

Free Tier
Similarity score 574Category overlap: 50%

Shared coverage

CalendarBlogs

Assets: Stocks

Experience: Beginner, Intermediate, and Advanced

Platforms: Web

Pricing: Free

Why investors switch

  • FinancialJuice adds mobile access for on-the-go monitoring.
  • Expands into News, Alerts, and Inflation Rates coverage beyond what The Zen of Investing offers.
  • Standout features include Live voice squawk + real‑time text headlines (market‑moving news)., Real‑time economic calendar with global data/events., and Event triggers & newsroom chat (Pro/Elite)..
  • Pair it with The Zen of Investing if you still need Spin-offs and Special Situations.

Adds coverage: News, Alerts, Inflation Rates, and Unemployment Rates

Standout features: Live voice squawk + real‑time text headlines (market‑moving news)., Real‑time economic calendar with global data/events., Event triggers & newsroom chat (Pro/Elite)., and Customisable regional filters (20+ countries) for calendars.

#12 Alternative

Free Tier
Similarity score 574Category overlap: 50%

Shared coverage

CalendarBlogs

Assets: Stocks

Experience: Beginner, Intermediate, and Advanced

Platforms: Web

Pricing: Free

Why investors switch

  • InvestorGain adds mobile access for on-the-go monitoring.
  • Expands into IPO, Buybacks & Authorizations, and Secondary Offerings coverage beyond what The Zen of Investing offers.
  • Standout features include Live IPO GMP dashboard for mainboard & SME issues, incl. Kostak and estimated listing price (cap price + GMP)., Real‑time IPO subscription tracker with category splits (RII, NII, QIB) for current issues., and IPO anchor investor allocation reports by year (mainboard & SME)..
  • Pair it with The Zen of Investing if you still need Spin-offs and Special Situations.

Adds coverage: IPO, Buybacks & Authorizations, Secondary Offerings, and New Issues & Calendars

Standout features: Live IPO GMP dashboard for mainboard & SME issues, incl. Kostak and estimated listing price (cap price + GMP)., Real‑time IPO subscription tracker with category splits (RII, NII, QIB) for current issues., IPO anchor investor allocation reports by year (mainboard & SME)., and IPO performance history and GMP‑vs‑actual listing performance trackers.

#13 Alternative

Free Tier
Similarity score 574Category overlap: 50%

Shared coverage

CalendarBlogs

Assets: Stocks

Experience: Beginner, Intermediate, and Advanced

Platforms: Web

Pricing: Free

Why investors switch

  • IPO Watch (ipowatch.in) adds mobile access for on-the-go monitoring.
  • Expands into IPO, Buybacks & Authorizations, and Dividends coverage beyond what The Zen of Investing offers.
  • Standout features include IPO dashboard & calendars: Upcoming Mainboard and SME IPOs; per‑deal pages with dates, price band, lot size, and timeline., GMP tracking: daily posts/pages for ‘IPO GMP today’ with context on grey‑market trading and listing‑gain talk., and Live-ish subscription coverage: intra‑day/day‑wise bid updates and articles (‘Subscribed on Day X’)..
  • Pair it with The Zen of Investing if you still need Spin-offs and Special Situations.

Adds coverage: IPO, Buybacks & Authorizations, Dividends, and Splits

Standout features: IPO dashboard & calendars: Upcoming Mainboard and SME IPOs; per‑deal pages with dates, price band, lot size, and timeline., GMP tracking: daily posts/pages for ‘IPO GMP today’ with context on grey‑market trading and listing‑gain talk., Live-ish subscription coverage: intra‑day/day‑wise bid updates and articles (‘Subscribed on Day X’)., and Allotment status guidance: directs users to official registrars (e.g., Bigshare, KFintech, Link Intime) for status checks.

#14 Alternative

Free Tier
Similarity score 574Category overlap: 50%

Shared coverage

CalendarBlogs

Assets: Stocks

Experience: Beginner, Intermediate, and Advanced

Platforms: Web

Pricing: Free

Why investors switch

  • Smartkarma adds mobile access for on-the-go monitoring.
  • Expands into Stock Ideas, Screeners, and Watchlist coverage beyond what The Zen of Investing offers.
  • Standout features include AI-augmented research hub delivering real-time, actionable insights with direct access to top-ranked analysts., SmartScore Screener covers five factors-Value, Dividend, Growth, Resilience, and Momentum-with filters by country, sector, and market cap., and Relative Value tool highlights HoldCo and share-class pair opportunities, with proprietary Actionability/Investability scores and z-score diagnostics..
  • Pair it with The Zen of Investing if you still need Spin-offs and Special Situations.

Adds coverage: Stock Ideas, Screeners, Watchlist, and News

Standout features: AI-augmented research hub delivering real-time, actionable insights with direct access to top-ranked analysts., SmartScore Screener covers five factors-Value, Dividend, Growth, Resilience, and Momentum-with filters by country, sector, and market cap., Relative Value tool highlights HoldCo and share-class pair opportunities, with proprietary Actionability/Investability scores and z-score diagnostics., and Personalised watchlists and real-time notifications, with opt-in email alerts when relevant insights are published.

#15 Alternative

Free Tier
Similarity score 574Category overlap: 50%

Shared coverage

CalendarBlogs

Assets: Stocks

Experience: Beginner, Intermediate, and Advanced

Platforms: Web

Pricing: Free

Why investors switch

  • Tickeron adds mobile access for on-the-go monitoring.
  • Expands into Screeners, Stock Ideas, and Stock Comparison coverage beyond what The Zen of Investing offers.
  • Standout features include AI Trading Agents/Bots for Stocks, ETFs, Crypto and Forex; includes Signal Agents, Virtual Agents, and Brokerage Agents (and a "Your Brokerage" connection marked "Coming soon")., AI Robots workflow: after subscribing you can "Follow" robots to view open trades, enable notifications, and enable "Autopilot" to automatically copy trades to your Paper Trades account., and Paper trading ("Paper Trades") for testing ideas risk-free; described as available for ~4,000 stocks, ~1,000 ETFs, ~30,000 mutual funds, ~500 cryptocurrencies and ~100 forex pairs..
  • Pair it with The Zen of Investing if you still need Spin-offs and Special Situations.

Adds coverage: Screeners, Stock Ideas, Stock Comparison, and Auto-Trading & Bots

Standout features: AI Trading Agents/Bots for Stocks, ETFs, Crypto and Forex; includes Signal Agents, Virtual Agents, and Brokerage Agents (and a "Your Brokerage" connection marked "Coming soon")., AI Robots workflow: after subscribing you can "Follow" robots to view open trades, enable notifications, and enable "Autopilot" to automatically copy trades to your Paper Trades account., Paper trading ("Paper Trades") for testing ideas risk-free; described as available for ~4,000 stocks, ~1,000 ETFs, ~30,000 mutual funds, ~500 cryptocurrencies and ~100 forex pairs., and AI Screener generates buy/sell suggestions across stocks/ETFs/mutual funds/crypto/forex; includes "Time Machine" for testing filters/strategies against historical data, and mentions premium gating (e.g., default limit of five tickers; Group Trends/Scorecard gated via credits).

#16 Alternative

Hands-on TestedFree Tier
Similarity score 570Category overlap: 50%

Shared coverage

CalendarBlogs

Assets: Stocks

Experience: Beginner, Intermediate, and Advanced

Platforms: Web

Pricing: Free

Why investors switch

  • Expands into Screeners, Dividends, and News coverage beyond what The Zen of Investing offers.
  • Standout features include Dividend Stock Screener with filters for sector, industry, market cap, DARS™ score, annual dividend, ex-date, and payout frequency., Ex-Dividend Date calendars for stocks, ADRs, preferreds, ETFs, and institutional-share mutual funds., and DARS™ rating system evaluates dividend stocks on five criteria; full breakdowns are available to Premium members..
  • Pair it with The Zen of Investing if you still need Spin-offs and Special Situations.

Adds coverage: Screeners, Dividends, News, and Watchlist

Standout features: Dividend Stock Screener with filters for sector, industry, market cap, DARS™ score, annual dividend, ex-date, and payout frequency., Ex-Dividend Date calendars for stocks, ADRs, preferreds, ETFs, and institutional-share mutual funds., DARS™ rating system evaluates dividend stocks on five criteria; full breakdowns are available to Premium members., and Dividend Watchlist with performance view and email alerts for tracked tickers.

#17 Alternative

Free Tier
Similarity score 562Category overlap: 50%

Shared coverage

CalendarBlogs

Assets: Stocks

Experience: Beginner, Intermediate, and Advanced

Platforms: Web

Pricing: Free

Why investors switch

  • Expands into Screeners, Stock Ideas, and Financials coverage beyond what The Zen of Investing offers.
  • Standout features include Supercharged screener with 500+ filters across fundamentals, forward estimates, and valuation multiples., Conversational AI for valuation, key financials, and earnings‑call insights (real‑time aware)., and Earnings Calendar with dates, estimates and quick drilldowns..
  • Pair it with The Zen of Investing if you still need Spin-offs and Special Situations.

Adds coverage: Screeners, Stock Ideas, Financials, and Valuation Models

Standout features: Supercharged screener with 500+ filters across fundamentals, forward estimates, and valuation multiples., Conversational AI for valuation, key financials, and earnings‑call insights (real‑time aware)., Earnings Calendar with dates, estimates and quick drilldowns., and Top Investors tracker: real‑time 13F filings, rankings, and email alerts; Congress & insider trading views.

#18 Alternative

Free Tier
Similarity score 562Category overlap: 50%

Shared coverage

CalendarBlogs

Assets: Stocks

Experience: Beginner, Intermediate, and Advanced

Platforms: Web

Pricing: Free

Why investors switch

  • Expands into Alerts, Dividends, and Stock Ideas coverage beyond what The Zen of Investing offers.
  • Standout features include 21 alert types across price, technical (MA crosses, RSI), volume, fundamentals (P/E & forward P/E), dividends (ex‑date/payment), and time‑based reminders., Minute‑by‑minute monitoring during regular, pre‑market, and after‑hours sessions; notifications within seconds when conditions are met., and AI analysis that generates long‑form equity write‑ups and suggests 2–5 ‘smart alerts’ you can one‑click activate..
  • Pair it with The Zen of Investing if you still need Spin-offs and Special Situations.

Adds coverage: Alerts, Dividends, Stock Ideas, and Screeners

Standout features: 21 alert types across price, technical (MA crosses, RSI), volume, fundamentals (P/E & forward P/E), dividends (ex‑date/payment), and time‑based reminders., Minute‑by‑minute monitoring during regular, pre‑market, and after‑hours sessions; notifications within seconds when conditions are met., AI analysis that generates long‑form equity write‑ups and suggests 2–5 ‘smart alerts’ you can one‑click activate., and Intelligent watchlist that runs daily AI screens on tracked symbols and refreshes alert signals automatically.

#19 Alternative

Free Tier
Similarity score 562Category overlap: 50%

Shared coverage

CalendarBlogs

Assets: Stocks

Experience: Beginner, Intermediate, and Advanced

Platforms: Web

Pricing: Free

Why investors switch

  • Expands into Screeners, Watchlist, and News coverage beyond what The Zen of Investing offers.
  • Standout features include Free equity screener with both fundamental and alternative-data filters, including app rankings, social followers, job openings, and founder-led company flags., Alternative-data dashboards track website traffic, app store ranks, share of search, social activity, Google Trends, and patents., and Earnings calendars available in weekly or index views, with embeddable widgets via iframe for external sites..
  • Pair it with The Zen of Investing if you still need Spin-offs and Special Situations.

Adds coverage: Screeners, Watchlist, News, and Insider Data

Standout features: Free equity screener with both fundamental and alternative-data filters, including app rankings, social followers, job openings, and founder-led company flags., Alternative-data dashboards track website traffic, app store ranks, share of search, social activity, Google Trends, and patents., Earnings calendars available in weekly or index views, with embeddable widgets via iframe for external sites., and Tracks Wall Street analyst price targets and ranks analysts by their historical win rates.

#20 Alternative

Analyst PickHands-on TestedFree Tier
Similarity score 544Category overlap: 50%

Shared coverage

Spin-offsSpecial Situations

Assets: Stocks

Experience: Intermediate and Advanced

Platforms: Web

Pricing: Free

Why investors switch

  • Expands into Screeners, Stock Ideas, and Improved Filings coverage beyond what The Zen of Investing offers.
  • Standout features include Specialized web platform for working with SEC filings and earnings transcripts, marketed as making “financial research easier” for thousands of subscribers including major investment banks and buy-side firms., Covers all SEC filings submitted electronically via EDGAR from 1994 onward in their original, unmodified form, with new filings typically processed within a minute or two of being filed (and by end of day for confidential filings that later become public). Browsing filings does not require a subscription, but premium features are limited to active subscribers., and All-company screening tools let you instantly search across millions of documents for any term, using filters like industry, market cap, document type and Watch List, plus advanced operators (exact phrases, boolean logic, proximity / distance between words) and email alerts for new matches..
  • Pair it with The Zen of Investing if you still need Calendar and Blogs.

Adds coverage: Screeners, Stock Ideas, Improved Filings, and Diff View

Standout features: Specialized web platform for working with SEC filings and earnings transcripts, marketed as making “financial research easier” for thousands of subscribers including major investment banks and buy-side firms., Covers all SEC filings submitted electronically via EDGAR from 1994 onward in their original, unmodified form, with new filings typically processed within a minute or two of being filed (and by end of day for confidential filings that later become public). Browsing filings does not require a subscription, but premium features are limited to active subscribers., All-company screening tools let you instantly search across millions of documents for any term, using filters like industry, market cap, document type and Watch List, plus advanced operators (exact phrases, boolean logic, proximity / distance between words) and email alerts for new matches., and Company-level Document Search shows every mention of a term across a single issuer’s filings and transcripts, with result categorization and an “intuitive workflow” for jumping straight from search hits to the underlying documents without manual Ctrl+F scans.

Coverage Snapshot

Where alternatives already align

Most shared categories across the top matches.

Blogs×19Calendar×19Special Situations×3Spin-offs×3

New angles introduced

Categories the alternatives add beyond The Zen of Investing.

Screeners+15Watchlist+14News+13Alerts+12Education+11Stock Ideas+11Dividends+10Financials+10

Free Access & Pricing

Free options

All 20

20 vetted picks keep a permanent free tier so you can validate workflows before upgrading.

Mobile ready

11/20

11 alternatives bring native mobile access.

API availability

6/20

6 of the shortlisted tools expose API endpoints for automation-heavy workflows.

Quality checks

9 starred / 11 tested

9 tools are flagged as analyst picks; 11 have been hands-on tested.

Avg. coverage overlap

55%

Average percentage of categories shared with the base tool.

Free Alternatives FAQ

What are the best free alternatives to The Zen of Investing?

Start with GuruFocus, Stock Spinoff Investing, and Koyfin to replicate The Zen of Investing workflows without paying for a subscription.

Do these picks stay permanently free?

Yes. Each platform listed keeps a standing free tier with no credit card required -- though export limits or seat caps may apply if you scale usage.

Which The Zen of Investing workflows stay covered on the free plan?

Expect solid overlap across Spin-offs, Special Situations, Calendar, and Blogs, so core The Zen of Investing workflows can move over without a paid upgrade.

What extra coverage do the free alternatives add?

Screeners, Stock Ideas, Stock Comparison, Data Visualizations, Portfolio, Investor Holdings, US Government Trades, Backtesting, News, Alerts, Data APIs, IPO, Acquisitions, Delisted, Dividends, GDP, Interest Rates, Inflation Rates, Unemployment Rates, Commitment of Traders (COT), Yield Curves, Financials, Scores, Valuation Models, Insider Data, Institutional Data, Short Interest, 13F, 13D/13G, ETF Overview, ETF Holdings, Analyst Forecasts, Analyst Price Targets, Analyst Recommendations, Transcripts, AI, AI Chat, Education, Videos, Forums, Newsletters, Stock Handbook, ETF Screeners, Money Flow, Watchlist, Splits, ETF Performance, ETF Fundamentals, ETF Valuation, Custom Dashboards, AI Earnings Summary, Notes & Highlights, Shared Workspaces, Citations & Source Pinning, APIs & SDKs, Webhooks, Top Analysts, ETF Comparison, Fund Overview, Fund Performance, Fund Holdings, Options & Derivatives, Quant, Paper Trading, Advanced Order Types, Housing & Construction, On-chain Analytics, DEX / DeFi, Broker Connectors, Dividend, Improved Filings, AI Business Summary, AI Filings Summary, AI Report, Index Rebalancing, Options, Central Bank Watcher, Buybacks & Authorizations, Secondary Offerings, New Issues & Calendars, Auto-Trading & Bots, Copy/Social Trading, Courses & Certs, Compounding Calculator, Playbooks & Case Studies, App & Website Traffic, Job Postings, Patents / USPTO, and Diff View show up most often as bonus coverage beyond the base platform, giving you room to experiment before upgrading.

Where might I still rely on The Zen of Investing?

Spin-offs, Special Situations, Calendar, and Blogs remain strengths for The Zen of Investing. Keep it handy for those tasks or plan for a paid upgrade if they matter.

Information

About Me

Hey! Thanks for stopping by. I'm an independent investor with a soft spot for coding and the stock market - especially value investing (as you can probably tell from the tools I've collected here, haha). Hopefully you'll find something useful or interesting along the way.

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Starred Tools

These are my top picks. Tools I've tested thoroughly and found to be excellent. They do their job really well, and I use them a lot. If you're not already familiar with them, I highly recommend checking them out.

Tested Tools

These are tools I've tried and found to be solid, but not standout. Think of them as passing an initial quality screen: worth exploring, though not all will be exceptional.

Curation & Accuracy

This directory blends AI‑assisted discovery with human curation. Entries are reviewed, edited, and organized with the goal of expanding coverage and sharpening quality over time. Your feedback helps steer improvements (because no single human can capture everything all at once).

Details change. Pricing, features, and availability may be incomplete or out of date. Treat listings as a starting point and verify on the provider’s site before making decisions. If you spot an error or a gap, send a quick note and I’ll adjust.