VOL. XCIV, NO. 247

★ FINANCIAL TOOLS & SERVICES DIRECTORY ★

PRICE: 5 CENTS

Sunday, October 5, 2025

Head-to-head

Benzinga vs Unusual Whales comparison

Compare pricing, supported platforms, categories, and standout capabilities to decide which tool fits your workflow.

Quick takeaways

Benzinga adds Newsletters, Watchlist, and Transcripts coverage that Unusual Whales skips.

Unusual Whales includes Options & Derivatives, Portfolio, Paper Trading, Dark Pool & Off-Exchange, US Government Trades, Insider Data, 13F, APIs & SDKs, Education, and Dividends categories that Benzinga omits.

Benzinga highlights: Benzinga Pro subscription tiers: Free, Basic ($37/mo), Streamlined ($147/mo), and Essential ($197/mo), with features unlocked progressively., Real-time newsfeed with advanced filters and sentiment indicators., and Customizable alerts via desktop, sound, and email; watchlist-driven alerts available on paid plans..

Unusual Whales is known for: Live options flow across all US options exchanges, with a status indicator so you know the feed is healthy., Dark-pool tape plus ‘Dark Pool Levels’ to surface recent prints and ticker-specific liquidity zones., and Options and stock screeners with filters for premium, volume, open interest, IV rank, and common technicals..

Benzinga logo

Benzinga

benzinga.com

Financial news publisher offering both a real-time trading terminal (Benzinga Pro) and licensed data APIs. Subscription tiers progressively unlock tools such as advanced newsfeeds, equity squawk audio, signals, scanners, and calendars. Paid plans include Nasdaq Basic real-time quotes, and optional add-ons like High Beta Squawk. Scanner results can be exported to CSV.

Platforms

Web
Mobile
API

Pricing

Free
Subscription

Quick highlights

  • Benzinga Pro subscription tiers: Free, Basic ($37/mo), Streamlined ($147/mo), and Essential ($197/mo), with features unlocked progressively.
  • Real-time newsfeed with advanced filters and sentiment indicators.
  • Customizable alerts via desktop, sound, and email; watchlist-driven alerts available on paid plans.
  • Equity Audio Squawk channel included in higher tiers, with optional High Beta Squawk add-on for $99/month.
  • Signals highlight unusual activity, including price spikes, options flow, block trades, and trading halts.

Community votes (overall)

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Unusual Whales logo

Unusual Whales

unusualwhales.com

Editor’s pick Hands-on review

Real-time options flow and dark-pool analytics built for active traders. Free plans view delayed data; paid tiers stream live flow, with annual plans unlocking data downloads. The public API is sold separately, and “Periscope” (market-wide SPX exposure) is available as an add-on.

Platforms

Web
Mobile
API

Pricing

Free
Subscription

Quick highlights

  • Live options flow across all US options exchanges, with a status indicator so you know the feed is healthy.
  • Dark-pool tape plus ‘Dark Pool Levels’ to surface recent prints and ticker-specific liquidity zones.
  • Options and stock screeners with filters for premium, volume, open interest, IV rank, and common technicals.
  • Options Profit Calculator to model multi-leg strategies, Greeks, and payoff P/L.
  • Paper trading for both stocks and options to test ideas without risk.

Community votes (overall)

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Overlap

Shared focus areas

5 overlaps

Mutual strengths include News, Alerts, and Screeners plus 2 more areas.

Where they differ

Benzinga

Distinct strengths include:

  • Benzinga Pro subscription tiers: Free, Basic ($37/mo), Streamlined ($147/mo), and Essential ($197/mo), with features unlocked progressively.
  • Real-time newsfeed with advanced filters and sentiment indicators.
  • Customizable alerts via desktop, sound, and email; watchlist-driven alerts available on paid plans.
  • Equity Audio Squawk channel included in higher tiers, with optional High Beta Squawk add-on for $99/month.

Unusual Whales

Distinct strengths include:

  • Live options flow across all US options exchanges, with a status indicator so you know the feed is healthy.
  • Dark-pool tape plus ‘Dark Pool Levels’ to surface recent prints and ticker-specific liquidity zones.
  • Options and stock screeners with filters for premium, volume, open interest, IV rank, and common technicals.
  • Options Profit Calculator to model multi-leg strategies, Greeks, and payoff P/L.

Feature-by-feature breakdown

AttributeBenzingaUnusual Whales
Categories

Which research workflows each platform targets

Shared: News, Alerts, Screeners, Calendar, Data APIs

Unique: Newsletters, Watchlist, Transcripts

Shared: News, Alerts, Screeners, Calendar, Data APIs

Unique: Options & Derivatives, Portfolio, Paper Trading, Dark Pool & Off-Exchange, US Government Trades, Insider Data, 13F, APIs & SDKs, Education, Dividends

Asset types

Supported asset classes and universes

Stocks, ETFs, Options

Stocks, ETFs, Options

Experience levels

Who each product is built for

Beginner, Intermediate, Advanced

Beginner, Intermediate, Advanced

Platforms

Where you can access the product

Web, Mobile, API

Web, Mobile, API

Pricing

High-level pricing models

Free, Subscription

Free, Subscription

Key features

Core capabilities called out by each vendor

Unique

  • Benzinga Pro subscription tiers: Free, Basic ($37/mo), Streamlined ($147/mo), and Essential ($197/mo), with features unlocked progressively.
  • Real-time newsfeed with advanced filters and sentiment indicators.
  • Customizable alerts via desktop, sound, and email; watchlist-driven alerts available on paid plans.
  • Equity Audio Squawk channel included in higher tiers, with optional High Beta Squawk add-on for $99/month.
  • Signals highlight unusual activity, including price spikes, options flow, block trades, and trading halts.
  • Comprehensive calendar suite covering earnings, guidance, economic releases, analyst ratings, and more.

Unique

  • Live options flow across all US options exchanges, with a status indicator so you know the feed is healthy.
  • Dark-pool tape plus ‘Dark Pool Levels’ to surface recent prints and ticker-specific liquidity zones.
  • Options and stock screeners with filters for premium, volume, open interest, IV rank, and common technicals.
  • Options Profit Calculator to model multi-leg strategies, Greeks, and payoff P/L.
  • Paper trading for both stocks and options to test ideas without risk.
  • Portfolio Manager with broker linking for IBKR, tastytrade, Fidelity, and Robinhood.
Tested

Verified by hands-on testing inside Find My Moat

Not yet

Yes

Editor pick

Featured inside curated shortlists

Standard listing

Highlighted

Frequently Asked Questions

Which workflows do Benzinga and Unusual Whales both support?

Both platforms cover News, Alerts, Screeners, Calendar, and Data APIs workflows, so you can research those use cases in either tool before digging into the feature differences below.

Do Benzinga and Unusual Whales require subscriptions?

Both Benzinga and Unusual Whales keep freemium access with optional paid upgrades, so you can trial each platform before committing.

How can you access Benzinga and Unusual Whales?

Both Benzinga and Unusual Whales support web and mobile access, making it easy to keep tabs on research away from the desk.

What unique strengths set the two platforms apart?

Benzinga differentiates itself with Benzinga Pro subscription tiers: Free, Basic ($37/mo), Streamlined ($147/mo), and Essential ($197/mo), with features unlocked progressively., Real-time newsfeed with advanced filters and sentiment indicators., and Customizable alerts via desktop, sound, and email; watchlist-driven alerts available on paid plans., whereas Unusual Whales stands out for Live options flow across all US options exchanges, with a status indicator so you know the feed is healthy., Dark-pool tape plus ‘Dark Pool Levels’ to surface recent prints and ticker-specific liquidity zones., and Options and stock screeners with filters for premium, volume, open interest, IV rank, and common technicals..

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.