Tool Comparison
Capitol Trades vs Unusual Whales
- Paid from
- —
- Free plan
- Yes
- Platforms
- Web
Best if
- You want blogs and newsletters.
- You're newer to investing and want something approachable
- Paid from
- $504/yr, billed annually
- Free plan
- Yes
- Platforms
- Web, Mobile, API
Best if
- Delayed quotes won't cut it; you need real-time data
- You do a lot of your research from your phone
- You want an API so you can script or automate things
Pick Capitol Trades instead if
Capitol Trades
Free · Web
- You want blogs and newsletters.
- You're newer to investing and want something approachable
Start here
Unusual Whales
Free • From $504/yr, billed annually · Web · Mobile · API
- Delayed quotes won't cut it; you need real-time data
- You do a lot of your research from your phone
- You want an API so you can script or automate things
Skip both if: Neither one clicks with how you research; there are strong third options.
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Our take
The bottom line
Capitol Trades and Unusual Whales cover a lot of the same ground (2 shared categories, US government trades and news), so for the basics you won't go far wrong with either. Unusual Whales simply does more: 12 categories to Capitol Trades's 4, including options, money flow, and screeners, plus a mobile app. Capitol Trades counters by being completely free.
What readers say
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Key differences at a glance
- Real-time data
- Unusual Whales
- Free trial
- Unusual Whales7 days
- Broader coverage
- Unusual Whales12 vs 4 categories
- Mobile app
- Unusual Whales
- API access
- Unusual Whales
- Asset coverage
- Capitol TradesAdds mutual funds and bonds
What Capitol Trades does best
- Track U.S.
- Filters for political trades by chamber, party, committee, state, asset type, transaction type, trade size, sector, and issuer country.
- Direct access to trade detail pages with traded date, published date, filed date, reporting gap, owner type, asset type, and disclosed size range.
- Trade details for reviewing the transaction date, filing date, owner, asset type, and disclosed size range.
- Browsing access to issuer pages with market snapshots and lists of politician trades tied to that issuer.
What Unusual Whales does best
- Tracking US options flow with trade details, exchange data, filters, configurable columns, sorting, and saved trades.
- Multi-leg tagging in the flow feed and open trades in an options profit calculator for payoff and P/L context.
- Monitor dark pool and off-exchange activity, with market-tide, lit/off-lit, and related flow feeds available where the plan supports them.
- Tools for building alerts across the website, mobile apps, and Discord; free alerts are delayed and limited, while premium alerts are faster and broader.
- Stock and options screeners for unusual volume, options activity, premium, volume, open interest, implied volatility, greeks, and related filters.
Side by side
Pricing comparison
See for yourself
Side by side
Price, platforms, data, and market coverage.ShowHide
Side by side
| Attribute | ||
|---|---|---|
| Pricing & plans | ||
Starting price | Free | Free • From $504/yr, billed annually |
Free tier | Yes | Yes |
Free trial | — | 7 days |
Plan limits | Free: history: Website data restricted to the past 3 years | 13 limits: Free Limited: options flow delay: 2 trading days, Free Limited: news delay minutes: 15 +11 more |
| Platforms & access | ||
Web app | Yes | Yes |
Mobile app | No | Yes |
API access | No | Yes |
Integrations | — | Discord, X (Twitter) +3 more |
| Audience & fit | ||
Experience level | Beginner, Intermediate | Intermediate, Advanced |
Best for | Retail Traders, Pro Retail +2 more | Retail Traders, Pro Retail +3 more |
Categories covered | 4 | 12 |
Regions | North America | North America |
| Data & capabilities | ||
Data quality | — | 3 signals: Latency: Streaming and Real-time, Granularity: Minute and EOD +1 more |
Capabilities | Universe builder | 3 signals: Universe builder, Multi-leg options +1 more |
| Try it | Visit Capitol Trades | Visit Unusual Whales |
Standout features
The best features of Capitol Trades and Unusual Whales.ShowHide
Standout features
What Capitol Trades does best
- Track U.S.
- Filters for political trades by chamber, party, committee, state, asset type, transaction type, trade size, sector, and issuer country.
- Direct access to trade detail pages with traded date, published date, filed date, reporting gap, owner type, asset type, and disclosed size range.
- Trade details for reviewing the transaction date, filing date, owner, asset type, and disclosed size range.
- Browsing access to issuer pages with market snapshots and lists of politician trades tied to that issuer.
What Unusual Whales does best
- Tracking US options flow with trade details, exchange data, filters, configurable columns, sorting, and saved trades.
- Multi-leg tagging in the flow feed and open trades in an options profit calculator for payoff and P/L context.
- Monitor dark pool and off-exchange activity, with market-tide, lit/off-lit, and related flow feeds available where the plan supports them.
- Tools for building alerts across the website, mobile apps, and Discord; free alerts are delayed and limited, while premium alerts are faster and broader.
- Stock and options screeners for unusual volume, options activity, premium, volume, open interest, implied volatility, greeks, and related filters.
All details
Every attribute we track for Capitol Trades and Unusual Whales.ShowHide
All details
| Attribute | ||
|---|---|---|
| Coverage & fit | ||
Asset types | StocksETFsMutual FundsOptionsCryptosBondsPrivate FundsOther | OptionsStocksETFsCryptos |
Experience | BeginnerIntermediate | IntermediateAdvanced |
Target audience | Retail TradersPro RetailAnalystsStudents/Researchers | Retail TradersPro RetailDay TradersSwing TradersAlgo Traders |
Regions | North America | North America |
Coverage details | Identifiers: Ticker | Countries: USIdentifiers: Ticker |
| Data | ||
Data freshness | Not specified | StreamingReal-time |
Data granularity | Not specified | MinuteEOD |
| Access & integrations | ||
API protocols | Not specified | RESTWebSocket |
API auth & delivery | Not specified | Auth: APIKeyDocs |
Integrations | Not specified | DiscordX (Twitter)MCP ServerOpenAPIAI Skills |
| Plans & trust | ||
Capability signals | Universe builder | Universe builderMulti-leg optionsGreeks |
Vendor & support | 2iQ Research GmbHCountry: GermanySupport: Email and Phone | Unusual Whales IncSupport: Email |
Green tags are exclusive to that tool in this comparison.
Pricing
Plans, billing, free trials, and monthly prices.ShowHide
Pricing
| Tier | ||
|---|---|---|
| Free plan | Freehistory: Website data restricted to the past 3 years | Free“Free Limited”options flow delay: 2 trading days · news delay minutes: 15 · +1 more |
| Entry paid plan | — | $504/yrBilled annually≈ $42/mo“Retail Basic (Annual)”custom alerts: 25 · watchlists: 5 · +1 more |
| Tier 2 | — | $50/moBilled monthly“Retail Basic (Monthly)”custom alerts: 25 · watchlists: 5 · +1 more |
| Tier 3 | — | $756/yrBilled annually≈ $63/mo“Retail Pro Annual” |
| Tier 4 | — | $75/moBilled monthly“Retail Pro Monthly” |
| Tier 5 | — | $1224/yrBilled annually≈ $102/mo“Retail Max Annual” |
| Tier 6 | — | $120/moBilled monthly“Retail Max Monthly” |
| Tier 7 | — | $150/moBilled monthly“API Access”requests per day: 40,000 · historical lookback years: 2 |
| Top plan | — | $375/moBilled monthly“API Advanced (WebSocket streaming)” |
| Free trial | — | 7 days |
Questions we keep getting
What's the difference between Capitol Trades and Unusual Whales?
Capitol Trades leans toward US government trades, news, and blogs, while Unusual Whales puts more weight on options, money flow, and screeners. They overlap in 2 categories, so for most people it comes down to workflow preference and price.
How much do Capitol Trades and Unusual Whales cost?
Good news: both Capitol Trades and Unusual Whales have free plans, so you can run them side by side and only pay if you hit a wall.
Which is better for beginners: Capitol Trades or Unusual Whales?
Capitol Trades is the friendlier place to start; its interface takes less getting used to. Unusual Whales assumes more experience, and rewards it with deeper analytics.
Can I use Capitol Trades or Unusual Whales on my phone?
Unusual Whales lists a dedicated mobile app, so it travels better. Capitol Trades doesn't list a dedicated mobile app; its documented access is web.
Does Capitol Trades or Unusual Whales have an API?
Unusual Whales has an API for programmatic access and custom integrations. Capitol Trades doesn't, so you're working through its interface.
Should I choose Capitol Trades or Unusual Whales?
It depends on what you're after. Pick Capitol Trades if blogs and newsletters matter to you; go with Unusual Whales if you'd rather have options and money flow. And if you only need the basics both share, let price decide.
What asset classes do Capitol Trades and Unusual Whales cover?
Both cover stocks, ETFs, options, and cryptos. Capitol Trades also handles mutual funds, bonds, and private funds.
Does Capitol Trades or Unusual Whales have real-time data?
Unusual Whales offers real-time data, which matters if you trade actively. Capitol Trades runs on delayed or end-of-day data, which is perfectly fine for longer-term investors who don't live and die by the tick.
Is Capitol Trades or Unusual Whales better for day trading?
Unusual Whales is the one positioned more for active traders. Capitol Trades is the better fit if you care less about fast trading workflows and more about a calmer research process.
Which has a better stock screener: Capitol Trades or Unusual Whales?
Unusual Whales has a stock screener for surfacing ideas; Capitol Trades doesn't, and focuses its energy elsewhere.
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