VOL. XCIV, NO. 247

★ FINANCIAL TOOLS & SERVICES DIRECTORY ★

PRICE: 5 CENTS

Sunday, October 5, 2025

Head-to-head

FlowAlgo vs MarketWatch comparison

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

Quick takeaways

FlowAlgo adds Options & Derivatives, and Dark Pool & Off-Exchange coverage that MarketWatch skips.

MarketWatch includes News, Calendar, Screeners, Data Visualizations, Watchlist, Paper Trading, Financials, Options, ETF Overview, ETF Holdings, Analyst Price Targets, Insider Data, Short Interest, Interest Rates, Yield Curves, IPO, and Newsletters categories that FlowAlgo omits.

FlowAlgo highlights: Realtime monitoring of options order flow, with unusual activity detection and tracking of Intermarket Sweep Orders and option block trades., Equity block and dark pool order data, paired with a dedicated “Dark Pool Insights” module., and Dark pool data is delayed until officially reported; equity block data may lag ~20 minutes. Options flow itself streams with typical latency of half a second to 15 seconds..

MarketWatch is known for: Market data hub with stock and market screeners, mutual fund research, fund comparison, and multi-quote lookup tools., Personal watchlists available free with an account; syncs across web and mobile apps with customizable price and news alerts., and Comprehensive event calendars, including U.S. economic releases, corporate earnings, IPO schedules, and options-expiration dates..

MarketWatch keeps a free entry point that FlowAlgo lacks.

MarketWatch offers mobile access, which FlowAlgo skips.

FlowAlgo logo

FlowAlgo

flowalgo.com

Realtime options order flow with equity block and dark pool data. All plans include the same feature set with monthly, quarterly, or annual billing. Paid trial available for two weeks. Dark pool prints are reported with delays (anywhere from hours to the next day), and equity block data can lag by up to ~20 minutes under exchange rules.

Platforms

Web

Pricing

Subscription

Quick highlights

  • Realtime monitoring of options order flow, with unusual activity detection and tracking of Intermarket Sweep Orders and option block trades.
  • Equity block and dark pool order data, paired with a dedicated “Dark Pool Insights” module.
  • Dark pool data is delayed until officially reported; equity block data may lag ~20 minutes. Options flow itself streams with typical latency of half a second to 15 seconds.
  • Alpha AI signals during market hours, flagging predictive momentum shifts and Long/Short/Hedge opportunities.
  • Historical database with access back to mid-2017, including prior days’ flow activity.

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MarketWatch logo

MarketWatch

marketwatch.com

Hands-on review

A global financial-news portal from Dow Jones that combines market data, news, analysis, and investor tools. Real-time Nasdaq last-sale quotes are included, while most other intraday prices run on a standard 15-minute delay. Premium newsletters and in-depth articles are gated behind a subscription. Mobile apps extend the experience with push alerts and watchlist syncing.

Platforms

Web
Mobile

Pricing

Free
Subscription

Quick highlights

  • Market data hub with stock and market screeners, mutual fund research, fund comparison, and multi-quote lookup tools.
  • Personal watchlists available free with an account; syncs across web and mobile apps with customizable price and news alerts.
  • Comprehensive event calendars, including U.S. economic releases, corporate earnings, IPO schedules, and options-expiration dates.
  • BigCharts advanced charting platform with multiple timeframes (intraday to monthly) and technical overlays; intraday data typically delayed 15 minutes.
  • Options coverage with full chains per symbol and an expiration calendar.

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Overlap

Shared focus areas

1 overlap

Both tools cover this research theme.

Where they differ

FlowAlgo

Distinct strengths include:

  • Realtime monitoring of options order flow, with unusual activity detection and tracking of Intermarket Sweep Orders and option block trades.
  • Equity block and dark pool order data, paired with a dedicated “Dark Pool Insights” module.
  • Dark pool data is delayed until officially reported; equity block data may lag ~20 minutes. Options flow itself streams with typical latency of half a second to 15 seconds.
  • Alpha AI signals during market hours, flagging predictive momentum shifts and Long/Short/Hedge opportunities.

MarketWatch

Distinct strengths include:

  • Market data hub with stock and market screeners, mutual fund research, fund comparison, and multi-quote lookup tools.
  • Personal watchlists available free with an account; syncs across web and mobile apps with customizable price and news alerts.
  • Comprehensive event calendars, including U.S. economic releases, corporate earnings, IPO schedules, and options-expiration dates.
  • BigCharts advanced charting platform with multiple timeframes (intraday to monthly) and technical overlays; intraday data typically delayed 15 minutes.

Feature-by-feature breakdown

AttributeFlowAlgoMarketWatch
Categories

Which research workflows each platform targets

Shared: Alerts

Unique: Options & Derivatives, Dark Pool & Off-Exchange

Shared: Alerts

Unique: News, Calendar, Screeners, Data Visualizations, Watchlist, Paper Trading, Financials, Options, ETF Overview, ETF Holdings, Analyst Price Targets, Insider Data, Short Interest, Interest Rates, Yield Curves, IPO, Newsletters

Asset types

Supported asset classes and universes

Stocks, ETFs, Options

Stocks, ETFs, Mutual Funds, Options, Futures, Commodities, Currencies, Cryptos, Bonds

Experience levels

Who each product is built for

Beginner, Intermediate, Advanced

Beginner, Intermediate, Advanced

Platforms

Where you can access the product

Web

Web, Mobile

Pricing

High-level pricing models

Subscription

Free, Subscription

Key features

Core capabilities called out by each vendor

Unique

  • Realtime monitoring of options order flow, with unusual activity detection and tracking of Intermarket Sweep Orders and option block trades.
  • Equity block and dark pool order data, paired with a dedicated “Dark Pool Insights” module.
  • Dark pool data is delayed until officially reported; equity block data may lag ~20 minutes. Options flow itself streams with typical latency of half a second to 15 seconds.
  • Alpha AI signals during market hours, flagging predictive momentum shifts and Long/Short/Hedge opportunities.
  • Historical database with access back to mid-2017, including prior days’ flow activity.
  • FlowAlgo Levels (“Institutional Zones”), highlighting support and resistance from historical block and dark pool transactions.

Unique

  • Market data hub with stock and market screeners, mutual fund research, fund comparison, and multi-quote lookup tools.
  • Personal watchlists available free with an account; syncs across web and mobile apps with customizable price and news alerts.
  • Comprehensive event calendars, including U.S. economic releases, corporate earnings, IPO schedules, and options-expiration dates.
  • BigCharts advanced charting platform with multiple timeframes (intraday to monthly) and technical overlays; intraday data typically delayed 15 minutes.
  • Options coverage with full chains per symbol and an expiration calendar.
  • ETF and mutual fund research, including top holdings for flagship funds like SPY and a comparison tool for side-by-side analysis.
Tested

Verified by hands-on testing inside Find My Moat

Not yet

Yes

Editor pick

Featured inside curated shortlists

Standard listing

Standard listing

Frequently Asked Questions

Which workflows do FlowAlgo and MarketWatch both support?

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

Which tool offers a free plan?

MarketWatch offers a free entry point, while FlowAlgo requires a paid subscription. Review the pricing table to see how the paid tiers compare.

Which tool has mobile access?

MarketWatch ships a dedicated mobile experience, while FlowAlgo focuses on web or desktop access.

What unique strengths set the two platforms apart?

FlowAlgo differentiates itself with Realtime monitoring of options order flow, with unusual activity detection and tracking of Intermarket Sweep Orders and option block trades., Equity block and dark pool order data, paired with a dedicated “Dark Pool Insights” module., and Dark pool data is delayed until officially reported; equity block data may lag ~20 minutes. Options flow itself streams with typical latency of half a second to 15 seconds., whereas MarketWatch stands out for Market data hub with stock and market screeners, mutual fund research, fund comparison, and multi-quote lookup tools., Personal watchlists available free with an account; syncs across web and mobile apps with customizable price and news alerts., and Comprehensive event calendars, including U.S. economic releases, corporate earnings, IPO schedules, and options-expiration dates..

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.