Tool Comparison
GuruFocus vs MarketWatch
- Paid from
- $45.75/mo
- Free plan
- Yes
- Platforms
- Web, Mobile, API
Best if
- You want an API so you can script or automate things
- You want stock ideas, ETF screeners, and top analysts.
- You're a long-term investor who cares more about fundamentals than headlines
- Paid from
- —
- Free plan
- Yes
- Platforms
- Web, Mobile
Best if
- Delayed quotes won't cut it; you need real-time data
- You want paper trading.
Start here
GuruFocus
Free • From $549/yr · Web · Mobile · API
- You want an API so you can script or automate things
- You want stock ideas, ETF screeners, and top analysts.
- You're a long-term investor who cares more about fundamentals than headlines
Pick MarketWatch instead if
MarketWatch
Free • Paid plans available · Web · Mobile
- Delayed quotes won't cut it; you need real-time data
- You want paper trading.
Skip both if: Neither one clicks with how you research; there are strong third options.
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Our take
The bottom line
GuruFocus and MarketWatch cover a lot of the same ground (16 shared categories, including screeners, data visualizations, and watchlist), so for the basics you won't go far wrong with either. GuruFocus simply does more: 49 categories to MarketWatch's 17, including stock ideas, ETF screeners, and top analysts. MarketWatch counters by being completely free.
What readers say
GuruFocus
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MarketWatch
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Key differences at a glance
- Real-time data
- MarketWatch
- Free trial
- GuruFocus7 days
- Broader coverage
- GuruFocus49 vs 17 categories
- API access
- GuruFocus
- Broker sync
- GuruFocus
- Free plan
- Both
What GuruFocus does best
- Research coverage for global stocks with long historical financials, valuation data, charts, comparisons, market valuation indicators, economic indicators, industry data, and company-level fundamentals.
- The All-in-One Screener with hundreds of filters across fundamentals, valuation, profitability, growth, dividends, guru holdings, insider trades, predefined value screens, custom filters, saved screens, and downloads.
- ETF Screener and ETF GF Scores for filtering and comparing more than 5,000 U.S.
- Corporate and government bond screening by yield, maturity, ratings, coupon structure, outstanding amount, issuer, and industry, plus company-level bond tabs.
- Backtest screener strategies across many countries with configurable stock count, ranking metric, sort order, date range, and rebalance frequency; current membership terms give Premium the latest five years and Premium Plus/Professional history back to 2006.
What MarketWatch does best
- Read market news and analysis covering equities, funds, options, futures, commodities, currencies, crypto, and rates.
- Quote pages, multi-quote lookup, stock and market screeners, mutual-fund research, ETF pages, fund comparisons, and basic company financial views.
- Tools for building free account-based watchlists that sync across web and mobile apps with customizable price and news alerts.
- Tracking events with calendars for U.S. economic releases, corporate earnings, IPOs, and options-expiration dates.
- BigCharts supports multiple timeframes and technical overlays.
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 • From $549/yr | Free • Paid plans available |
Free tier | Yes | Yes |
Free trial | 7 days | — |
Plan limits | 57 limits: Free: portfolio limit: Up to 3 portfolios with 25 stocks each for free members, Free: data api requests: 100/month included in the Free API package +55 more | MarketWatch Digital: standard rate: $5/week after intro period and Student: eligibility: Student verification required; current price not publicly confirmed |
| Platforms & access | ||
Web app | Yes | Yes |
Mobile app | Yes | Yes |
API access | Yes | No |
Broker sync | Yes | No |
Integrations | GuruFocus Data API, GuruFocus MCP Server +3 more | — |
| Audience & fit | ||
Experience level | Beginner, Intermediate, Advanced | Beginner, Intermediate, Advanced |
Best for | Retail Traders, Pro Retail +9 more | — |
Categories covered | 49 | 17 |
Regions | North America, Europe, APAC, LatAm, Middle East, Africa | North America, Europe, APAC, LatAm, Middle East, Africa |
| Data & capabilities | ||
Data quality | 5 signals: Latency: End of Day, Granularity: EOD +3 more | 5 signals: Latency: Real-time, 15-min Delayed, and End of Day, Granularity: Minute and EOD +3 more |
Data partners | 5 partners: QuoteMedia, Morningstar +3 more | — |
Capabilities | 9 signals: Custom formulas, Ranking backtests +7 more | Yield curves |
Security | Status page and Encryption in transit | — |
| Try it | Visit GuruFocus | Visit MarketWatch |
Standout features
The best features of GuruFocus and MarketWatch.ShowHide
Standout features
What GuruFocus does best
- Research coverage for global stocks with long historical financials, valuation data, charts, comparisons, market valuation indicators, economic indicators, industry data, and company-level fundamentals.
- The All-in-One Screener with hundreds of filters across fundamentals, valuation, profitability, growth, dividends, guru holdings, insider trades, predefined value screens, custom filters, saved screens, and downloads.
- ETF Screener and ETF GF Scores for filtering and comparing more than 5,000 U.S.
- Corporate and government bond screening by yield, maturity, ratings, coupon structure, outstanding amount, issuer, and industry, plus company-level bond tabs.
- Backtest screener strategies across many countries with configurable stock count, ranking metric, sort order, date range, and rebalance frequency; current membership terms give Premium the latest five years and Premium Plus/Professional history back to 2006.
What MarketWatch does best
- Read market news and analysis covering equities, funds, options, futures, commodities, currencies, crypto, and rates.
- Quote pages, multi-quote lookup, stock and market screeners, mutual-fund research, ETF pages, fund comparisons, and basic company financial views.
- Tools for building free account-based watchlists that sync across web and mobile apps with customizable price and news alerts.
- Tracking events with calendars for U.S. economic releases, corporate earnings, IPOs, and options-expiration dates.
- BigCharts supports multiple timeframes and technical overlays.
All details
Every attribute we track for GuruFocus and MarketWatch.ShowHide
All details
| Attribute | ||
|---|---|---|
| Coverage & fit | ||
Asset types | StocksETFsBondsMutual FundsOptionsFundsOther | StocksETFsMutual FundsOptionsFuturesCommoditiesCurrenciesCryptos+1 more |
Experience | BeginnerIntermediateAdvanced | BeginnerIntermediateAdvanced |
Target audience | Retail TradersPro RetailLong-term InvestorsValue InvestorsQuality InvestorsDividend InvestorsAnalystsQuants/Developers+3 more | Not specified |
Regions | North AmericaEuropeAPACLatAmMiddle EastAfrica | North AmericaEuropeAPACLatAmMiddle EastAfrica |
Coverage details | Identifiers: Ticker and CIK | Identifiers: Ticker |
| Data | ||
Data freshness | End of Day | Real-time15-min DelayedEnd of Day |
Data granularity | EOD | MinuteEOD |
Pricing sources | ExchangeVendorModel | Not specified |
Data partners | QuoteMediaMorningstarRefinitivFREDSEC / local regulators | Not specified |
| Access & integrations | ||
API protocols | REST | Not specified |
API auth & delivery | Auth: APIKeySDKs: Python and GoDocs | Not specified |
Import methods | CSVBrokerOAuthManual | Not specified |
Integrations | GuruFocus Data APIGuruFocus MCP ServerGuruFocus Excel Add-inGuruFocus Google Sheets Add-onSnapTrade | Not specified |
Export formats | CSVExcelJSON | CSV |
| Plans & trust | ||
Security & compliance | Status pageEncryption in transit | Not specified |
Capability signals | Custom formulasRanking backtestsUniverse builderFactors: Value, Quality, Momentum, and GrowthBroker syncMulti-currencyYield curvesCredit ratings+1 more | Yield curves |
Vendor & support | GuruFocus.com, LLCCountry: United StatesFounded 2004Support: Email, Chat, Phone, and Forum | MarketWatch, Inc. (Dow Jones)Country: United StatesFounded 1997Support: Email |
Curation ratings | Not specified | Methodology 3/5Reliability 4/5UX 4/5 |
Green tags are exclusive to that tool in this comparison.
Pricing
Plans, billing, free trials, and monthly prices.ShowHide
Pricing
| Tier | ||
|---|---|---|
| Free plan | Freeportfolio limit: Up to 3 portfolios with 25 stocks each for free members · data api requests: 100/month included in the Free API package · +1 more | Free |
| Entry paid plan | $549/yr≈ $45.75/mo“Premium”billing: Annual only · region price: $549/year for USA, Asia, or Europe; $369/year for several other regions · +7 more | Subscription“MarketWatch Digital”standard rate: $5/week after intro period |
| Tier 2 | $200/mo“Data API Builder”billing: Billed annually · monthly request limit: No limit · +12 more | Subscription“Student”eligibility: Student verification required; current price not publicly confirmed |
| Tier 3 | $2000/mo“Data API Commercial”billing: Billed annually · monthly request limit: No limit · +1 more | — |
| Tier 4 | Subscription“Premium Plus”billing: Annual only · public price: Current rendered pricing could not establish the Premium Plus amount · +4 more | — |
| Tier 5 | Subscription“Professional”billing: Annual only · public price: Current rendered pricing could not establish the Professional amount · +1 more | — |
| Top plan | $100 per unit“Data API Pay As You Go”initial top up: $100 credit · stock daily prices: $0.05/request · +16 more | — |
| Custom / enterprise | Contact sales“Custom API / Enterprise Package” | — |
| Free trial | 7 days | — |
Alternatives
Free alternatives
Questions we keep getting
What's the difference between GuruFocus and MarketWatch?
GuruFocus leans toward stock ideas, screeners, and ETF screeners, while MarketWatch puts more weight on news, alerts, and calendar. They overlap in 16 categories, so for most people it comes down to workflow preference and price.
How much do GuruFocus and MarketWatch cost?
Good news: both GuruFocus and MarketWatch have free plans, so you can run them side by side and only pay if you hit a wall.
Does GuruFocus or MarketWatch have an API?
GuruFocus has an API for programmatic access and custom integrations. MarketWatch doesn't, so you're working through its interface.
Should I choose GuruFocus or MarketWatch?
It depends on what you're after. Pick GuruFocus if stock ideas and ETF screeners matter to you; go with MarketWatch if you'd rather have paper trading. And if you only need the basics both share, let price decide.
What asset classes do GuruFocus and MarketWatch cover?
Both cover stocks, ETFs, bonds, and mutual funds. GuruFocus also handles funds and other. MarketWatch adds futures, commodities, and currencies on top.
Does GuruFocus or MarketWatch have real-time data?
MarketWatch offers real-time data, which matters if you trade actively. GuruFocus 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.
Can I export data from GuruFocus and MarketWatch?
Yes, both export to spreadsheets (CSV), which is handy if you like running your own numbers.
Can GuruFocus or MarketWatch connect to my broker?
GuruFocus syncs with brokers automatically. With MarketWatch, you're entering holdings by hand or importing files.
Which has a better stock screener: GuruFocus or MarketWatch?
Both GuruFocus and MarketWatch include stock screeners, and they differ more in interface than raw power; try both and see which one clicks for you.
Can I track my portfolio with GuruFocus or MarketWatch?
GuruFocus handles portfolio tracking. MarketWatch is really a research tool; you'd track your portfolio elsewhere.
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