Tool Comparison
GuruFocus vs Unusual Whales
- Paid from
- $45.75/mo
- Free plan
- Yes
- Platforms
- Web, Mobile, API
Best if
- You want stock ideas, ETF screeners, and top analysts.
- You're newer to investing and want something approachable
- You're a long-term investor who cares more about fundamentals than headlines
- Paid from
- $42/mo
- Free plan
- Yes
- Platforms
- Web, Mobile, API
Best if
- You want the cheaper way in: plans start at $42/mo instead of $45.75/mo
- Delayed quotes won't cut it; you need real-time data
- You want money flow, options p&l, and dark pool & off-exchange.
Pick GuruFocus if
GuruFocus
Free • From $549/yr · Web · Mobile · API
- You want stock ideas, ETF screeners, and top analysts.
- You're newer to investing and want something approachable
- You're a long-term investor who cares more about fundamentals than headlines
Pick Unusual Whales if
Unusual Whales
Free • From $504/yr · Web · Mobile · API
- You want the cheaper way in: plans start at $42/mo instead of $45.75/mo
- Delayed quotes won't cut it; you need real-time data
- You want money flow, options p&l, and dark pool & off-exchange.
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 Unusual Whales cover a lot of the same ground (9 shared categories, including screeners, US government trades, and news), so for the basics you won't go far wrong with either. GuruFocus simply does more: 49 categories to Unusual Whales's 12, including stock ideas, ETF screeners, and top analysts. Unusual Whales counters by starting cheaper at $42/mo.
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GuruFocus
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Unusual Whales
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Key differences at a glance
- Cheaper paid plan
- Unusual Whales$42/mo vs $45.75/mo
- Broader coverage
- GuruFocus49 vs 12 categories
- Real-time data
- Unusual Whales
- Global coverage
- GuruFocus
- Beginner friendly
- 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 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 • From $549/yr | Free • From $504/yr |
Free tier | Yes | Yes |
Free trial | 7 days | 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 | 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 | Yes | Yes |
API access | Yes | Yes |
Broker sync | Yes | — |
Integrations | GuruFocus Data API, GuruFocus MCP Server +3 more | Discord, X (Twitter) +3 more |
| Audience & fit | ||
Experience level | Beginner, Intermediate, Advanced | Intermediate, Advanced |
Best for | Retail Traders, Pro Retail +9 more | Retail Traders, Pro Retail +3 more |
Categories covered | 49 | 12 |
Regions | North America, Europe, APAC, LatAm, Middle East, Africa | North America |
| Data & capabilities | ||
Data quality | 5 signals: Latency: End of Day, Granularity: EOD +3 more | 3 signals: Latency: Streaming and Real-time, Granularity: Minute and EOD +1 more |
Data partners | 5 partners: QuoteMedia, Morningstar +3 more | — |
Capabilities | 9 signals: Custom formulas, Ranking backtests +7 more | 3 signals: Universe builder, Multi-leg options +1 more |
Security | Status page and Encryption in transit | — |
| Try it | Visit GuruFocus | Visit Unusual Whales |
Standout features
The best features of GuruFocus and Unusual Whales.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 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 GuruFocus and Unusual Whales.ShowHide
All details
| Attribute | ||
|---|---|---|
| Coverage & fit | ||
Asset types | StocksETFsBondsMutual FundsOptionsFundsOther | OptionsStocksETFsCryptos |
Experience | BeginnerIntermediateAdvanced | IntermediateAdvanced |
Target audience | Retail TradersPro RetailLong-term InvestorsValue InvestorsQuality InvestorsDividend InvestorsAnalystsQuants/Developers+3 more | Retail TradersPro RetailDay TradersSwing TradersAlgo Traders |
Regions | North AmericaEuropeAPACLatAmMiddle EastAfrica | North America |
Coverage details | Identifiers: Ticker and CIK | Countries: USIdentifiers: Ticker |
| Data | ||
Data freshness | End of Day | StreamingReal-time |
Data granularity | EOD | MinuteEOD |
Pricing sources | ExchangeVendorModel | Not specified |
Data partners | QuoteMediaMorningstarRefinitivFREDSEC / local regulators | Not specified |
| Access & integrations | ||
API protocols | REST | RESTWebSocket |
API auth & delivery | Auth: APIKeySDKs: Python and GoDocs | Auth: APIKeyDocs |
Import methods | CSVBrokerOAuthManual | Not specified |
Integrations | GuruFocus Data APIGuruFocus MCP ServerGuruFocus Excel Add-inGuruFocus Google Sheets Add-onSnapTrade | DiscordX (Twitter)MCP ServerOpenAPIAI Skills |
Export formats | CSVExcelJSON | Not specified |
| 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 | Universe builderMulti-leg optionsGreeks |
Vendor & support | GuruFocus.com, LLCCountry: United StatesFounded 2004Support: Email, Chat, Phone, and Forum | 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 | 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“Free Limited”options flow delay: 2 trading days · news delay minutes: 15 · +1 more |
| 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 | $504/yr≈ $42/mo“Retail Basic (Annual)”custom alerts: 25 · watchlists: 5 · +1 more |
| Tier 2 | $200/mo“Data API Builder”billing: Billed annually · monthly request limit: No limit · +12 more | $50/mo“Retail Basic (Monthly)”custom alerts: 25 · watchlists: 5 · +1 more |
| Tier 3 | $2000/mo“Data API Commercial”billing: Billed annually · monthly request limit: No limit · +1 more | $756/yr≈ $63/mo“Retail Pro Annual” |
| Tier 4 | Subscription“Premium Plus”billing: Annual only · public price: Current rendered pricing could not establish the Premium Plus amount · +4 more | $75/mo“Retail Pro Monthly” |
| Tier 5 | Subscription“Professional”billing: Annual only · public price: Current rendered pricing could not establish the Professional amount · +1 more | $1224/yr≈ $102/mo“Retail Max Annual” |
| Tier 6 | $100 per unit“Data API Pay As You Go”initial top up: $100 credit · stock daily prices: $0.05/request · +16 more | $120/mo“Retail Max Monthly” |
| Tier 7 | — | $150/mo“API Access”requests per day: 40,000 · historical lookback years: 2 |
| Top plan | — | $375/mo“API Advanced (WebSocket streaming)” |
| Custom / enterprise | Contact sales“Custom API / Enterprise Package” | — |
| Free trial | 7 days | 7 days |
Free alternatives
Questions we keep getting
What's the difference between GuruFocus and Unusual Whales?
GuruFocus leans toward stock ideas, screeners, and ETF screeners, while Unusual Whales puts more weight on options, money flow, and screeners. They overlap in 9 categories, so for most people it comes down to workflow preference and price.
How much do GuruFocus and Unusual Whales cost?
Good news: both GuruFocus 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: GuruFocus or Unusual Whales?
GuruFocus is the friendlier place to start; its interface takes less getting used to. Both work fine once you're past the basics.
Do GuruFocus and Unusual Whales have APIs?
Yes, both offer API access, so developers and quants can pull data programmatically or wire up their own integrations.
Should I choose GuruFocus or Unusual Whales?
It depends on what you're after. Pick GuruFocus if stock ideas and ETF screeners matter to you; go with Unusual Whales if you'd rather have money flow and options p&l. And if you only need the basics both share, let price decide.
What asset classes do GuruFocus and Unusual Whales cover?
Both cover stocks, ETFs, and options. GuruFocus also handles bonds, mutual funds, and funds. Unusual Whales adds cryptos on top.
Does GuruFocus or Unusual Whales have real-time data?
Unusual Whales 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.
Which covers international markets: GuruFocus or Unusual Whales?
GuruFocus has documented international coverage (North America, Europe, APAC, LatAm, and more), so it's the safer bet if you hold non-US stocks. Unusual Whales is more region-specific, mainly North America.
Can I export data from GuruFocus and Unusual Whales?
GuruFocus exports to CSV and Excel. Unusual Whales is stingier about getting data out.
Is GuruFocus or Unusual Whales better for day trading?
Unusual Whales is the one positioned more for active traders. GuruFocus 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: GuruFocus or Unusual Whales?
Both GuruFocus and Unusual Whales 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 Unusual Whales?
GuruFocus handles portfolio tracking. Unusual Whales is really a research tool; you'd track your portfolio elsewhere.
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