Tool Comparison
Insider Monitor vs Unusual Whales
- Paid from
- —
- Free plan
- Yes
- Platforms
- Web
Best if
- You want regulatory filings monitoring.
- You're newer to investing and want something approachable
- Paid from
- $504/yr, billed annually
- Free plan
- Yes
- Platforms
- Web, Mobile, API
Best if
- You do a lot of your research from your phone
- You want an API so you can script or automate things
- You want options, money flow, and screeners.
Pick Insider Monitor instead if
Insider Monitor
Free · Web
- You want regulatory filings monitoring.
- You're newer to investing and want something approachable
Start here
Unusual Whales
Free • From $504/yr, billed annually · Web · Mobile · API
- You do a lot of your research from your phone
- You want an API so you can script or automate things
- You want options, money flow, and screeners.
Skip both if: Neither one clicks with how you research; there are strong third options.
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Our take
The bottom line
Unusual Whales simply does more: 12 categories to Insider Monitor's 2, including options, money flow, and screeners, plus a mobile app. Insider Monitor counters by being completely free. On paper they're closely matched, so let pricing, platform fit, and the details below break the tie.
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Insider Monitor
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Unusual Whales
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Key differences at a glance
- Mobile app
- Unusual Whales
- Free trial
- Unusual Whales7 days
- Broader coverage
- Unusual Whales12 vs 2 categories
- API access
- Unusual Whales
- Beginner friendly
- Insider Monitor
- Free plan
- Both
What Insider Monitor does best
- Browse a real-time insider table with purchases, sales, filing times, issuer details, insider roles, values, and SEC links.
- Officer cluster-buy reports to find tickers bought by multiple corporate officers over the past two weeks.
- Review weekly and monthly top-10 lists for the largest insider purchases when looking for high-value Form 4 activity.
- Direct access to company and trader pages for per-issuer and per-insider transaction history, monthly summaries, year summaries, CIK references, and SEC source links.
- Industry views to compare Form 4 filing counts across broad industry divisions since 2020.
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 | — | 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, Advanced | Intermediate, Advanced |
Best for | — | Retail Traders, Pro Retail +3 more |
Categories covered | 2 | 12 |
Regions | North America | North America |
| Data & capabilities | ||
Data quality | Latency: Real-time and Timezone: America/New_York | 3 signals: Latency: Streaming and Real-time, Granularity: Minute and EOD +1 more |
Capabilities | — | 3 signals: Universe builder, Multi-leg options +1 more |
| Try it | Visit Insider Monitor | Visit Unusual Whales |
Standout features
The best features of Insider Monitor and Unusual Whales.ShowHide
Standout features
What Insider Monitor does best
- Browse a real-time insider table with purchases, sales, filing times, issuer details, insider roles, values, and SEC links.
- Officer cluster-buy reports to find tickers bought by multiple corporate officers over the past two weeks.
- Review weekly and monthly top-10 lists for the largest insider purchases when looking for high-value Form 4 activity.
- Direct access to company and trader pages for per-issuer and per-insider transaction history, monthly summaries, year summaries, CIK references, and SEC source links.
- Industry views to compare Form 4 filing counts across broad industry divisions since 2020.
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 Insider Monitor and Unusual Whales.ShowHide
All details
| Attribute | ||
|---|---|---|
| Coverage & fit | ||
Asset types | StocksClosed-End Funds | OptionsStocksETFsCryptos |
Experience | BeginnerIntermediateAdvanced | IntermediateAdvanced |
Target audience | Not specified | Retail TradersPro RetailDay TradersSwing TradersAlgo Traders |
Regions | North America | North America |
Coverage details | Countries: USIdentifiers: Ticker | Countries: USIdentifiers: Ticker |
| Data | ||
Data freshness | Real-time | 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 | Not specified | Universe builderMulti-leg optionsGreeks |
Vendor & support | Insider MonitorSupport: Email | Unusual Whales IncSupport: Email |
Curation ratings | Methodology 2/5Reliability 3/5UX 3/5 | Not specified |
Green tags are exclusive to that tool in this comparison.
Pricing
Plans, billing, free trials, and monthly prices.ShowHide
Pricing
| Tier | ||
|---|---|---|
| Free plan | Free | 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 Insider Monitor and Unusual Whales?
Insider Monitor leans toward insider data and regulatory filings monitoring, while Unusual Whales puts more weight on options, money flow, and screeners. They overlap in 1 categories, so for most people it comes down to workflow preference and price.
How much do Insider Monitor and Unusual Whales cost?
Good news: both Insider Monitor 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: Insider Monitor or Unusual Whales?
Insider Monitor is the friendlier place to start; its interface takes less getting used to. Both work fine once you're past the basics.
Can I use Insider Monitor or Unusual Whales on my phone?
Unusual Whales lists a dedicated mobile app, so it travels better. Insider Monitor doesn't list a dedicated mobile app; its documented access is web.
Does Insider Monitor or Unusual Whales have an API?
Unusual Whales has an API for programmatic access and custom integrations. Insider Monitor doesn't, so you're working through its interface.
Should I choose Insider Monitor or Unusual Whales?
It depends on what you're after. Pick Insider Monitor if regulatory filings monitoring 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 Insider Monitor and Unusual Whales cover?
Both cover stocks. Insider Monitor also handles closed-end funds. Unusual Whales adds options, ETFs, and cryptos on top.
Do Insider Monitor and Unusual Whales offer real-time data?
Yes, both serve real-time market data, so either works when timing matters.
Is Insider Monitor or Unusual Whales better for day trading?
Unusual Whales is the one positioned more for active traders. Insider Monitor 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: Insider Monitor or Unusual Whales?
Unusual Whales has a stock screener for surfacing ideas; Insider Monitor doesn't, and focuses its energy elsewhere.
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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.