VOL. XCIV, NO. 247

★ FINANCIAL TOOLS & SERVICES DIRECTORY ★

PRICE: 5 CENTS

Monday, October 6, 2025

View Magic Formula Investing View Unusual Whales Back to Home

Head-to-head

Magic Formula Investing vs Unusual Whales comparison

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

Quick takeaways

Magic Formula Investing adds Stock Ideas coverage that Unusual Whales skips.

Unusual Whales includes Options & Derivatives, Portfolio, Paper Trading, Dark Pool & Off-Exchange, Alerts, News, US Government Trades, Insider Data, 13F, APIs & SDKs, Data APIs, Education, Calendar, and Dividends categories that Magic Formula Investing omits.

Magic Formula Investing highlights: Straightforward screener with only two inputs: minimum market cap (USD, millions) and number of results (30 or 50)., Universe restricted to U.S.-listed equities, excluding financial and utility companies., and Ranks companies on two factors: high earnings yield (low P/E) and high return on capital, with minor accounting adjustments..

Unusual Whales is known for: Live options flow across all US options exchanges, with a status indicator so you know the feed is healthy., Dark-pool tape plus ‘Dark Pool Levels’ to surface recent prints and ticker-specific liquidity zones., and Options and stock screeners with filters for premium, volume, open interest, IV rank, and common technicals..

Unusual Whales offers mobile access, which Magic Formula Investing skips.

Magic Formula Investing

magicformulainvesting.com

Free stock screener based on Joel Greenblatt’s Magic Formula strategy. Covers only U.S.-listed equities, excluding financials and utilities. Users choose a minimum market cap and get either 30 or 50 ranked results. Prices are updated daily on trading mornings, and fundamentals refresh quarterly. Free registration is required.

Platforms

Web

Pricing

Free

Quick highlights

Straightforward screener with only two inputs: minimum market cap (USD, millions) and number of results (30 or 50).
Universe restricted to U.S.-listed equities, excluding financial and utility companies.
Ranks companies on two factors: high earnings yield (low P/E) and high return on capital, with minor accounting adjustments.
Update cadence: price data refreshed daily around 8:00 AM ET on trading days; financial data updated quarterly.
Underlying data source is S&P Compustat. Official guidance suggests focusing on larger caps for less volatility and holding at least 20 stocks.

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Unusual Whales

unusualwhales.com

Editor’s pick Hands-on review

Real-time options flow and dark-pool analytics built for active traders. Free plans view delayed data; paid tiers stream live flow, with annual plans unlocking data downloads. The public API is sold separately, and “Periscope” (market-wide SPX exposure) is available as an add-on.

Platforms

Web

Mobile

API

Pricing

Free

Subscription

Quick highlights

Live options flow across all US options exchanges, with a status indicator so you know the feed is healthy.
Dark-pool tape plus ‘Dark Pool Levels’ to surface recent prints and ticker-specific liquidity zones.
Options and stock screeners with filters for premium, volume, open interest, IV rank, and common technicals.
Options Profit Calculator to model multi-leg strategies, Greeks, and payoff P/L.
Paper trading for both stocks and options to test ideas without risk.

Community votes (overall)

0% upvotes 0% downvotes

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Overlap

Shared focus areas

1 overlap

Both tools cover this research theme.

Screeners

Where they differ

Magic Formula Investing

Distinct strengths include:

Stock Ideas

Straightforward screener with only two inputs: minimum market cap (USD, millions) and number of results (30 or 50).
Universe restricted to U.S.-listed equities, excluding financial and utility companies.
Ranks companies on two factors: high earnings yield (low P/E) and high return on capital, with minor accounting adjustments.
Update cadence: price data refreshed daily around 8:00 AM ET on trading days; financial data updated quarterly.

Unusual Whales

Distinct strengths include:

Options & Derivatives

Portfolio

Paper Trading

Dark Pool & Off-Exchange

Live options flow across all US options exchanges, with a status indicator so you know the feed is healthy.
Dark-pool tape plus ‘Dark Pool Levels’ to surface recent prints and ticker-specific liquidity zones.
Options and stock screeners with filters for premium, volume, open interest, IV rank, and common technicals.
Options Profit Calculator to model multi-leg strategies, Greeks, and payoff P/L.

Feature-by-feature breakdown

Attribute	Magic Formula Investing	Unusual Whales
Categories Which research workflows each platform targets	Shared: Screeners Unique: Stock Ideas	Shared: Screeners Unique: Options & Derivatives, Portfolio, Paper Trading, Dark Pool & Off-Exchange, Alerts, News, US Government Trades, Insider Data, 13F, APIs & SDKs, Data APIs, Education, Calendar, Dividends
Asset types Supported asset classes and universes	Stocks	Stocks, ETFs, Options
Experience levels Who each product is built for	Beginner, Intermediate, Advanced	Beginner, Intermediate, Advanced
Platforms Where you can access the product	Web	Web, Mobile, API
Pricing High-level pricing models	Free	Free, Subscription
Key features Core capabilities called out by each vendor	Unique Straightforward screener with only two inputs: minimum market cap (USD, millions) and number of results (30 or 50). Universe restricted to U.S.-listed equities, excluding financial and utility companies. Ranks companies on two factors: high earnings yield (low P/E) and high return on capital, with minor accounting adjustments. Update cadence: price data refreshed daily around 8:00 AM ET on trading days; financial data updated quarterly. Underlying data source is S&P Compustat. Official guidance suggests focusing on larger caps for less volatility and holding at least 20 stocks. Suggested rules: equal-dollar weighting, annual holding period (sell losses just before 1 year, gains just after 1 year) to optimize after-tax results.	Unique Live options flow across all US options exchanges, with a status indicator so you know the feed is healthy. Dark-pool tape plus ‘Dark Pool Levels’ to surface recent prints and ticker-specific liquidity zones. Options and stock screeners with filters for premium, volume, open interest, IV rank, and common technicals. Options Profit Calculator to model multi-leg strategies, Greeks, and payoff P/L. Paper trading for both stocks and options to test ideas without risk. Portfolio Manager with broker linking for IBKR, tastytrade, Fidelity, and Robinhood.
Tested Verified by hands-on testing inside Find My Moat	Not yet	Yes
Editor pick Featured inside curated shortlists	Standard listing	Highlighted

Frequently Asked Questions

Which workflows do Magic Formula Investing and Unusual Whales both support?

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

Do Magic Formula Investing and Unusual Whales require subscriptions?

Both Magic Formula Investing and Unusual Whales keep freemium access with optional paid upgrades, so you can trial each platform before committing.

Which tool has mobile access?

Unusual Whales ships a dedicated mobile experience, while Magic Formula Investing focuses on web or desktop access.

What unique strengths set the two platforms apart?

Magic Formula Investing differentiates itself with Straightforward screener with only two inputs: minimum market cap (USD, millions) and number of results (30 or 50)., Universe restricted to U.S.-listed equities, excluding financial and utility companies., and Ranks companies on two factors: high earnings yield (low P/E) and high return on capital, with minor accounting adjustments., whereas Unusual Whales stands out for Live options flow across all US options exchanges, with a status indicator so you know the feed is healthy., Dark-pool tape plus ‘Dark Pool Levels’ to surface recent prints and ticker-specific liquidity zones., and Options and stock screeners with filters for premium, volume, open interest, IV rank, and common technicals..

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