Tool Comparison
MarketWatch vs Scalable Capital
- Paid from
- —
- Free plan
- Yes
- Platforms
- Web, Mobile
Best if
- You'd rather start free and only pay if you outgrow it
- Delayed quotes won't cut it; you need real-time data
- You want news, alerts, and calendar.
- Paid from
- —
- Free plan
- No
- Platforms
- Web, Mobile
Best if
- You want brokerage, wealth management, and portfolio.
Pick MarketWatch if
MarketWatch
Free • Paid plans available · Web · Mobile
- You'd rather start free and only pay if you outgrow it
- Delayed quotes won't cut it; you need real-time data
- You want news, alerts, and calendar.
Pick Scalable Capital if
Scalable Capital
Transaction-priced · Fees vary by offer and jurisdiction · Web · Mobile
- You want brokerage, wealth management, and portfolio.
Skip both if: Neither one clicks with how you research; there are strong third options.
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Our take
The bottom line
MarketWatch simply does more: 17 categories to Scalable Capital's 5, including news, alerts, and calendar. Scalable Capital counters by keeping things simpler. On paper they're closely matched, so let pricing, platform fit, and the details below break the tie.
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MarketWatch
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Key differences at a glance
- Free plan
- MarketWatch
- Broader coverage
- MarketWatch17 vs 5 categories
- Real-time data
- MarketWatch
- Asset coverage
- MarketWatchAdds options and futures
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.
What Scalable Capital does best
- Stock and ETF trading through supported European venues, with FREE and PRIME+ plans using different fee rules and order-size assumptions.
- Free savings plans, including small recurring investments where supported.
- PRIME+ charges €0 for eligible European Investor Exchange orders of at least €250; Xetra and gettex orders cost €1.99 on both plans.
- Supported stocks, ETFs, mutual funds, bonds, derivatives, and crypto ETPs from a web or mobile brokerage workflow.
- Scalable Wealth runs automated ETF-based portfolios, with management fees that step down at higher account sizes.
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 • Paid plans available | Transaction-priced · Fees vary by offer and jurisdiction |
Free tier | Yes | No |
Free trial | — | — |
Plan limits | MarketWatch Digital: standard rate: $5/week after intro period and Student: eligibility: Student verification required; current price not publicly confirmed | 5 limits: FREE: european investor exchange order from250 eur: 0.99, FREE: prime etf purchase on eix from250 eur: 0 +3 more |
| Platforms & access | ||
Web app | Yes | Yes |
Mobile app | Yes | Yes |
API access | No | No |
Broker sync | No | No |
Integrations | — | Scalable CLI and Scalable MCP |
| Audience & fit | ||
Experience level | Beginner, Intermediate, Advanced | Beginner, Intermediate, Advanced |
Best for | — | — |
Categories covered | 17 | 5 |
Regions | North America, Europe, APAC, LatAm, Middle East, Africa | Europe |
| Data & capabilities | ||
Data quality | 5 signals: Latency: Real-time, 15-min Delayed, and End of Day, Granularity: Minute and EOD +3 more | Timezone: Europe/Berlin |
Capabilities | Yield curves | — |
Security | — | Status page |
| Try it | Visit MarketWatch | Visit Scalable Capital |
Standout features
The best features of MarketWatch and Scalable Capital.ShowHide
Standout features
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.
What Scalable Capital does best
- Stock and ETF trading through supported European venues, with FREE and PRIME+ plans using different fee rules and order-size assumptions.
- Free savings plans, including small recurring investments where supported.
- PRIME+ charges €0 for eligible European Investor Exchange orders of at least €250; Xetra and gettex orders cost €1.99 on both plans.
- Supported stocks, ETFs, mutual funds, bonds, derivatives, and crypto ETPs from a web or mobile brokerage workflow.
- Scalable Wealth runs automated ETF-based portfolios, with management fees that step down at higher account sizes.
All details
Every attribute we track for MarketWatch and Scalable Capital.ShowHide
All details
| Attribute | ||
|---|---|---|
| Coverage & fit | ||
Asset types | StocksETFsMutual FundsOptionsFuturesCommoditiesCurrenciesCryptos+1 more | StocksETFsMutual FundsBonds |
Experience | BeginnerIntermediateAdvanced | BeginnerIntermediateAdvanced |
Regions | North AmericaEuropeAPACLatAmMiddle EastAfrica | Europe |
Coverage details | Identifiers: Ticker | 6 countriesExchanges: XETR, XMUN, and European Investor ExchangeIdentifiers: Ticker |
| Data | ||
Data freshness | Real-time15-min DelayedEnd of Day | Not specified |
Data granularity | MinuteEOD | Not specified |
| Access & integrations | ||
Integrations | Not specified | Scalable CLIScalable MCP |
Export formats | CSV | CSVPDF |
| Plans & trust | ||
Security & compliance | Not specified | Status page |
Capability signals | Yield curves | Not specified |
Vendor & support | MarketWatch, Inc. (Dow Jones)Country: United StatesFounded 1997Support: Email | Scalable Capital GmbHCountry: GermanyFounded 2014Support: Email |
Curation ratings | Methodology 3/5Reliability 4/5UX 4/5 | 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 | Free | Freeeuropean investor exchange order from250 eur: 0.99 · prime etf purchase on eix from250 eur: 0 · +1 more |
| Entry paid plan | Subscription“MarketWatch Digital”standard rate: $5/week after intro period | €4.99/mo“PRIME+ Broker”european investor exchange order from250 eur: 0 · xetra and gettex order eur: 1.99 |
| Top plan | Subscription“Student”eligibility: Student verification required; current price not publicly confirmed | — |
Questions we keep getting
What's the difference between MarketWatch and Scalable Capital?
MarketWatch leans toward news, alerts, and calendar, while Scalable Capital puts more weight on brokerage, wealth management, and portfolio. They overlap in 1 categories, so for most people it comes down to workflow preference and price.
Is MarketWatch or Scalable Capital free to use?
MarketWatch has a free tier, so you can get started without paying anything. Scalable Capital is paid-only. If budget matters, start with MarketWatch and see how far it takes you before opening your wallet.
Should I choose MarketWatch or Scalable Capital?
It depends on what you're after. Pick MarketWatch if news and alerts matter to you; go with Scalable Capital if you'd rather have brokerage and wealth management. And if you only need the basics both share, let price decide.
What asset classes do MarketWatch and Scalable Capital cover?
Both cover stocks, ETFs, mutual funds, and bonds. MarketWatch also handles options, futures, and commodities.
Does MarketWatch or Scalable Capital have real-time data?
MarketWatch offers real-time data, which matters if you trade actively. Scalable Capital 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 MarketWatch and Scalable Capital?
Yes, both export to spreadsheets (CSV), which is handy if you like running your own numbers.
Which has a better stock screener: MarketWatch or Scalable Capital?
MarketWatch has a stock screener for surfacing ideas; Scalable Capital doesn't, and focuses its energy elsewhere.
Can I track my portfolio with MarketWatch or Scalable Capital?
Scalable Capital handles portfolio tracking. MarketWatch is really a research tool; you'd track your portfolio elsewhere.
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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.