VOL. XCIV, NO. 247

★ FINANCIAL TOOLS & SERVICES DIRECTORY ★

PRICE: 5 CENTS

Thursday, October 16, 2025

View MarketWatchView SmartfinBack to Home

Head-to-head

MarketWatch vs Smartfin comparison

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

Quick takeaways

MarketWatch adds News, Screeners, Paper Trading, Options, ETF Overview, ETF Holdings, Short Interest, Interest Rates, Yield Curves, IPO, and Newsletters coverage that Smartfin skips.

Smartfin includes Stock Ideas, Scores, Transcripts, Checklist, and AI Business Summary categories that MarketWatch omits.

MarketWatch highlights: Market data hub with stock and market screeners, mutual fund research, fund comparison, and multi-quote lookup tools., Personal watchlists available free with an account; syncs across web and mobile apps with customizable price and news alerts., and Comprehensive event calendars, including U.S. economic releases, corporate earnings, IPO schedules, and options-expiration dates..

Smartfin is known for: AI overview cards: plain‑English company summaries with positives/negatives and peer positioning on hover., Sector‑adjusted scorecards across value, profit, growth, and financial health with peer rankings., and Visual Stock Explorer: 30+ years of fundamentals, 200+ metrics, annual/quarterly toggles, downloadable charts..

MarketWatch ships a mobile app. Smartfin is web/desktop only.

MarketWatch logo

MarketWatch

marketwatch.com

Hands-on review

A global financial-news portal from Dow Jones that combines market data, news, analysis, and investor tools. Real-time Nasdaq last-sale quotes are included, while most other intraday prices run on a standard 15-minute delay. Premium newsletters and in-depth articles are gated behind a subscription. Mobile apps extend the experience with push alerts and watchlist syncing.

Platforms

Web
Mobile

Pricing

Free
Subscription

Quick highlights

  • Market data hub with stock and market screeners, mutual fund research, fund comparison, and multi-quote lookup tools.
  • Personal watchlists available free with an account; syncs across web and mobile apps with customizable price and news alerts.
  • Comprehensive event calendars, including U.S. economic releases, corporate earnings, IPO schedules, and options-expiration dates.
  • BigCharts advanced charting platform with multiple timeframes (intraday to monthly) and technical overlays; intraday data typically delayed 15 minutes.
  • Options coverage with full chains per symbol and an expiration calendar.

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Smartfin logo

Smartfin

thesmartfin.com

Beginner‑friendly stock research platform focused on fundamentals: visual financials, sector‑adjusted scoring (value/profit/growth/health), AI company snapshots, curated stock lists, and real‑time alerts for insider trades & analyst price‑target changes. US‑stocks centric; no brokerage sync or advanced risk/quant features.

Platforms

Web

Pricing

Free
Subscription

Quick highlights

  • AI overview cards: plain‑English company summaries with positives/negatives and peer positioning on hover.
  • Sector‑adjusted scorecards across value, profit, growth, and financial health with peer rankings.
  • Visual Stock Explorer: 30+ years of fundamentals, 200+ metrics, annual/quarterly toggles, downloadable charts.
  • Real‑time alerts for insider trades and analyst price‑target changes; customizable watchlists.
  • Event hub for tracked tickers (earnings, SEC filings, transcripts) and a lightweight research checklist.

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Overlap

Shared focus areas

7 overlaps

Mutual strengths include Alerts, Calendar, and Data Visualizations plus 4 more areas.

Where they differ

MarketWatch

Distinct strengths include:

News
Screeners
Paper Trading
Options
ETF Overview
ETF Holdings
Short Interest
Interest Rates
  • Market data hub with stock and market screeners, mutual fund research, fund comparison, and multi-quote lookup tools.
  • Personal watchlists available free with an account; syncs across web and mobile apps with customizable price and news alerts.
  • Comprehensive event calendars, including U.S. economic releases, corporate earnings, IPO schedules, and options-expiration dates.
  • BigCharts advanced charting platform with multiple timeframes (intraday to monthly) and technical overlays; intraday data typically delayed 15 minutes.

Smartfin

Distinct strengths include:

Stock Ideas
Scores
Transcripts
Checklist
AI Business Summary
  • AI overview cards: plain‑English company summaries with positives/negatives and peer positioning on hover.
  • Sector‑adjusted scorecards across value, profit, growth, and financial health with peer rankings.
  • Visual Stock Explorer: 30+ years of fundamentals, 200+ metrics, annual/quarterly toggles, downloadable charts.
  • Real‑time alerts for insider trades and analyst price‑target changes; customizable watchlists.

Feature-by-feature breakdown

AttributeMarketWatchSmartfin
Categories

Which research workflows each platform targets

Shared: Alerts, Calendar, Data Visualizations, Watchlist, Financials, Analyst Price Targets, Insider Data

Unique: News, Screeners, Paper Trading, Options, ETF Overview, ETF Holdings, Short Interest, Interest Rates, Yield Curves, IPO, Newsletters

Shared: Alerts, Calendar, Data Visualizations, Watchlist, Financials, Analyst Price Targets, Insider Data

Unique: Stock Ideas, Scores, Transcripts, Checklist, AI Business Summary

Asset types

Supported asset classes and universes

Stocks, ETFs, Mutual Funds, Options, Futures, Commodities, Currencies, Cryptos, Bonds

Stocks

Experience levels

Who each product is built for

Beginner, Intermediate, Advanced

Beginner, Intermediate

Platforms

Where you can access the product

Web, Mobile

Web

Pricing

High-level pricing models

Free, Subscription

Free, Subscription

Key features

Core capabilities called out by each vendor

Unique

  • Market data hub with stock and market screeners, mutual fund research, fund comparison, and multi-quote lookup tools.
  • Personal watchlists available free with an account; syncs across web and mobile apps with customizable price and news alerts.
  • Comprehensive event calendars, including U.S. economic releases, corporate earnings, IPO schedules, and options-expiration dates.
  • BigCharts advanced charting platform with multiple timeframes (intraday to monthly) and technical overlays; intraday data typically delayed 15 minutes.
  • Options coverage with full chains per symbol and an expiration calendar.
  • ETF and mutual fund research, including top holdings for flagship funds like SPY and a comparison tool for side-by-side analysis.

Unique

  • AI overview cards: plain‑English company summaries with positives/negatives and peer positioning on hover.
  • Sector‑adjusted scorecards across value, profit, growth, and financial health with peer rankings.
  • Visual Stock Explorer: 30+ years of fundamentals, 200+ metrics, annual/quarterly toggles, downloadable charts.
  • Real‑time alerts for insider trades and analyst price‑target changes; customizable watchlists.
  • Event hub for tracked tickers (earnings, SEC filings, transcripts) and a lightweight research checklist.
  • Curated ‘Stock Lists’ (e.g., top dividend, top AI, top market cap) focused on U.S. markets.
Tested

Verified by hands-on testing inside Find My Moat

Yes

Not yet

Editor pick

Featured inside curated shortlists

Standard listing

Standard listing

Frequently Asked Questions

Which workflows do MarketWatch and Smartfin both support?

Both platforms cover Alerts, Calendar, Data Visualizations, Watchlist, Financials, Analyst Price Targets, and Insider Data workflows, so you can research those use cases in either tool before digging into the feature differences below.

Do MarketWatch and Smartfin require subscriptions?

Both MarketWatch and Smartfin keep freemium access with optional paid upgrades, so you can trial each platform before committing.

Which tool has mobile access?

MarketWatch ships a dedicated mobile experience, while Smartfin focuses on web or desktop access.

What unique strengths set the two platforms apart?

MarketWatch differentiates itself with Market data hub with stock and market screeners, mutual fund research, fund comparison, and multi-quote lookup tools., Personal watchlists available free with an account; syncs across web and mobile apps with customizable price and news alerts., and Comprehensive event calendars, including U.S. economic releases, corporate earnings, IPO schedules, and options-expiration dates., whereas Smartfin stands out for AI overview cards: plain‑English company summaries with positives/negatives and peer positioning on hover., Sector‑adjusted scorecards across value, profit, growth, and financial health with peer rankings., and Visual Stock Explorer: 30+ years of fundamentals, 200+ metrics, annual/quarterly toggles, downloadable charts..

Keep exploring

Stay on top of related tools

Browse the categories and profiles that overlap most with this comparison to round out your shortlist.

Recommended tools

These profiles share overlapping coverage with both sides of this matchup.

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.