Tool Comparison
Perplexity Finance vs Unusual Whales
- Paid from
- $20/mo
- Free plan
- Yes
- Platforms
- Web, Mobile, API
Best if
- You want the cheaper way in: plans start at $20/mo instead of $42/mo
- You want watchlist, data visualizations, and analyst forecasts.
- You're newer to investing and want something approachable
- Paid from
- $42/mo
- Free plan
- Yes
- Platforms
- Web, Mobile, API
Best if
- You want money flow, options p&l, and alerts.
Pick Perplexity Finance if
Perplexity Finance
Free • From $20/mo · Web · Mobile · API
- You want the cheaper way in: plans start at $20/mo instead of $42/mo
- You want watchlist, data visualizations, and analyst forecasts.
- You're newer to investing and want something approachable
Pick Unusual Whales if
Unusual Whales
Free • From $504/yr · Web · Mobile · API
- You want money flow, options p&l, and alerts.
Skip both if: Neither one clicks with how you research; there are strong third options.
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Our take
The bottom line
Perplexity Finance and Unusual Whales cover a lot of the same ground (7 shared categories, including screeners, news, and calendar), so for the basics you won't go far wrong with either. Perplexity Finance includes watchlist and data visualizations, and Unusual Whales includes money flow and options p&l.
What readers say
Perplexity Finance
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Unusual Whales
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Key differences at a glance
- Cheaper paid plan
- Perplexity Finance$20/mo vs $42/mo
- Free trial
- Unusual Whales7 days
- Global coverage
- Perplexity Finance
- Asset coverage
- Perplexity FinanceAdds mutual funds
- Beginner friendly
- Perplexity Finance
- Free plan
- Both
What Perplexity Finance does best
- Finance pages for stocks, ETFs, mutual funds, crypto, options, charts, news, financial data, analyst estimates, ownership data, filings, and earnings context.
- Support for asking cited finance questions that can reference SEC filings, company documents, news, and third-party finance datasets.
- Upgraded charts with volume, OHLCV tooltips, candlestick or area views, comparison overlays, moving averages, and custom date ranges.
- Tools for building watchlists and review AI-generated briefings that combine watchlist price movement with relevant market news.
- Screening for stocks in natural language with filters, columns, sorting, and coverage that includes U.S. and Indian equities.
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 $20/mo | Free • From $504/yr |
Free tier | Yes | Yes |
Free trial | — | 7 days |
Plan limits | 6 limits: Standard (Free): pro searches per day: 3, Pro: pro searches: Extended access +4 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 |
Integrations | — | Discord, X (Twitter) +3 more |
| Audience & fit | ||
Experience level | Beginner, Intermediate, Advanced | Intermediate, Advanced |
Best for | Retail Traders, Pro Retail +6 more | Retail Traders, Pro Retail +3 more |
Categories covered | 12 | 12 |
Regions | North America, APAC | North America |
| Data & capabilities | ||
Data quality | Latency: Real-time | 3 signals: Latency: Streaming and Real-time, Granularity: Minute and EOD +1 more |
Data partners | 6 partners: Financial Modeling Prep, Unusual Whales +4 more | — |
Capabilities | Universe builder and AI summaries: Filings and News | 3 signals: Universe builder, Multi-leg options +1 more |
Security | SOC2 and Status page | — |
| Try it | Visit Perplexity Finance | Visit Unusual Whales |
Standout features
The best features of Perplexity Finance and Unusual Whales.ShowHide
Standout features
What Perplexity Finance does best
- Finance pages for stocks, ETFs, mutual funds, crypto, options, charts, news, financial data, analyst estimates, ownership data, filings, and earnings context.
- Support for asking cited finance questions that can reference SEC filings, company documents, news, and third-party finance datasets.
- Upgraded charts with volume, OHLCV tooltips, candlestick or area views, comparison overlays, moving averages, and custom date ranges.
- Tools for building watchlists and review AI-generated briefings that combine watchlist price movement with relevant market news.
- Screening for stocks in natural language with filters, columns, sorting, and coverage that includes U.S. and Indian equities.
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 Perplexity Finance and Unusual Whales.ShowHide
All details
| Attribute | ||
|---|---|---|
| Coverage & fit | ||
Asset types | StocksETFsMutual FundsCryptosOptions | OptionsStocksETFsCryptos |
Experience | BeginnerIntermediateAdvanced | IntermediateAdvanced |
Target audience | Retail TradersPro RetailLong-term InvestorsDay TradersStudents/ResearchersFinancial AdvisorsAnalystsInstitutional Investors | Retail TradersPro RetailDay TradersSwing TradersAlgo Traders |
Regions | North AmericaAPAC | North America |
Coverage details | Countries: US and INIdentifiers: Ticker | Countries: USIdentifiers: Ticker |
| Data | ||
Data freshness | Real-time | StreamingReal-time |
Data granularity | Not specified | MinuteEOD |
Data partners | Financial Modeling PrepUnusual WhalesQuartrFiscal.aiS&P Global Market IntelligenceMorningstar | Not specified |
| Access & integrations | ||
API protocols | REST | RESTWebSocket |
API auth & delivery | Auth: APIKeyDocs | Auth: APIKeyDocs |
Integrations | Not specified | DiscordX (Twitter)MCP ServerOpenAPIAI Skills |
| Plans & trust | ||
Security & compliance | SOC2Status page | Not specified |
Capability signals | Universe builderAI summaries: Filings and News | Universe builderMulti-leg optionsGreeks |
Vendor & support | Perplexity AI, Inc.Support: Email, Chat, 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 | Free“Standard (Free)”pro searches per day: 3 | Free“Free Limited”options flow delay: 2 trading days · news delay minutes: 15 · +1 more |
| Entry paid plan | $20/mo“Pro”pro searches: Extended access · annual price usd: 200 | $504/yr≈ $42/mo“Retail Basic (Annual)”custom alerts: 25 · watchlists: 5 · +1 more |
| Tier 2 | $200/mo“Max”pro searches: Weekly limits for advanced use · annual price usd: 2,000 | $50/mo“Retail Basic (Monthly)”custom alerts: 25 · watchlists: 5 · +1 more |
| Tier 3 | $10/mo“Education Pro” | $756/yr≈ $63/mo“Retail Pro Annual” |
| Tier 4 | — | $75/mo“Retail Pro Monthly” |
| Tier 5 | — | $1224/yr≈ $102/mo“Retail Max Annual” |
| Tier 6 | — | $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)” |
| Free trial | — | 7 days |
Questions we keep getting
What's the difference between Perplexity Finance and Unusual Whales?
Perplexity Finance leans toward screeners, watchlist, and data visualizations, while Unusual Whales puts more weight on options, money flow, and screeners. They overlap in 7 categories, so for most people it comes down to workflow preference and price.
How much do Perplexity Finance and Unusual Whales cost?
Good news: both Perplexity Finance 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: Perplexity Finance or Unusual Whales?
Perplexity Finance is the friendlier place to start; its interface takes less getting used to. Both work fine once you're past the basics.
Do Perplexity Finance 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 Perplexity Finance or Unusual Whales?
It depends on what you're after. Pick Perplexity Finance if watchlist and data visualizations 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 Perplexity Finance and Unusual Whales cover?
Both cover stocks, ETFs, cryptos, and options. Perplexity Finance also handles mutual funds.
Do Perplexity Finance and Unusual Whales offer real-time data?
Yes, both serve real-time market data, so either works when timing matters.
Which covers international markets: Perplexity Finance or Unusual Whales?
Perplexity Finance has documented international coverage (North America and APAC), so it's the safer bet if you hold non-US stocks. Unusual Whales is more region-specific, mainly North America.
Which has a better stock screener: Perplexity Finance or Unusual Whales?
Both Perplexity Finance and Unusual Whales include stock screeners, and they differ more in interface than raw power; try both and see which one clicks for you.
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