Tool Comparison
Portfolio123 vs Variant
- Paid from
- $25/mo
- Free plan
- Yes
- Platforms
- Web, API, Desktop
Best if
- Delayed quotes won't cut it; you need real-time data
- You want an API so you can script or automate things
- You want screeners, data visualizations, and quant.
- Paid from
- —
- Free plan
- Yes
- Platforms
- Web
Best if
- You want market sentiment and forums.
Start here
Portfolio123
Free • From $300/yr · Web · API · Desktop
- Delayed quotes won't cut it; you need real-time data
- You want an API so you can script or automate things
- You want screeners, data visualizations, and quant.
Pick Variant instead if
Variant
Free · Web
- You want market sentiment and forums.
Skip both if: Neither one clicks with how you research; there are strong third options.
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Our take
The bottom line
Portfolio123 and Variant cover a lot of the same ground (2 shared categories, stock ideas and AI research), so for the basics you won't go far wrong with either. Portfolio123 simply does more: 19 categories to Variant's 4, including screeners, data visualizations, and quant. Variant counters by being completely free.
What readers say
Portfolio123
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Variant
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Key differences at a glance
- Real-time data
- Portfolio123
- Broader coverage
- Portfolio12319 vs 4 categories
- Desktop app
- Portfolio123
- API access
- Portfolio123
- Asset coverage
- Portfolio123Adds ETFs and closed-end funds
- Beginner friendly
- Portfolio123
What Portfolio123 does best
- Build multifactor ranking systems, stock screens, ETF screens, and rules-based strategies.
- Run simulations with custom universes, buy and sell rules, position sizing, hedging, rebalancing, slippage, and commissions.
- Point-in-time data designed to avoid survivorship and look-ahead bias, with fundamentals, estimates, corporate actions, sector and industry classifications, and historical issues.
- Create ranking systems from fundamental, technical, sentiment, and macro factors, including public factor documentation and FRED-linked economic series.
- AI Factor to train machine-learning predictors for expected returns and feed those predictions into rankings, simulations, and asset-level analysis.
What Variant does best
- Build a custom investment avatar with a chosen research style, signals, and portfolio rules.
- Follow avatars focused on value, growth, activism, events, special situations, credit, quantitative investing, and micro-cap stocks.
- Use generated market commentary as an idea source, then verify each claim against primary documents and market data.
- Earn experimental tokens through avatar activity or performance.
- Variant links to a Finance Avatars API but does not publish API prices or access terms.
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 $300/yr | Free |
Free tier | Yes | Yes |
Free trial | — | — |
Plan limits | 25 limits: Free Screener & Backtesting Access: duration days: 30, Screener (Annual): backtest history years: 5 +23 more | — |
| Platforms & access | ||
Web app | Yes | Yes |
Desktop app | Yes | No |
Mobile app | No | No |
API access | Yes | No |
Broker sync | Yes | — |
Integrations | Interactive Brokers and Tradier | — |
| Audience & fit | ||
Experience level | Beginner, Intermediate, Advanced | Intermediate, Advanced |
Best for | Retail Traders, Pro Retail +5 more | — |
Categories covered | 19 | 4 |
Regions | North America, Europe | — |
| Data & capabilities | ||
Data quality | 5 signals: Latency: Real-time and End of Day, Granularity: EOD +3 more | — |
Data partners | 4 partners: FactSet, S&P Global Market Intelligence +2 more | — |
Capabilities | 6 signals: Custom formulas, Ranking backtests +4 more | — |
| Try it | Visit Portfolio123 | Visit Variant |
Standout features
The best features of Portfolio123 and Variant.ShowHide
Standout features
What Portfolio123 does best
- Build multifactor ranking systems, stock screens, ETF screens, and rules-based strategies.
- Run simulations with custom universes, buy and sell rules, position sizing, hedging, rebalancing, slippage, and commissions.
- Point-in-time data designed to avoid survivorship and look-ahead bias, with fundamentals, estimates, corporate actions, sector and industry classifications, and historical issues.
- Create ranking systems from fundamental, technical, sentiment, and macro factors, including public factor documentation and FRED-linked economic series.
- AI Factor to train machine-learning predictors for expected returns and feed those predictions into rankings, simulations, and asset-level analysis.
What Variant does best
- Build a custom investment avatar with a chosen research style, signals, and portfolio rules.
- Follow avatars focused on value, growth, activism, events, special situations, credit, quantitative investing, and micro-cap stocks.
- Use generated market commentary as an idea source, then verify each claim against primary documents and market data.
- Earn experimental tokens through avatar activity or performance.
- Variant links to a Finance Avatars API but does not publish API prices or access terms.
All details
Every attribute we track for Portfolio123 and Variant.ShowHide
All details
| Attribute | ||
|---|---|---|
| Coverage & fit | ||
Asset types | StocksETFsClosed-End Funds | Stocks |
Experience | BeginnerIntermediateAdvanced | IntermediateAdvanced |
Target audience | Retail TradersPro RetailInstitutional InvestorsAnalystsQuants/DevelopersFinancial AdvisorsStudents/Researchers | Not specified |
Regions | North AmericaEurope | Not specified |
Coverage details | Countries: US and CAIdentifiers: Ticker | Not specified |
| Data | ||
Data freshness | Real-timeEnd of Day | Not specified |
Data granularity | EOD | Not specified |
Data partners | FactSetS&P Global Market IntelligenceICE Data ServicesFRED | Not specified |
| Access & integrations | ||
API protocols | REST | Not specified |
API auth & delivery | Auth: APIKeyDocs | Not specified |
Import methods | BrokerOAuthCSV | Not specified |
Integrations | Interactive BrokersTradier | Not specified |
Export formats | CSVJSON | Not specified |
| Plans & trust | ||
Capability signals | Custom formulasRanking backtestsUniverse builderBroker syncRebalancingCorrelation | Not specified |
Vendor & support | Portfolio123Support: Forum | Support: 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“Manage (Free)” | Free“Free account” |
| Entry paid plan | $300/yr≈ $25/mo“Screener (Annual)”backtest history years: 5 · resource units: 400 · +1 more | — |
| Tier 2 | $35/mo“Screener (Monthly)”backtest history years: 5 · resource units: 400 · +1 more | — |
| Tier 3 | $1000/yr≈ $83.33/mo“Backtest (Annual)”backtest history years: 10 · resource units: 1,000 · +1 more | — |
| Tier 4 | $116/mo“Backtest (Monthly)”backtest history years: 10 · resource units: 1,000 · +1 more | — |
| Tier 5 | $1500/yr≈ $125/mo“Portfolio (Annual)”backtest history years: 15 · resource units: 5,000 · +1 more | — |
| Tier 6 | $174/mo“Portfolio (Monthly)”backtest history years: 15 · resource units: 5,000 · +1 more | — |
| Tier 7 | $2400/yr≈ $200/mo“Ultimate (Annual)”backtest history years: 20 · resource units: 10,000 · +1 more | — |
| Top plan | $278/mo“Ultimate (Monthly)”backtest history years: 20 · resource units: 10,000 · +1 more | — |
| Custom / enterprise | Contact sales“Professional / API & Data Licenses” | — |
Alternatives
Free alternatives
Questions we keep getting
What's the difference between Portfolio123 and Variant?
Portfolio123 leans toward screeners, data visualizations, and quant, while Variant puts more weight on stock ideas, market sentiment, and forums. They overlap in 2 categories, so for most people it comes down to workflow preference and price.
How much do Portfolio123 and Variant cost?
Good news: both Portfolio123 and Variant have free plans, so you can run them side by side and only pay if you hit a wall.
Which is better for beginners: Portfolio123 or Variant?
Portfolio123 is the friendlier place to start; its interface takes less getting used to. Both work fine once you're past the basics.
Does Portfolio123 or Variant have an API?
Portfolio123 has an API for programmatic access and custom integrations. Variant doesn't, so you're working through its interface.
Should I choose Portfolio123 or Variant?
It depends on what you're after. Pick Portfolio123 if screeners and data visualizations matter to you; go with Variant if you'd rather have market sentiment and forums. And if you only need the basics both share, let price decide.
What asset classes do Portfolio123 and Variant cover?
Both cover stocks. Portfolio123 also handles ETFs and closed-end funds.
Does Portfolio123 or Variant have real-time data?
Portfolio123 offers real-time data, which matters if you trade actively. Variant 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 Portfolio123 and Variant?
Portfolio123 exports to CSV. Variant is stingier about getting data out.
Which has a better stock screener: Portfolio123 or Variant?
Portfolio123 has a stock screener for surfacing ideas; Variant doesn't, and focuses its energy elsewhere.
Can I track my portfolio with Portfolio123 or Variant?
Portfolio123 handles portfolio tracking. Variant is really a research tool; you'd track your portfolio elsewhere.
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