Top 20 free day trading tools and software you should know

Share this:
Editorial Note: While we adhere to strict Editorial Integrity, this post may contain references to products from our partners. Here's an explanation for How We Make Money. None of the data and information on this webpage constitutes investment advice according to our Disclaimer.

You can do better in day trading as there are hundreds of tools for day traders. However, some are fee-based, whereas others are free to use. But it is crucially the trader's responsibility to identify and research the best day trading tools. As you choose these tools, keep in mind that a trader's primary goal is to double the amount they trade, which necessitates making wise trading decisions.

Here are 20 free day trading tools and programs that can help traders improve their chances during day trading.

Start trading Forex now with eToro!
eToro is a multi-asset platform which offers both investing in stocks and cryptoassets, as well as trading CFDs.

Types of trading tools and how to use them

Day trading requires the use of a variety of resources, including tools and services. These tools are essential because modern trading is electronic. Manually analyzing trades, spotting market shifts, determining your level of risk, and reviewing trading performance will be challenging. But with the help of some top tools for day traders, you can simultaneously carry out the above tasks while you trade.

You are already using trading tools on a fundamental level if you have a laptop and internet access. Other day trading tools to integrate to make trading productive are:

Trading platforms.

Charting software.

Economic calendar.

Financial news wire.

Trade Diaries.

Copy trading service.

Currency correlation matrix.

Time zone converter.

Forex volatility calculator, etc.

Let's look at some of these trading tools and their examples.

Best day trading platforms

As a trader, you should prioritize finding the best day trading platforms and brokers. Trading on sophisticated platforms is satisfying, as they provide a wealth of free trading tools for real-time forex market analysis. Some factors you must look out for in some of the tools for trading include speed, dependability, costs, and customer service.

Let’s see some examples of the best trading platforms.

Metatrader 4/Metatrader 5

The platform developed by MetaQuotes Software Corp. enjoys great popularity among traders all across the world and it is the most widely used platform for Forex trading. The platform offers many additional services, such as trading robots market, trading strategy developer exchange, copy trading service and lease of VPS (virtual private server).

👍 Pros

High performance;

Wide possibilities of interface customization;

A possibility of connecting third-party indicators, advisors, etc.;

A possibility of using trading signals for automated trading

Built-in editor of expert advisors;

A possibility of viewing market depth window;

Support of all popular operating systems and devices;

xcellent customer support;

Huge number of supported financial instruments and account types;

Easy connection to the trading account of the vast majority of Forex brokers;

Huge number of built-in additional services.

👎 Cons

There are certain issues with accrual/charging of swaps.

Ninjatrader

NinjaTrader is your universal platform, as you can easily connect a trading account of practically any Forex broker to the software. In terms of the features, there is a possibility of cluster chart analysis, which allows traders to obtain accurate data on the market sentiment.

👍 Pros

Good software functionality (multiple indicators, analysis of cluster charter, possibility to build in third-party integrated indicators, auto-strategies, signal providing systems, etc.);

Excellent customer support from the developer (NinjaTrader LLC);

Unlimited trial period on the demo account;

Strategy tester available on the platform;

Two independent version of the trading platform (Lite and Pro);

A possibility of connecting a trading account from a large number of Forex brokers to the trading platform.

👎 Cons

Software may experience failures when reading a large volume of data;

Delay in updating the charts is possible;

The list of financial instruments Forex brokers offer for this platform is often limited;

Extended version (Pro) is paid, which is not suitable for traders with small deposits;

Free version (Lite) does not allow the use of trading robots and installation of third-party indicator systems;

There are sometimes conflicts with firewalls and anti-virus software.

Technical analysis tools for day traders

If you understand the technical analysis process, it will be easy to decipher complex data to facilitate decision-making. Technical analysis is a skill that gets better with practice and study. But to see the progress, you need certain programs for day trading. These tools for day traders assist traders in forecasting future prices based on historical price trends.

Here are some examples of top technical analysis tools for trading:

Indicators

Indicators are statistical tools used by traders to forecast financial or economic trends. Generally speaking, indicators are technical chart patterns that are based on a security's price, volume, or open interest. In the current market environment, these indicators help to make the market more understandable and make it simpler to spot patterns and buy or sell signals.

Indicators are grouped into trends, channels, oscillators, forecasts, etc.

If there is a trend, trend indicators tell which way the market is moving and provide a measure of the trend's strength.

Volatility is incorporated into channel indicators to depict price movement.

Trading oscillator indicators can indicate the beginning of a potential trend change.

Forecast indicators show the price of a security over a given period's statistical trend.

Channel indicators incorporate volatility to capture price action, while the forecast helps to identify the trend with many indicators.

Trade advisors

Trading advisors can execute trades for you following the instructions you've previously programmed in them. This system, which monitors the foreign exchange markets, automatically generates signals when trading opportunities are present. Trade advisors are unpredictable, but they can be helpful if you comprehend their various uses and methods of application.

Among the top advisors, you must use our grid, trend advisors, scalpers, etc.

The Grid Trader Expert Advisor, a highly original algorithm, allows traders to trade long and short sides independently and generates two distinct grids.

The trend EA algorithm's core function is to open a relatively small (in comparison to the above types) number of trades in the trend's direction.

By taking advantage of minute price fluctuations in the market, scalping aims to generate modest, low-risk profits.

Scripts

The script can perform analytical and trading tasks, and you can use it to close out all of your positions at once, speed up your process, and become a variable spread broker. To determine the spread and minimum distance allowed by your broker for the specific pair, you can use specialized scripts and dashboards.

They assist you in determining whether a chart is trending or stationary by drawing attention to all swing highs and lows. Grid, trend advisors, and scalpers are three popular script types.

Day trading tools: fundamental analysis instruments

Finding a financial instrument's intrinsic and true value is the goal of fundamental analysis. A crucial aspect of fundamental analysis is the use of economic data and central bank policies. Most fundamental analysis software heavily favors earnings, growth, and market value.

News portals and feed

Another important fundamental analysis program for day trading is the news portals and feeds. You can obtain up-to-date information from sources like:

Investing: This tool offers coverage for many different markets, including stocks, commodities, and cryptocurrencies.

Bloomberg: Bloomberg provides information on business and markets, including news, data, analysis, and video.

FactSet: FactSet's commercial data will support your workflow, while its global market insights will broaden your perspective, and its actionable market analytics will enable you to outperform.

YCharts: Financial software provider YCharts offers investment research tools like stock charts, stock ratings, and economic indicators.

AlphaSense: With the help of AlphaSense, you can quickly surface and track insights from millions of documents, including earnings, broker research, company documents, expert calls, and more.

Screeners

Screeners are real-time visualizations of the stock market and Day trading tools for spotting patterns used by day traders to find trading opportunities quickly. Screeners enable you to examine shifting currencies. You can use these tools to concentrate on currency pairs that have specific volumes or are experiencing specific levels of volatility.

Top screeners' tools for day traders include:

ZACKS (NASDAQ)

FinViz

Yahoo Finance Screener

Trade Ideas

Day trading tools: graphical analysis

A graphical analysis tool for day traders helps traders read market sentiments via patterns and signals. You can recognize market trends and make more accurate predictions about how the price of an asset will develop. This allows traders to time their trades and choose the best entry and exit points.

Autochartist

Autochartist is a top tool for day traders. It is used to spot chart patterns using technical tools like Fibonacci retracements. Even at the odd hours of the day, this tool can help you become familiar with trading opportunities. It keeps an eye on the markets around the clock and alerts you to profitable trading moves.

Indicators for finding patterns

The use of indicator tools for day traders, which are accessible for use with different trading platforms, can help day traders quickly locate precise chart patterns on different currencies. Using these day trader tools will save you the time it would take to manually trace these patterns.

Examples:

Triangle pattern indicator.

Double top indicator.

Triple top indicator.

Bullish flag pattern indicator.

Bearish flag pattern indicator.

Day trading tools: instruments for passive investment

An instrument for passive investment is among the best day trading tools traders should integrate. By minimizing buying and selling, passive investing tools for trading helps traders maximize returns.

Social trading platform

Social trading is a form of investment that first started to gain popularity in 2010 with the launch of eToro’s platform. The social trading platforms follow the principles of social media: communication, exchange of knowledge, mutual help, and partnership.

Copy trading systems are used as an add-in to the social trading platforms on Forex. They enable the members of the community to earn money jointly.

Novice traders without knowledge and experience have an opportunity to subscribe to the signals of professional traders and copy their trades either manually or automatically.

In exchange, expert traders gain a high social status in the community, and as a rule some commission from the return.

eToro is the best broker for social trading

PAMM-accounts

Systems of Forex PAMM brokers in 2023 are significantly different from those systems that traders used 5-10 years ago. At that time, systems were called LAMM accounts - Lot Allocation Management Module. The difference is that with the LAMM system the manager’s order is simply duplicated for each investor. That is, investors deposit an amount equal to the amount deposited by the investor. Using this system is advisable only when the amount of funds in the accounts of all participants are approximately the same.

PAMM accounts are popular because orders are not copied. The investor’s rate can be any percentage. If it is less, he risks less money, but the profit in case he wins will also be lower. Rates for investors are usually determined by the manager. Note that different PAMM brokers may have different conditions.

RoboForex is the best broker with PAMM account

Trading signals

Any outlets that help investors by sharing daily signals can be classified as signal providers. They could be daily trading signals websites, specialist Telegram channels, or social media feeds. At the provider’s discretion, the daily signals can be shared for free, or could be locked behind a fee.

Pros

The pros of these day trading signals providers are the ease and availability of the information. You can often expect multiple updates a day that help you trade and invest wisely.

Similarly, anyone who is learning how to invest smartly can learn daily signals easily with these channels and solutions. By leaning on the expertise of experienced investors, you can maximize your portfolio’s performance while gaining a deeper understanding of how daily signals work for yourself.

Cons

The cons of day trading signals are worth keeping in mind too. The biggest of these is that even the best day trading signals aren’t foolproof. Even the wisest investor makes a misstep from time to time, and sometimes this happens due to unpredictable shockwaves affecting the market.

You should always, as with any investment opportunity, do your own research and stay wise against scams. Although the solutions and advice we have listed below have been checked and vetted, there are bad actors out there keen to get their hands on your wealth by dishonest means. Stay vigilant.

Day trading calculators

The Trader's Calculator, also known as the Forex Calculator, is a potent tool that enables you to manage risk and quickly and easily estimate your potential profit before opening a trading position. It will assist you in making the best trading choices before opening positions for the selected instruments.

1. Pip value calculator and Lot calculator

The Pip Value Calculator precisely calculates the pip value for forex pairs, indices, and cryptocurrencies. It also checks the pip using real-time market quotes, the account base currency, the lot size, and trading pairs. To determine the value of a pip, all you need is your base currency, the currency pair you are trading on, the exchange rate, and your position size.

2. Volatility calculator

Using the Forex Volatility Calculator, you can determine the historical volatility for both common and uncommon pairs over different time frames.

Volatility is a statistical indicator of the dispersion of returns, and it measures how much an asset's prices fluctuate around the mean price.

3. Correlation Coefficient Calculator

Correlation is frequently used to verify that an analysis is accurate. The covariance and correlation calculators compute the correlation and assess the result's significance.

Other day trading tools

Aside from the day trading tools listed above, there are other tools for day traders; and they help to make your trading experience satisfactory. These tools for trading include:

Economic calendar

The best day trading tools for learning about major financial events globally include an economic calendar. It's a crucial asset for day traders who use fundamental analysis. It is incorporated into some of the best trading platforms, including TradingView and MetaTrader 5 (MT5), and helps reduce the risk of making rash decisions.

Before opening positions daily, experienced traders check the Economic Calendar. It is a way to learn the precise times for all announcements and exchange rates.

Financial reporting calendar

A key tool for day traders is the financial reporting calendar because reports from the US and other nations can affect currency pairs. The finance calendar's main objective is to support currency traders who base their decisions on fundamental analysis. These reports concern the Gross Domestic Product (GDP), the Consumer Confidence Index, the Consumer Price Index (CPI), and the Trade Balance.

Market sentiment

A market sentiment tool is one way to learn about how the market is moving and how that will affect trading trends and price fluctuations. Market sentiment is a day-trading indicator of anticipated volatility or price changes. Due to its ability to alert users to potentially dangerous situations and price reversals, this is one of the best day trading tools.

Heat map

The heat map tools for day traders is yet another essential tool for day traders. It depicts price activity using three visual symbols and parameters (color, brightness, and area). This tool aids traders in locating the actual orders being placed in the market. Marketers use heat maps to identify trends in website usage and make data-driven adjustments to improve conversion rates and revenue.

Pivot Points

A pivot point tool is necessary if you want to calculate the market's overall trend over various time frames or use a technical analysis indicator. The pivot point itself is just the average of the high and low prices for the current trading day and the previous trading day's closing price. Additionally, using pivot point levels in your forex trading is as simple as using regular support and resistance levels as your guide.

Trader's Diaries

Every source you use to learn about the previous pattern or market movement is crucial when trading. A trader's diary tool will give day traders a historical perspective. It serves as a database for your performance and provides a quick snapshot of your trading account's status. As a result, it allows you to assess your trading history.

This tool informs traders about profitable trades, the currency pairs that performed best for them, and even the time frames that produced the highest profit margins.

VSA analysis tools

Tools for volume spread analysis consider candlestick spread and volume, which are the foundation for the data used in strategic planning. A special platform is available to users, and it searches for differences between supply and demand while allowing users to create custom analytical and graphical reports.

This tool for day traders allows you to determine the trends and weak points of an uptrend as well as whether or not it will continue. A skilled trader can use these resources to ascertain when the market is in any of these phases:

Accumulation.

Mark-up (bullish).

Distribution.

Mark-down (bearish).

How to Choose tools for trading

The first step is to select a reliable trading platform. Brokers with sophisticated trading platforms frequently incorporate free trading tools that traders can use while trading.

Top trading platforms offer some of the best day trading tools that a trader needs. However, you can add various trading tools to the platform as add-ons. Some brokers offer tools that provide traders with the following:

Real-time market data and news

Securities price charts

Educational and how to trade learning resources.

Having the right mix of trading tools is more important than integrating many of these tools. You'll need a broker, trading software, charting software, scanning software, and other tools.

A trader may favor trading by patterns, the news, or another strategy. As a result, when choosing tools for day traders, base your decisions on trading techniques and the tools that meet the requirements. A trading platform's toolset and ability to integrate with different add-ons are advantageous to a trader.

Best brokers with maximum functionality tools for trading

1
9.4/10
Go to broker
eToro is a multi-asset investment platform. The value of your investments may go up or down. Your capital is at risk. Don’t invest unless you’re prepared to lose all the money you invest.
Minimum deposit:
$50
Bonus for deposit:
0%
Regulation:
CySEC, FCA, ASIC
2
9.2/10
Go to broker
Your capital is at risk.
Minimum deposit:
No minimum
Bonus for deposit:
0%
Regulation:
FSC (BVI), ASIC, IIROC, FCA, CFTC, NFA
3
9.1/10
Minimum deposit:
$1
Bonus for deposit:
0%
Regulation:
FCA, BaFin, ASIC, MAS, CySec, FINMA, BMA, CFTC, NFA

Summary

To improve your chances of profiting from day trading, you must integrate and learn how to use some of the best day trading tools. While some of these tools are already integrated into the broker or trading platform you choose, you can download and connect others as add-ons.

In a nutshell, integrating different technical tools and indicators that support your strategy increases trading precision. There are different tools for day traders; it is recommended that you research these tools before integrating them.

FAQ

What is the best trading tool?

There is no best solution since traders' strategies vary, and there are specific tools that correspond to these techniques. So it is up to the trader to research and choose the optimal trading tool from the list of day trading tools.

What tools should be used for day trading?

A top trading platform, tools for technical and fundamental analysis, charting software, news sources, and screeners are tools needed for day trading.

What platform do most day traders use?

It's difficult to determine which online trading platform to use. However, the most widely used forex trading platforms among retail forex market participants are MetaTrader 4 (MT4) and MetaTrader 5 (MT5).

Can I automate my day trading?

Yes, you can automate your day trading. A trading robot, also known as an EA, is a computer program that automatically trades for you in your account. The development of an automated day trading program by traders can be done using either pre-existing technical indicators or specially created indicators and tools.

Team that worked on the article

Oleg Tkachenko
Author and expert at Traders Union

Oleg Tkachenko is an economic analyst and risk manager having more than 14 years of experience in working with systemically important banks, investment companies, and analytical platforms. He has been a Traders Union analyst since 2018. His primary specialties are analysis and prediction of price tendencies in the Forex, stock, commodity, and cryptocurrency markets, as well as the development of trading strategies and individual risk management systems. He also analyzes nonstandard investing markets and studies trading psychology.

Olga Shendetskaya
Author and editor at Traders Union

Olga Shendetskaya has been a part of the Traders Union team as an author, editor and proofreader since 2017. Since 2020, Shendetskaya has been the assistant chief editor of the website of Traders Union, an international association of traders. She has over 10 years of experience of working with economic and financial texts. In the period of 2017-2020, Olga has worked as a journalist and editor of laftNews news agency, economic and financial news sections. At the moment, Olga is a part of the team of top industry experts involved in creation of educational articles in finance and investment, overseeing their writing and publication on the Traders Union website.

Olga has extensive experience in writing and editing articles about the specifics of working in the Forex market, cryptocurrency market, stock exchanges and also in the segment of financial investment in general. This level of expertise allows Olga to create unique and comprehensive articles, describing complex investment mechanisms in a simple and accessible way for traders of any level.

Olga’s motto: Do well and you’ll be well!