Trade Ideas
AI-powered stock scanning with Holly, the automated idea engine.
Overview
Trade Ideas is the oldest and most established AI stock scanner in the retail market, built around real-time scanning of every US listed ticker and an AI engine called Holly that backtests dozens of strategies overnight and surfaces the ones with statistical edge for the next session. For day traders who live on momentum, gappers and unusual volume, its alert speed is still the benchmark.
The platform's depth is both its moat and its tax. Channel bars, custom scan formulas, multi-window layouts and the Brokerage Plus automation module give you close to institutional tooling, but the learning curve is real: expect a week of setup before the scanner feels like yours, and the interface shows its Windows-era heritage.
The price is the deciding factor. At roughly $118/mo for Standard and $228/mo for Premium (Holly requires Premium), Trade Ideas only makes sense for active day traders who convert faster scanning into actual entries. Swing traders scanning nightly can get most of the value from cheaper screeners.
Key Features
- Real-time scanning across every US listed stock
- Holly AI: overnight backtesting that publishes next-day strategies
- 60+ prebuilt scans plus a full custom formula editor
- Channel bars linking scans, charts and watchlists
- Brokerage Plus: rule-based order automation with supported brokers
- Backtesting window for validating any scan idea
- Chat rooms and daily live trading sessions
- Web and desktop versions with synced layouts
Pros
- Fastest momentum alerts we have tested in the niche
- Holly's strategies come with transparent backtest stats
- Custom scans can encode almost any technical condition
- Long track record and an active power-user community
- Automation module can execute what the scanner finds
Cons
- Premium at $228/mo is one of the priciest retail tools anywhere
- Dated interface with a steep learning curve
- Overkill for swing traders and anyone trading a handful of names
Best Use Cases
- → Momentum day trading driven by real-time scan alerts
- → Finding gappers and unusual-volume names before the open
- → Running Holly's backtested strategies as an idea feed
- → Automating scan-to-order workflows via Brokerage Plus
- → Building custom scans for a specific repeatable setup
Final Verdict
Trade Ideas at 4.2/5 remains the strongest pure scanner for active day traders, and Holly is genuinely differentiated rather than AI marketing. But the math only works if you trade often enough for faster, better-filtered alerts to pay the $228/mo Premium toll. Day trade daily: worth a trial. Swing trade weekly: use a cheaper screener and keep the difference.
Try Trade IdeasFrequently Asked Questions
Is Trade Ideas worth $228 a month?+
For full-time day traders who act on multiple scanner alerts daily, the speed and Holly's filtered ideas can pay for the subscription with one improved entry a week. For part-time or swing traders the cheaper Standard tier, or a different screener entirely, is the rational pick. Our full review runs the math per trading style.
What exactly is Holly AI?+
Holly is Trade Ideas' automated engine that backtests dozens of strategy variations against recent market data every night and only activates the ones whose stats cleared its thresholds. During the session it issues entry alerts with the strategy's historical win rate and profit factor attached, so you can judge each idea against its own track record.
Does Trade Ideas work for swing trading?+
It can, via end-of-day scans and longer-timeframe filters, but the platform's edge is real-time intraday speed. Swing traders usually get 80% of the value from screeners costing a fraction as much, like the free tiers of ChartMill or TradingView's screener.
Is there a Trade Ideas free trial or discount?+
Trade Ideas runs periodic promotions and offers a limited trial through partners at times. Check the official site for current offers; annual billing meaningfully reduces the effective monthly price.
Trade Ideas vs TrendSpider: which one?+
Different jobs. Trade Ideas is a scanner: it finds tickers moving now. TrendSpider is an analysis platform: it automates charting and backtesting on names you already watch. Momentum hunters pick Trade Ideas; systematic chartists pick TrendSpider.
Our Trade Ideas Guides
Disclosure: This page may contain affiliate links. We earn a small commission if you sign up, at no extra cost to you.