The Best Free Trading Journals in 2026, Compared Honestly (Including Mine)

I build FreeTradeJournal, so you should read this knowing that. I have tried to keep it fair anyway: every price and free-tier limit below was checked against the vendor's own pricing page in August 2026, the tools that beat mine at something get credit for it, and there are two on this list I would tell certain traders to pick over my own.

If you only want the short version: most "free" trading journals are either a free trial, a free plan capped so low that an active trader hits the wall in a week, or a spreadsheet. The list below is the ones with a genuinely usable free plan, plus the three paid journals people most often ask about, so you can see what the extra money buys.

The quick comparison

Journal	Free plan	Best for	Cheapest paid
FreeTradeJournal	Yes. Unlimited trades, 30-day analytics window, 20 journal entries, 20 AI queries/month	Forex, futures and prop-firm traders who want AI coaching without a $30/month bill	$12.99/mo or $99.99/yr
Tradervue	Yes. Capped at 30 imported trades per calendar month	US stock and options traders with a low trade count	$29.95/mo (Silver)
TradesViz	Yes. Up to 3,000 trades/month, unlimited accounts	Data-heavy traders who want hundreds of statistics	$29.99/mo
Stonk Journal	Yes. No trade cap per its own site	Options traders, multi-leg positions	Free
Trademetria	Yes. 30 orders/month, one account	Occasional traders	Paid tiers available
Myfxbook	Yes. Free, auto-syncs MT4/MT5	Forex traders who want stats with zero manual entry	Free
Google Sheets / Excel	Yes	People who want total control and don't mind building it	Free
TradeZella	No	Traders who want 500+ broker auto-syncs and a polished all-in-one	$35/mo (Essential)
TraderSync	No	Traders who want AI review and hundreds of broker integrations	$29.95/mo (Pro)
Edgewonk	No	Traders focused on psychology and discipline tracking	$197 per year

The free ones, one at a time

FreeTradeJournal (mine)

What the free plan gives you: unlimited trades, CSV import from any broker with automatic column mapping (MetaTrader 4/5, Tradovate, NinjaTrader, DAS Trader and TopstepX exports are recognised), screenshot import for when you can't be bothered exporting a CSV, a written journal with emotion tagging, goals and risk rules, and a prop-firm tracker for one account. The AI coach, trade review and journal review are on the free plan too, capped at 20 AI queries a month.

What it caps: dashboard analytics only cover the trailing 30 days on the free plan, the journal stops at 20 entries, and you get 2 trading accounts. Pro removes those and adds cloud sync across devices for $12.99/month or $99.99/year, with a 14-day trial.

Where it loses: there is no live broker sync yet. You import by CSV or screenshot. It is also younger than everything else on this list, so the community and the integrations list are smaller. If you trade multi-leg options, look at Stonk Journal or TradesViz instead.

Where it wins: it is the only one here that gives you an AI coach on the free plan, it treats forex and futures as first-class (pip maths per pair, MetaTrader and Tradovate exports handled without manual mapping, weekday and symbol breakdowns), and it has prop-firm evaluation rules built in rather than bolted on. See the pricing page for the full free-vs-Pro list.

Tradervue

One of the oldest journals still running, and for a long time the default recommendation for US stock day traders. The free plan is real but small: 30 imported trades per calendar month, after which you pay $29.95/month for Silver or $49.95/month for Gold. If you take five trades a day, you will hit the cap in the second week.

Pick it if you trade US stocks or options at a low frequency and want a mature product with a big user base. Skip it if you are an active futures or forex trader on a budget.

TradesViz

The most generous free tier on this list by trade count: 3,000 trades a month, unlimited broker accounts and CSV import, all free. It has more statistics than anyone will ever look at (the site claims 600+), options flow data and backtesting on the paid tier ($29.99/month).

Pick it if you want raw depth and don't mind a dense interface. The learning curve is the main complaint I hear about it. Skip it if you want something clean you will actually open every day.

Stonk Journal

A newer free journal aimed at options traders. According to its own site the free plan has no trade caps, no ads and covers multi-leg options, risk rules and an equity curve. I have not stress-tested it and I would treat any "unlimited forever" claim from a free product with a little caution, but for options traders it is the obvious free pick.

Trademetria

Free plan allows 30 orders a month on one account. Like Tradervue, fine for occasional traders, too small for anyone active. The paid tiers unlock more, but at that point compare it against the tools above.

Myfxbook

Not really a journal, more a live stats and social platform for forex accounts. It is free, it auto-syncs from MT4/MT5 and it computes drawdown, profit factor and win rate with zero manual work. What it does not do is let you write anything meaningful about why you took a trade. If you only want numbers and you trade MetaTrader, use it. If you want to actually journal, pair it with something else.

Google Sheets or Excel

Free, infinitely flexible, and most traders who start here stop updating it within a month because every field is manual. If you go this route, at minimum log entry, exit, size, fees, setup name and one sentence on your state of mind. The journals above exist because that gets tedious.

The paid ones people ask about

TradeZella ($35/month Essential, $59 Pro, $99 Ultra; no free plan). The most polished product in the category, with the largest broker auto-sync list and a good AI layer. If you trade US stocks or futures with a supported broker and money is not the constraint, it is very good. Its weak spots are price, no free tier at all, and it is built primarily for US stocks and futures rather than forex. My longer comparison is at TradeZella alternative.

TraderSync ($29.95/month Pro, $49.95 Premium, $79.95 Elite; no free plan). Strong broker integration list and AI review, but the AI features start at the $49.95 tier. Longer notes at TraderSync alternative.

Edgewonk ($197 per year, paid upfront; no free plan). The one to pick if trading psychology is your actual problem. Its Tiltmeter and discipline tracking are better thought-out than anyone else's. Weak spots: no free version, one fixed upfront price, and it is less about broker imports and analytics than the others. Longer notes at Edgewonk alternative.

How to choose

• Active forex or futures trader, especially in a prop-firm evaluation, who wants coaching without a subscription: FreeTradeJournal.
• Options trader: Stonk Journal, or TradesViz if you want deep stats.
• Low-frequency US stock trader who wants something mature: Tradervue's free plan.
• MetaTrader trader who only wants numbers, no writing: Myfxbook.
• Money is no object and you want the most broker syncs: TradeZella.
• Psychology is your problem: Edgewonk.

Whichever you pick, the useful part is opening it after every session and writing down what happened, so choose the one you will actually open.

Frequently asked questions

Is there a trading journal that is completely free with no limits? Stonk Journal and Myfxbook say so. FreeTradeJournal has no limit on trades but caps analytics history and journal entries on the free plan. TradesViz caps at 3,000 trades a month. Everyone else caps hard or is a trial.

Which free trading journal works with MT4 and MT5? Myfxbook auto-syncs. FreeTradeJournal imports MT4/MT5 history exports (CSV or screenshot). TradesViz imports MetaTrader CSVs too.

Which free journal is best for prop firm traders? FreeTradeJournal, because it tracks evaluation rules (daily loss, max drawdown, profit target) for firms like Topstep, FTMO, Apex and The5ers on the free plan. See best free trading journal for prop firms.

Do any free journals include AI? FreeTradeJournal includes 20 AI queries a month free (coach, trade review, journal review). TradesViz has AI Q&A on paid tiers. TradeZella and TraderSync include AI on paid plans only.

Are the prices above current? Checked against each vendor's pricing page on 17 August 2026. Vendors change prices; if one is out of date, email me and I will fix it.