The short answer: A real-time screener should never make you press refresh. Trade Ideas Top Lists, which we call The Super Stock Screener, are our pick.
Free account, just an email. No card. Live access for a limited time.
Named to the Inc. 5000 list of America’s fastest-growing private companies six years in a row (2017–2022).
Investopedia: Best Short Term Stock Screener, 2024
A real Top List built from filters.
They rank every U.S. stock that meets your filters and update every 15 seconds, so the leader you see is the leader now. If a 10-second refresh at a low price is enough, Finviz Elite is the simpler choice.
Written by Daniel Mirkin, CEO of Trade Ideas, which makes one of the tools compared here.
Screening where you already trade at Schwab:thinkorswim.
Real time means this loop runs on every trade, not once a minute.
The key question
What "real-time" means in a stock screener
Most screeners call themselves real-time. They mean three different things.
Manual refresh. The list changes only when you reload it.
Auto-refresh. The list reloads on a timer. Finviz Elite lists 10 seconds. TradingView lists 10 seconds or 1 minute. TrendSpider scans run from every 2 hours to every minute.
Every 15 seconds. Trade Ideas Top Lists (Screeners) update every 15 seconds.
Key point
The gap matters most around the open. A stock can move several percent between two refreshes.
Method
How we compared
Key point
A screener is only as good as its last update. So we started with refresh speed, then asked every tool the same 8 questions. The table gives each question its own column.
What it is: Screener, scanner or a mix.
Real-time data: How often the list updates, and on which plan.
Scans and alerts: How many filters, and can a match alert you?
Backtesting: Can you test a screen on past data, with or without code?
AI: What the AI adds, per the company.
Beginner-friendly: Preset lists, training, a free version or intro period.
Price: Company list price, monthly and annual where offered.
Best for: The trader each screener fits.
Key point
The checks were done on October 6, 2026, and How we checked lists every source.
Trade Ideas charts, recorded.
At a glance
Real-time stock screeners: refresh rates side by side
TI Pro on Windows with the Money Machine race open.
How current each screener stays during the session. Prices checked October 2026 on each company's own site.
Screener
How often the list updates
Alerts the moment criteria hit
Premarket and after hours
Price for real-time scanning
Trade Ideas
Top Lists (Screeners) re-rank every 15 seconds
Yes. Streaming Alerts (Scanner) fire on each qualifying trade; a filters-only window with the Heartbeat alert streams stocks as they meet your criteria
Yes
Live data on every plan: TI Standard $1,068 a year or $127 month to month
Finviz Elite
Every 10 seconds on Elite; every 3 minutes free
Alerts listed
Elite runs 4:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. ET
Elite $299.50 a year or $39.50 month to month; free version is delayed
TradingView
Every 10 seconds or every minute on paid plans
Alerts listed
Not listed
Paid plans from $12.95 a month on annual billing
Scanz
Real-time on all plans
Scans run live; Starter is limited to one at a time
Yes, on all plans
Starter $89 a month
TC2000
Real-time scanning on Premium
Up to 5 streaming scans at once
Not listed
Premium $49.99 a month
Benzinga Pro
Real-Time Scanner on Essential
Scanner plus a live newsfeed with audio squawk
Not listed
Essential $197 a month
TrendSpider
From every 2 hours to every minute, by plan
Scheduled scans
Not listed
Standard $59 to $89 a month by billing term
thinkorswim
Schwab does not publish a scan refresh rate
Not listed
Not listed
No charge for Schwab clients
Competitor prices and features checked October 12, 2026.
For backtesting, AI and full feature comparisons across ten tools, see our best stock scanners guide.
When you see "Not listed", the feature was not on the company's own pages.
The list
The 8 best real-time stock screeners in 2026
1. Trade Ideas
Key point
Top Lists are the Trade Ideas screener, The Super Stock Screener. Each one ranks every U.S. stock that meets your filters and updates every 15 seconds. You never have to wonder whether the list is stale.
Settings
Screener plus alerts. Top Lists sort on any of 249 filters, and Streaming Alerts add 308 alerts for single events; our help documents every one. Each filter takes a min and max, any alert can join any filter set, and 191 alerts have their own extra setting. Examples: opening range breakouts and breakdowns at 1, 2, 5, 10, 15, 30 and 60 minutes (30-minute breakout), a 15-minute linear regression down trend, or a 5-minute topping tail with a minimum pattern grade. In practice the combinations are effectively unlimited.
The current order, live.Top Lists update from live market data on every plan. There is no refresh button to press. Streaming Alerts, the scanner, run beside them on the same data.
Key point
Sort on what you care about. Choose from 249 filters, such as % from the open, relative volume or SCoRE, the Composite Rating filter. Or, in TI Pro, ask AI Assistant, included in every plan, for a list in plain English. It builds a live Top List on the spot.
Settings
Ready on day one. Every ready-made channel on the Channel Bar comes with a Top List already set up. One example is S&P 500 stocks moving up quickly. Every TI Pro plan includes the Channel Bar.
Test the screen, then trade it. On TI Premium, OddsMaker tests any Top List filter combination on Trade Ideas history, with no code. TI Premium also includes Holly AI Signals. They fire intraday with an entry and a stop to manage risk.
Price: $127 a month buys TI Standard, or $1,068 for a full year. TI Premium is $254 monthly, $2,136 yearly.
Key point
Worth knowing: Trade Ideas covers U.S.-listed stocks. Its options data is limited to volume-based filters. Windows PCs run TI Pro natively, and Macs can run it through Parallels. The browser-based web Dashboard needs no download, and its Top Lists are the screener this page covers. Open a free account to reach the Dashboard.
Best for: Traders who want a ranked list that stays current, and beginners who want the premium experience.
2. Finviz Elite
Finviz is the screener many traders learn first, and Elite is its paid, real-time version.
Real-time data
Elite screens auto-refresh every 10 seconds, with real-time quotes from 4:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. ET.
Scans and alerts
Elite adds advanced fundamental and technical filters, unlimited saved presets and alerts.
Backtesting
Not listed on the Elite page.
AI
Not listed.
Beginner-friendly
Yes. The layout is simple, and the free version is an easy start.
Price
There is a free version; Elite costs $39.50 monthly or $299.50 yearly.
Worth knowing: The free version is delayed and refreshes every 3 minutes.
Best for: Low-cost screening with a 10-second refresh.
You pick the filters, such as price, volume and float. You pick the sort, such as biggest gain or highest relative volume. Every stock that qualifies appears, and the order changes as the market trades.
Stock Races show the leaders racing each other in real time.
Settings
Ratings work the same way. SCoRE is a 30 to 100 stock rating built from more than 15 metrics, mostly technical, with key fundamental data. As a filter it is called Composite Rating, and you set it in the Window Specific Filters tab. Think of it as a quality filter rather than a buy or sell signal.
Pick Trade Ideas if you want a live screener you can shape in plain English. The AI Assistant builds the Top List (Screener), or you choose from 308 alerts and 249 filters without code and add your own through the Formula Editor. With TI Premium come OddsMaker, for checking a screen on past events, and Holly AI Signals that name the entry and the stop on each trade idea.
Free options
Is there a free real-time stock screener?
Key point
Free screeners are useful, but each has a catch. Finviz's free version is delayed and refreshes every 3 minutes. TradingView lists screener auto-refresh on its paid plans. thinkorswim costs nothing if you are a Schwab client.
If you screen once a day after the close, a free tool may be all you need. If you act during the session, compare refresh speeds before you compare prices.
Honest take
Who Trade Ideas is not for
Top Lists (Screeners) matter when the order of the list changes your next move. If it does not, keep your money.
A list that updates once a day is enough for you. A continuous screener would sit idle.
You trade only crypto, forex or futures. Trade Ideas covers U.S.-listed stocks.
Paying for it would use up a large share of your account. Get your practice in with a free tool and paper trading.
If you are okay with static non-refreshing data, Trade Ideas is probably not your best choice.
Method
How we checked
The race keeps score while you do other things.
Refresh speed first. We recorded how often each company says its screener updates.
Then the same eight points. Each tool then got the table's eight questions.
Only company sources. We write "Not listed" when the company's pages are silent on it.
Order. Trade Ideas is first because Top Lists (Screeners) update every 15 seconds. The rest follow by refresh speed and depth.
Key point
Past results, including backtests, don't guarantee future results.
Trade Ideas Top Lists (Screeners) are our pick, because they update every 15 seconds. Trade Ideas is our product. You can open a free account to try the web dashboards, and the plans page shows what each paid plan adds. Finviz Elite is a low-cost choice with a 10-second refresh, and TradingView suits traders who screen and chart together.
How often does a real-time stock screener refresh?
It depends on the tool and the plan. Finviz Elite lists every 10 seconds (3 minutes on the free version), TradingView lists 10 seconds or 1 minute on paid plans, and Trade Ideas Top Lists update every 15 seconds. Check the speed on the plan you would actually buy.
Can Trade Ideas stream screener results as they happen?
Yes. In TI Pro, an alert window with filters but no alerts uses the Heartbeat alert automatically and streams the stocks that meet your criteria in real time, so it works as a streaming screener. See the streaming stock screener guide.
What is the most accurate stock screener?
The one with the freshest list on a sound data feed. A screener that refreshes every few minutes can show a stock that already stopped moving. Trade Ideas Top Lists run on live market data and update every 15 seconds.
What is the difference between Top Lists and Streaming Alerts?
Top Lists are the screener that ranks every stock meeting your filters, while Streaming Alerts are the scanner that can fire on every trade, multiple times per second. Both run on the same live market data and come with TI Standard and TI Premium.
Can I screen by a stock rating in real time?
Yes. SCoRE is a 30 to 100 rating that updates live during market hours, and you set it as the Composite Rating filter in the Window Specific Filters tab. Think of it as a quality filter rather than a buy or sell signal.
Can I test a screen before I trade it?
Yes, with OddsMaker on TI Premium, which tests any Top List filter combination on Trade Ideas history and shows every trade and its stats. The Premium plan is $254 monthly or $2,136 a year. Past results, including backtests, don't guarantee future results.
