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Making investment decisions isn’t an easy process. It not only requires creating a workable investing strategy, but also the constant monitoring of stock price and market changes. In the past, these processes were done manually, but nowadays, they’re often done with the help of software.
While portfolio management tools are great for updating your assets, you’ll need another tool to help you research potential investments. In this Simply Wall St vs Seeking Alpha comparison, we’ll be taking a look at two such tools!
| Simply Wall St is Better for: | Seeking Alpha is Better for: |
| Visual stock representation | Analyst ratings |
| Affordable pricing | Flexible billing options |
| Retail investors | Professional investors |
Having a long track record can be a positive indicator for a platform. Seeking Alpha—which was founded in 2004—may be a decade older than Simply Wall St (2014), but age alone doesn’t mean that the service will be better.
Ultimately, which service is better will depend on the specific needs of the individual investors. While long-term investors will likely appreciate the more professional styling of Seeking Alpha, newer investors will likely love the simplicity that Simply Wall St offers.
 |  | |
| Free Features | Global Markets Access, Company reports (5), portfolio stock analysis (5), watchlists (5) | Limited access to articles, email alerts, news updates, stock pricing, limited charts, Wall Street Stock Ratings |
| Paid Features | Company reports, portfolio stock analysis, Stock Screener, Excel & PDF exports | Premium content, news updates, email alerts, Wall Street stock ratings, Author Ratings & performance, stock pricing, stock charts, Quant rating, dividend grades, PRO content & newsletters, short ideas portal, idea screener (with filters) |
| Annual Subscription Fees | $0-$20/month (billed yearly) | $239/year |
| Securities Analyzed | Stocks and other equities | Stocks, ETFs, crypto, other equities |
| Investing Approach | Fundamental | Fundamental & analytical |
| Best Use | Stock research | Stock research |
| Current Promotion | More Info | Save $50 Today |
| Modest Money Overall Rating | 4.6 rating based on 5 ratings | 4.6 rating based on 5 ratings |
Factor 1: Free Features
Without subscribing to a premium plan, each stock research platform has a number of limitations that restrict free users. Still, even with limited access, long-term investors will be able to use various features to perfect their investing strategy using the tools available.
Simply Wall St Provides Extensive Reports
- Simply Wall St allows free users to view five free reports per month
- Seeking Alpha shows limited data on an unlimited number of assets
- Simply Wall St gives unlimited access to Global Markets news
Simply Wall St
Although Simply Wall St primarily offers information on individual stocks (and shies away from other asset classes like mutual funds), it still offers a lot of information for free. Free users can view complete company reports—which contain information like historical stock charts, financial statements, and more—for five assets per month.
While five reports may not be enough to satiate more active traders, casual traders should be able to learn everything they need from five reports alone.
Seeking Alpha
Without a Seeking Alpha premium plan, the number of investment ideas you’ll be able to get from the platform is questionable. The platform’s articles—which cover everything from investment opportunities to financial statements—can only be viewed with limited access for free.
However, free users do have access to stock charts, Wall Street Stock ratings, news updates, and expert analysis email alerts. These resources can help them identify whether a stock is a strong sell, or estimate future cash flows, but they won’t show “the full picture.”
Factor 2: Paid Features
The only way to take advantage of a premium service is to pay for it. Fortunately, you do have a choice as to how much you’ll end up paying (as each premium service offers multiple subscription plans!).
If you want full access to stock charts, detailed reports about individual stocks, analyst opinions on popular portfolio holdings, and more, then opting for a premium subscription is the way to go.
Seeking Alpha Offers More With Its Top-Tier Membership
- Seeking Alpha has two plans, Premium & Pro
- Simply Wall St’s most expensive plan only costs $20/month
- Seeking Alpha’s Premium service should be enough for most active traders
Simply Wall St
Both plans from Simply Wall St build upon the basic plan. “Premium” allows users to view 30 company reports and analyze 30 stocks per month. “Unlimited” removes these limitations, while also enabling advanced investors to expert data in Excel or PDF format.
While this is certainly enough to gather the average return, analyze the market’s general performance, and find new investment ideas, Simply Wall St doesn’t offer more advanced tools for expert investors.
Seeking Alpha
Seeking Alpha has two paid plans for advanced investors: “Premium” and “Pro.”
Premium offers unlimited access to Premium content, which is where you’ll be able to find many different profitable investing ideas. It also unlocks a variety of portfolio tools and allows you to view model portfolios. You can learn more about an article’s author using the “Author Ratings.”
Seeking Alpha Pro unlocks every feature available on the platform, including Top Ideas, the short ideas portal, and the idea screener (with filters). These expansive tools are especially useful for analyzing the performance of a hypothetical portfolio. However, most users will be fine with a “Premium” membership.
Factor 3: Subscription Costs
Using a subscription for free is one thing, but when it’s time to start spending real money, it’s important to consider the ongoing costs. Will you be bound to a contract? Are there discounts offered?
It’s always important to make sure that a subscription payment is manageable before making any commitments.
Simply Wall Street Costs Considerably Less than the Competition
- Simply Wall St’s Unlimited plan only costs $20/month
- Seeking Alpha offers both monthly and annual billing
- Simply Wall St doesn’t offer monthly billing
Simply Wall St
You will need to pay for an entire year’s subscription upfront. That said, Simply Wall St doesn’t charge very much to use its service. The “Premium” plan will set you back $120 ($12/month), while the “Unlimited” plan will cost you $240 ($20/month) upfront.
Learn More About Simply Wall St
Seeking Alpha
Seeking Alpha’s annual plans cost $239 (Premium) and $2400 (Pro) respectively.
Seeking Alpha charges considerably more for their membership plans. That said, we recommend checking out this Seeking Alpha review to learn about all of the benefits the platform can offer you before dismissing it as an option!
Save $50 on Seeking Alpha Today
Summary
Both services can provide active traders with plenty of profitable trade ideas. Neither functions as a dedicated stock picking service, but both can be used as such. Additionally, they both provide news feeds, export analysis, stock ideas, and portfolio monitoring features.
If you’re a newer investor who’s just starting out, we recommend Simply Wall St for its straightforward design and visual stock presentation.
For more advanced traders who want in-depth analysis that can give them a competitive edge, we recommend giving Seeking Alpha a try instead.
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