Key facts

• Many functions in the free version
• Premium price reasonable
• Nice web design
• Dashboard function
• App available (iPhone/Android)

Details

One of my favorite sites is barchart.com, partly because of the wealth of information it provides. Even the free version offers a lot of information that you have to pay for elsewhere. Of course, there is also an app (Android/iOS), which may not seem quite as modern, but is also very detailed.

When you visit the site for the first time, you will not yet have access to the full range of functions. You should register straight away, which is of course free of charge. After registration you will enjoy an extended range of functions. Of course, after registering you will also receive a few unsolicited e-mails from Barchart’s partner companies in your mailbox (even if they are legitimate, they are still a bit annoying). However, you can simply unsubscribe from these, so there is no need to worry. This practice is common and is practiced by almost all services.

The main page is actually relatively unspectacular and tidy. It contains the usual market overviews, important news, commodity prices, an overview of the sectors and information on stock options and ETFs. What is interesting is that there is a link symbol (3 vertical dots) at the bottom of the list for each price. This leads you to further options regarding the displayed value such as charts or the chance to transfer the value directly to a portfolio or a watchlist.

You can recognize the strength of Barchart by clicking on the menu band at the top (Stocks, Futures, ETFs, Currencies). When the menu opens, you will see an almost infinite variety of menu items for stocks, for example. You can see winners, losers, stocks with momentum, high volumes, hot penny stocks (stocks under US$5), top 100 stocks, ideas on different themes/sectors, dividends, upcoming business figures, technical signals and many other useful data.

If you enter a symbol at the top, you get tons of information about the company. And as already said earlier, most information you’ll get for absolutely free, no premium subscription needed. Here’s an example of Coca-Cola (Ticker KO).

By scrolling you can view further information, such as news on the displayed value, similar companies, analyst opinions, etc.
On the left side (not visible in the picture above) is the menu for the share. The Trader’s Cheat Sheet is interesting here, where important technical price limits are listed (such as support/resistance), moving averages, etc. The historical prices, general information on the company, the financials (balance sheet, cash flow, income statement) and SEC filings such as quarterly reports are also informative. You can also compare this value with other shares (Stock Comparison). Under “Barchart Opinion” (still in the menu on the left) you can see the most important indicators and the resulting recommendation.

Equally interesting is the menu item “News” with current events, which can also be queried per sector/industry. Of course, commodity news, general market news, top news etc. can also be displayed. You will be literally overwhelmed by all the information…

Under “Tools” you can create portfolios, your own screeners and watchlists or even templates. You can also subscribe to several free newsletters with current data.

Other menus are “Currencies”, “Options”, “Futures” (commodities) and ETFs. These each contain specific menu items. Currencies also includes the countless cryptocurrencies, and the commodities overview also contains somewhat more exotic items such as milk or orange juice. If you are interested in ETFs, this is certainly a good starting point (e.g. via the TOP 100 ETFs) to get an overview of the countless instruments offered by the ETF market. ETFs are a good option and should be considered by you (instead of simply buying shares/bonds).

The dashboard is absolutely great, also accessible via the top menu. I have included an example which contains a variety of indicators, free of charge. You can also download these charts and customize them almost at will. Really fantastic!

Premium version

There’s a Plus version, but I think that’s not worth the price. If you really need more than the free version (which is already great), then go for the Premium version that costs 199.95 per year and offers considerable enhancements and features compared to the free version. These include:

• No advertising
• Unlimited screeners, watchlists
• Up to 100 files/day can be downloaded (compared to 5 daily in the free version)
• Historical data going back up to 20 years
• Complex mail notifications
• Sophisticated predefined screeners
• All data/charts/lists can be downloaded for customization (various formats such as CSV/XLS)
• Several reports on current market events daily
• Nearly unlimited personalization options

Conclusion

As already mentioned, only a few websites (if at all) already have this vast range of functions in the free version. For me, Barchart is one of the best when it comes to current share prices, charts, etc. The premium version offers a lot more, but in my opinion it only makes sense if you really spend a lot of time trading shares. Otherwise, you can also start with the free version and see where you reach a limit. The price of around 200 US$ per year is reasonable, other services are considerably more expensive.