Free Stock Screening Tools 2026: The Best No-Cost Screeners for Investors
You don't need expensive software to find great investment ideas. In 2026, several powerful stock screening tools are available completely free — or with generous free tiers that give you most of the functionality you need.
Here's our honest roundup of the best free stock screening tools available right now, from specialized moat screeners to broad-market filtering platforms.
1. Moatifi — Best Free Tool for Moat & Quality Investing
Price: 100% Free | Website: moatifi.com
Moatifi is a purpose-built screener for investors who follow Warren Buffett's approach: buying wonderful businesses with durable competitive advantages at fair prices.
What you get for free: - Moat scores (1-10) for 68+ analyzed companies - Management quality scores with detailed reasoning - Business quality assessments - Written investment theses in plain English - Risk analysis (2-3 key risks per stock) - 5-year average ROE and ROIC data - Detailed individual stock analysis pages
Why it stands out: Most free screeners give you raw data and let you figure out the rest. Moatifi provides analysis — it tells you why a company has a moat, not just that it has high ROE. The investment theses read like they came from a Buffett shareholder letter.
Best for: Value investors, moat investors, buy-and-hold investors who want quality over quantity.
Limitations: Smaller coverage universe (~68 stocks) focused on US companies that pass initial quality filters.
2. Finviz — Best Free General-Purpose Screener
Price: Free (basic) / $39.50/mo (Elite) | Website: finviz.com
Finviz has been a staple of the investing community for years. The free tier is genuinely powerful:
What you get for free: - 70+ screening filters (fundamental, technical, descriptive) - Stock heat maps and sector visualization - Basic charting and news aggregation - No account required for basic screening
Why it's useful: When you need to cast a wide net — filtering 8,000+ stocks by P/E, market cap, sector, or technical patterns — Finviz is hard to beat. It's fast, visual, and doesn't require registration.
Best for: Initial universe screening, technical analysis, getting a broad market view.
Limitations: No moat analysis, limited multi-year fundamental data on free tier, no quality scoring.
3. Yahoo Finance Screener — Best for Quick, Simple Screens
Price: Free | Website: finance.yahoo.com/screener
Yahoo Finance's screener is basic but accessible. It covers fundamental, valuation, and growth metrics with a clean interface.
What you get for free: - Pre-built screens (undervalued large caps, growth tech, etc.) - Custom screening with ~30 filters - Integration with Yahoo Finance's stock pages and news - No account needed
Best for: Beginners who want simplicity, quick filters without information overload.
Limitations: Limited depth, no multi-year analysis, no competitive advantage assessment.
4. Wisesheets / Google Sheets — Best for DIY Screeners
Price: Free (Google Sheets) / Wisesheets add-on varies | Website: wisesheets.io
For investors who want full control, pulling financial data directly into Google Sheets lets you build completely custom screens.
What you get for free: - GOOGLEFINANCE() function for basic price/fundamental data - Complete customization of screening criteria - Combine multiple data sources - Historical data analysis
Best for: Technically inclined investors who want to build their own models.
Limitations: Requires spreadsheet skills, GOOGLEFINANCE has limited fundamental data, time-consuming to set up.
5. Macrotrends — Best for Historical Financial Data
Price: Free | Website: macrotrends.net
Macrotrends provides excellent historical financial data with charts going back 10+ years. While not technically a screener, it's invaluable for deep-dive analysis.
What you get for free: - 10-year financial statements (income, balance sheet, cash flow) - Historical charts for ROE, ROIC, margins, and dozens of other metrics - Revenue and earnings growth visualization - Peer comparisons
Best for: Deep-diving into a company's financial history after you've identified candidates through a screener.
Limitations: Not a screener — you can't filter/rank stocks. Individual company lookup only.
6. TradingView — Best Free Charts + Basic Screening
Price: Free (basic) / $14.95+/mo (Pro) | Website: tradingview.com
TradingView is primarily known for charting but includes a solid stock screener with both fundamental and technical filters.
What you get for free: - Stock screener with 100+ filters - Best-in-class charting tools - Community-shared screening ideas - Global market coverage
Best for: Investors who combine fundamental screening with technical analysis.
Limitations: Free tier has limitations on indicators and alerts, community can be noisy, not focused on value investing.
7. AAII Stock Investor — Best for Guru-Style Screens
Price: Free trial / $49/yr (AAII membership) | Website: aaii.com
AAII (American Association of Individual Investors) offers pre-built screens based on famous investor methodologies, including Buffett, Graham, Lynch, and others.
What you get for free (trial): - 60+ guru-based stock screens - Monthly screen results - Educational content on each methodology
Best for: Learning different investing styles and seeing which stocks pass various guru criteria.
Limitations: Full access requires AAII membership, screens are pre-built (limited customization).
Comparison: Free Features
| Tool | Moat Analysis | Quality Score | Custom Filters | Universe Size | Best For |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Moatifi | ✅ | ✅ | — | 68+ | Moat investing |
| Finviz | ❌ | ❌ | ✅ 70+ | 8,000+ | General screening |
| Yahoo Finance | ❌ | ❌ | ✅ 30+ | 8,000+ | Quick, simple |
| Google Sheets | ❌ | ❌ | ✅ Unlimited | Custom | DIY builders |
| Macrotrends | ❌ | ❌ | ❌ | Individual | Deep research |
| TradingView | ❌ | ❌ | ✅ 100+ | Global | Charts + screens |
| AAII | Partial | Partial | Limited | 8,000+ | Guru strategies |
Our Recommended Free Workflow
Here's how to combine free tools for maximum effectiveness:
1. Start with Moatifi for Quality Candidates
Use Moatifi's screener to identify companies with strong moats, quality management, and attractive economics. This gives you a curated shortlist of the best businesses.
2. Cross-reference with Finviz
Use Finviz to check valuation metrics, analyst estimates, and technical levels for your Moatifi candidates.
3. Deep-dive with Macrotrends
For companies that pass both screens, pull up 10-year historical financials on Macrotrends to verify consistency and trends.
4. Track with Google Sheets
Build a simple watchlist in Google Sheets that tracks prices and your estimated intrinsic values for each candidate.
This workflow costs $0 and gives you institutional-quality analysis.
The Bottom Line
The best stock screener isn't necessarily the most expensive one — it's the one that aligns with your investing philosophy and gives you actionable insights. For Buffett-style investors focused on business quality and competitive advantages, Moatifi provides the most focused, no-cost option available in 2026.