Technical analysis software is a trading tool that lets you study historical prices in order to predict how they will move. These platforms can be used for every type of market (forex, shares, stock indices, commodities, crypto…). Although there are many stock market programs for technical analysis, they do not all offer the same features.
Getting good results on the stock market takes time, learning and skill. To understand the market and how it works so you can make gains, technical analysis software is a trader’s best ally. To use it, simply download and install it. Here is how:
Download and Install MetaTrader 4
To download and install MetaTrader 4, you first need to choose the broker you will trade with. To download and install the software, simply:
Go to the MetaTrader 4 website and click “Free Download” to download the software for free
Enter your personal details, then click “Accept“
Once that is done, click the MetaTrader 4 icon that appears on your desktop to access the platform
Once you have completed all these steps, you can start using the platform. If you wish, you can also link the platform to your trading account for better performance.
How to Download and Install MetaTrader 5
Downloading the MetaTrader 5 technical analysis software lets you analyse the market and understand how it works. This makes it easier to gauge your chances of making gains or losses. To start trading with this platform, here is a tutorial to install it:
Go to the MetaTrader 5 website and click “Download MetaTrader 5“; depending on your device, you can download it for PC, iOS or mobile
Open your device’s downloads folder, then double-click the mt5 setup file
Approve the installation
Accept the terms of use by clicking “Next“
You can now open an account to access all the platform’s features
How to Download and Install ProRealTime
To use ProRealTime and get the most out of what it offers, it is recommended that you download and install it. Here is how:
Go to the ProRealTime website and click “Download“
Choose your device type below the search bar, then click “Download“
Once that is done, you can choose which account to open for trading
Best Stock Market Analysis Software
Technical analysis programs differ from one another in their features, strengths and weaknesses. Although there are many trading platforms, a few have made it to the top of the rankings. They fall into two groups.
Technical analysis software for trading and analysis lets you act on the market on several levels. Traders can invest while following market prices. This category includes many programs, namely:
MetaTrader 4 (MT4)
MetaTrader 4 is free technical analysis software for trading CFDs and forex. It gives speculators access to the markets so they can invest and place orders to make gains. Thanks to its interface, the MetaTrader 4 platform lets you place orders and analyse the financial markets while keeping track of the transactions on your trading account.
Easy to use, this free forex technical analysis software suits all types of traders, from beginners to professionals. Many brokers have adopted the MetaTrader 4 trading platform because of its effectiveness. With its many advanced trading tools, it ranks among the best on the financial markets.
Thanks to its many features, several brokers use it to offer their clients quality services that meet their expectations. Vantage, Axi, eToro and IG Markets are among the brokers offering the platform to their traders.
This free stock analysis software is among the best because of its many advantages.
The MT4 platform has many strengths, but also a few weaknesses.
Pros
Cons
Free software download
Online access without downloading
Compatible with Apple, Windows, Android and Linux
Available on tablet, mobile and computer
Easy-to-produce analysis and charts
History of open positions available for reviewing performance
Access to a user forum for explanations on unclear points
Unable to adjust traders’ strategy when the market reverses
Products limited by the broker’s offering
Available on Mac only with Admiral Markets
Mainly suited to forex trading
Mainly suited to forex trading
Charts are hard to handle
Software hard to use for beginners
MetaTrader 5 (MT5)
MetaTrader 5 is online trading and technical analysis software for investing in the stock, forex and futures markets. This all-in-one platform is designed to meet traders’ expectations by offering a brokerage service with the best analysis tools.
The platform supports many order types, including market orders, pending orders and trailing stops, so you can invest and trade the financial markets as effectively as possible. It also lets you open more than 100 charts of currencies, quotes and shares.
Many brokers, such as FXCM, IC Markets and Vantage, offer the platform to their clients. They get access to the 80 comprehensive technical analysis tools available on the platform. These tools make trading easier and help clients make the best trades at the right time.
MT5 can be used from any browser and operating system. Its many features are available not only online but also in the app. The MetaTrader 5 interface therefore lets traders carry out all their tasks.
The MT5 stock analysis app is known for its high level of security. As well as giving quick access to your trading account in just a few clicks, it offers many more advantages.
Like any technical analysis software, it has strengths and weaknesses.
Pros
Cons
Available on several devices: Windows, Mac, Android, PC, tablet and smartphone
Access to several stock markets
Simplified, easy-to-use interface
Fast connection to the trading server
More in-depth market display
Fast execution of orders and trades
Stable software and website
Order book and economic calendar available to better manage your trading
Compatible with trading robots
Clearer history of all orders placed
More precise and effective time frames
Hedging mode available to cover positions
Hard to use for beginners
Fairly complex chart handling
Share CFD trading more accessible
Suited to professional traders
NetDania
NetDania is trading software that provides live prices on more than 20,000 instruments. On the market since 1999, this Danish company is available on many devices, including tablets, PCs and smartphones.
The interface has a simple, smooth design and gives traders quotes on more than 10,000 assets. It also lets you speculate on stock index and commodity markets. You can access the software for free by filling in a form with your email address and a password.
NetStation, the app’s technical analysis software, stands out for its very comprehensive charting and choice of indicators. It lets you customise your analysis. For example, you can draw trend lines or chart patterns with configurable options. You can also create watchlists.
This app, which is not very well known to the general public, not only gives traders access to many assets but also makes navigation easy. However, these are not its only strengths. That said, although the software has many strengths, it also has a few weaknesses you should know about before committing.
Pros
Cons
View quotes, charts and news feeds
Customise the news you follow
Set up news alerts
Live quotes for all currencies
Customisable technical analysis indicators
Free download
Real-time data
Although NetDania is a comprehensive platform, it also has shortcomings
Hard to get to grips with at first
Not suitable for trading beginners
Real-time data sometimes inaccurate
Lag between pieces of information
xStation
xStation is a web-based trading platform compatible with Mac and PC. Its interface is easy to understand, and its tools allow in-depth analysis of the financial markets. Owned by the broker XTB, this analysis software lets you open a free demo account to practise trading.
This way, beginners can try out all the markets without taking any risk. xStation gives access to all financial products, so it places no limits on investors. However, the platform has both strengths and weaknesses.
Pros
Cons
Active tracking of market moves
View other platform clients’ positions
Economic calendar
Risk management under control
Built-in calculator
Drawing tools
More than 10 technical indicators
Real-time market movement data
Charts available in landscape for better readability
Easy to use
Mainly beneficial for traders registered with XTB
Interface very slow at times
Complex terms and conditions
cTrader
This analysis software was the first platform to offer forex traders three types of market depth (order book). First, standard depth shows all the aggregated quotes from liquidity providers.
This feature helps traders get used to the dynamics of the financial markets. Next comes price depth, which shows the available liquidity for each product price. Third, there is VWAP (volume-weighted average price) depth, which displays the average of the different prices traded over a given period.
cTrader is a simple, easy-to-use platform. With its intuitive interface, it suits all types of traders. This technical analysis software has many features and training resources to help you improve your trading strategies and make more gains on the market.
It is worth noting that this trading and stock analysis tool also offers other advantages, including:
Pros
Cons
Ability to place limit, stop and market orders
26 time frames and 6 different levels available for trading charts
All technical analysis tools available (oscillators, trend indicators, volatility measures…)
Customisable analysis indicators
Automated trading with cAlgo
Mirror trading available with cMirror
More than 7,000 securities continuously analysed by Trading Central
Access via mobile and web
Brokerage fees too high
Complex regulation
Unfavourable leverage in some countries
Limited profitability for investors
ProRealTime
ProRealTime is trading software suited to long-term stock market investors. In free mode or with a live account, the platform gives access to the entire global market, namely shares, futures, indices, bonds and ETFs. An impressive list of assets is available to traders to help them increase their percentage of winning trades.
Voted best trading platform by rankia.com in 2020, the platform offers many advanced trading tools to make understanding the market and investing easier. Trading on the platform is also very simple. To access it, you just need to open an account with a partner broker, such as Interactive Brokers or IG Markets.
For now, these two brokers are the only ones offering the platform. However, they are quite different, so you need to take each one’s conditions into account to get the most out of this technical analysis software.
To trade futures and shares, Interactive Brokers is recommended. Experienced traders can, however, try IG, although it carries many risks because of its leverage and index CFDs.
ProRealTime has an interface with both strengths and weaknesses, so it is important to understand them before you start using it. Traders really like this software for its many advantages. But like everything, it also has a few drawbacks.
Pros
Cons
Chart analysis tools for trading the markets
An impressive number of financial instruments covered
An unlimited free version giving access to almost every feature
Free real-time data with some brokers
Real-time subscriptions available without having to trade
Automated trading available
Trading history analysis to develop new strategies
Real-time trend monitoring
More refined data with the premium version
Easily reachable customer service
Software suited only to technical analysis, not fundamental analysis
No quick, effective strategy tools in the free version
Brokerage fees too high with some ProRealTime partner brokers
Software for Analysis Only
TradingView
Entirely web-based, TradingView is also stock analysis software. As well as being a cloud charting platform, it is perfectly suited to all types of traders, from experts to beginners. TradingView is the benchmark for chart analysis because it offers users a wide range of customisable indicators and chart types.
You can also design your own indicators on the platform thanks to its powerful scripting language. Beyond these features, the free real-time technical analysis software TradingView offers much more.
Like MT4 and MT5, the TradingView platform has strengths and weaknesses.
Pros
Cons
Customisable and flexible
An excellent user experience
A large collection of technical indicators
Ability to build and test custom trading robots
A free plan giving access to several features
All financial products available (currency pairs, crypto, indices…)
Extended trading hours
Part of a community of traders
Recognition of different candlestick types
Limited chart layouts
Insufficient data for extended trading hours
Very slow data transfer
To get the most out of the platform’s features, traders have to subscribe to the paid plans offered by the company.
ZoneBourse
ZoneBourse is one of France’s leading online financial media platforms. It owes this status to its expertise in processing financial data. Now a go-to resource for many active investors, this free stock technical analysis software offers a wide range of features.
As well as being a benchmark for stock market news, ZoneBourse has other advantages. But unlike the others, the free ZoneBourse technical analysis software does not offer traders many possibilities. It has quite a few shortcomings when it comes to speculation.
Pros
Cons
Innovative decision tools such as MarketScreener
Fundamental analysis of various influential listed companies
Global coverage
Real-time portfolios with SMS or email alerts
Technical indicators
Video streaming and live quotes on more than 25 markets
Brokerage offers for ProRealTime Trading
Interactive Brokers brokerage offer
Real-time portfolio tracker
Limited number of accessible markets
Limited number of indicators
Complex platform to use
Too many ads
App available only on iPad and iPhone
Investing
One of the distinctive features of the Investing platform is its coverage of 300,000 financial instruments. It is technical analysis software for the financial markets, offering real-time data, stock technical analysis tools, charts and other features that can help traders. Investing is also one of the best stock technical analysis programs thanks to its many features:
These are not Investing’s only strengths. The platform has many more advantages.
Pros
Cons
Completely free software
Features accessible to all types of traders
Free custom portfolio
Personalised real-time alerts
Built-in calculators
Analysis of more than 300 exchanges
Platform available in 44 languages
Analysis of options, commodities, financial quotes, interest rates, ETFs…
Available on Android and iOS
One-stop shop for investors and traders alike
Built-in tools for a career as an institutional investor, individual investor, active day trader or financial adviser
No social engagement
Too many ads on the interface
Large amount of information to analyse
Limited interaction with its community
Waldata
Waldata is a benchmark for technical analysis in France. With its ability to build trading strategies, its publications and its newsletters, the platform is a pillar of the stock market. It provides users with powerful market analysis tools to better spot future opportunities.
On the market for more than thirty years, the company has kept its primary goal of teaching traders about the stock market. To do so, it offers clients a whole range of methods that let them progress at their own pace. This reliable software lets you analyse the market so you can invest at the right time.
Thanks to its alerts feature, it stands out from the competition. Waldata is very popular in France because of its many strengths and features. However, although this software is very useful for analysis, it also has a few weaknesses.
Pros
Cons
Real-time chart data with visual assistance
Built-in calculator to find the ideal timing to enter the market
Stock analysis software is essential for improving your market experience. It lets you follow market prices in real time, deepen your trading skills and make gains. To make the most of it, you can use free stock technical analysis software on Mac or on any other device. The table below shows which devices each program can be downloaded on.
For a very long time, traders have used stock analysis tools to monitor the market and identify good opportunities. These tools aim to study and anticipate the movements of financial products before placing an order. There is a wide variety of programs available, each with its own features and characteristics.
Charts
Stock charts show the price fluctuations of financial assets, that is, how they change over time. Chart analysts and traders use this information to find trading signals about future price movements in the markets. There are 3 types of charts for analysing prices on the stock market. To find out more, we recommend reading our article on the top 10 trading platforms.
Support and resistance are the cornerstones of technical analysis. These price levels considerably increase the likelihood of seeing an asset’s price rise or fall.
Support is a price level that tends to stop or slow a price decline. These areas are considered favourable for a resumption of an upward move. Buyers use them as entry points into the market.
Resistance is simply the opposite of support: a price level that tends to stop or slow a price rise. These levels are considered favourable for falling prices or a resumption of downward moves. Sellers use them as entry points into the market.
Trend Lines
A trend line is a sloping line, descending or ascending, that investors draw based on price movements in the markets. Trend lines are used to clearly identify the underlying trend of a financial product and can be used on many different time frames. If the trend line is rising, the trend is bullish; if it is falling, the trend is bearish.
To follow charts in real time, traders can choose between an arithmetic scale and a logarithmic scale.
The arithmetic scale shows price history using a linear scale. This way, if a share goes from 1 to 10 euros over a given period, its change appears the same as that of a share going from 9 to 10 euros. On an arithmetic chart, price levels are absolute and percentages do not count.
The logarithmic scale takes percentages into account. It gives you a different long-term view of stock charts.
Moving Averages
Moving averages are the best-known technical indicators among traders. They let you follow the trend of a financial product in real time while filtering out market excesses. A moving average is the sum of an asset’s prices over a defined period divided by the number of periods.
The moving average helps you gauge dynamic support and resistance levels on a stock chart. It can also indicate the product’s trend.
Technical Indicators
A technical indicator is a tool for analysing stock charts. There are several types of indicators.
Trend indicators help identify the underlying trend in the markets, which can be bearish or bullish.
The technical oscillator (a technical indicator) gives a more precise view of investor behaviour in the markets. It also helps traders determine market trends and likely trend reversal zones, and it provides market entry signals.
Retracements and Speedlines
During trading sessions, financial markets always move in two phases: acceleration phases and consolidation phases. The latter is also called a retracement and is generally measured in 10% steps. Retracements help assess the state of an ongoing trend and identify support and resistance levels. They give many trading signals to investors who follow the trend.
Speedlines work in the same way as retracements, except that they are based on trend lines.
Dow Theory
Dow theory is based on studying the highest peaks and lowest troughs formed by the movements of financial assets. According to Dow theory, the significance of peaks and troughs depends on their position relative to the market’s previous peak and trough.
A simple market analysis based on Dow’s concept gives any beginner the chance to understand how market prices move.
Volume measures the number of securities traded on the market over a set period. The information volume provides sheds light on future market moves. It helps you understand the strength of a move (momentum), assess the quality of a trend or confirm breakouts through support and resistance zones.
Volume is very important for analysing stock charts correctly. It is a tool you must understand and master to make better trading decisions.
Most Japanese candlestick signals indicate trend reversals. However, some candlestick patterns indicate continuation moves. Several of these patterns show that the market often needs to correct before continuing its trend. Here are 4 types of continuation candlestick patterns:
Upside and downside tasuki gap
Rising or falling three methods
Mat hold pattern
Bullish and bearish separating lines
Reversal Candlestick Patterns
Analysts watch for chart clues that may confirm a reversal of the market or of the current trend. Reversal patterns are a set of these significant clues. A trend reversal signal means the current trend is very likely to change, though not necessarily to reverse. Here are some examples of reversal patterns:
Hammer and hanging man
Engulfing patterns
Harami
Piercing line/dark cloud cover
Morning star and evening star
Three white soldiers and three black crows
Upside gap two crows
Inverted hammers or shooting stars
Continuation Chart Patterns
Continuation chart patterns show signs that the current trend will continue. They appear after market correction phases and increase the chances that the bullish or bearish trend will carry on. The best-known patterns are flags, triangles and pennants.
Trend Reversal Chart Patterns
These patterns signal the end of one trend and the start of a new one. In an uptrend, a reversal pattern predicts the end of the upward move and the start of a downtrend.
Conversely, in a downtrend, a reversal pattern signals the end of the downtrend and the arrival of an uptrend. The best-known chart patterns are wedges, head and shoulders, rounding tops and rounding bottoms, double bottoms, and V-bottoms and V-tops.
Gaps
A gap is the difference between an asset’s closing price in one session and its opening price in the next. Traders use gaps in technical analysis on the basis that the closing price before the gap acts as support when prices fall. Conversely, if the asset rises, gaps act as resistance for the price.
Market News
Market news keeps everyone informed of the latest developments in real time so they can anticipate their impact on the market. Market news forecasts help you know the most relevant upcoming events, such as presidential elections, speeches by central bank leaders, Brexit decisions and macroeconomic statistics, and get expert opinions. Experience allows analysts to properly assess the influence of the fundamental factors that affect stock markets.
A market scanner is a computer program designed to detect signals that match your investment strategy on the configured asset and time frame, all in a matter of seconds. When it finds a signal, it notifies you with a sound or visual alert or by email. You no longer need to look for setups on the charts: the scanner does it for you.
It takes care of the screening and does it very quickly. With a scanner, you can analyse many markets several times a day as needed to spot the setups that match your trading plan.
Investors no longer need to waste time looking for setups all day long. There is no need to spend hours watching charts in the hope of finding an interesting setup. Investors who prepare their trading plans without scanning the market waste precious time looking for favourable opportunities.
The scanner also provides investors and traders with data on market volatility. It then compares it with data from previous periods to find relevant trading signals. It shows the most volatile financial products of the day in real time to help investors find the best buying or selling opportunities on the financial markets.
Economic Calendar
The economic calendar is a schedule showing all the major economic or political events likely to influence currency or share prices. With the economic calendar, you can know the dates and times of upcoming major events in advance and anticipate the effects of announcements to predict an acceleration or reversal of trends.
It lets traders and investors follow the most important news that could affect the financial markets. The calendar lets you filter the news and sort events by importance, region, country or currency pair concerned.
It is recommended to follow calendar events in order to anticipate the best upcoming opportunities. On a market calendar, you can find events such as:
Earnings announcements: this information is followed by the vast majority of traders and therefore has a huge influence on price movements.
Interest rates: they are set by each country’s central bank and strongly affect the national currency and the entire forex market. When interest rates rise, the country’s currency strengthens; when they fall, the currency loses value.
Employment and unemployment: these events concern the number of people in work or unemployed in a country. Data is published for each country, except in the eurozone, where the published data affects the whole European area. When the number of unemployed people rises, the currency loses value, and when the unemployment rate falls, the currency appreciates.
Other, less impactful events can also be found in a market calendar.
The economic calendar displays news in the order it is published, in real time. To make things easier for investors, three categories of data are shown: the previous value, the forecast and the actual published value. In general, it is not the news itself that matters, but how it compares with the forecasts.
Live Analysis
Live analysis is a session dedicated to presenting the main trading instruments. Experts explain chart analysis methods, chart patterns and Fibonacci trading tools for beginners and professionals. It also covers the analysis of trading assets such as the major currency pairs, other currencies and stock indices like the CAC 40, the DAX 40, the Dow Jones and the Nasdaq 100.
To increase their chances of making gains and turning a profit, traders need to be able to recognise the attributes of good stock market analysis software. Five key features define high-performing software.
Chart Display
This feature is very important for stock analysis software. It lets traders become familiar with the different ways of charting volumes and prices so they can use them better. That said, this feature is available in most analysis software.
Real-Time Market Data
All technical analysis software for trading must have this feature in order to provide real-time prices and quotes from the financial markets. A good trader needs to be able to see all live market prices easily and instantly.
Placing orders and moving money make up the vast majority of a trader’s daily actions. As a result, an active day trader necessarily needs technical analysis software that provides fast transactions accessible from the trading platform.
Fees
The brokerage fees involved in using free technical analysis software directly affect an investor’s returns. It is therefore recommended to make sure they are as low as possible on your trading platform.
Availability
Another key point is the software’s availability on different devices. Before adopting free technical analysis software, you should first check its compatibility with existing operating systems. It must be accessible on the trader’s device (Windows 10, Mac, Linux, Android and iOS) so they can use it anywhere, at any time.
How to Choose Stock Market Software
Choosing your trading and analysis software is a crucial step. If taken lightly, it could affect a trader’s career. That is why investors should consider certain criteria before deciding which software they will use to start or continue their journey.
To succeed in trading, the platform a trader uses needs to have almost every feature. It must allow the investor to trade both manually and automatically. The software must also have all the technical and fundamental analysis tools, such as indicators, drawing tools, charts and all the other essential instruments.
It is also essential that the platform gives the trader access to most financial products, or at least those they are interested in.
What the Trader Expects
Not all free stock technical analysis software meets a trader’s expectations, as their features differ from one another. For this reason, traders should assess their needs before choosing their software. For example, they can take into account their investment style and the financial instruments they trade.
Investing in forex does not have the same requirements as the CFD market. Likewise, a long-term trader will use different features from someone who takes short-term positions. It is therefore essential to consider your expectations before adopting free stock charting software, as this limits the risk of losses.
Advanced Decision-Making Tools
To make decision-making easier for traders, the best stock technical analysis software must have several advanced tools, for example charts, technical indicators, display time frames and tools for drawing shapes and lines on a chart.
All these settings let traders refine their analysis to make the best choice. The app or platform should also provide analysis and decision-support tools for each market.
Software Available Online and as a Download
For one reason or another, a trader may find themselves unable to access their platform from a computer. It is therefore important that free technical analysis software is also available as a downloadable smartphone app. This makes it easier to monitor open positions and limit losses.
What Is Stock Technical Analysis Software?
Free stock technical analysis software is a platform that gives access to many of the functions a trader needs to fine-tune their analysis. In general, it should include specific trading tools such as drawing tools and technical indicators.
How Much Does Stock Analysis Software Cost?
Downloading stock market software for technical analysis is free and gives free access to several trading features. However, some offer paid plans for more advanced use of the tools. In most cases, the commissions charged by the broker per open position are added to these fees.
Technical analysis helps detect trends and recurring patterns that form in the markets. This information is essential for investors who want to predict price fluctuations effectively. Technical analysis tools make it possible to pinpoint the best entry and exit points with great precision.
Moreover, stock analysis tools have become so widespread that many believe they are self-fulfilling. Because many investors use the same tools to identify support and resistance zones, they react in the same way, which inevitably makes current trends continue.
Drawbacks of Technical Analysis
Past price movements do not guarantee future changes. Many unpredictable factors can influence stock markets. As a result, no analysis method can predict price movements with 100% accuracy. Stock charts show how prices have moved in the past, but not how they will move in the future.
In addition, investors have to use a large number of technical analysis tools to gain more certainty before taking a position. They also need to put a risk management strategy in place to protect themselves during unfavourable market periods.
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