6 Best Free Real-Time Stock Quotes & Charts 2024

The best free real-time charts and quotes tested!

Our tests show the best free real-time quotes and live stock charts are TradingView, Firstrade, TC2000, and Yahoo Finance. Real-time stock quotes cost money, but these companies provide exchange data and charts for free.

We have reviewed and compared hundreds of stock charting software packages over our fourteen years of operation, so you can rest assured that we can recommend something to meet your needs.

6 Best Free Real-time Quotes & Live Stock Charts

TradingView provides the best free real-time charting, quotes, and screening. Firstrade provides real-time data plus commission-free trading in stocks and ETFs. TC2000 provides free BATS exchange data for the US, and Yahoo Finance provides simple live charts during the trading day.Liberated Stock Trader Review & Test Award: Best of 2024.

  1. TradingView: Best Free Real-time Charts & Quotes
  2. TC2000: Fast Live Quotes for US & Canada
  3. Firstrade: Free Quotes & Stock/Options Trades
  4. Yahoo Finance: Simple & Free Real-time Quotes
  5. Robinhood Brokerage: Real-time Broker Quotes & Free Trades on Mobile
  6. MSN Money: Free Real-time Stock Quotes & Basic Charts

Real-time Chart & Quote Apps Compared

Service Tradingview TC2000 Firstrade
🎯 Rating6 Best Free Real-Time Stock Quotes & Charts 2024 - 15 4.8 4.4 4.2
📝 Free Real-time Quotes
📈 Free Real-time Charts
💰 Assets Stocks|FX|Crypto Stocks|Options Stocks|Options|ETFs
🆓 Free Version TradingView Free TC2000 Free Firstrade Free
🌎 Markets Covered Global USA USA
Best Free Real Time Charts
Best Free Real-time Quote & Charts Review & Comparison

Free Real-Time Stock Quotes & Charts

Free real-time stock charts and quotes depend on free data from exchanges. The Better Alternative Trading System (BATS) Exchange provides free real-time stock pricing data for the US. While the stock price quotes are almost identical to other exchanges due to arbitrage, the volume data is significantly lower.

Free real-time data is typically only available for the NYSE, Nasdaq, TSX, and LSE exchanges. For all other exchange data, you need to pay an exchange fee.

If you use free real-time quotes from BATS, your price/volume indicators will not be 100% accurate. Use a paid data package with your charting software if you need accurate day trading data. For longer-term trading BATs, data should be adequate.


1. TradingView: Winner, Best Free Real-time Quotes & Live Charts

TradingView offers free real-time quotes and live charts of stocks supported by the BATs exchange. For real-time streaming quotes from all global exchanges, TradingView charges an industry-low $2/mo for data packages.

TradingView is our recommendation for the best software overall due to its great social integration and ease of use. Includes trading from charts for Europe & Asia + Crypto & Forex.

TradingView Rating6 Best Free Real-Time Stock Quotes & Charts 2024 - 16 4.8/5.0
🏆 Free Features Charts, Trading, News, Watchlists, Screening, Backtesting, App
📝 Free Real-time Quotes
📈 Free Real-time Charts
🎯 Best for Stock, Fx & Crypto Traders
🆓 Free Version TradingView Free
🎮 Premium Trial Free 30-Day
✂ Premium Discount -25% Discount Available
🌎 Markets Covered Global
TradingView Is Our Winner for Best Free Stock Quotes & Charts
TradingView Is Our Winner for Best Free Stock Quotes & Charts
We independently research and recommend the best products. We also work with partners to negotiate discounts for you and may earn a small fee through our links.

TradingView Pros

  • Free Real-time Charts
  • Free Real-time Quotes
  • Easy to use, perfect for beginners
  • Covers Cryptocurrency, Forex, and Stocks Globally
  • Great Stock Screening

TradingView Cons

  • Number of Chart Indicators Restricted to 3 in Free Version

With 10 million active users, TradingView has a large, vibrant user community sharing ideas and strategies. I use TradingView daily to post stock charts and ideas and interact with other traders.

You can have TradingView for free via the Basic plan; it is also the winner of our Premium Subscription Software Review & the prices are reasonable and unlock a lot of extra functionality. If you like TradingView, you can upgrade to PRO for only $10 per month; the benefits include priority customer support and unlimited everything.

How Much Does TradingView Cost?

TradingView pricing starts at $0 for the Basic ad-supported plan, Pro costs $14.95, Pro+ $29.95, and Premium costs $59.95 monthly. Opting for a yearly subscription will reduce those costs by 16%, representing a significant saving.

TradingView runs on PCs, Macs, Tablets, and Smartphones and requires Zero Installation; it simply works.

The Market data is vast, covering nearly all Stock Markets. It includes Stocks, ETF Futures, Foreign Exchange, and bonds, all at no extra cost, which means outstanding value for money and excellent support options.

Also, a huge benefit is that the Data Speed and Coverage are mind-blowing, covering literally every stock market on the planet and not just stocks but ETFs, Mutual Funds, Futures, FOREX, Bonds, and cryptocurrencies at no extra cost.

Free Real-time Quotes, Charts & Scanning

It also has a good fundamental and technical stock, Forex, and Cryptocurrency scanner. TradingView has a very slick system, and they have put a tremendous amount of thought into how Fundamentals Integrate into the analytics system.

Watchlists have fundamentals broken into Performance, Valuation, Dividends, Margin, Income Statement, and Balance Sheet. You can set the watchlist and filters to refresh every minute.

The real-time charts are responsive; the USA markets use the BATS (Better Alternative Trading System). Wherever there is an open free data source, the engineers at TradingView connect to it. The amount of real-time data on offer is astonishing.

Moving Averages Ribbon - Beautifully Implemented In TradingView
Moving Averages, Ribbon Beautifully Implemented In TradingView

Integrated Social Trading Community

TradingView is built with social at the forefront. Fully integrated chat systems and forums are excellent ways to share your drawings and analysis with any group or forum with a single click. This creates a unique way to generate ideas and learn from other traders. You have to try it and see it in action to understand the power of the implementation. They also have a Kiplinger newsfeed, Stocktwits, and various FX newsfeeds for Foreign Exchange Traders.

With over 160 indicators and unique specialty charts such as LineBreak, Kagi, Heikin Ashi, Point & Figure, and Renko, you have everything you need as an advanced trader.

Screenshot: My Real-time Charts & Quotes with TradingView
Screenshot: My Real-time Charts & Quotes with TradingView

What Can I Trade with TradingView?

With TradingView in the USA, you get great broker integration with TradeStation for stocks. It integrates with FXCM and Saxo Group in Europe for currency and CFD trading. You can place trades on charts, taking care of profit and loss reporting and analysis for you.

With TradingView, you can trade stocks and indices globally and all the major and minor foreign exchange currencies. Additionally, one can trade energy, metals, agriculture futures, and major cryptocurrencies.

  • Stocks – tens of thousands of shares; see above for exchange coverage.
  • Forex (FX) Currencies – All the Major, Minor, and Exotic currencies covered
  • Futures – Energy, Metals, Agriculture, Indices, and even Interest Rates
  • Crypto Currencies – 26 including Bitcoin, Ripple, Ethereum, Bitcoin Cash
  • Bonds – 30+ Government Bond Types

Video: Charting With TradingView

Try TradingView For Free


2. TC2000: Fast Live Quotes for US & Canada

TC2000 offers free real-time live quotes for all stocks on the US BATS exchange, but if you need more accurate data, it will cost $12 per month. TC2000 is a review winner for our Premium Stock Market Software Review, so they have an excellent track record in delivering quality services.

TC2000 Rating6 Best Free Real-Time Stock Quotes & Charts 2024 - 16 4.4/5.0
🏆 Free Features Intraday Charts, Indicators, 1 Watchlist, Options Chains, Paper Trading
📝 Free Real-time Quotes
📈 Free Real-time Charts
🎯 Best for US Stock, ETF, and Options Traders
🆓 Free Version Download TC2000 Free
🎮 Premium Trial Free 30-Day
✂ Premium Discount -25% for Bi-Annual Subscription
🌎 Markets Covered Global

TIP: When you download TC2000, ensure you select the free version.

TC2000 Liberated Stock Trader Review Winner
TC2000 Liberated Stock Trader Review Winner

TC2000 Pros

  • Excellent US Customer Support & Training Webinars
  • Free Real-time Charts
  • Free Real-time Quotes
  • Great Selection of Charts & Indicators
  • Options Strategies & Live Trading
  • Real-time Entire Market Scanning

TC2000 Cons

  • No Social Community
  • No Backtesting/Forecasting
  • Exchange Fees Expensive

Worden Brothers has moved the FreeStockCharts.com chartings software directly into the TC2000 service. This is great for you because now you can use the first-class service for free. There are some restrictions, but it still is one of the best on the market.

When you download TC2000, ensure you select the free version.

Stock Charts, Indicators & Drawing Tools

The free service has over 80 stock chart indicators (or studies), which you can apply to the chart; all the popular and exotic indicators are there. You can use different bar types like Japanese Candlesticks and Open, High, Low Close OHLC. 

What is nice is that you can plot trendlines not only on the price data but on all the indicators; this can be very valuable when you become more experienced in technical analysis.

Drawing tools also allow you to use Fibonacci Lines, Fibonacci Fans, and Fibonacci Arcs. The user interface is super simple and effective, with easy access to watchlists and stock scans; you must sign in to access and save your watchlists.

6 Best Free Real-Time Stock Quotes & Charts 2024 - 20
FreeStockCharts.com Powerful & Free Charting

Overall, there is an excellent array of technical indicators and drawing tools; all the big ones are there, from OBV, RSI, and Bollinger Bands to Fibonacci Fans and Andrews Pitchfork. With over 80 different indicators, you will have plenty to play with.

They have also introduced live alerts you can configure to email or pop up if an indicator or trend line is breached. Very useful indeed.

TC200 Real-time Stock Charts

The charts are real-time, and the data comes from BATS, which means the price data is accurate, but the volume data only represents BATS trades. Luckily, you can select whether you want to see only BATS volumes or get an estimate of the broader market volume. The information is free real-time streaming of Price & Volume, and you can go to a granularity of intra-day 1 minute up to 1 year per bar.

Free is great, but the paid version is better; I use Telechart TC2000 to screen, sort, and find winning stocks.

Starting at $9.95 monthly, you will get a full suite of excellent features and end-of-day data.

Get TC2000 Free Version


3. Firstrade: Best Free Quotes & Free Stock Trades

Firstrade is ideal for investors seeking free real-time charts and quotes, zero commissions trading on stocks and options, and an industry-best 2,200 commission-free ETFs. Full MorningStar research access plus a full suite of IRA accounts mean Firstrade is a great choice for brokerage services.

Firstrade Rating6 Best Free Real-Time Stock Quotes & Charts 2024 - 16 4.2/5.0
🏆 Free Features Free Stock, ETFs & Option Trades
📝 Free Real-time Quotes
📈 Free Real-time Charts
🎯 Best for Stock Traders & Investors
🆓 Free Version Yes
🌎 Markets Covered Global

Firstrade Pros

Liberated Stock Trader Review Winner
Best Broker Overall – Zero Fees + Good Platform
  • $0 ZERO Commissions & $0 Fees
  • 2,200+ Commission-Free ETFs
  • Free MorningStar Research
  • Excellent Customer Satisfaction
  • International Broker USA, Europe, Canada & Asia

Firstrade Cons

  • No CFD or Forex
  • No Cryptocurrency
  • Slow Customer Service Responses

Firstrade is still the outright winner in the commissions’ war with a $0 flat fee per trade, $0 per options trade, and $0 per contract. But what adds to the appeal of Firstrade is the 2,200+ commission-free ETFs on offer, much more than any other broker we reviewed.

You can purchase Mutual Funds for $0, and Bond purchases are on a Net Yield Basis. The only thing you cannot trade with Firstrade is Forex.

Trading Platform

Firstrade has rebuilt its trading platform from scratch, and the improvement is dramatic. Gone are clunky Java programs, replaced by a fast HTML 5.0 platform. This platform is future-proofed and highly scalable. The user experience is clean, intuitive, and easy to learn. Also, what we like is its price – Free.

The trading platform has several components. The web-based platform is available for all clients. If you have an account balance over $10,000, you will have complimentary access to download the Firstrade Navigator software; this compelling trading experience runs locally on your PC or Mac.

Heatmap & Sector & Industries Tool

To find a potential opportunity to trade, you can start with the big-picture view of the market and drill down from there. The heatmap is designed for short-term traders who need to see where the price action and volatility are on any given day.

FirsTrade - HeatMap Helps You Find Hot Sectors
FirsTrade – HeatMap Helps You Find Hot Sectors

Alternatively, you can utilize the sectors and industries to evaluate past performance and select a sector to review in depth.

Advanced Screener, Fundamental Data & Event Calendar

No product set would be complete without scanning and screening stocks based on the fundamental data. Firstrade’s attempt at this is pretty good; it does not match the offerings from Stock Rover, but it is adequate for most investors.

A news event calendar is also available, neatly broken into tabs for Earnings Announcements, Dividends, Rating Changes, Economic Indicators, IPOs, and Splits.

OptionsPlay

Firstrade has put a lot of effort into the Options Trading Platform OptionsPlay. A first-class platform that focuses first on what kind of options strategy you want to implement. You can drill down through industries and sectors to instantly get a technical analysis rating for the stock, a bullish or bearish score. You can even sort your watchlist based on the bullish or bearish rating.

Firstrade Optionsplay Ratings
Firstrade Optionsplay Ratings

The image above shows the OptionsPlay Bullish and Bearish Ratings based on bullish, bearish, or neutral scenarios.

  • Strategy 1 – Selling 100 Shares of the stock – A Bearish Strategy – Cost would be $6764 – with a mediocre score of 96 for the trade
  • Strategy 2 – Buy the June 9th Put Options – Bearish – Cost $185 – Low probability Rating of 74
  • Strategy 3 – Buy June 9th Put Vertical – Bearish – Cost $147 – High Probability Rating of 104

I like the implementation here; it is simple and intuitive.

Open a Free Account with Firstrade


4. Yahoo Finance: Simple & Free Real-time Quotes

Yahoo offers real-time quotes through its website, but you must upgrade for accurate data delivery. Yahoo has updated its interactive charting experience; it is a clean experience and full screen, so now it is very good.

Yahoo Finance Rating6 Best Free Real-Time Stock Quotes & Charts 2024 - 16 3.9/5.0
🏆 Free Features Charts, Trading, News, Watchlists, Basic Screening [ad-supported]
📝 Free Real-time Quotes
📈 Free Real-time Charts
🎯 Best for Beginners
🆓 Free Version Yes
🎮 Premium Trial Free 14-Day
🌎 Markets Covered Global

Pros

  • 114 Stock Chart Indicators
  • Watchlist Management
  • Ease of use, perfect for beginners
  • Global Real-time Exchange Data (BATS)
  • Covers Cryptocurrency, Forex, Stocks (limited)
  • Trading From Charts

Cons

  • Workflow is clunky

Yahoo has updated its interactive charting, and it is now a clean experience and runs full screen, so it is very good indeed. With 114 different technical indicators, you are well covered with Yahoo Finance. The interactive charts allow you to draw trendlines, linear regressions, and quadrant lines. Yahoo now provides real-time quotes and charts via the BATS system, a nice new addition.

Yahoo Finance: Free Real-time Quotes
Yahoo Finance: Free Real-time Quotes

Yahoo Finance is working hard to make its charting system a worthy alternative to other free vendors. They have done something innovative also. You can now trade stocks through the Yahoo Finance charts. Yahoo has partnered with “trade.it” to provide an interface to transport trade requests to many mainstream US brokers.

Trading with Yahoo

This means that you can trade stocks with your broker using Yahoo. It is a nice feature, but if you have a brokerage account, you will already have access to real-time data, charts, and quotes and can trade directly with them, so it seems a little redundant.


5. Robinhood: Real-time Broker Quotes & Free Trades on Mobile

Robinhood provides good real-time broker quotes but lacks powerful functional chart technical analysis. Robin Hood is a commission-free broker with a $0 account minimum. You can sign up for Robinhood and access the free stock charts and real-time quotes.

The only downside is that you cannot do any serious stock analysis using Robinhood. Because it is a mobile-first company, the interface is limited to the size of your phone.

Robinhood Rating6 Best Free Real-Time Stock Quotes & Charts 2024 - 16 3.9/5.0
🏆 Free Features Charts, Trading, News, Watchlists
📝 Free Real-time Quotes
📈 Free Real-time Charts
🎯 Best for Beginners
🆓 Free Version Yes
🌎 Markets Covered USA
The Simple & Effective Design of the Robinhood App
The Simple & Effective Design of the Robinhood App

Pros

  • Full Brokerage Service
  • $0 Account Minimum
  • $0 Commissions
  • Clean App

Cons

  • Basic Charts
  • Mobile Only

Free Trades, Quotes & Chart on Mobile

Free trading refers to $0 commissions for Robinhood Financial self-directed individual cash or margin brokerage accounts that trade US-listed securities via mobile devices. Robinhood is a mobile-first company; if you trade from your smartphone on the major US-listed stocks, then the trades are free.

The account minimum is $0, but you will need money to trade.

Robinhood started only as a stock trading app on the phone, not a fully-fledged trading platform. You must do everything via the phone, including opening, funding, and trading.

The charts are free and real-time intraday but severely limited in functionality due to the smartphone’s form factor and the design choices the company has made.

While Robinhood was the pioneer of free stock trades and had a loyal following of supporters and customers, the impetus of the value offering has now dissolved with the move of Firstrade into this market.

Regarding free stock trades, both Firstrade and Robinhood are more or less equal. But it is not just about free trades.

Regarding a robust stock and options trading platform, Firstrade is leagues ahead. When we think about research and customer support, Firstrade wins hands down. Firstrade’s move is an industry disruptor and game-changer.


6. MSN Money: Free Real-time Stock Quotes & Basic Charts

MSN Money’s free charting provides a nice user experience with news, recommendations, and integrated watchlists. It might look nice, but real insights and stock charting power have been removed. 

Robinhood Rating6 Best Free Real-Time Stock Quotes & Charts 2024 - 16 2.7/5.0
🏆 Free Features Charts, Buy & Sell Signals, News, Watchlists, Financials
📝 Free Real-time Quotes
📈 Free Real-time Charts
🎯 Best for Beginners
🆓 Free Version MSN Money Free
🌎 Markets Covered Global

Pros

  • Free Real-time Stock Quotes
  • Free Real-time Charts
  • Clean Interface
  • Watchlist Management

Cons

  • No Indicators
  • No Trendlines
  • No Screener

The stock screener is gone and is replaced with buy and sell recommendations, which are meaningless if you do not understand the methodology behind the recommendations.

The MSN Money charting software is poor. The lack of trendlines, moving averages, OBV, and index overlay mark it down profoundly. However, you can get real-time stock quotes, charts, and a newsfeed with a free membership.

Free Real-Time Stock Charts & Quotes Summary

Real-time data, quotes, and charts are free with TradingView, Firstrade, TC2000, and Yahoo Finance, but free real-time data is not 100% accurate. The BATs exchange provides free quotes, but the volume data is inaccurate; if you need perfect data, you must pay the requisite exchange data fee.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is a real-time stock quote?

A real-time stock quote is a stream of stock pricing data delivered in sub-minute increments. High volumes of stock trades or large block trades impact a stock's price, so active traders must have real-time quotes to update their chart for better decision-making.

What are the fastest free real-time stock charts?

Having compared the speeds of many free stock chart quotes, we confirm TradingView offers the fastest free real-time data, with 1-minute charts updating every 2 seconds and a live Depth of Market (DOM) table.

Are Yahoo stock quotes real-time?

Yahoo stock quotes are real-time to an accuracy of one minute. You can see Yahoo quotes through a 1-minute stock chart, which updates the stock price every 20-30 seconds.

Are Google stock quotes real-time?

Google Finance stock quotes are not real-time, although many US stock charts update every 1 to 3 minutes on a one-day chart. Additionally, the Google Finance charts are not dynamic and frequently updating. Try TradingView for faster, free real-time chart quotes.

How to get real-time stock quotes?

TradingView, Firstrade, TC2000, and Yahoo Finance offer free real-time stock quotes. TradingView provides the fastest free quotes, but if you want tick-by-tick super-fast real-time charts, you will need to pay for data from exchanges.

Are Finviz stock quotes delayed or real-time?

The free version of Finviz provides all stock quotes delayed up to 15 minutes. However, Finviz Elite offers real-time quotes across all charts and screeners for $23/mo.

Does Nasdaq.com provide real-time stock quotes?

Nasdaq.com does provide real-time stock quotes to its very basic set of charts. Nasdaq also lets you see the last five real-time trades, e.g., the size of the trade and trade price. However, you will need to keep pressing F5 to refresh your browser for the data to be updated.

Are there any sites that give real-time stock quotes?

There are two websites that provide real-time stock quotes and charts. TradingView.com provides fast, free quotes every second, and Finance.Yahoo.com's real-time quotes update every 20-30 seconds.

What is the best stock app for real-time quotes?

Out of the 40 stock apps we have tested for iPhone and IOS, the best stock app for real-time quotes is the 5-star-rated TradingView. The TradingView chart has live data streaming to your phone.

4 COMMENTS

  1. Hi Thomas, as I mentioned at the beginning of the article.
    “Providing free real-time stock charts depends on the availability of free data from exchanges. The Better Alternative Trading System (BATS) Exchange provides free real-time stock pricing data for the U.S. While the stock quotes are almost identical to other exchanges due to arbitrage, the volume data is significantly lower.

    This means if you use free real-time quotes from BATS your Price Volume indicators will not be as accurate. You should preferably use a paid data package with your charting vendor.”

    Tradingview offers free real-time data for
    Currencies, CFDs, Crypto, CBOE BTX, CSE, NEO (Equities Exchange), Moscow MOEX, KRX, NSE India and TFEX.
    For NYSE and NASDAQ, there is a nominal $2 per month and you need the PRO service at $12 per month

    Thanks

  2. Does Trading View platform ‘really’ provide ‘REAL TIME’ data on charts ‘GLOBALLY’ even for the FREE version?

  3. FGor real time you have to go tradingview, but TC2000 is also great I have both, thanksfor the review, appreciate

  4. I just signed up for Tradingview, I even went to the PRO+, it is fantastic, thanks for the effort, it even has great screeners

Comments are closed.