MetaStock Review & Test: Charting, Backtesting, News, Pricing

Best for traders who need excellent real-time news, exceptional technical analysis backtesting & forecasting + a vast stock systems marketplace with global data coverage, all backed up with excellent customer service.

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The previous release of Metastock XVI was a big hit with improvements with considerable improvements in Scanning, Back Testing, and Forecasting, making this one of the best offerings on the market.  MetaStock XVII adds on to this legacy of continual improvement.

What is MetaStock?

MetaStock is a stock market technical analysis and charting service with over 600 types of charts and indicators. MetaStock allows charting of Stocks, ETFs, Indices, Bonds & Currencies. MetaStock has industry-leading stock backtesting & forecasting capabilities. The MetaStock Refinitiv add-on service provides realtime news and financial fundamental screening.

Pricing and Software ★★★★★

To understand the pricing, you need to know that you can purchase MetaStock with Datalink, the data provider, or you can purchase a real-time subscription or even my preferred choice, which is MetaStock + Refinitiv Xenith.  Why do you need Refinitiv Xenith? Because it is the premium stock market and financial markets research tool and includes a real-time news platform powered by Thomson Reuters.

MetaStock by itself starts at $69 per month, which unlocks the end-of-day data package. As you will see, that is an excellent combination of award-winning technical analysis and expert advisors for system backtesting, forecasting, and analysis.

MetaStock is designed only for the PC but can be run on Mac with PC emulation software.  You will need to download and install MetaStock and configure your specific data feeds for the markets you want to trade.  So the software installation is not as slick and quick as competitors, but the package is potent because it enables you to configure different data providers, like your broker, for example.

MetaStock has a clean sweep in terms of Stock Exchanges covered (e.g., all of them), and it covers all of the vehicles, Stocks, ETF’s Mutual Funds, Options, Futures Forex, and Bonds.

MetaStock is one of the biggest fish in the sea of stock market analysis software.  Backed up by the mighty Thomson Reuters, you can expect excellent fast global data coverage and broad market coverage.  There are two other packages below; having reviewed the Refinitiv Xenith application, I would recommend the MetaStock + Refinitiv Xenith option ensure you have the real-time news package with MetaStock. 

MetaStock R/T – with Reuters Real-Time Data. $99 per month

This package is a fully-functional version of MetaStock R/T (real-time) charting and analysis software that is designed for real-time market analysis.  It is powered by Refinitiv XENITH, so you get Reuters real-time news, data, and analysis

MetaStock R/T Subscription with Refinitiv XENITH. $199 per month

This service is also a fully-functional version of MetaStock R/T charting and analysis software that is designed for real-time market analysis and is powered Refinitiv XENITH; the key difference is it provides streaming data on any time frame including tick, intraday, daily, weekly, etc.

MetaStock with it’s Thomson Reuters Refinitiv Xenith News service integration is worth the money just for the news service, but it is so much more than just news.  See in the News section below what Xenith can do.

MetaStock Discount Code

We work with MetaStock as a partner and have a special 3 months for the price of 1 offer for our readers.

Special Discount Code Link.

MetaStock Refinitiv Xenith / Eikon News, Charts & Analysis Overview Video

Trade Management ★★★✩✩

MetaStock does not provide broker integration or the execution of trades from charts and live integrated P&L analysis is limited; this is definitely an area of improvement for the future.  Where MetaStock excels is providing stock trading systems to provide signals and powerful technical analysis.  MetaStock has chosen to always remain broker agnostic, this means you will need to enter your trades into a brokers platform independently.

Scanning and Screening ★★★★★

As  I mentioned, MetaStock is owned by Thomson Reuters, who are, without a doubt, the biggest and best provider of real-time news and market analysis.  They also have an incredible database of global fundamental data, not just on companies but countries, economies, and industries.

The filtering and scanning possibilities are endless. I would like to see better integration within the MetaStock suite, bringing together the fundamentals and the technical analysis to enable better charting and technical analysis on fundamentals. However, the wealth of data is first class.

Using Refinitiv Xenith, you can see an in-depth analysis of company fundamentals from debt structure to top 10 investors, including level II market liquidity.  Excellent watch lists featuring fundamentals and powerful scanning of the markets gets a perfect 10

MetaStock + Refinitiv News & Social ★★★★★

News Service.

MetaStock has full Refinitiv Xenith (previously Eikon) integration with institutional level news, analysis, and outlook.  This is the fastest global news service available on the market, including translations into all major languages.  Reuters also provides TV news coverage through smartphone and smart TV applications; it is, after all, the largest news agency in the world.  Along with the package, you get Reuters Insider alerts, which are exclusive content and research provided by the expert analysts on the financial network team.

Special News Features.

Core features include detailed financial snapshots of a company.  In the image below, you see the Refinitiv Xenith Streaming News Screen for Netflix (Ticker: NFLX).  Take a look at the attention to detail here and the amount of original news coming in from the Reuters Network; you will get this news before anyone else.  Included in Refinitiv Xenith, you also get stock quotes, charts, detailed Analyst Estimates, and a full listing of all financial details and SEC filings, complete with upcoming events listings, so you are prepared for action.  Thomson Reuters, as you can imagine, covers everything, including stock, options, bonds, futures, FX, and macroeconomic news and data.  An unparalleled source of information.

MetaStock Refinitiv Xenith – News & Research Software Platform

The platform itself is straightforward to use as MetaStock has emphasized the user experience and workflow.  You can have multiple workspaces for multiple monitors and save each workspace seamlessly for reuse.  Of course, the software is available on all devices, from PCs to smartphones and TVs.

Thomson Reuters, the king of the real-time newsfeed and global market data coverage, is the owner of MetaStock, so you get the entire wealth of knowledge included in the package.  This should not be underestimated.

MetaStock, however, does not have any social elements, which under normal circumstances, would detract from the score; however, because the news feeds are so strong, it warranted still a 10 out of 10.

Technical Analysis ★★★★★

Forex forecasting based on sentiment is an exceptional feature.  Never mind the broadest selection of technical analysis indicators on the market today. MetaStock is the king of technical analysis, warranting a perfect 10.

MetaStock takes a clean sweep when it comes to Charting covering all the core chart types, but also includes Point & Figure, Equivolume, and Market Profile charts.  When it comes to indicators, MetaStock has 300+ different types, including Darvas Box and Ichimoku Cloud.  MetaStock will also help you develop your indicators based on their coding system.

Finally, MetaStock racks up a perfect score on the drawing tools section, which includes Gann and Fibonacci tools.

Systems and Backtesting ★★★★✩

Another area where MetaStock excels is what they call the expert advisors.  MetaStock harnesses a massive amount of inbuilt systems that will help you, as a beginner or intermediate trader, understand and profit from technical analysis patterns and well-researched systems.  This is a crucial area of advantage.

As you launch MetaStock, you will be presented with the power console.  This enables you to select what you want to do quickly.  Select System Test, and you will have access to 58 different systems you can backtest.  In the example below, I selected the Equis – MACD Expert System, and I ran in on the entire Nasdaq 100.

After 60 seconds backtest completed and presented me with a list of every buy or sell trade and, of course, the drawdown on the portfolio chart that you can see above.  You can click through to any trade to see the background to the trade, size of the trade, duration, and profit or loss.

MetaStock harnesses a massive amount of inbuilt systems and Expert Advisors that will help you, as a beginner or intermediate trader, understand and profit from technical analysis patterns and well-researched systems.  This is a crucial area of advantage.

Of course, the inbuilt systems are not going to make you super-rich; the reason you want to backtest and develop your own winning system is to get an edge in the market.  With some scripting or programming skills, you will be able to achieve this with MetaStock.  If you do not, you can ask MetaStock or one of a considerable number of MetaStock Partners to assist you in building your system.

There are also many premium stock trading systems for MetaStock sold by their partners and usually backed up with training and webinars to support the clients.

Fundamental Scanning and Screening

As  I mentioned, MetaStock is owned by Thomson Reuters, who are, without a doubt, the biggest and best provider of real-time news and market analysis.  They also have an incredible database of global fundamental data, not just on companies but countries, economies, and industries.

The filtering and scanning possibilities are endless. I would like to see better integration within the MetaStock suite, bringing together the fundamentals and the technical analysis to enable better charting and technical analysis on fundamentals. However, the wealth of data is first class.  Using Refinitiv, you can see a really in-depth analysis of company fundamentals from debt structure to top 10 investors, including level II market liquidity.  Excellent watch lists featuring fundamentals and powerful scanning of the markets gets a perfect 10

MetaStock Forecaster Capability ★★★★★

The most significant addition to the MetaStock arsenal is the forecasting functionality, which sets it apart from the crowd.  By selecting Forecaster from the power console, you can simply choose one or more stocks, ETF’s or Forex pairs and click forecast.

You are then presented with an interactive report which enables you to scan through the many predictive recognizers which help you understand the basis for the prediction and the methodology.  Clever stuff.

Candlestick Trading System in MetaStock

Metastock is different from other vendors because their software runs locally on your PC, and you can actually buy one-off licenses and avoid monthly payments. They also operate a marketplace were professional traders sell their stock trading systems and signals as add-ons to MetaStock.

MetaStock does not provide Candlestick recognition natively, so you will need to buy the add-on called “Greg Morris’ Japanese Candle Recognition” for a one-off payment of $349.

Greg Morris is seen as one of the global authorities on Japanese Candlestick trading and is a published author on the topic.

The Accuracy of Candlestick Patterns

What you do get with this add-on is a very sophisticated trading system, with full candlestick backtesting, analysis, and signals.

The add-in forecasts the direction of the next move in stock price and also the probability of the Candlestick signal being successful.

The probability rating of the Candlestick recognition success is absolutely critical, and no other software offers this level of professional trading system.

In the image below, you can see that this signal (highlighted in yellow) predicts a 77% chance of success.

Candlestick Pattern Recognition & Analysis Add-On With MetaStock

You get forecasting of the direction of the next move in stock price and also the probability of the Candlestick signal being successful

Predict Market Prices With MetaStock Forecaster Video

The most significant addition to the MetaStock arsenal is the forecasting functionality, which sets it apart from the crowd.

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You can even use artificial intelligence like functionality to test a set of variables within your backtesting.  You could, for example, test if price moves above the moving average 10,11,12,14,16,18 or 20, in a single test to see which of the moving averages best work with that stock.

MetaStock is one of the few vendors that take forecasting really seriously.  The system backtesting is excellent because it allows you to test if a theory, idea, or set of analysis has worked in the past.  Forecasting takes it to a whole new level by playing forward the backtesting to see how successful you might be with a strategy under certain circumstances.  The configurable nature of the reporting for the results of both backtesting and forecasting are excellent.

Ease of Use ★★★✩✩

MetaStock has made huge strides this year in terms of installation and usability.  You are up and running quickly, and you do not need to spend time trying to configure data importers anymore unless you want to use a 3rd party provider.

Once installed, the vast selection of automated expert advisors you can deploy on the range of stocks in your purview makes MetaStock well worth the investment.

MetaStock Power Strike Options Trading

PowerStrike relies on three phenomena of the market:

1. Stock prices are heavily influenced by trading near option strike price levels. These levels greatly influence where vital buying and selling occur.
2. Support and resistance are based on the concentrated buying and selling of influential traders.
3. The human mind gravitates towards memorable, easy-to-remember numbers. These values are typical of option strike prices. Hence many a trader’s attention is drawn to these numbers providing the potential for even more concentrated buying and selling.

Power Strike enables you to take advantage of this.

MetaStock Review Summary

All in all, a top-class showing from MetaStock, simply put, one of the best packages available.

My personal recommendation for an investor or trader is to combine the MetaStock & Refinitiv packages together.  The depth of fundamental research and news in Refinitiv Xenith is staggering, and the in-depth analysis, backtesting, and forecasting in MetaStock is industry-leading. If $199 for the Xenith + MetaStock Package is too much, then fear not. If you simply want the end of day data and all the MetaStock functionality, the price starts at a reasonable $22 per month.  You can even buy one-off licenses if you prefer.

If you are looking for something without all the backtesting and forecasting and the better ease of use, then TradingView or TC2000 are the better option and have better prices.  Read our Complete Stock Charting Analysis Software Review to find out what is best for you.  If you are primarily interested in real-time news services to help your trading, take a look at our 10 Best Financial News Services Review

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MetaStock Service Data Sheet

Vendor	MetaStock
Pricing & Software
Monthly End of Day	$69
Monthly Real Time	$99
Software Only Fee	$449
Customizable Data Feeds	✔
Customer Service & Education	Excellent
PC	✔
Market Data Coverage	Global
Data Speed	Excellent
Stocks	✔
ETF	✔
Mutual Funds	✔
Options	✔
Futures	✔
Forex	✔
Bonds	✔
Pricing & Software Score	10
Trade Management
Broker Integration Stocks	✔
Trade Management Score	4
Fundamental Scanning & Screening
Real Time Scanning & Filtering	✔
Fundamentals Scanning	✔
Watch Lists with Fundamentals	✔
Extended Economics Fundamentals (New)	✔
Fundamental Screening Score	10
Technical Analysis
Charts
Multiple Charts Per Desktop	✔
Bar Line HLC Candlestick	✔
Point & Figure	✔
Equivolume	✔
Others	Market Profile
Indicators
Bollinger Bands	✔
Directional Movement	✔
Ichimoku Cloud	✔
MACD	✔
Momentum	✔
Money Flow	✔
Moving Averages	✔
Parabolic SAR	✔
Rate of Change	✔
Relative Strength / RSI	✔
Stochastics	✔
Volume at Price	✔
Custom Indicator Development	✔
Volume	✔
Darvas Box	✔
Elliot Wave	X
Total Number of Indicators	300+
Drawing Tools
Fibonacci Retracement	✔
Fibonacci Time	✔
Fibonacci Fan	✔
Trend Lines	✔
Text Overlay	✔
Pitchfork	✔
Error Channel	✔
Gann Grid/Line	✔
Gann Fan	✔
Quadrant Lines	✔
Speed Lines	✔
Tirone Levels	✔
Automated Alerts	✔
Technical Analysis Score	10
News & Social
News Feed	✔
Real-Time News Feed	✔
Economics & Deal News	Reuters
Market Commentary	✔
News Score	10
Systems & Backtesting
System Marketplace	✔
Create Customizable Systems	✔
Back Testing Point & Click	✔
Back Testing Programmatic	✔
Forecasting (new)	✔
Robotic Trading (new)
Systems & Back-Testing Score	8
Setup & Usability
SW Setup	9
Ease of Use Score	8
Usability Points	17/20