StockSetups vs MarketSmith
IBD's CAN SLIM research platform with pattern recognition and curated lists.
MarketSmith is William O'Neil's CAN SLIM research platform, sold through Investor's Business Daily (now offered as MarketSurge). Its strengths are real: proprietary ratings (Composite, RS, EPS), curated lists like the IBD 50 and Leaderboard, decades of fundamental history, and an annotated Pattern Recognition tool that flags bases and buy points the O'Neil way.
It runs roughly $149/mo (approx., mid-2026), is research- and end-of-day-first rather than a real-time alert engine, and the deepest features sit behind IBD Digital and add-ons. StockSetups is built differently — it scans ~12,300 US stocks & ETFs nightly into four ranked long lanes with a trade plan, fires 35+ real-time intraday alerts, and fuses congress/insider/Reddit/SEC into one dossier, for $29 flat.
Side by side
| MarketSmith | StockSetups | |
|---|---|---|
| Price | ≈ $149/mo (approx., mid-2026) | $29/mo flat — less on annual |
| Trial & billing | Discounted multi-week intro trial; annual plans | 14-day free trial, cancel in one click, free board forever |
| Daily pattern scan | CAN SLIM screens + curated lists (IBD 50, Leaderboard) + annotated pattern recognition | ~12,300 US stocks & ETFs → 4 long lanes, conviction + trade plan |
| Real-time alerts | Alerts on lists/stocks; not a real-time market-wide alert engine | 35+ intraday alert types — included, no add-on |
| AI ranking & 'why it's moving' | Proprietary ratings (Composite/RS/EPS) — not an LLM ranking or catalyst | AI Smart Picks (Claude Opus) + AI catalyst — included |
| Congress / insider / Reddit / SEC | Deep fundamentals + earnings; no congress/insider/Reddit/SEC fusion | All fused into one per-symbol dossier (incl. executive OGE) |
| Public track record | IBD's published methodology/studies; no per-signal forward log | Forward-tracked Signal Report Card, win/loss shown |
| Charting | Strong annotated O'Neil-style charts (a real strength) | Purpose-built setup charts (not a full TradingView-style studio) |
| Options flow | Not a focus | Not offered |
| Mobile app | Web + app | Web only — native app not yet |
MarketSmith pricing and features are approximate and were last verified June 26, 2026 — check their site for current details.
Choose MarketSmith if…
- You trade the CAN SLIM method and want IBD's ratings and curated leader lists.
- You value annotated base/buy-point pattern recognition done the O'Neil way.
- Deep fundamental history and earnings analysis are central to your process.
Choose StockSetups if…
- You want one $29 plan instead of ~$149/mo for research-grade tooling.
- You want real-time intraday alerts and a ranked setup board with trade plans, not just end-of-day lists.
- You want congress/insider/Reddit/SEC and an AI catalyst fused per symbol.
Frequently asked
Is StockSetups a MarketSmith alternative?
For traders who want ranked breakout setups, real-time alerts and alt-data in one place, yes — at a far lower price. Dedicated CAN SLIM investors who rely on IBD's ratings and curated lists will still want MarketSmith.
Get daily signals & real-time alerts.
StockSetups scans ~12,300 US stocks & ETFs after every close and sorts every long setup into four ranked lanes — each with a trade plan — plus an always-on engine firing 35+ real-time intraday alerts. Free for 14 days, cancel in one click.
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Accuracy note. Competitor names and logos are the property of their respective owners; StockSetups is not affiliated with MarketSmith. The pricing, features and other details above were accurate to the best of our knowledge as of June 26, 2026, and competitor offerings change often. This comparison is our opinion, provided for general information only — always confirm current details on MarketSmith's own site. Spot something out of date or wrong? Please contact us and we'll fix it.