How Much Does Trade Ideas Cost? Pricing and Fees (2026)
Last updated August 2026
Short answer
Trade Ideas on cost: subscription (premium). Because that is not a percentage of assets, the cost does not rise as your balance does, which cuts both ways: proportionally cheap on a large account, relatively expensive on a small one. On top of that you pay the expense ratios of whatever funds are held, which every provider passes through. It works with a brokerage account you already hold, so there is nothing to transfer. Verify current pricing on Trade Ideas's own site.
What Trade Ideas charges
The headline figure: Subscription (premium), for active, short-term trading. Trade Ideas runs an AI engine nicknamed Holly that simulates many strategies overnight and surfaces a fresh set of intraday trade ideas each morning, each with suggested entry, exit, and risk parameters. Real-time scanners flag setups as they form during the session, and some users wire the signals into supported brokers to act quickly.
What you still pay on top
- Fund expense ratios. Whatever ETFs or funds sit inside the portfolio charge their own fee, deducted inside the fund rather than billed to you. A broad index fund is often 0.03% to 0.10%; a specialist fund charges more.
- Trading costs. Commissions where they apply, plus the bid-ask spread on everything bought and sold, which is real even where the commission is zero.
- Tax. Any selling inside a taxable account can create a capital gain. See our guide to capital gains tax on investments. This is not tax advice.
Trade Ideas pricing against the alternatives
| Product | Cost | Holds your money? | What the fee buys |
|---|---|---|---|
| Trade Ideas | Subscription (premium) | Via supported brokers | Active, short-term trading |
| Danelfin | Subscription | No | Quantitative stock signals |
| Kavout | Subscription | No | Data-oriented quant signals |
| Magnifi | Subscription | Partial | Research and discovery in plain English |
| TrendSpider | Subscription | Via supported brokers | Technical-analysis automation |
Comparing on headline price alone misses the more consequential variable, which is whether your assets have to move. A product that manages money it holds is doing a different job from one that reads an account you already have, and the fee difference reflects the work rather than a discount.
Where Walnut fits on price
Since this is our site, plainly: Walnut is free. There is no paid plan, no subscription and no fee on assets, because it connects the brokerage you already have rather than taking custody of your money, so there are no assets under management to charge on. You still pay your broker's commissions and your funds' expense ratios, which you would pay anyway. The full breakdown is on the Walnut pricing page.
That is not automatically the better deal. Trade Ideas charges Subscription (premium) because it does something Walnut deliberately does not: active, short-term trading, which is a different job from answering questions about holdings you already own. Free is only cheaper if the free thing does what you actually need.
FAQ
How much does Trade Ideas cost?
Subscription (premium). It is not charged as a percentage of your assets, so the cost stays the same as your balance grows. That makes it proportionally cheaper on a large account and relatively expensive on a small one.
Is there a minimum to open a Trade Ideas account?
Minimums change and are set by the provider, so the only reliable source is Trade Ideas's own site. What is worth knowing generally: robo-advisors that hold your money often set an account minimum, while tools that connect to a brokerage you already have usually do not, because there is nothing to fund.
What else do you pay on top of the Trade Ideas fee?
Usually the expense ratios of the funds held inside the portfolio, which are deducted within each fund rather than billed to you, plus any trading costs your broker charges. Those exist regardless of which provider you use. In a taxable account, selling to move money between providers can also create a tax bill, which is a real cost people forget to count.
Does Trade Ideas's pricing scale with my balance?
No. A flat subscription costs the same whether you hold $5,000 or $5,000,000, which is the opposite of a percentage-of-assets model. On a large account that is a considerable advantage; on a small one it is a considerable drag.
Does Trade Ideas charge to connect my existing brokerage?
Via supported brokers. Where a product holds your money instead of connecting to your broker, the question does not arise: you fund an account with them and the management fee covers it. Where it does connect, the connection itself is normally included rather than billed separately.
Is Trade Ideas worth the money?
That depends on whether you would otherwise do the work yourself. Paying a percentage of assets buys automation and the discipline of not interfering, which has real value for people who would otherwise tinker. Paying nothing and doing it yourself only wins if you actually do it. Neither answer is right for everyone, and the honest test is what you would do in a month where the market falls.
Is Trade Ideas cheaper than the alternatives?
Within ai stock research and scoring, Trade Ideas charges Subscription (premium) against Danelfin at Subscription, Kavout at Subscription, Magnifi at Subscription. Price is only half the comparison though: whether your money has to move, and what you get for the fee, decide more than the headline rate.
Where can I confirm Trade Ideas's current pricing?
On Trade Ideas's own site. Fees, tiers and minimums change, and this page is maintained by a competitor rather than by Trade Ideas, so treat every figure here as a point-in-time guide to be verified rather than a quote.
Walnut publishes this page and competes with Trade Ideas, so read it as an informed assessment rather than an independent one. It is built from publicly available information about the product, not from collected user reviews, and it carries no star rating because we have not surveyed Trade Ideas's customers. Pricing, features and availability change; verify current details on Trade Ideas's own site before deciding. Walnut is informational and is not an investment adviser. Nothing here is a recommendation to buy, sell, or hold any security or to use any particular product.