Jessie Moore has been writing professionally for nearly two decades; for the past seven years, she's focused on writing, ghostwriting, and editing in the finance space. She is a Today Show and Publisher's Weekly-featured author who has written or ghostwritten 10+ books on a wide variety of topics, ranging from day trading to unicorns to plant care.
As a trader, you’ve got to have conviction in your decisions if you want to succeed. But you also must be ready to pivot based on new information.
How do you do it?
You need a trading platform that centralizes the most important market news and data. A platform that turns market noise into actionable trading insights and signals so that you can profit.
For many traders, that platform is Benzinga Pro. But is it right for you?
In this Benzinga Pro review, I’ll also answer:
- What is Benzinga Pro?
- What features does the platform offer?
- How much is Benzinga Pro?
Let’s dive in.
Benzinga Pro Review: Is Benzinga Pro Worth It in 2024?
The Bottom Line: Yes, Benzinga Pro is worth it if you’re an active trader who wants to find the best trading opportunities as soon as they happen. Here’s why.
Active traders need to be in tune with the market at all times or they risk missing an opportunity. Benzinga Pro provides you with the latest market-moving news, stock scanners and screeners, calendars, alerts, and more in a single platform so you don’t miss a beat.
Plus, you can even access trading signals from professional day traders to diversify your strategies.
Let’s dig into all of that with this detailed Benzinga review…
Who is Benzinga Pro Best For?
Benzinga Pro is best for:
- Active day traders who need real-time quotes, news, and scanners.
- Short-term swing traders who use sentiment changes to their advantage.
- Fundamental traders who rely on news and metrics outside of price charts.
Into options? Benzinga Pro also has an Options Mentorship package that’s an excellent choice for beginners and professionals who want to learn and grow.
Benzinga also offers an options alert service. Check out our detailed review.
What is Benzinga Pro?
Benzinga Pro is an all-in-one trading intelligence platform that provides everything you need to trade profitably.
From its advanced real-time newsfeed to its real-time audio Squawk feature and several chat rooms for traders at every stage of their journey and beyond, there are plenty of tools and features that make Benzinga Pro worth your while. Let’s take a look…
Benzinga Pro Features:
Newsfeed
Benzinga Pro’s Newsfeed is the feature that puts it head and shoulders above the competition for active traders. That’s why I’m starting this Benzinga review here.
Not only is it one of the fastest news sources out there, but it’s also the most convenient with top news sources in one feed.
Benzinga also has its own dedicated news desk so you don’t have to rely on journalists from other networks. Instead, Benzinga’s expert financial journalists share the most important stories as they relate to trading and investing.
Benzinga’s news sources include:
- Benzinga Wire.
- Jiji Press.
- Company Press Releases.
- Benzinga Signals.
- Affiliated Partners.
- SEC Filings
But with all these sources it can be difficult to find the headlines that matter to your strategy. That’s why you can set alerts and receive real-time notifications anytime particular stocks or types of news are released.
Another option is to filter your news feed by sources, watchlist stocks, price, release types, and much more.
The cherry on top? Benzinga Pro provides a “patented price sentiment engine” that analyzes news releases to predict future price direction. This feature goes hand-in-hand with the platform’s “Why Is It Moving?” section which summarizes why a stock may be moving in a single sentence.
Alerts & Signals
When it comes to active trading, speed is paramount. That’s why Benzinga Pro allows you to set alerts for almost any aspect of the platform.
You can choose between desktop, sound, or email alerts for particular events. For example, desktop alerts for watchlist changes or email alerts for news.
Besides the news, you can set alerts for price movements, stocks on your watchlist, and even potential trading opportunities which brings us to another feature, Benzinga’s Signals.
These six signals alert you to unusual market activity that could be the catalyst for price movement. They include:
- Block Trades: These are sizable trades of either 10,000 shares or a value of $200,000+.
- Highs/Lows: This alerts you to important peaks and troughs in price, such as session lows or 52 weeks highs.
- Price Spikes: These are sharp short-term movements under five minutes.
- Option Activity: OA notifies you of aggressive option trades, including large blocks and sweeps (Note: This is a paid add-on to Benzinga Pro).
- Halt/Resume: This Signal notifies you whenever stocks pause or resume trading.
- Opening Gap: This alerts you to large opening gaps which can signal pent-up strength or weakness.
Squawk Box
Benzinga Pro’s Squawk Box is the perfect complement to the platform’s newsfeed.
Instead of needing multiple monitors to track charts, news, and other aspects, the audio Squawk keeps you up to date while you focus on other things.
You can even turn it on while you work at a full- or part-time job since Squawk only repeats the most important numbers instead of going into detail.
Between 6 am to 6 pm Eastern time, you’ll hear updates on:
- Wall Street analyses.
- Important interview comments.
- Breaking news.
- Economic releases.
- Press conferences.
And much more.
Scanner, Movers, Unusual Options Activity, & Screener
There are thousands of tradable stocks, making it next to impossible to keep tabs on all of them.
Instead, use Benzinga’s Stock Scanner to find stocks that match your trading criteria in real-time.
Choose from filters including:
- Outstanding shares.
- Volume.
- Changes in price.
- Market cap.
- Large-cap gainers.
- 5-minute movers.
Benzinga Pro also has a Screener for fundamental and technical filters which is similar to the Scanner except it doesn’t automatically refresh.
But if you’re only interested in trading stocks that have made substantial moves, the platform’s Movers tool is what you need.
You can find the top gainers and losers across different sessions, time periods, sectors, market cap, and more. This is an excellent tool for technical traders who aren’t too concerned with news.
In saying that, a single click on your ticker of choice will bring up any associated news and other details if you want background information.
While I already covered a bit on Unusual Options Activity in the Signals section, it has additional functions — like filters to refine your trading options by sector, dividend yield, volume, or even your watchlist.
You can also access an Options Activity Calendar which houses historical activity.
Watchlist, Chat, Calendar, & Programs
What good would a trading intelligence platform be if you didn’t have a Watchlist for refining the information you pay attention to each day?
With Benzinga Pro, not only do stocks on your Watchlist update in real-time but it’s also possible to filter your Newsfeed, Calendars, and Signals by the same stocks. So out of the thousands of news stories each day, you can focus on the handful that are important.
While we’re talking about Calendars, Benzinga Pro offers over 12, covering everything from Earnings and Dividends to IPOs, Splits, and Analyst Ratings. Each Calendar also comes with a set of filters depending on the event.
Finally, a Benzinga Pro subscription gives you access to several trading Chat Rooms, including:
- Benzinga Pro Lounge.
- Benzinga Crypto.
- Benzinga TV.
- Benzinga Pro Community Support.
- Benzinga Pro Day Trading.
- Benzinga Pro Options.
- Benzinga Bootcamp.
But if you choose the Options Mentorship subscription, you can access the exclusive Inner Circle Chat Room.
As for the different Benzinga programs, keep reading for the different tiers and prices…
How Much is Benzinga Pro?
Want to know how much Benzinga Pro costs? Here are your options:
Free | Basic | Essential | Options Mentorship | |
Benzinga Pro Cost | $0 | $27/month | $197/month | $457/month |
Features |
| Free features plus:
| Basic features plus:
| Essential features plus:
|
Important note: The Essential and Options Mentorship tiers offer a 16% & 17% discount for annual payments.
Pros and Cons of Benzinga Pro
Pros | Cons |
Dedicated financial news desk | Only focuses on stocks |
Has a two-week free trial | No broker integrations |
Lightning-quick news distribution | Not the best fit for predominantly technical traders |
Countless ways to refine the information you receive | Audio Squawk doesn’t run 24/7 |
Provides a mobile application for trading on the go | |
Several ways to set alerts |
Final Word: Benzinga Pro Review
Is Benzinga Pro worth it? After weighing all the features and costs in this Benzinga Pro review, I believe that any subscription tier is worthwhile.
If real-time news and data aren’t important, you can get started with a Free membership to get a feel for the platform.
But to experience the full benefits of Benzinga Pro, I recommend the Essential subscription which gives you all the tools to succeed as an active trader.
And if options are more your style, the Options Mentorship upgrade is the way to go — especially if you’re a beginner as you receive daily education and training from Nic Chahine.
FAQs:
Which is better Benzinga Pro or Trade Ideas?
It depends on your trading style. Benzinga Pro is better for active news traders who want an all-in-one research platform while Trade Ideas is for traders who want an execution platform.
What is the alternative to Benzinga Pro?
A competitive alternative to Benzinga Pro is WallStreetZen thanks to it being extremely budget-friendly while being just as powerful. The platform offers recommendations from top analysts, automated due diligence, and an advanced stock screener for just $19 per month or $150 per year.
Can you trade on Benzinga Pro?
No, you can’t trade on Benzinga Pro. The platform is only an analysis and news service — you’ll need a separate brokerage account.
How much does Benzinga Trading School cost?
Benzinga’s Trading School costs $4,997 per year. But for a limited time, you can get started for just $1,497 — a 70% discount. There’s also a 7-day trial for just $7.
Where to Invest $1,000 Right Now?
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Our April report reveals the 3 "Strong Buy" stocks that market-beating analysts predict will outperform over the next year.
