FreeCharting vs TradingView's free plan
TradingView is the best-known charting platform, and its free Basic plan is a good place to start. But it has limits that push you towards a subscription. Here's how the two compare:
| FreeCharting | TradingView Basic (free) | |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free (paid plans from $12.95/month, billed yearly) |
| Account required | No | Yes |
| Indicators per chart | Unlimited (27 built in) | 2 |
| Ads | None | Yes |
| Historical bars | Full history where the provider allows | 5,000 |
| Drawing tools | 13, saved per symbol | Yes, extensive |
| Market data | Bring your own key (crypto needs none) | Built in |
| Price alerts | Not yet | 3 |
| Custom scripts | No | Pine Script |
| Community & ideas | No | Yes |
TradingView plan details are from its pricing page at the time of writing and may change.
Where FreeCharting wins
- No indicator cap. Put moving averages, Bollinger Bands, volume, MACD and RSI on one chart, like the preview above, without upgrading.
- Nothing to sign up for. Open the page and chart. Your settings, indicators and drawings are saved in your browser.
- No ads, no tracking. The chart gets the whole screen.
- Your data, your choice. Connect any of 12 providers, free or paid. If you already pay for data from Alpaca, Massive, Twelve Data or others, use that key here.
- Private by design. Your API keys stay in your browser and are only sent to the provider they belong to.
Where TradingView is still better
We'd rather be honest: TradingView does a lot more. If you need alerts, Pine Script strategies, stock screeners, multi-chart layouts, broker integration or a social feed of trade ideas, TradingView is the stronger tool. It also has data for almost every market built in, whereas FreeCharting relies on the data provider you connect.
Who FreeCharting is for
- Crypto traders who want live charts from Binance, Coinbase or OKX with no sign-up.
- Investors who check a few stocks and don't want another subscription.
- Anyone who's hit the free-plan indicator limit and just wants to see RSI and MACD together.
- Developers and data subscribers who already have an API key and want a clean chart on top of it.
Frequently asked questions
Is FreeCharting really free?
Yes. There’s no subscription, no premium tier and no ads. Crypto data is free from the exchanges, and stock and forex data comes from providers with free plans.
Is FreeCharting affiliated with TradingView?
No. FreeCharting is an independent tool. TradingView is a trademark of its owner, and we mention it only to compare features.
Can I import my TradingView layouts or drawings?
Not at the moment. Drawings you make on FreeCharting are saved in your browser for each symbol.
Does FreeCharting have alerts?
Not yet. For price alerts, TradingView or your broker’s app are better options for now.
What data can I chart without a key?
Crypto from Binance, Coinbase, OKX and Kraken works instantly. Stocks and forex need a free key from a provider such as Twelve Data.