Trade Ideas Review
Best AI Scanner for Day Traders
Best for: Active day traders who want a real-time AI-driven scanner (Holly) that surfaces momentum, gap, and breakout setups automatically and can backtest them before risking capital.
Trade Ideas at a Glance
| MONTHLY PRICE | Standard $84/mo · Premium $167/mo (annual discounts) |
| FREE TRIAL | Limited free room + 7-day money-back |
| PLATFORMS | Windows/Mac desktop, web, TI simulator |
| AI ENGINE | Holly (multiple AI models generating daily trade ideas) |
| SCANNING | Real-time streaming scans, unlimited custom filters |
| BACKTESTING | Yes — strategy testing on historical data |
| BROKER INTEGRATION | Interactive Brokers, ETRADE, TradeStation, others |
Overview & Ideal Trader Profile
Trade Ideas is the most established AI-powered stock scanner in retail trading. Its signature feature is Holly, a suite of AI models that runs millions of scenarios overnight and produces a curated list of statistically-backed trade ideas each morning.
The ideal user is an active day trader who wants to automate idea generation — finding gappers, momentum runners, and breakouts in real time — rather than manually eyeballing charts all day. Long-term investors will find it overkill.
Scanning Engine & Real-Time Data
The real-time scanning engine is Trade Ideas’ core strength. You can build unlimited custom scans from hundreds of filters (float, relative volume, price, volatility, news) and get streaming alerts the instant a stock meets your criteria.
This is genuinely fast and built for the pace of small-cap momentum trading, where a setup can appear and vanish within minutes.
Holly AI & Automation
Holly is what separates Trade Ideas from a plain screener. The AI generates entries, exits, and position sizing for its picks, and the higher tier can auto-trade through a connected broker.
It is not a magic money machine — signals still need context — but as a source of vetted, backtested ideas it saves hours of manual scanning.
Backtesting & Charting
Every strategy you build can be backtested against historical data, so you can see how a scan would have performed before trading it live. Integrated chart windows and a built-in simulator round out the workflow.
The learning curve is real: the interface is dense and takes time to configure well.
Pricing, Value & Reputation
At $84–$167/month it is one of the pricier tools, justified mainly for high-activity traders. Community sentiment praises the scanner and Holly signals while noting the steep learning curve and cost as the main drawbacks.
For a serious day trader who trades daily, the time saved on idea generation can justify the price; for casual traders it is hard to recoup.
The Honest Breakdown
Pros
- Powerful real-time scanning engine
- Holly AI generates backtested daily trade ideas
- Unlimited custom scans and alerts
- Built-in backtesting and simulator
- Broker integration for auto-trading
Cons
- Expensive ($84–$167/mo)
- Steep learning curve
- Overkill for casual or long-term traders
- Desktop app can be resource-heavy
The Bottom Line
Trade Ideas is the most powerful AI scanner available to retail day traders — the real-time engine and Holly’s backtested signals genuinely automate idea generation. The trade-offs are a steep learning curve and a high price, so it earns its keep for active daily traders but is hard to justify for casual ones.
Active day traders who scan daily and want AI-generated, backtested momentum and breakout ideas.
Casual traders, long-term investors, or anyone on a tight budget who won’t use it daily.
