What is the Best Trading Journal in 2025?
The best trading journal isn't the one with the most features—it's the one that saves you time, eliminates your worst setups, and accelerates your learning curve so you can focus on what actually makes you money.
The Short Answer
The best trading journal for 2025 is one that:
TradeJournal.co checks every box and includes a FREE $300 pro trader onboarding call with every subscription to ensure you're set up for success from day one.
Try Free for 14 DaysWhy Every Profitable Trader Uses a Trading Journal
If you're not journaling your trades, you're flying blind. Here's what the data shows:
of traders who journal consistently become profitable within 12 months
faster learning curve compared to traders who don't track performance
average monthly savings from eliminated losing setups (6-month avg)
But here's the problem: most trading journals waste your time.
Manual data entry. Spreadsheets that break. Generic metrics that don't reveal your actual edge. Clunky interfaces built by developers who've never placed a trade.
The best trading journal in 2025 solves these problems. Let's break down what that looks like.
#1 The Best Trading Journal Saves You Time (Hours Every Week)
Manual Journals (Excel, Google Sheets)
- 15-20 minutes per day entering trades
- 2-3 hours weekly fixing formulas and errors
- 1-2 hours building reports and charts
- Total: 10-12 hours per month wasted
Automated Trading Journal
- 0 minutes entering trades (auto-import)
- 0 hours fixing errors (automated validation)
- 5 minutes reviewing AI-generated insights
- Total: ~30 minutes per month
That's 10+ hours per month you could spend studying price action, backtesting strategies, or—you know—actually trading. The best trading journal respects your time because time is money.
What to Look For: Automatic Trade Import
The best trading journals connect directly to your broker via API or accept standard import formats like CSV, Excel, or PDF broker statements. Look for support for:
- Popular brokers: Interactive Brokers, TD Ameritrade, TradeStation, Robinhood, Webull, E*TRADE, Schwab, Fidelity
- Crypto exchanges: Coinbase, Binance, Kraken, Bybit, OKX
- Multi-leg options: Spreads, iron condors, butterflies automatically calculated
- International brokers: CMC Markets, IG, Plus500, Saxo Bank
TradeJournal.co integrates with 50+ brokers and supports universal CSV/Excel import for any platform. Your trades sync automatically every day—no manual entry, ever.
View Supported Brokers#2 The Best Trading Journal Eliminates Your Worst Setups
Here's a truth bomb: You're probably losing money on 20-30% of your setups—and you don't even know which ones.
Real Example: Day Trader "Mike"
Before Trading Journal:
- Win rate: 48%
- Avg monthly P&L: -$850
- Trading random setups "by feel"
- Couldn't identify losing patterns
- Repeated same mistakes for 8 months
After 3 Months with TradeJournal:
- Win rate: 63%
- Avg monthly P&L: +$3,240
- Eliminated 4 losing setups (revenge trades at open, trading news without confirmation, overtrading choppy midday, holding losers too long)
- Doubled down on his best setup (first red day reversals in uptrend)
What the Best Trading Journal Shows You:
Win Rate by Setup
Which patterns actually make you money? Morning breakouts vs. afternoon fades vs. gap fills—see your real edge.
Performance by Time of Day
Are you crushing it at open but bleeding out by lunch? Stop trading during your weak hours.
P&L by Tag/Strategy
Custom tag your trades (e.g., "VWAP bounce," "earnings play," "crypto momentum") and see what's profitable.
Emotional State Correlation
Journal your mood/confidence before trades. Discover if you lose more when overconfident or fearful.
Position Sizing Analysis
Are you risking too much on low-probability setups? Or too little on your best trades?
Mistake Tracking
Tag your rule breaks (e.g., "no stop loss," "ignored signal," "FOMO entry"). See which mistakes cost you the most.
A trading journal is only as good as its ability to surface your losing patterns fast. If you can't identify and eliminate your worst 2-3 setups within 30 days, it's not the right tool.
TradeJournal's AI-powered "Playbook Performance" feature automatically flags your losing patterns and suggests which setups to cut. No digging through spreadsheets.
TradeJournal.co's Pattern Recognition Engine analyzes 40+ variables per trade to identify your statistical edge and red flags. Get weekly email summaries with actionable insights.
Explore Analytics Features#3 The Best Trading Journal Includes Mentorship
Software alone can't make you profitable. You need experienced traders to show you what matters.
Most Trading Journals
- Give you data but no context
- No human guidance on what to focus on
- You're left figuring it out alone
- Generic tutorials that don't apply to YOUR trading
- Zero accountability or support
TradeJournal.co
- FREE $300 pro trader onboarding call with every subscription
- 20-minute 1-on-1 setup session tailored to YOUR strategy
- Learn which metrics matter for your trading style
- Get best practices from traders with 5+ years experience
- Ask questions, get real answers from real traders
What Happens on Your Free Onboarding Call:
Traders who get mentorship see results 3x faster than those who go it alone. A 20-minute call with an experienced trader can save you months of trial and error. That's worth way more than $300.
Other Must-Have Features in the Best Trading Journal
You're not always at your desktop. The best trading journal works seamlessly on your phone so you can:
- Review trades between meetings
- Add quick notes while ideas are fresh
- Check your daily P&L on the go
- Upload screenshots from your phone
Numbers tell half the story. You need to save:
- Entry and exit chart screenshots
- Trade setup annotations
- Support/resistance levels
- Market context (news, catalysts)
TradeJournal.co tip: Use our browser extension to capture and auto-attach charts to trades with one click.
Beyond basic win rate and P&L, look for:
- Expectancy: Your average $ per trade
- Profit factor: Gross wins / gross losses
- Sharpe ratio: Risk-adjusted returns
- Max drawdown: Worst losing streak
- Win rate by setup: Your edge by strategy
- Average hold time: Time in winners vs. losers
- R-multiple: Risk/reward per trade
- Consistency score: How steady are your returns
See the big picture:
- Track multiple accounts (trading, long-term, retirement)
- View overall net worth alongside trade performance
- Separate active trading from passive investments
- Understand how your trading impacts total wealth
Learning happens in community:
- Share individual trades with your mentor or trading group
- Create read-only access for accountability partners
- Export reports for tax professionals
- Publish public statistics (anonymized) to build credibility
Your trading data is sensitive. Ensure:
- Bank-level encryption: 256-bit SSL/TLS
- No data selling: Your trades are never sold to third parties
- Regular backups: Automatic cloud backups
- Data export: Full CSV/JSON export anytime
- 2FA support: Two-factor authentication
How Does TradeJournal.co Compare?
| Feature | Excel/ Google Sheets |
Generic Trading Journal |
TradeJournal.co |
|---|---|---|---|
| Automatic Trade Import | 50+ brokers | ||
| AI-Powered Pattern Detection | |||
| Free Pro Trader Mentorship | $300 value | ||
| Mobile App | |||
| Chart Screenshot Storage | Unlimited | ||
| Advanced Analytics (40+ metrics) | Basic | ||
| Portfolio Tracking | |||
| Community & Trade Sharing | Limited | ||
| Monthly Cost | Free | $30-50 | $29 |
Our Verdict: What is the Best Trading Journal?
TradeJournal.co is the Best Trading Journal for 2025
Automatic import, zero manual entry, instant analytics
AI-powered pattern detection shows you what to stop trading
Pro trader onboarding call with every subscription
No credit card required • 30-day money-back guarantee • Cancel anytime
Frequently Asked Questions
Yes—especially if you're starting out. New traders waste months (or years) repeating the same mistakes because they don't track what's working. A trading journal helps you:
- Build good habits from day one
- Identify your edge faster
- Avoid costly beginner mistakes
- Track progress as you learn
You can—but it's expensive in time. Manual journaling takes 10-12 hours per month. At a value of $50/hr, that's $500-600 in lost time every month.
Plus, spreadsheets can't:
- Automatically import trades
- Detect patterns with AI
- Store chart screenshots
- Work seamlessly on mobile
- Give you mentorship
5-10 minutes. Connect your broker, import your trades, and you're done. Your FREE pro trader onboarding call (included with every plan) will walk you through advanced setup and optimization in 20 minutes.
Probably yes. We support 50+ brokers including:
- US brokers: Interactive Brokers, TD Ameritrade, TradeStation, Robinhood, Webull, E*TRADE, Schwab, Fidelity
- Crypto: Coinbase, Binance, Kraken, Bybit, OKX
- International: CMC Markets, IG, Plus500, Saxo Bank
Plus, we accept CSV/Excel imports from ANY broker. See full list of supported brokers
Absolutely. We use:
- 256-bit SSL encryption (same as banks)
- SOC 2 compliant infrastructure
- Your data is NEVER sold to third parties
- Regular automated backups
- Two-factor authentication (2FA)
Related Resources
Should You Build Your Own Journal?
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