Indian retail traders who use Chartink daily often run sophisticated multi-scan setups — RSI reversals, EMA crossovers, volume breakouts — but have no systematic way to know which scans are actually generating returns. Chartink is a legitimate, widely-used screener with genuine strengths, and this is not a knock on it: screening and journaling are simply two different jobs. JournalPlus handles the second job — tracking outcomes, measuring scan performance, and giving Indian traders the data they need to improve. If you’re a Chartink user looking for a Chartink alternative for trade journaling, this guide explains how the two tools fit together.
Chartink Overview
Chartink is India’s most popular stock screener, used by an estimated 500,000+ registered traders to scan NSE and BSE stocks using technical filters. The platform excels at what it does: building complex scan conditions with RSI, moving averages, volume, and price action criteria, then delivering real-time alerts when stocks meet those conditions.
Pricing runs from a free plan with limited real-time alerts to paid tiers at approximately ₹999–₹1,999 per month, depending on the features and alert frequency required.
Key strengths:
- Extensive technical filter library covering hundreds of indicators
- Real-time NSE/BSE scanning with alert delivery via browser and email
- Large community of shared public scans — users can browse and clone strategies built by other traders
- Clean interface that makes complex multi-condition scans accessible to retail traders
Common limitations traders report:
- No trade journal, trade log, or P&L tracking of any kind
- No way to measure which scans produce profitable setups vs. which generate noise
- No broker integration — trades executed from Chartink signals must be tracked elsewhere
- Paid plan is a recurring monthly expense rather than a one-time cost
Why Traders Switch to JournalPlus
Chartink Tells You Where to Look — Not Whether It’s Working
Chartink answers “which stocks match my criteria today.” It cannot answer “have my criteria produced profitable trades over the past 90 days?” That question requires a journal, and it’s the more important question for any trader trying to improve.
Per SEBI’s 2023 study, 70–80% of Indian retail F&O traders lose money — and lack of structured performance review is a cited contributing factor. Research by Brad Barber and Terrance Odean on retail traders found that traders who systematically reviewed their performance outperformed those who didn’t by 3–5% annually. Chartink gives you signals. JournalPlus shows you whether those signals have edge.
Tag Trades by Scan Strategy and Measure Expectancy
The core workflow for Chartink users in JournalPlus: import trades from your broker, tag each trade with the Chartink scan that triggered it, and after 30–50 trades per tag, review the analytics.
Consider a Mumbai-based swing trader who runs three Chartink scans every morning: (1) EMA 9/21 crossover on NSE mid-caps, (2) RSI 30 bounce on Nifty 50 stocks, (3) volume surge breakout. Over a month, she takes 12 trades from scan #1 at an average ₹40,000 position with a 3-day average hold, 8 from scan #2, and 15 from scan #3. Without a journal, gut feel says scan #3 is “working best” — it generates the most action. After 60 days of logging in JournalPlus, imported directly from her Zerodha statements, the actual data shows: scan #1 wins 58% of the time at 2.1R average, while scan #3 wins only 41% at 0.9R — net negative expectancy. She cuts scan #3 entirely. This analysis is impossible in Chartink. JournalPlus made it routine.
Native Import from Indian Brokers — No Manual Entry
JournalPlus supports direct CSV import from Zerodha, Angel One, 5paisa, and Groww — the four brokers that cover the majority of Chartink’s active user base. Download your trade statement, import it into JournalPlus, and your trades are logged without manual entry. For a trader taking 3–5 trades per day, that’s 60–100 trades per month logged automatically.
Zerodha alone has over 7 million active clients, and a significant portion use Chartink alongside Zerodha for scan-to-trade workflows. The import integration makes JournalPlus a natural fit for that combination.
Full NSE/BSE and F&O Coverage
JournalPlus supports NSE equities, BSE equities, Nifty 50 F&O, and Bank Nifty F&O in the same journal. Indian traders who mix cash equity swing trades with index derivatives can track both asset classes together and compare performance across them — something no USD-native journal handles cleanly.
One-Time Cost in INR, No Subscription
Chartink’s paid plan is ₹999–₹1,999 per month — a recurring cost that accumulates. JournalPlus is a one-time purchase at approximately ₹13,250 (equivalent to $159 USD), with no monthly fees and lifetime access. The two tools are additive rather than competitive: keep your Chartink plan for scanning, add JournalPlus once for journaling.
Feature Comparison
| Feature | Chartink | JournalPlus |
|---|---|---|
| Stock Screener / Scanner | Full NSE/BSE screener with real-time alerts | Not applicable — journal only |
| Trade Journal | Not available | Full trade log with entry, exit, notes, tags |
| P&L Analytics | None | Win rate, expectancy, R-multiple, drawdown |
| Scan Strategy Tagging | Not applicable | Tag trades by scan; compare scan performance |
| Broker CSV Import | Not applicable | Zerodha, Angel One, 5paisa, Groww |
| NSE/BSE Instrument Support | Full screener coverage | NSE equity, BSE equity, Nifty 50 F&O, Bank Nifty F&O |
| INR Pricing | ₹999–₹1,999/month (paid plans) | ~₹13,250 one-time |
| Performance Review by Strategy | None | Strategy-level breakdown after 30+ trades |
Pricing Comparison
JournalPlus is a one-time purchase. Chartink’s paid plan is a monthly subscription. The cost difference compounds over time:
| Period | Chartink (₹999/mo) | Chartink (₹1,999/mo) | JournalPlus |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 month | ₹999 | ₹1,999 | ₹13,250 (lifetime) |
| 6 months | ₹5,994 | ₹11,994 | ₹13,250 |
| 1 year | ₹11,988 | ₹23,988 | ₹13,250 |
| 2 years | ₹23,976 | ₹47,976 | ₹13,250 |
| 3 years | ₹35,964 | ₹71,964 | ₹13,250 |
Two important notes: First, these costs are not directly comparable — Chartink is a screener and JournalPlus is a journal. Traders who need both tools will pay for both. Second, these are the journaling costs only — if you are currently paying for Chartink’s paid tier to get advanced alerts, that expense continues regardless of your journaling choice. JournalPlus does not replace Chartink’s screener functionality.
JournalPlus does not offer a free trial, but there is no recurring commitment. The one-time purchase includes all future updates and features.
How to Switch to JournalPlus
Chartink has no trade data to export — it’s a screener, not a journal — so there is no migration in the traditional sense. The setup process is straightforward:
- Download your trade history from your broker. Log in to Zerodha Console, Angel One, 5paisa, or Groww and download your trade statement as a CSV for the period you want to analyze. Most brokers allow exports going back 1–3 years.
- Import into JournalPlus. Use the broker import tool to load your CSV. JournalPlus maps your broker’s column format automatically — you don’t need to reformat the file.
- Tag historical trades by scan strategy. For trades taken from a specific Chartink scan, add the strategy tag during or after import. Even tagging the past 30–60 days of trades gives you enough data to start seeing patterns by strategy category.
- Set up your tagging workflow going forward. Establish a consistent naming convention for your scan tags — for example, “Chartink: EMA 9/21”, “Chartink: RSI 30 bounce” — so analytics group correctly across sessions.
- Review scan performance after 30+ trades per tag. Use the strategy breakdown in JournalPlus to compare win rate, average R-multiple, and expectancy across your Chartink scans. Allocate more capital to scans with proven positive expectancy; cut or adjust scans with negative expectancy.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is JournalPlus a replacement for Chartink?
No — and it’s not meant to be. Chartink is a screener; JournalPlus is a journal. They serve different parts of the trading workflow. Most Indian traders use both together — Chartink to find setups, JournalPlus to track which setups actually make money.
Can I import trades from Zerodha into JournalPlus?
Yes. JournalPlus supports native CSV import from Zerodha, Angel One, 5paisa, and Groww. Download your trade statement from your broker portal and import it directly — no manual entry required.
Does JournalPlus support NSE and BSE stocks?
Yes. NSE equities, BSE equities, Nifty 50 F&O, Bank Nifty F&O, and other Indian instruments are all supported. You can log and analyze cash equity and derivatives trades in the same journal. See the NSE trading journal guide for instrument-specific setup details.
How does JournalPlus help me know which Chartink scans are profitable?
When logging a trade, tag it with the scan strategy that triggered it — for example, “EMA 9/21 crossover” or “RSI 30 bounce.” After 30–50 trades per tag, JournalPlus shows win rate, average R-multiple, and expectancy broken down by tag. You can see exactly which scans generate edge and which don’t.
How much does JournalPlus cost in INR?
JournalPlus is a one-time purchase — approximately ₹13,250 (the USD equivalent of $159). There are no monthly fees, no subscription renewals, and no feature tiers. You pay once and get lifetime access.
Does JournalPlus replace my need for Chartink’s paid plan?
No. If you rely on Chartink’s real-time alerts and advanced scan features, keep your Chartink plan. JournalPlus is additive — it handles the journaling and performance analysis that Chartink doesn’t provide. See also the Streak by Zerodha alternative if you use algo-based scanning tools alongside Chartink.
How many trades do I need before the analytics are meaningful?
A minimum of 30–50 trades per strategy tag gives you statistically meaningful win rates and expectancy figures. Active traders taking 3–5 trades per day can reach that sample size within 2–3 weeks of consistent logging. India has an estimated 5–7 million daily active traders — most have more than enough trade volume to generate actionable data within a month.
For more on how Indian traders structure their journaling workflow, see the Indian stock market journal guide and the Zerodha integration overview.