TradesViz vs Edgewonk

TradesViz and Edgewonk serve the same fundamental purpose — helping traders review and improve their performance — but they take opposite approaches to get there. TradesViz is a cloud-based journal with a generous free tier, built for broad multi-asset coverage and frictionless onboarding. Edgewonk is a one-time-purchase desktop tool designed for behavioral depth, with proprietary psychology tracking that goes well beyond standard P&L analysis. The real question isn’t which has more features — it’s whether you need zero-cost accessibility or structured behavioral accountability.

Quick Comparison

TradesViz Overview

TradesViz is a web-first trading journal that supports stocks, options, futures, forex, and crypto in a single account. It requires no installation — traders sign up, import trades via CSV or broker auto-sync, and see analytics within minutes. The free tier allows journaling with a trade cap that suits casual or newer traders, while the Pro plan (~$24.99/mo) removes limits and adds advanced dashboards.

Key features:

• Multi-asset support across 5 asset classes in one dashboard
• Broker auto-sync for select platforms including thinkorswim; CSV import as a universal fallback
• Cloud-based storage with no OS lock-in and mobile browser access
• Preset analytics covering win rate, P&L curves, drawdown, time-of-day performance, and trade duration
• Multi-account tracking to separate funded accounts from personal capital

Pricing: Free tier with trade limits; Pro plan at approximately $24.99/mo (~$299.88/yr).

Pros:

• Zero cost to start — removes the barrier for traders with small accounts
• Works on any device without installation or OS setup
• Broadest asset class coverage among free journal options
• Auto-sync reduces manual import friction for supported brokers

Cons:

• Free tier trade cap forces an upgrade decision for active traders within weeks
• Preset dashboards lack the depth of custom metric builders
• No structured psychology or behavioral tracking — emotional patterns are invisible in the data

Edgewonk Overview

Edgewonk is a desktop trading journal with a one-time license fee of $169 and a 30-day money-back guarantee. Its defining feature is behavioral analytics: the Tilt meter monitors emotional trading patterns across sessions, and the Custom Statistics builder lets traders define performance filters unavailable in any other consumer journal. Edgewonk stores data locally and does not require a subscription after purchase.

Key features:

• Tilt meter tracks session-level emotional state and correlates it with trade outcomes
• Pre-session mood scoring (1–10 scale) with pattern detection across weeks and months
• Custom Statistics builder — filter P&L by any combination of conditions (instrument, time of day, day of week, setup type)
• Trade simulator for testing rule changes against historical journal data
• One-time purchase with no recurring billing after the initial $169

Pricing: $169 one-time license. No subscription tiers. 30-day money-back guarantee.

Pros:

• Psychology tracking surfaces behavioral patterns invisible in raw P&L data
• Custom Statistics builder is the most flexible metric tool in consumer journal software
• One-time cost — cheaper than 7 months of TradesViz Pro
• No internet required after setup; local storage for traders with privacy concerns

Cons:

• Desktop-only with no mobile or web access for reviewing trades away from the main workstation
• Local storage creates data loss risk without manual backups
• No broker auto-sync — every import is a manual CSV operation
• $169 upfront represents 3.4% of a $5,000 account before the first trade is reviewed

Feature-by-Feature Comparison

Psychology and Behavioral Tracking

This is where Edgewonk has no peer at its price point. The Tilt meter records pre-session mood scores (1–10), sleep quality, and confidence level before each trading session. Over time, Edgewonk correlates these inputs with win rate, average R-multiple, and rule adherence to show patterns like “sessions scored below 5 on mood produce a win rate 18 percentage points lower than sessions scored 7 or above.”

TradesViz supports free-form trade notes and tags, but offers no structured mood scoring or automated pattern detection across sessions. A trader can manually note “felt anxious” in a comment field, but TradesViz won’t surface that across 200 trades and tell them it costs 0.4R per occurrence.

For traders whose primary problem is behavioral — revenge trading, oversizing after a loss, breaking rules on Mondays — Edgewonk’s psychology layer is the right tool. For traders still building their strategy, this depth is premature.

Custom Analytics and Metrics

Edgewonk’s Custom Statistics builder lets traders define their own performance slices. Examples: win rate on gap-up days after 10am, average R-multiple on FOMC days, drawdown per setup type in the first 30 minutes of the session. These aren’t preset — traders build filters using a dropdown interface that combines any combination of logged variables.

TradesViz provides competent preset dashboards covering the metrics most traders need: win rate, profit factor, expectancy, average holding time, best/worst days, and time-of-day heat maps. For traders who don’t need custom metric definitions, these presets cover the analytical ground efficiently. For traders who do — the Custom Statistics builder is why they pay $169.

Platform Portability and Data Safety

TradesViz stores all data in the cloud. Log in from a new laptop, a phone, or a tablet and all trades, notes, and analytics are immediately available. There is no local install to manage and no backup discipline required.

Edgewonk stores data in a local database file on the desktop machine. A hard drive failure, OS reinstall, or machine replacement requires a manual backup to preserve journal history. Edgewonk recommends exporting and backing up the database file regularly, but this creates a maintenance burden that cloud-based tools eliminate by design.

For traders who review trades on a tablet from a couch at night, or who travel and use multiple machines, TradesViz’s cloud model is meaningfully more practical.

Broker Import and Setup

TradesViz supports auto-sync for select brokers, which reduces the daily import workflow to a single button press. For thinkorswim users who prefer manual import, the process is: Account Statement → Export to Excel → upload to TradesViz. Edgewonk supports only CSV import — there is no auto-sync mechanism.

Both platforms accept a standard CSV format, which means historical trade data from any broker can be migrated to either tool with reasonable effort. Switching cost is low in either direction.

Pricing Breakdown

Break-even point: TradesViz Pro becomes more expensive than Edgewonk between months 6 and 7 (~6.75 months). Any trader who stays on TradesViz Pro beyond 7 months pays more in total than Edgewonk’s one-time fee.

The free tier changes this math entirely for low-volume traders. A trader logging fewer than the free tier cap each month pays $0 indefinitely. Active discretionary traders logging 50 or more trades per month will exhaust the free tier quickly and face this subscription math directly.

Who Should Choose TradesViz vs Edgewonk

Choose TradesViz if:

• You are new to journaling and want to build the habit before spending money
• You trade multiple asset classes (stocks, options, futures, forex, and crypto) and need them in one place
• You need mobile access or use multiple devices to review trades
• You are on a smaller account where $169 upfront represents a meaningful percentage of capital
• You want broker auto-sync to reduce daily import friction

Choose Edgewonk if:

• You are a discretionary day trader who knows your edge but consistently breaks your rules
• Emotional trading — revenge entries, oversizing after a losing streak, skipping valid setups — accounts for a measurable share of your losses
• You plan to journal actively for more than 7 months and prefer a one-time purchase over a subscription
• You need custom metric definitions beyond standard win rate, profit factor, and R-multiple
• Data privacy is a priority and you prefer local storage over cloud-based data

The Behavioral Decision Framework

Consider a discretionary day trader with a $15,000 account trading SPY options, averaging 12 trades per week. On TradesViz’s free tier, they import trades via thinkorswim CSV export, track a 52% win rate and 0.9R average, and notice that losing streaks cluster on Mondays. The data is clear but not explanatory — TradesViz shows what happened, not why.

After exhausting the free tier, they face a choice: upgrade TradesViz Pro at $24.99/mo, or switch to Edgewonk at $169 one-time. They choose Edgewonk. Within six weeks of adding pre-session mood scores, they discover Monday trades were consistently logged after sleep quality scores of 3–4 out of 10. The behavioral pattern was invisible in pure P&L data. Adjusting their Monday trading rules — smaller size, no entries before 10am — reduces weekly drawdown by an estimated 0.3R per session.

This scenario defines the decision framework: if you already know your edge but keep undermining it, Edgewonk’s psychology layer is the right tool. If you’re still identifying what your edge is, TradesViz’s free tier gives you the data capture infrastructure to find out without financial commitment.

Our Verdict

TradesViz and Edgewonk are genuinely different tools solving different problems. TradesViz is the right starting point for most traders — free, accessible, multi-asset, and good enough analytically for building a journaling habit. Edgewonk is the right upgrade for traders who have a defined strategy, recognize behavioral consistency as their primary gap, and want to quantify emotional patterns with structured session scoring.

The $169 one-time fee is reasonable if you plan to journal actively for more than 6 months — after that, TradesViz Pro costs more. But price alone shouldn’t drive the decision: the Custom Statistics builder and Tilt meter are worth the fee only if you will actually use them.

If neither tool fits — if you want cloud access, one-time pricing, and more automation than either offers — JournalPlus is worth considering at $159 one-time with automated P&L tracking and no recurring fees.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is TradesViz really free?

TradesViz offers a free tier that supports a limited number of trades. Active traders logging 10 or more trades per week will likely hit the free tier cap and need to consider the paid Pro plan (~$24.99/mo) within the first few months.

Does Edgewonk work on Mac?

Yes, Edgewonk runs on both Windows and macOS as a desktop application. It does not have a web or mobile version, so access is limited to the machine where it is installed.

Can I import thinkorswim trades into both platforms?

Yes. For thinkorswim, go to Account Statement and use “Export to Excel” to generate a CSV. Both TradesViz and Edgewonk accept this CSV format. TradesViz also offers direct broker auto-sync for select brokers, which removes the manual step.

What is Edgewonk’s Tilt meter?

The Tilt meter is Edgewonk’s proprietary behavioral tracking feature. It correlates pre-session mood scores (rated 1–10) with trade outcomes across sessions to surface patterns like “trades logged after scores below 5 have a measurably lower win rate.” TradesViz has no equivalent feature.

What happens to my Edgewonk data if my computer crashes?

Edgewonk stores data locally, so a hard drive failure without a recent backup means data loss. Edgewonk recommends regular manual backups to an external drive or cloud storage. TradesViz eliminates this risk with automatic cloud sync.

Is there a free trial for Edgewonk?

Edgewonk offers a 30-day money-back guarantee rather than a free trial. You pay $169 upfront and can request a refund within 30 days. There is no free tier or trial version.

Which journal is better for prop firm traders?

Both support funded account journaling via CSV import. For prop firm traders managing multiple accounts — such as an Apex Trader Funding funded account alongside a personal account — TradesViz’s multi-account cloud dashboard is easier to manage. Edgewonk’s psychology and rule-adherence tracking is valuable for the discipline prop firm challenges explicitly require. See also: JournalPlus for prop traders.