Benzinga Review: Is It Worth The Price?

Benzinga is a platform offering real-time financial news and market analysis for investors who are looking for timely information to help them make informed trading decisions. It offers a 14-day free trial, after which you can choose from various paid subscriptions. 

But are stock research tools like Benzinga worth using, and how does it compare to other options. We're covering its key features, pros and cons, and some alternatives, to help you decide if Benzinga is right for you. 

What Is Benzinga?

Benzinga is a dedicated resource for real-time financial news and market analysis. The platform offers several tools for active traders, including day traders, who are trying to take advantage of short-term market movements. The company was founded in 2010 by Jason Raznick, and now boasts an audience of over 25 million monthly readers. 

What Does It Offer?

You can get limited free access to Benzinga, but Benzinga Pro, which comes with a 14-day free trial, is where the real value lies. Pro is packed with features, including breaking financial news and real-time updates from a variety of sources, earnings reports, analyst ratings, and more. Here's a closer look at some of its key features: 

Real-Time Newsfeed

Benzinga Pro offers a curated, real-time newsfeed that gathers information from various sources. This includes company press releases, which offer news about earnings, mergers and acquisitions, and product launches. It also publishes updates from regulatory organizations, such as the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), and the Federal Reserve. It also references major financial media sources such as Bloomberg, Reuters, CNBC, and more. 

Audio Squawk

Audio Squawk is a live audio newsfeed that reads out the most important breaking news stories, key market updates, and other significant market events. It's one of Benzinga's most useful tools, because it saves investors from having to scour through various news stories and reports. Instead, they can focus on other tasks while still getting the key information they need to make investment decisions. 

Stock Scanner and Screener

Benzinga Pro clients can use the Stock Screener tool to search and filter stocks by float, margins, simple moving averages, and more. Once you've created your stock list, you can export it to a .CSV file, set Candle Chart Intervals, and choose your refresh rate. 

The Stock Scanner tool is similar to Screener, but more customizable. Instead of spending time searching for stocks, the Scanner offers real-time updates, with filters for price, market cap, volume and relative volume, shares outstanding, and more.

If you don't need real-time updates, you can set refresh rates of up to 1 minute, or opt for a static list. Scanner presets accommodate various trading strategies, including Overall Gainers, 5-Minute Movers, Mid-Cap Movers from Open, and Large-Cap Gainers.  

Chat Rooms 

The social aspect of online trading has become very popular in recent years. Benzinga Pro allows investors of any experience level to participate an online community through Benzinga Chat. It currently offers seven chatrooms, including the Benzinga Pro Lounge, TV, Bootcamp, Crypto, Day Trading, Options, and Community Support.  

Calendars

Benzinga helps you stay organized by offering 12 different stock calendars. You can use these to keep track of analyst ratings, conference calls, dividends, earnings, mergers and acquisitions, SEC filings, and more. You can filter the different calendars to ensure you're getting results that are relevant to you. 

Are There Any Fees?

Benzinga offers a 14-day free trial, after which you must select from one of its paid subscriptions. Here's a break down of the various plans: 

Benzinga Basic

Price: 37/month ($30.58/mth. when paid annually - 17% savings)

Key Features:

• Nasdaq Basic (Real Time Quotes) 
• Full Newsfeed (no Advanced Filtering) 
• Chat 
• Movers 
• Watchlist Alerts 
• Benzinga Premium Articles on Benzinga.com  

Benzinga Streamlined

Price: $147/month ($124.75/mth. when paid annually - 15% savings)

Includes all Basic features, plus: 

• Advanced Newsfeed with filtering options 
• Audio Squawk 
• High Beta Squawk ($49/month optional add-on) 

Benzinga Essential

Price: $197 per month (166.42/mth. when paid annually - 16% savings)

Includes all Streamlined Features, Plus: 

• Real-Time Scanner
• Calendar 
• Signals 
• Unlockable bonuses 

How Does Benzinga Compare?

Wondering how Benzinga stacks up against other top market research tools? The Motley Fool is a popular stock-picking platform that offers various levels of membership, including it's flagship product, Stock Advisor. The Motley Fool is better suited for long-term investors looking to build a portfolio. Benzinga is better for active traders and day traders who are looking for real-time market news and analysis. 

Seeking Alpha strikes a balance between The Motley Fool's long-term focus and Benzinga's real-time trading tools. It offers various analysis and insights, including stock ratings, earnings call transcripts, and fundamental analysis tools. 

Like Benzinga, both The Motley Fool and Seeking Alpha have an online community where investors can participate comment and discuss a wide variety of topics. 

How Do I Open An Account?

To open a Benzinga Pro account, head to the Benzinga website and select "Get Benzinga Pro" from the top menu bar. You can select from the Basic, Streamlined, or Essential tiers. According to Benzinga, Essential is it's most popular plan, but it's also the most expensive. You will receive a discount on all of the plans by choosing the annual payment option. 

You will be required to provide some personal details, such as your name, email address, and a password, along with your payment information. Once you've signed up, you should receive a confirmation email from Benzinga. 

When you log in to your Benzinga account, you'll have the ability to customize your profile settings. This includes alerts, notifications, watchlists, stock filters, and more. 

Is It Safe And Secure?

Benzinga uses SSL encryption to protect your data, and it also has an in-depth privacy policy published on its website. In addition to adhering to all required privacy laws, such as GDPR and CCPA, the company does not sell user data to third-parties, and only shares your information when it is necessary to provide services. 

How Do I Contact Benzinga?

Benzinga offers multiple customer contact channels. You can get assistance via online chat, Monday to Friday, 9 AM - 5 PM, EST. You can also send an email to [email protected], or call 1-877-440-ZING (9464). 

Is It Worth It?

If you're an active trader or day trader who needs real-time access to market news and analysis, Benzinga can be well worth the price. In fact, it's on our list of the best stock picks and investment newsletters. The question is, do you need all of that information? Many investors can access market research data and tools for free from their online brokerage. Consider that option if you don't need as much real-time data, or if you're just looking for stock picks and investing ideas, consider cheaper alternatives like The Motley Fool Stock Advisor.  

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