StockCharts Review 2026: The Trusted Standard for Classical Technical Analysis

StockCharts.com is a web-based charting and technical analysis platform founded in 1999 by Chip Anderson in Redmond, Washington. For over two decades, it has been the trusted tool of choice for classical market technicians, swing traders, and long-term investors who value rigorous, methodology-driven analysis over flashy features. While TradingView has captured the attention of a younger generation of traders with its social features and modern interface, StockCharts remains deeply respected among serious technical analysts.

StockCharts' strength lies in its commitment to classical technical analysis methodologies. The platform was built in close collaboration with some of the most respected names in technical analysis — John Murphy (author of "Technical Analysis of the Financial Markets"), Martin Pring, Arthur Hill, and Greg Morris — and their influence is evident in every aspect of the platform.

History & Legacy

StockCharts.com launched in 1999, making it one of the oldest web-based charting platforms still in active operation. Chip Anderson, the founder, was the son of a technical analyst and grew up surrounded by hand-drawn charts and technical analysis books. He built StockCharts to bring these classical methods to the web at a time when most charting was still done on desktop software.

The platform quickly became the go-to resource for the technical analysis community, partly due to its association with legendary analysts. John Murphy, often called the "father of inter-market analysis," served as StockCharts' Chief Technical Analyst for many years, and his market commentary on the platform attracted a loyal following.

SharpCharts: The Classic Engine

SharpCharts is StockCharts' original charting engine and remains its most distinctive feature. Unlike the interactive, JavaScript-based charts found on most modern platforms, SharpCharts generates static PNG images that are incredibly crisp, clean, and publication-ready. This may sound like a limitation, but it's actually a deliberate design choice with significant advantages:

• Publication Quality — SharpCharts images are used extensively in financial blogs, newsletters, books, and presentations. They're clean, professional, and instantly recognizable.
• Consistency — Every chart looks exactly the same regardless of browser, screen size, or device. There are no rendering inconsistencies.
• Speed — Static images load instantly, even on slow connections. There's no JavaScript overhead or rendering delay.
• Shareability — Charts can be saved, embedded, and shared as simple image URLs without requiring the recipient to have a StockCharts account.

Point & Figure Charting — The Gold Standard

StockCharts is widely regarded as the definitive platform for Point & Figure (P&F) charting on the web. P&F charts are a classical charting method that filters out time and focuses exclusively on price movements, using columns of X's (rising prices) and O's (falling prices) to identify trends, support/resistance levels, and price targets.

StockCharts' P&F implementation follows the exact methodologies described in the classic texts by Thomas Dorsey ("Point & Figure Charting") and Jeremy du Plessis ("The Definitive Guide to Point and Figure"). Features include:

• Traditional and High-Low P&F methods with customizable box sizes and reversal amounts.
• Automatic bullish and bearish price target calculations using the horizontal and vertical count methods.
• P&F pattern recognition — double top/bottom breakouts, triple top/bottom breakouts, catapults, and more.
• Relative Strength P&F charts — comparing a stock's performance against a benchmark using P&F methodology.
• Bullish Percent Index (BPI) — A market breadth indicator based on the percentage of stocks on P&F buy signals.

Proprietary Indicators & Analysis Tools

StockCharts includes several proprietary indicators and analysis tools developed by or in collaboration with renowned technical analysts:

• SCTR (StockCharts Technical Rank) — A composite ranking system that scores stocks from 0 to 100 based on multiple technical indicators across different timeframes. Developed by Greg Morris.
• Renko Charts — High-quality Renko chart implementation with customizable brick sizes.
• Kagi Charts — Traditional Japanese charting method that filters out noise and focuses on significant price movements.
• Equivolume Charts — Charts where the width of each bar is proportional to volume, making it easy to spot high-volume price movements.
• CandleGlance — A unique feature that displays thumbnail charts of multiple symbols on a single page, allowing rapid visual scanning of your watchlist.
• PerfCharts — Performance comparison charts that normalize multiple symbols to a common starting point, making it easy to compare relative performance.

ACP: Advanced Charting Platform

Recognizing that static SharpCharts images, while excellent for analysis and publication, don't meet the expectations of modern traders accustomed to interactive charts, StockCharts developed ACP (Advanced Charting Platform). ACP is a fully interactive, HTML5-based charting platform that brings dynamic, real-time charting to StockCharts while maintaining the platform's commitment to analytical rigor.

• Interactive charts with zoom, pan, and crosshair tools.
• Real-time data streaming for intraday charts.
• Drawing tools including trendlines, channels, Fibonacci retracements, and annotations.
• Multiple chart layouts with synchronized cursors.
• All SharpCharts indicators available in the interactive format.

Market Data Coverage

Scan Engine

StockCharts includes a powerful scan engine that allows you to search for stocks matching specific technical criteria. Scans can be built using a point-and-click interface or by writing custom scan syntax. The platform also includes dozens of pre-built scans based on popular technical analysis methodologies (e.g., "Stocks above 200-day SMA with RSI crossing above 30," "New 52-week highs with above-average volume").

Pricing

Pros and Cons

Who Should Use StockCharts?

StockCharts is ideal for classical technical analysts, swing traders, and long-term investors who value rigorous methodology over flashy features. If you practice Point & Figure charting, follow the teachings of John Murphy or Martin Pring, or need publication-quality charts for newsletters and presentations, StockCharts is the clear choice.

However, if you need real-time order execution, custom indicator development, or a large social community, TradingView is a more complete solution. And if you're a day trader focused on order flow or algorithmic trading, StockCharts is not the right tool — it's designed for analysis, not execution.

Final Verdict

StockCharts.com may not be the flashiest platform, but it's one of the most respected. Its commitment to classical technical analysis, unmatched Point & Figure charting, and association with legendary analysts give it a credibility that newer platforms can't easily replicate. For its target audience, StockCharts remains an essential tool — a quiet authority in a world of noisy trading platforms.