MarketXLS Review – An Excel-Based Market Research Tool

What Is MarketXLS?

MarketXLS is a sophisticated stock research extension tool for spreadsheets. This tool is a powerful enhancement for traders and investors who are hardcore spreadsheet fanatics with an affinity for robust data statistics. It uses Microsoft Excel’s engine and platform to quickly extract and manipulate data for numerous analytical and algorithmic purposes.

For data scientists, manipulation refers to formatting, positions and configuring data to be more easily interpreted. Creating, back-testing and validating models, trading systems and methodology components is a key function of this platform. This enhances data-driven decision-making processes for analytical minds that love probabilities and stats.

MarketXLS Pricing Options

MarketXLS offers a few pricing plans.

• Pro – $47/month or $420/year
• Pro Plus – $67/month or $588/year
• Pro Plus RT – $97/month or $876/year
• Premium – $199/month or $1788/year

The company also offers a plan for Google Sheets which can be purchased for $588/year.

Data fees are included in all plans, so there are no upcharges. You can find a detailed explanation of the differences in plans here.

The software license subscriptions include over 400 stock market functions, stock screeners, over 100 technical indicators, portfolio management, charts, candle pattern scanning, Excel compatibility, valuation templates, social media integration and five-days/24-hour customer support.

Additional delayed and real-time exchange and data fees cost extra.

MarketXLS Features Breakdown

This software enables you to keep all the data and charts on Excel spreadsheets. It’s not for everyone, especially those without experience with Excel. Here’s some of the key features.

Charts

MarketXLS enables users to create charts and graphs based on any series of data in the spreadsheet. Users can opt for line, bar and candlestick charts or dot plots and graphs. These are more acclimated to swing traders, portfolio traders and self-directed investors as real-time intra-day trading off these charts can be clunky.

You can create charts using a variety of both technical indicators and fundamental indicators (similar to YCharts).

Here’s a video that shows the chart functionality in more detail:

Technical Indicators

The software comes with a library of over 120 technical indicators from Overlap Studies like moving averages to MACD and Fibonacci tools. Indicators range from volatility, momentum, Chaikin volume and Hilbert cycle indicators. It also has built-in pattern recognition tools. However, users need to be versed in candlesticks to filter through them since a reversal candle is worthless when the stock is in a consolidation. While these advanced indicators are useful, it’s a bit tedious to set them up in Excel instead of using a standalone charting platform like TradingView or whatever platform your broker provides.

Scanners

The screener/scanner can be used for fundamental and technical analysis-based scans. Users can scan up to 10-years of key fundamental data as well as mine financial statements. The pattern recognition tool can be used for stock screening to generate a Pattern-Scan report. Again, the software just identifies the actual candle, but users must confirm if the context is workable. Users can create and save an infinite combination scans through the filter editor.

Portfolio Management

MarketXLS has some very impressive portfolio tools that enable users to monitor everything from performance stats, taxes, allocations, returns, risk profiles and optimized portfolio allocations. Seasoned users can manipulate the data to find relevant behavioral, management and performance patterns and leaks literally invisible to the naked eye to determine remedies for improvement. I really like the analytics that provide expected returns and Sharpe Ratios. This was especially eye-opening for me.

Watch Lists

Built-in watch lists including Top 100 Gainers/Losers and most active stocks are available. Users can also create an unlimited number of watch lists to monitor and set alert triggers based on technical or fundamental triggers. It’s just a matter of how much screen space you have. I highly recommend having at least two-monitors.

Options

Options chains can be downloaded or plugged into charts to be monitored and analyzed conveniently. There are two other options features worth noting:

1. The Options Scanner
2. The Options Valuation Model

The options scanner allows you to set up a fully-customizable options screen in excel. You can choose your columns/metrics and filter options accordingly.

The valuation model can be used to automatically calculated the Black-Scholes formula with a simple Excel shortcut.

Social Media and Market News

You can share and post your data, charts and models on StockTwits and Twitter. MarketXLS also enables proprietary news channels and market summary within Excel.

Customization and Saved Layouts

This platform is highly customizable with unlimited layouts that can be saved on Excel. Pre-formatted charts and layouts are also available for those who aren’t as efficient on MS Excel.

Google Sheets Add-On

Since the time of our initial MarketXLS review, the company has released a Google Sheets add-on. You can now take the power of MarketXLS to the cloud with the Google Sheets integration (a feature we were very happy to see).

What Type of Trader MarketXLS.com Is Best For?

MarketXLS is a data junkie’s dream. Having access to infinite data points stored within the confines of your spreadsheet with the flexibility to scientifically manipulate and mine for hidden treasures. Users will either love or hate MarketXLS due to the complexity of navigation or the depth of data that can be extracted. The platform has real depth beyond just the surface impressions.

This software can be complicated for newbies that aren’t seasoned in MS Excel. It definitely takes some time to set up all of the custom tools you need, but it can be well worth it.

Intra-day traders will find it too clunky to navigate. It’s best suited for swing traders, self-directed investors, and portfolio managers with analytical mindsets and an affinity for data-driven models.

While MarketXLS offers a variety of built-in tools that require minimal setup, the main power comes from its flexibility and customization. You can create custom templates, calculations, and analyses that you wouldn’t be able to create on other platforms. I don’t use MarketXLS to replace my current charting setup or scanner, but I find a lot of value in the custom analysis tools I am able to create.

Pros

• Enables in-depth data analytics, back-testing and statistics
• Great Portfolio Management tools
• Pattern Recognition scans
• Best suited for data junkies
• Data can be downloaded for offline analysis
• Stable API and free upgrades with subscription

Cons

• Too clunky for intra-day traders who don’t want to memorize Excel commands
• Microsoft Excel proficiency required