Trade Control — Best Free Trading Journal 2026

Feature	TradeZella $49/mo	TraderSync $29/mo	Edgewonk $169/yr	BEST VALUE Trade Control $0 Free
CSV Auto-Import	✓	✓	✗	✓
Emotion Tracking	✓	✓	✓	✓
P&L Heatmap Calendar	✓	✓	✓	✓
Risk Calculator	✓	✓	✓	✓
🔴 Circuit Breaker Lockdown	✗	✗	✗	✓ Only TC
🎙️ Voice Notes per Trade	✗	✗	✗	✓ Only TC
Playbook Compliance Score	✗	✗	✓	✓
No Account / Local First	✗	✗	✓	✓
Annual Cost	$588/yr	$348/yr	$169/yr	$0

Only TC Has These

Two features that
no competitor offers free.

These aren't premium add-ons. They're built into the free version because they're the two most important features for long-term profitability.

🎙 Voice Notes

Record your mindset
while it's still raw.

Log a voice note immediately after each trade — while the emotion, the reasoning, the mistake is still fresh. Play it back when reviewing. No other free journal does this. Not TradeZella ($49/mo). Not TraderSync ($29/mo). Not Edgewonk ($169/yr).

"I used to forget why I took a trade 3 hours later. With voice notes I replay the exact moment — and hear exactly how panicked or greedy I was. It changed how I review my trades completely."

— SwingAlpha_UK · Twitter, 2.3k impressions on his TC share card

▶

0:23

FOMO entry 😤

▶

0:41

Post-circuit breaker 🔴

Competitors with voice notes at $0: NONE.

🔴 Circuit Breaker

The only rule you'll
actually follow.

Hit your daily loss limit — the app hard-locks. No easy bypass. A countdown runs. You're forced to sit with it. This single feature has saved traders thousands in a single session. Prop firm traders use it to stay within eval drawdown limits. No competitor offers this for free.

"I would've blown $1,200 on a revenge session. Circuit breaker kicked in at -$400. I walked away, came back the next day up $800. That's the only trade that matters."

— GarlicMayo · r/Daytrading · Verified user

🛑

TRADING LOCKED

01:47:23

Daily max reached: -$400 (1.6% account)

-$400

Loss Today

Trades Taken

$1,200

Saved (est.)

Competitors with hard lockdown at any price: NONE.

Core Features

Everything you need.
Nothing behind a paywall.

📊 Journal

📈 Analytics

⚖️ Risk

📋 Playbooks

🚀 Share Cards

Trade Journal · Session View

All Trades ▼

Emotion ▼

Setup ▼

TIME	SYM	DIR	P&L	R:R	EMOTION
09:32	NQ	▲	+$367	2.4R	Confident
10:14	ES	▼	-$125	0.8R	FOMO 😤
11:45	AAPL	▲	+$211	2.1R	Patient
13:20	BTC	▼	-$88	0.6R	Revenge

💡 FOMO + Revenge cost -$213. Patient trades: +$578.

Journal

Every trade.
Full accountability.

Log trades with voice notes, emotion tags, setup labels, and mistake tracking. Filter by anything. The dollar cost of each bad habit is calculated automatically.

Full trade fields: entry, exit, size, commission, SL/TP
Emotion tags with dollar-cost breakdown per emotion
Voice note recording per trade — mobile compatible
Screenshot attachment and strategy labelling
CSV export + full JSON backup and restore

✓ Free★ Unique: Voice Notes★ Unique: Mistake Cost $

Analytics · Pattern View

💡 PATTERN

FOMO trades: -$847/mo / 31% WR · Calm trades: +$1,694/mo / 74% WR

P&L BY HOUR OF DAY

Best session9:30–11:00 (74% WR)

Worst session12:00–13:30 (31% WR)

SuggestionStop trading at 12:00

Analytics

Your data tells the truth.
Are you listening?

Automatic breakdown by session, emotion, setup, and timing. See exactly when and why you win — and what's costing you every month in dollar terms.

P&L heatmap calendar — most-shared TC screenshot
Session analysis: London, NY, Asian, Overlap
Hourly P&L chart — find your best and worst windows
Mistake tab: dollar cost and frequency per habit
Win rate by emotion, setup, symbol, and day of week

✓ Free★ Unique: Emotion → $ mapping

Risk Calculator

Account Size

$25,000

Risk %

1.0%

Stop Distance

18 ticks

Target

45 ticks

4 contracts

Recommended Size · R:R = 2.5

⚠ Daily loss at 80% of max. Circuit breaker armed at $500.

Risk Control

Size correctly.
Survive long-term.

Real-time position size calculator, R:R checker, and prop firm drawdown tracker. Risk is built into your workflow — not bolted on as an afterthought.

Position size from account + risk % + stop distance
Live risk/reward calculation with target suggestion
Daily max loss tracking linked to circuit breaker
Prop firm rules dashboard: drawdown, daily limits, targets
Multi-account with isolated tracking per account

✓ Free✓ Prop Firm Mode

Playbook System

BULL FLAG BREAKOUT

☑ Flag consolidation > 10 min

☐ Volume > 1.5× avg on breakout

☑ R:R minimum 2:1

            68% WR2.4R83% compliance
          

RANGE FADE

☑ Clear range > 30 min

☐ Touch extremes only

            51% WR59% compliance ← fix this
          

Playbooks

Your rules. Scored.
Every trade.

Build setup playbooks, tag trades, and see compliance scores per setup. Find out which setups are genuinely profitable versus which ones you're just attached to.

Unlimited playbooks with custom entry/exit rules
Compliance % score — see your actual rule-following rate
Win rate and P&L per playbook, side-by-side
Playbook violation warning on trade entry
Kill setups with negative edge — fast

✓ Free★ Unique: Compliance Scoring

Share Card Generator

TRADE CONTROL

This Month

+$2,847

68% WR · 2.4R · 47 trades

tradecontrol.neocities.org

⬇ PNG

📋 Copy

Share Cards

Post the results.
Build the reputation.

One click generates a branded performance card with your equity curve and key stats. Download as PNG. Post to Twitter, Reddit, Discord. Let the data build your credibility.

Today / Week / Month / All Time cards
Auto equity curve + all key metrics included
Download PNG or copy image to clipboard
Formatted stats text for social captions
Trade Control watermark drives viral referrals

✓ Free★ Unique: One-click PNG

Every Feature · 100% Free

UNIQUE

🔴

Circuit Breaker

Hard interface lockdown on daily loss breach. Mandatory cool-down. No competitor offers this.

UNIQUE

🎙

Voice Notes

Record post-trade thoughts per trade. Playback in journal. Works on mobile. No competitor offers this.

FREE

📥

CSV Auto-Import

Drop your broker export. 10+ brokers, 150+ column aliases auto-detected. Zero manual entry.

FREE

📅

P&L Heatmap Calendar

Monthly view of your green and red days. TC's most-shared screenshot on Reddit.

UNIQUE

💰

Mistake Cost Tracker

FOMO costing you $847/mo. TC calculates the dollar value of every bad habit automatically.

FREE

📋

Playbook System

Build setups. Tag trades. Compliance scoring shows your actual rule-following rate vs. what you think.

FREE

⚖️

Risk Calculator

Position size from account + risk % + stop distance. Prop firm mode included.

UNIQUE

🚀

Share Cards

Branded PNG cards with equity curve. One click. Post your edge on Twitter and Reddit.

FREE

🏦

Multi-Account

Manage multiple accounts. Switch instantly. Isolated data, unified dashboard.

Trader Reviews

Traders who stopped
losing systematically.

★★★★★

The circuit breaker stopped me on a revenge session where I would've blown another $1,200. Within 6 weeks I haven't blown a daily limit once. No other tool I've tried has actually changed my behaviour — this did.

GarlicMayo

r/Daytrading · NQ Futures

+$4,200 net since starting TC

★★★★★

The emotion analytics showed me 100% of my losing months were FOMO-driven. Calm trades: 74% WR. FOMO trades: 31% WR. It's all there in the data. Free tool, $588/yr saved vs TradeZella.

AbjectRequirement59

r/FuturesTrading

Win rate: 44% → 74% in 6 weeks

★★★★★

CSV import worked first try with NinjaTrader — every other journal butchered my export. Used TC to track my FTMO eval. Passed first attempt. Circuit breaker kept me within the 5% daily DD rule automatically.

JordanK_Futures

NinjaTrader · Prop Trader

Passed FTMO eval · Now funded

★★★★★

Thought I followed my playbook 80% of the time. TC showed 54%. Pushed compliance to 83% in 4 weeks. Profit factor went 1.1 → 1.8. The compliance score alone is worth more than TraderSync at $29/mo.

MarketRader_T

Forex · Daily Trader

Profit factor 1.1 → 1.8 in 4 weeks

★★★★★

I log voice notes immediately after each trade on my phone. When I review sessions later, I hear exactly how I was feeling — panicked, overconfident, FOMO. It changed how I review everything. No other journal does this.

SwingAlpha_UK

Twitter · Swing Trader

2.3k impressions on TC share cards

★★★★★

Cancelled TradeZella after 2 weeks on TC. TC has every feature I actually use at $0. The heatmap calendar is the exact screenshot everyone posts on Reddit. Privacy aspect sealed it — my broker data stays local.

haseeb5575

r/Trading · Crypto + Equities

Cancelled $49/mo TradeZella subscription

Pricing

Free is genuinely free.
No tricks.

Core tools stay free forever. Pro adds cloud sync and AI. Upgrade when it launches.

Free

Everything a serious trader needs. No expiry, no catch.

✓
Full journal (unlimited trades)
✓
CSV import — 10+ brokers
✓
P&L charts + heatmap calendar
✓
Circuit breaker hard lockdown
✓
Voice notes per trade
✓
Emotion + mistake tracking ($)
✓
Risk calculator + prop firm mode
✓
Playbook + compliance scoring
✓
Shareable PNG performance cards

Start Free Now →

No account · No card · No nonsense

COMING SOON

Pro

$12/mo

Cloud sync, AI insights, and live broker import.

✓
Everything in Free
✓
Cloud sync across devices
✓
AI pattern detection + weekly insights
✓
Broker API live auto-import
✓
Advanced correlation analysis
✓
Custom dashboard layouts
✓
Priority support + early access

Join Waitlist

Beta testers get 50% off · Cancel anytime

Prop / Team

For prop firms, trading rooms, and teams.

✓
Everything in Pro
✓
Team dashboard + leaderboard
✓
Firm-level rule enforcement
✓
API access + white-label option
✓
Dedicated support

Custom pricing · 30-day trial included

FAQ

Straight answers.
No fluff.

Is it actually free? What's the catch?+

No catch. TC runs in your browser — no server costs. Your trades stay on your device in localStorage. A Pro tier is coming at ~$12/month for cloud sync and AI. Every core journaling feature stays free forever. No bait-and-switch.

Do I need to create an account?+

No account. No email. No credit card. Open the link, start journaling. Your data lives in your browser's local storage — nothing leaves your device. Use the JSON backup export weekly.

Which brokers does CSV import support?+

Auto-detects: NinjaTrader, TradingView, MetaTrader 4/5, IBKR, Binance, Thinkorswim, TradeStation, Webull, Robinhood, eToro. The importer uses 150+ column aliases. Not on the list? Use the manual column mapper — it works with any CSV format.

How is this different from TradeZella or TraderSync?+

Price: $0 vs $29–$49/month. Privacy: your trades never leave your device. Unique features: circuit breaker hard lockdown and voice notes per trade — neither competitor offers these at any price tier.

What is the Circuit Breaker exactly?+

A hard interface lockdown that triggers when you hit your daily loss limit. Set a dollar amount once. When you breach it, the app locks and shows a mandatory cool-down countdown. No simple override. This prevents revenge trading. Zero other free journals have this.

Will I lose data if I close the browser?+

No — TC uses IndexedDB which persists between sessions until you clear browser cache. Data auto-saves every 30 seconds. Use the JSON backup export weekly as insurance. CSV export also available.

Is there a mobile app?+

No native app yet. TC is fully responsive — open in Chrome/Safari, add to home screen, it works like an app. Voice note recording works natively on Android Chrome. Log trades immediately after execution while the setup is fresh. Native app is on the Pro roadmap.

Stop Losing Money.
Start Trading Control.

Two features that
no competitor offers free.

Record your mindset
while it's still raw.

The only rule you'll
actually follow.

Before TC vs After TC.
The data doesn't lie.

What a trading coach
would tell you — automated.

Everything you need.
Nothing behind a paywall.

Every trade.
Full accountability.

Your data tells the truth.
Are you listening?

Size correctly.
Survive long-term.

Your rules. Scored.
Every trade.

Post the results.
Build the reputation.

Running in 60 seconds.
No install. No account.

Log trades on your phone
while it's still fresh.

Traders who stopped
losing systematically.

The Trading Discipline Checklist.
12 rules. Free PDF.

Free is genuinely free.
No tricks.

Straight answers.
No fluff.

Your edge is already there.
Find it.

Stop Losing Money.Start Trading Control.

Two features thatno competitor offers free.

Record your mindsetwhile it's still raw.

The only rule you'llactually follow.

Before TC vs After TC.The data doesn't lie.

What a trading coachwould tell you — automated.

Everything you need.Nothing behind a paywall.

Every trade.Full accountability.

Your data tells the truth.Are you listening?

Size correctly.Survive long-term.

Your rules. Scored.Every trade.

Post the results.Build the reputation.

Running in 60 seconds.No install. No account.

Log trades on your phonewhile it's still fresh.

Traders who stoppedlosing systematically.

The Trading Discipline Checklist.12 rules. Free PDF.

Free is genuinely free.No tricks.

Straight answers.No fluff.

Your edge is already there.Find it.

Stop Losing Money.
Start Trading Control.

Two features that
no competitor offers free.

Record your mindset
while it's still raw.

The only rule you'll
actually follow.

Before TC vs After TC.
The data doesn't lie.

What a trading coach
would tell you — automated.

Everything you need.
Nothing behind a paywall.

Every trade.
Full accountability.

Your data tells the truth.
Are you listening?

Size correctly.
Survive long-term.

Your rules. Scored.
Every trade.

Post the results.
Build the reputation.

Running in 60 seconds.
No install. No account.

Log trades on your phone
while it's still fresh.

Traders who stopped
losing systematically.

The Trading Discipline Checklist.
12 rules. Free PDF.

Free is genuinely free.
No tricks.

Straight answers.
No fluff.

Your edge is already there.
Find it.