TradingView Screener Tutorial: Master Stock Screening for Smarter Trading
TradingView's screener is like having a super-powered search engine for stocks, crypto, and other markets. It helps you sift through the noise to find exactly what you're looking for, based on your own personal strategy. Figuring out how to use it can feel like a game-changer for your trading.
In this guide, we'll walk through the screener together, from the simple first steps to some of the more powerful tricks you can use to refine your searches. No matter your experience level, getting a handle on this tool can seriously speed up your analysis and help you feel more confident in your decisions.
What Is the TradingView Screener?
Think of the TradingView screener as your personal market scout. Instead of you manually checking hundreds of charts, you can tell the screener exactly what to look for, and it will hand you a shortlist of potential candidates.
You can filter for almost anything:
- Technical Stuff: Like stocks where the RSI is showing oversold conditions.
- Fundamental Data: Such as companies with strong earnings growth.
- Market Performance: Like cryptocurrencies that have had a big move in volume recently.
It's all about taking the huge, overwhelming universe of trading options and narrowing it down to a list that actually makes sense for you. Whether you're looking for a quick day trade or a stock to hold for years, this tool adjusts to your style.
Why the TradingView Screener is a Game-Changer for Your Trades
Ever feel overwhelmed by the sheer number of stocks and cryptocurrencies out there? Manually sifting through them all is not only time-consuming, but it also opens the door for your emotions to sneak into your decisions. This is where the TradingView screener becomes your best friend.
Think of it as a dedicated assistant that does the heavy lifting for you. It automates the search for promising opportunities, letting you zero in on what truly matters—high-probability setups. You can instantly find stocks that are breaking out of a tight range or spot cryptocurrencies with unusually high trading volume, which often signals that something big is happening.
One of the biggest advantages is how it helps you validate your ideas. Instead of taking a wild guess, you can quickly check if your trading strategy has held up in the past. This makes your entire approach more grounded in data and less about speculation. If you're serious about strategy testing, our guide on How to Backtest on TradingView: The Complete 2025 Guide That Actually Works covers the essential steps.
The screener is also incredibly versatile. It doesn't matter if you're interested in stocks, crypto, or even bonds; it has specialized filters for each. For instance, when looking at stocks, you can easily narrow things down by:
| Filter Type | What You Can Find |
|---|---|
| Market Cap | From small, growing companies to massive, established ones. |
| Dividends | Stocks that provide a regular income stream. |
| Sector Performance | How different industries, like tech or healthcare, are behaving. |
This is super helpful for building a well-rounded portfolio that isn't put all its eggs in one basket. Getting a handle on this tool through a guide like this one essentially gives you a powerful edge, helping you navigate even the most chaotic markets with more confidence.
Getting Started: Finding the TradingView Screener
Alright, let's get you set up with the TradingView screener. First things first, you'll need to log in to your TradingView account. If you don't have one yet, no worries—you can create a free account in just a minute.
Once you're in, here's how you find the screener:
- From the Homepage: Look at the top of the TradingView homepage. You'll see a main menu. Click on "Screener" in that menu. This will take you to the main hub where you can pick what you want to screen, like stocks, forex, or cryptocurrencies.
- From a Chart: If you're already looking at a chart, there's an even quicker way. Just glance at the very bottom of your screen, and you'll spot a tab labeled "Screener." Give that a click, and it will open right up for you.
When the screener opens, you'll see a big table pop up, filled with different assets. It usually shows you some basic info right away, like the ticker name, current price, how much it's moved, and the trading volume.
To get you started, TradingView has some handy pre-made screeners you can try out. You can quickly switch to ones focused on top performers or those using specific technical indicators to see what catches your eye.
And if you're on your phone, the mobile app has a screener too! It works in a similar way, though you'll have the most options for building and customizing your own filters on the desktop website.
Your Friendly Guide to Using the TradingView Stock Screener
Let's walk through how to use the stock screener together, just like I'd show a friend. It's a powerful tool, but it's pretty straightforward once you break it down. We'll start with the basics.
First, find the "Stock Screener" in the menu and click it. You'll see a big list of stocks, usually sorted by something like their overall size (market cap) or how they're performing that day.
The real magic happens when you click the blue "Filters" button. This opens up a side panel where you can tell the screener exactly what you're looking for. The filters are grouped into helpful categories like technical indicators, company fundamentals, and general descriptive info.
Here's how you can build your scan:
1. Start with the Basics Choose a time frame for your search, like the last day or the last week. This makes sure you're looking at recent performance.
2. Add Some Technical Flavor You can add indicators like moving averages. A popular one is to look for stocks where the 50-day moving average is above the 200-day. Many people see this as a sign of a healthy, upward trend. For more advanced moving average techniques, check out our guide on Ehlers Dynamic Smoothed Moving Average Indicator for TradingView Pine Script.
3. Check Under the Hood with Fundamentals Don't forget the company's financials! You can screen for things like:
- A P/E ratio below 15, which might suggest a reasonably priced stock.
- A dividend yield above 3% if you're looking for stocks that pay you back.
As you apply these filters, the main table updates instantly, showing you all the stocks that match your criteria. From this results list, you can click to sort any column, export the data, or even set up alerts for specific stocks. Following these steps makes it easy to run the same successful scan again and again.
Once you're comfortable, try mixing filters to get more specific. For example, you could look for stocks that are potentially oversold (like with an RSI below 30) AND have rising trading volume—a combo some traders watch for a possible bounce.
The best part? You can save your custom screener setup by clicking the "Save" button. This is a huge time-saver, letting you run your favorite scans with just one click every day.
Example Filters at a Glance
| Filter Type | Example Goal | Sample Setting |
|---|---|---|
| Technical | Find stocks in an uptrend | 50-day SMA > 200-day SMA |
| Fundamental | Find potentially undervalued stocks | P/E Ratio < 15 |
| Fundamental | Find income-generating stocks | Dividend Yield % > 3 |
A Quick Tip: If your screen gives you too many results, add another filter. If it gives you none, try loosening one of your settings. It's all about experimenting!
Unlocking TradingView's Crypto Screener
Think of the crypto market as a massive, 24/7 party with thousands of guests. It's exciting, but how do you find the most interesting people to talk to? That's where TradingView's crypto screener comes in. It's your personal guide to cutting through the noise.
You can find it by heading to the "Screener" menu at the top and selecting "Crypto." If you primarily trade on big-name platforms like Binance or Coinbase, check out the "CEX Screener," which focuses specifically on these centralized exchanges.
Once you're in, you can use filters to narrow down your search. It's like setting up a dating profile for your perfect trade. You can filter by:
- Price & Market Cap: Find coins that fit your budget and size preference.
- Volume: Look for busy, liquid assets to make entering and exiting a trade smoother.
- Exchange-Specific Data: See which coins are available for trading on your preferred platform.
Putting the Screener to Work
Here are a few practical ways to use these filters:
- Catch the Wave: Filter by the 24-hour change to find coins that have already moved up over 10%. This can help you spot assets with strong momentum.
- Avoid Slippage: Use the volume filter to focus on highly-traded coins. This helps ensure you can get in and out of a position close to the price you see.
- Follow the Trend: A great trick is to filter for coins trading above their 20-day Exponential Moving Average (EMA). This quickly shows you which assets are in a general uptrend.
The CEX Screener is especially powerful for comparing the same asset across different exchanges. Sometimes, you'll spot a price difference for a coin on Binance versus Coinbase, which can present a unique opportunity.
Finally, don't forget to play with the time frame! Whether you're a scalper looking at 1-minute charts or a long-term investor checking monthly data, adjusting the period helps you find setups that match your strategy.
Advanced Tips for Forex and ETF Screeners
Alright, let's get into the more powerful ways you can use these screeners. Think of them less like simple filters and more like your personal trading assistants.
For the Forex Trader:
Jump into the TradingView forex screener, and you'll see you can sort by all the usual stuff like currency pairs and pip changes. But the real magic happens when you start playing with the technical oscillators. A great place to start? Try filtering for pairs where the Average True Range (ATR) is above its usual level. This instantly flags the pairs that are moving more than normal, which is perfect if you're a day trader hunting for opportunities with plenty of action.
For the ETF Investor:
The ETF screener works on a similar principle, but the filters are tailored to what matters for funds—think sector exposure and dividend yield. Here's a pro move: don't just use the screener in isolation. Pair it with a heatmap (you can find it under the Screeners tab).
A heatmap gives you a visual snapshot of the entire market. It uses color-coded blocks—greens for strong performers, reds for weak ones—so you can spot which sectors or assets are leading the pack in seconds. In any advanced tutorial, you'll see traders use the screener to get a list, then glance at the heatmap for quick visual confirmation.
Quick Pro Tips to Tie It All Together:
| Tip | Why It's Useful |
|---|---|
| Customize Your Columns | Don't just stick with the default view. Add columns for your own custom indicators that you've scripted in Pine Script. This makes the screener truly yours. |
| Set Up Alerts | Found a perfect setup? Don't sit and watch it all day. Set an alert for when an asset meets your criteria, and you'll get a notification automatically. It's a huge time-saver. |
| Integrate with Charts | This is the best part. See a promising ticker in your results? Just click on it, and it instantly opens a full chart for deeper analysis. Your research becomes a seamless flow. |
Making Your Stock Screener Truly Yours
One of the coolest things you can do with TradingView's screener is tailor it to fit exactly what you're looking for. It goes way beyond just picking a few basic filters.
Think of the results table as your own personal dashboard. You can add or remove columns, drag them around to rearrange the order, and really set it up so the most important data for your strategy is right up front.
But the real magic happens when you get specific. You can use Pine Script to create custom columns for metrics that aren't already there. For example, you could write a simple script to scan for stocks that are forming a very particular candlestick pattern you like to trade.
Once you've got everything set up perfectly, don't forget to save it! Just hit "Save As," give it a clear name (like "Weekly Dividend Scans"), and you can pull it up again in one click. This is a lifesaver for the strategies you run regularly. It means you're not rebuilding your filters from scratch every single time.
A quick heads-up: While everyone can save screeners, having a Pro plan lets you save an unlimited number, which is super handy if you're juggling multiple strategies at once.
Get More Out of Your TradingView Screener by Connecting the Dots
Think of the screener as your starting point, not the finish line. Its real power comes when you connect it with the other tools you already use on TradingView. Here's how to make them all work together smoothly.
After your screener finds a list of interesting stocks or crypto, your next steps are key:
- Dive Deeper with Charts: Simply right-click on any ticker from your results and open its full chart. This is where you can double-check the screener's findings by applying your favorite indicators and drawing tools for a closer look.
- Keep Tabs on Your Finds: Don't let a good find get lost! You can save the entire screener result as a watchlist. This lets you easily monitor how those assets are performing over time without running the same scan over and over.
- Get Notified Automatically: Found a perfect setup? Set an alert directly from the screener or on the chart. This way, you don't have to stare at the screen all day; TradingView will just ping you when your conditions are met.
Level Up with the Pine Screener
For those who like to get technical, the Pine Screener is a game-changer. It lets you use custom scripts (the same language used for indicators) to run your scans. This opens up possibilities that the standard screener can't handle, like analyzing a stock's weekly trend while scanning for daily entry signals.
Speaking of custom screeners, platforms like Pineify take this to the next level with their dedicated TradingView Pine Script Screener. It allows you to scan multiple symbols and timeframes simultaneously using 149+ technical indicators with fully customizable, color-coded signals, making it incredibly efficient to catch market moves early.
| Tool | How to Use It Together | Why It's Powerful |
|---|---|---|
| Charts & Analysis | Right-click a screener result to open its chart. | You can immediately validate a scan with deeper technical analysis. |
| Watchlists | Save your screener results as a new watchlist. | Tracks the evolving performance of your scans without re-running them. |
| Alerts | Set price or indicator alerts from the screener or chart. | Automates your monitoring so you never miss a potential move. |
| Pine Script | Use the Pine Screener for custom, script-based scans. | Enables complex, multi-timeframe logic and truly unique strategies. |
By linking these tools, you're not just using a screener; you're building a seamless, personalized trading system that does the heavy lifting for you.
Common Mistakes to Avoid When Using a Stock Screener
Let's talk about some common slip-ups people make when they're setting up their stock screener. Avoiding these can save you a lot of missed opportunities and headaches.
Over-Filtering Your Results It's tempting to add a ton of strict filters to find the "perfect" stock. But if you make your criteria too narrow, you might end up with only a handful of results, or even none at all. You could be filtering out some really great opportunities. The goal isn't to find one magical stock; it's to get a manageable list of high-quality candidates to research further.
Ignoring the Time Frame This is a big one. The data your screener pulls is dependent on the time frame you select. If you're looking for long-term investments but have your screener set to a 1-day chart, your data will be skewed and practically useless. Always make sure the time frame on your screener matches the time frame of your trading or investing strategy.
Forgetting the Big Picture (Fundamentals) If you're only focused on technical indicators like moving averages and RSI, you might be missing the whole story. A stock might look great on a chart, but if the company is fundamentally unhealthy—like carrying a massive amount of debt—it's a huge risk. For longer-term holds, a quick check of key fundamental metrics is a non-negotiable safety step.
Skipping the Chart Check Never, ever place a trade based solely on a screener result. The screener is a tool for generating ideas, not for giving the final "all clear." Always open the chart of a stock that passes your screen to visually confirm what the data is telling you. This is your best defense against false positives and helps you understand the stock's actual price action.
Q&A Section: Answering Your TradingView Screener Questions
What is the difference between stock and crypto screeners? Think of it like this: stock screeners are built to find companies based on their business health—things like profits, revenue, and dividends. Crypto screeners, on the other hand, are designed for a fast-moving, 24/7 market, so they focus heavily on trading volume, which exchanges a coin is on, and recent price action. The tool looks similar, but it's asking different questions based on what matters for each asset.
How do I add custom indicators to the screener? You can build your own filters using Pine Script, which is TradingView's own programming language. You'd write your idea in their Pine Editor, and once you save it, your new indicator will pop up as an option in the screener's filters list. It takes a bit of coding, but it's the key to creating scans that nobody else has.
Is the TradingView screener free? You can definitely use a powerful version of the screener for free. The basic access lets you run scans and test out your strategies. If you find yourself needing a much wider selection of filters or want to save an unlimited number of setups, that's when you'd look at one of their paid subscriptions.
Can I screen for pre-market data? Absolutely. You just need to adjust the time frame settings in the screener to include the pre-market session. This is a go-to move for day traders looking to get a jump on the day by spotting stocks that are already moving before the official market open.
How accurate is the real-time data? TradingView pulls its data from a bunch of well-regarded exchanges and financial data providers, so it's very reliable for most traders. That said, during moments of extreme market frenzy, a slight delay can sometimes happen. It's always a good habit to double-check anything critical directly on the chart before placing a trade.
Your Next Move: Putting Your New Skills to Work
Alright, you've made it through the tutorial and have the know-how—so what's next? The real magic happens when you start building your own screener.
Jump in and create your first custom screen today. Don't be afraid to play around with different filters and see what you find. The best way to learn what works for you is by testing things out and keeping notes on your results in a trading journal.
I'd love to hear what you come up with! Drop a comment below and share your favorite screener setup. What's that one filter you always rely on to spot potential opportunities?
To keep learning, here are a couple of great next steps:
| Action | Resource |
|---|---|
| Watch video guides | Subscribe to TradingView's YouTube channel. |
| Discuss with others | Join the conversation on TradingView community forums. |
If this guide was useful for you, pass it along to someone else who might benefit. Let's help each other find better trades. Happy screening
