The best trading journal for prop firm traders (2026)
Last reviewed: Oct 10, 2026 · Competitor pricing and features checked on their official sites the same day
A normal trading journal answers one question: am I a profitable trader? A prop firm trader needs answers to three more. How close is this account to breaching right now? Which of my eight accounts needs attention today? Have the payouts actually covered what I've spent on evaluations, resets and activation fees?
Most popular journals were built for stock and options traders and added prop features later. A few were built for prop traders from the start. This page covers what to look for, then compares six journals honestly, including ours. Disclosure: Tradervana is our product. We've tried to stick to what each company publishes on its own site and to say plainly where Tradervana falls short.
What to look for in a prop firm trading journal
- 1. Live rule tracking against your firm's limits. The rules that end prop accounts are trailing drawdowns, daily loss limits and consistency rules, and they're different at every firm. A useful prop journal lets you save those limits per account and shows your remaining room while you trade, not in a report afterward. It needs to understand end-of-day vs. intraday trailing. If those terms are new to you, see prop firm rules compared.
- 2. Multi-account by default. Most prop traders run several evaluations and funded accounts at once, often at more than one firm. Check how many accounts each plan includes, and whether you can see every account's status on one screen.
- 3. Evaluation and payout cost tracking. A payout isn't profit until you subtract the evaluations, resets, activation fees and data fees it took to get there. Look for a ledger that shows spent vs. taken home vs. net, by firm.
- 4. Broker sync for the platforms prop firms actually use. Futures prop accounts usually run on Tradovate, Rithmic, NinjaTrader or TopstepX (ProjectX). “Supports 500+ brokers” means little if your platform is file-upload only. Check whether your platform auto-syncs or needs a CSV export after every session.
- 5. Warnings, not just reports. Tilt and losing-streak warnings, inactivity alerts before a firm closes an idle account, and consistency warnings before a big day raises your target. These are what save accounts.
- 6. Price relative to how much you trade. Prop trading already comes with monthly evaluation fees. A journal that costs more than your evaluations deserves a hard look.
The comparison at a glance
| Feature | Tradervana | TradeZella | Tradervue | TraderSync | Edgewonk | TradesViz |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Built for | Prop futures traders | All markets, prop fee/payout tracking | Stocks first, all markets | All markets | All markets, psychology focus | All markets, deep analytics |
| Free plan | Yes, free forever (manual + CSV) | No | Yes (30 trades/mo, no futures) | No | No (14-day money-back) | Yes (stocks only) |
| Paid price (monthly) | Pro $15/mo | $35 / $59 / $99 | $29.95 / $49.95 | $29.95 / $49.95 / $79.95 | $197/yr, one plan | $19.99 / $29.99 |
| Live prop rule tracking | Yes (Pro) | Not advertised | Not advertised | Not advertised | Not advertised | Yes, firm profiles |
| Eval / payout cost ledger | Yes (Pro) | Yes, PropFirm Sync | Not advertised | Not advertised | Not advertised | Payout readiness only |
| Tradovate | Auto-sync | Auto-sync | File import | File import | File import | Auto-sync |
| TopstepX | Auto-sync (beta) | Auto-sync | Not found | Listed | File import | Not found |
| Rithmic | CSV import | File upload | File import | Listed | File import | Auto-sync |
| NinjaTrader | CSV import | Auto-sync | File import | Listed | File import | Auto-sync |
Prices are the monthly list prices on each company's site as of Oct 10, 2026. Most offer annual discounts. “Not advertised” and “Not found” mean we couldn't find it on their public pages, not that it definitely doesn't exist. “Listed” means the platform appears on the company's broker list, but we couldn't confirm whether it's auto-sync or file import.
Tradervana
Best for: prop futures traders running several evaluations and funded accounts who want live rule room and real net P&L without paying analytics-suite prices.
Tradervana is built around the prop account. Save each firm's limits as a rule set (profit target, max loss with trailing or static drawdown, daily loss limit, contract caps, consistency rule, inactivity rules and payout buffer) and attach it to an account. The dashboard then shows live distance-to-breach, drawdown room and progress toward the target on every account. The payout tracker logs every evaluation, reset, activation and data fee against your payouts to show spent, taken home and net, broken down by cost type and by account. There are also tilt warnings, inactivity alerts, a pass-plan simulator, a monthly AI debrief, and more.
Pros
- A real free plan, not a trial: unlimited manual history, uncapped CSV import, strategies with checklists, session reviews, and manual evaluation/funded tracking. Free trading journal →
- Rule tracking, warnings and a cost ledger all designed for prop accounts
- Auto-sync for Tradovate, TopstepX and Interactive Brokers, plus iOS and Android apps
- Pro is $15/mo
Founders rate: Pro is $9/mo for life if you sign up before Oct 31, 2026.
Honest limits
- Futures-first. No stocks or options analytics focus. If you mostly trade equities or options, a broader journal will serve you better.
- Short broker list. Auto-sync covers Tradovate, TopstepX and Interactive Brokers only. TopstepX and IBKR sync are both still in beta. Rithmic (R-Trader) exports are recognized on import, and other platforms such as NinjaTrader go through CSV import with column mapping.
- Fewer deep-analytics extras. There's no tick-level trade replay, backtester or Level II data. Competitors below are stronger there.
- Rule tracking, sync and the cost ledger require Pro.
Topstep trader? See the Topstep trading journal and Topstep rules, explained.
TradeZella
Best for: traders who want a polished all-in-one platform with backtesting, replay and AI, and who are happy to pay for it.
TradeZella has three plans: Essential $35/mo (1 account), Pro $59/mo (up to 50 accounts) and Ultra $99/mo (unlimited accounts). Annual billing works out to $26, $44 and $74 a month. It advertises 500+ broker and prop firm integrations. Its help center lists auto-sync for Tradovate, NinjaTrader and TopstepX, and file upload for Rithmic R Trader. PropFirm Sync is its prop finance dashboard. It tracks evaluation fees, resets, activations, payouts and ROI, and it can detect prop firm transactions automatically by connecting your bank through Plaid, or you can enter them manually. TradeZella describes it as tracking finances, not importing trades.
Pros: wide broker coverage, including TopstepX and NinjaTrader auto-sync; backtesting, trade replay and AI tools; PropFirm Sync for costs and payouts.
Cons: no free plan; the Essential plan covers only one account, so most prop traders need Pro at $59/mo; many features you may never use if you just want rule tracking.
Tradervue
Best for: stock day traders who want a clean, long-running journal with strong reports.
Tradervue has a free plan plus Silver ($29.95/mo) and Gold ($49.95/mo). Both paid plans include unlimited imports and accounts, and Gold adds exit analysis, commission and fee reports, risk and liquidity reports, and more. The free plan is capped at 30 trades a month and doesn't support futures, so prop futures traders need a paid plan. Its help docs describe NinjaTrader and Tradovate as file imports.
Pros: mature and simple, with good reporting; unlimited accounts on both paid plans; mentoring and trade-sharing features.
Cons: no prop rule tracking or cost/payout ledger advertised; futures require a paid plan; futures platforms are mostly file import.
TraderSync
Best for: multi-asset traders who want AI coaching and market replay for practice.
TraderSync lists Pro at $29.95/mo, Premium at $49.95/mo and Elite at $79.95/mo, with lower effective prices on annual billing ($269.52, $449.52 and $719.52 a year). Features include the Cypher AI assistant, trade replay, and market replay and backtesting across stocks, futures, crypto and forex. It says it supports 700+ brokers. Its futures page lists Tradovate, NinjaTrader, Rithmic R Trader and others, but its broker table separates AutoSync from CSV upload, and its Tradovate page describes importing an exported trade-history file.
Pros: strong replay and backtesting; AI coaching; broad asset and broker coverage.
Cons: no free plan; no prop rule tracking or cost ledger advertised; futures prop platforms appear to rely on file upload.
Edgewonk
Best for: traders who care most about psychology, discipline and in-depth stats, and prefer one flat annual price.
Edgewonk is one plan: $197 a year (shown as $169 during a time-limited promotion when we checked) with all features, unlimited journals and a 14-day money-back guarantee. It supports futures and has psychology tools such as its Tiltmeter, plus trade-management and setup analytics. For futures platforms (Tradovate, NinjaTrader, Rithmic, TopstepX) it documents file imports. Auto-sync is documented for MetaTrader 4/5.
Pros: inexpensive for a full-featured journal, with unlimited journals; strong psychology and discipline tooling.
Cons: no prop rule tracking or cost ledger advertised; futures imports are manual exports; annual billing only.
TradesViz
Best for: analytics-heavy traders who want prop compliance tracking plus a huge range of stats and simulators.
TradesViz is one of the few big journals with a dedicated prop firm feature set. Its compliance dashboard covers drawdown buffer, trailing floor, daily loss, consistency score and payout readiness, using pre-built profiles for 37+ firms. It can also run your past trades retroactively against a firm's rules and simulate an evaluation in Challenge Mode. It advertises auto-sync for Tradovate, Rithmic and NinjaTrader. The free Basic plan covers stocks only. Pro is $19.99/mo ($14.99 billed annually, 10 accounts) and Platinum is $29.99/mo ($22.49 billed annually, 20 accounts).
Pros: real prop compliance tracking with firm presets; Rithmic and NinjaTrader auto-sync; very deep analytics, simulators and AI tools.
Cons: the free plan is stocks only, so futures traders need a paid plan (check which plan includes the prop compliance dashboard before subscribing); there's a lot of interface to learn; no dedicated cost-vs-payout ledger advertised beyond payout readiness.
So which is the best trading journal for prop firms?
- You trade futures prop accounts on Tradovate or TopstepX and want live rule room plus real net P&L at a low price: Tradervana. Start on the free plan and add Pro when you want the automation.
- You want prop compliance plus the deepest analytics and simulators, including Rithmic or NinjaTrader auto-sync: TradesViz.
- You want an all-in-one platform with backtesting, replay and AI, and the budget for it: TradeZella Pro.
- You trade stocks or options as much as futures: TraderSync or Tradervue.
- You want psychology tools at one flat annual price: Edgewonk.
Whichever journal you pick, the habit matters more than the tool. Log every account, every cost and every rule, every day.
FAQ
What is the best trading journal for prop firm traders?
It depends on what you need tracked. For futures prop accounts, look for live rule tracking (trailing drawdown, daily loss, consistency), multi-account support, an evaluation-and-payout cost ledger, and auto-sync for your platform. Tradervana and TradesViz are built around prop rule tracking. TradeZella adds a prop finance dashboard to a broader platform.
Is there a free trading journal for prop firms?
Yes. Tradervana's free plan doesn't expire and includes unlimited manual trade history, uncapped CSV import and manual evaluation/funded tracking. TradesViz and Tradervue also have free plans, but at the time of checking TradesViz's free plan covered stocks only and Tradervue's free plan didn't support futures.
Which trading journals sync with Tradovate?
Tradervana, TradeZella and TradesViz advertise automatic Tradovate sync. Tradervue, TraderSync and Edgewonk document importing an exported Tradovate file. Check each journal's current broker page before you subscribe.
Do I need a separate journal for each prop firm?
No. A prop-focused journal lets you add every account from every firm, attach each firm's rules to the right account, and see them all on one dashboard.
How do I track prop firm fees and payouts?
Log every evaluation purchase, reset, activation fee and data fee as a cost, and every payout as income, by firm. Your real result is payouts minus costs. Tradervana's payout tracker does this on Pro, and TradeZella's PropFirm Sync covers similar ground. How the payout tracker works →
Is a prop firm journal worth it if my firm already shows my drawdown?
Your firm's dashboard shows one account at that firm. A journal shows every account at every firm, warns you before limits rather than after, tracks what you've spent against what you've been paid, and keeps your trade notes and history when an account is closed.
Sources
Official pages, checked Oct 10, 2026:
- TradeZella pricing: https://www.tradezella.com/pricing
- TradeZella supported brokers: https://www.tradezella.com/brokersupport · https://help.tradezella.com/en/articles/10055421-list-of-supported-brokers-and-platforms
- TradeZella PropFirm Sync: https://help.tradezella.com/en/articles/14499729-what-is-propfirm-sync-tradezella-s-command-center-for-prop-firm-traders · https://help.tradezella.com/en/articles/15808935-propfirm-sync-vs-importing-your-prop-firm-trades-what-s-the-difference
- Tradervue pricing: https://www.tradervue.com/site/pricing/
- Tradervue free plan quota and FAQ: https://app.tradervue.com/help/quota · https://app.tradervue.com/help/faq
- TraderSync pricing: https://tradersync.com/pricing/
- TraderSync supported brokers: https://tradersync.com/supported-broker/ · https://tradersync.com/broker/tradovate/ · https://tradersync.com/trading-journal/futures/
- Edgewonk pricing, platforms and Tradovate import: https://edgewonk.com/pricing · https://edgewonk.com/import · https://edgewonk.zendesk.com/hc/en-us/articles/8750901171602-Tradovate
- TradesViz pricing and prop firm journal: https://www.tradesviz.com/pricing/ · https://www.tradesviz.com/prop-firm-journal/
Competitor features and prices change often. Tell us if something here is out of date and we'll fix it. TradeZella, Tradervue, TraderSync, Edgewonk and TradesViz are trademarks of their respective owners. Tradervana isn't affiliated with them. Not financial advice. Futures trading involves substantial risk of loss.