TradingView screener: how to find charts worth studying, step by step
Thousands of stocks trade every day. The screener narrows them down to a short list that fits your rules, so you spend your time on charts instead of searching.
What a screener does
A screener is a filter. You tell it what you're looking for, like "stocks over $20 that trade a lot", and it shows only the ones that match.
It doesn't tell you what to buy. It just shrinks a huge list into a small one you can actually look at.
TradingView has screeners for stocks, and often for other markets like forex, crypto and ETFs too.
Where to find it
Menu names change over time, so look for these ideas.
- On a computer: look for a Screener option in the main menu or a Products menu at the top of TradingView's site. On a chart page, there may also be a screener panel you can open at the bottom.
- On the phone app: look for a screener option in the app's menu or the explore area.
When it opens, you'll see a table: one row per symbol, with columns like price, change %, volume and market cap.
Pick the market first
Look near the top of the screener for a way to choose the market type and the country or exchange. For example, stocks in the USA.
Pick one market and stick with it while you learn. Mixing countries and asset types makes the list harder to read.
4 beginner filters
Click a filter button or "add filter" option to add these one at a time. Each one removes names that don't fit.
| Filter | Example setting | Why it helps |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Above $10 | Skips very cheap stocks that can jump wildly |
| Average volume | Above 1 million shares | Busy stocks usually have tighter spreads |
| Market cap | Above $2 billion | Larger companies, often steadier charts |
| Sector | Pick 1 or 2 | Keeps the list focused on what you know |
These numbers are just starting points, not rules. Adjust them until the list is a size you can study.
Why volume matters
Volume is how many shares change hands. A busy stock has lots of buyers and sellers at every moment.
That usually means:
- smaller gaps between the buy and sell price (the Spread)
- fills closer to the price you see
- levels that are easier to read, because many people are acting on them
Low-volume names can jump around in odd ways. Filtering them out keeps your charts cleaner. More in how to read volume.
Start wide, then narrow. Add one filter at a time and watch how the count changes. If you're down to 15 to 40 names, you're in a good range to look through by hand.
Choose your columns
Look for a column settings option, or ready-made column sets near the top. You can add or remove columns to see what matters to you.
Helpful columns for chart-based traders:
- Price
- Change % today
- Average volume
- Market cap
- Sector
Fewer columns make the table easier to scan. Click any column header to sort by it.
Save your screen
Once your filters look right, save them so you don't have to rebuild them each time. Look for a save option near the screen's name, often at the top left of the screener.
Give it a clear name, like "US stocks - liquid - over $10". How many screens you can save, and how fresh the data is, can depend on your plan and the exchange. Some data may be delayed. Check TradingView's pricing page and the data notes for details.
From screener to watchlist
The screener's job ends where your chart work starts. Here's how to turn results into a short list.
- Sort the results by average volume, highest first.
- Open the daily chart of the top 20, one at a time.
- For each, ask: is there a clear trend (higher highs and higher lows, or the reverse)? Are there clear places where price turned around before?
- Keep the ones that are easy to read. Skip the messy ones.
- Add your keepers to a "maybe" watchlist.
- Watch the "maybe" list for a week before moving any name to your main list.
Most of the work is step 3. The screener just makes sure you're looking at sensible candidates.
Screener habits worth avoiding
- Sorting by "top gainers" every morning. The biggest movers are often the wildest. A big move already happened. It isn't a setup by itself.
- Changing the filters daily. You'll get a new list every day and never learn any name well.
- Too many filters. Ten filters can squeeze out good candidates for reasons that don't matter to your method.
- Treating ratings as advice. Some screeners show technical "ratings" like buy or sell. These come from a formula, not from your plan. Your own rules decide.
A screener finds candidates, not trades. It answers "what's worth a look?" Your chart, your checklist and your plan answer everything after that.
Forex and crypto screening
The idea is the same, but the filters change.
- Forex: there are only a handful of major pairs, so many traders skip the screener and just keep the majors on a watchlist.
- Crypto: filter by volume and market cap to skip thinly traded coins. Crypto trades 24/7, so "today's change" depends on the time zone the screener uses.
Try it today
- Open the stock screener and pick your country.
- Add the 4 beginner filters from the table above.
- Save the screen with a clear name.
- Open the top 10 daily charts and keep the 3 easiest to read.
Questions
How do I use the TradingView stock screener?
Open the screener, pick the market and country, add filters like price, average volume, market cap and sector, then sort the results and open the charts that fit.
Is the TradingView screener free?
There's a free version. Some features, saved screens and real-time data may depend on your plan, so check TradingView's pricing page for current details.
What are good screener settings for beginners?
A simple start is price above $10, average volume above 1 million shares, market cap above $2 billion and one or two sectors you understand. Adjust to taste.
Can a screener tell me which stocks to buy?
No. A screener only narrows the list. Whether to trade a name depends on your chart reading, your checklist and your plan.
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