Start with your data source
The best journal on paper is a poor fit if your broker or platform import is unreliable. Confirm whether your trades can be imported automatically, by file, or only manually.
Decide what you want to learn
A review-focused trader may care about setup tags, screenshots and execution notes. A systematic trader may care more about expectancy, distribution, time-of-day and strategy-level reporting.
- Broker/platform import
- Custom tags and setup labels
- Screenshots and notes
- Replay or chart reconstruction
- Risk and execution analytics
- Export and data ownership
Treat the journal as a feedback loop
The long-term value comes from clean history and repeatable review, not from filling every field. A smaller number of consistent tags is often more useful than a complicated taxonomy that is abandoned after a week.
Use this guide as a framework for research. Provider rules and product terms can change; check the current provider source before paying or trading.