The Tool Desk
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Who is Zak Westphal, and what did he set out to change?
TechBullion identified Westphal as StocksToTrade’s CEO in a February 12, 2024 interview. In that interview, he described a problem he saw in trading software: platforms could provide plenty of data and tools without showing users how to apply them. He said his work with trader and educator Tim Sykes helped shape an effort to bring experienced traders’ methods into accessible software. Those are Westphal’s account of the company’s origins; the available sources do not independently confirm his current corporate title.
Westphal’s framing is “amplification over automation”: use algorithms to search and analyze information, while leaving the trading decision to the user. The interview’s premise is that better tools can reduce the time and technical effort needed to find potential setups. It does not establish that the tools improve returns.
Read the TechBullion interview with Zak Westphal.
What “democratizing algorithmic trading” does—and does not—mean
In this context, democratization is mainly about access to information and decision support. StocksToTrade markets tools that help users search market data, monitor securities, and organize research through a consumer-facing interface.
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- Access to tools: stock scans, screeners, charts, alerts, news, filings, and optional Level 2 data.
- Access to analysis: algorithm-assisted scans and AI-generated market reports that can help organize information.
- Access to learning: tutorials, courses, and other educational offerings intended to help users understand strategies and platform features.
- Not equivalent to institutional capability: the public materials do not establish equivalent market access, execution speed, capital, data infrastructure, research resources, or risk controls to those of a hedge fund or proprietary trading firm.
- Not an outcome guarantee: tools do not guarantee profitable trades, reduce market risk, or remove the need for a broker and a defined risk-management process.
It is also useful to distinguish automated screening from automated trading. A screener filters stocks against criteria; an alert notifies a user; an AI report summarizes or scores information. A broker-connected system can route orders, while a fully automated trading system can make and manage trades without a person deciding on each one. StocksToTrade’s public platform materials emphasize research, scans, alerts, and practice—not autonomous trade execution.
What StocksToTrade offers
StocksToTrade describes its platform as a research and scanning workspace for U.S. equities. Its product pages list real-time Level 1 data, with Level 2 market-depth data available as an add-on; strategy scans and custom screeners; charts and technical indicators; news and SEC-filing streams; watchlists and price alerts; company information; and paper trading. The company also says the platform covers U.S. exchanges and OTC markets.
These features can centralize tasks that otherwise require multiple tools. They do not by themselves show whether a given scan is profitable, whether a quoted price will be available when a user places an order, or how a strategy performs after spreads, slippage, and unfilled orders.
StocksToTrade platform features and the company’s feature list describe the current product offering.
Oracle: a scanner, not proof of a tradable edge
StocksToTrade markets Oracle as an algorithmic scanner that searches a large stock universe for potential opportunities. Its public pages give different output counts: the platform page says Oracle generates 20 opportunities at the opening bell, while the homepage says 15 opportunities a day. Those claims are not reconciled in the available materials, so neither should be treated as a stable product specification or performance measure.
A scan can surface candidates; it cannot establish that a trade is suitable, executable at the displayed price, or likely to succeed. Before relying on any signal, a user should be able to understand what triggered it, what would invalidate the setup, and whether the results account for losing trades, costs, and difficult fills.
IRIS Analytics: AI-generated analysis with limits
StocksToTrade markets IRIS as an AI-driven analytics product that produces market reports and forecasts potential moves. The company’s AI disclosure says it uses OpenAI’s Chat API in its News Sentiment Generator and IRIS-related technology. That disclosure describes a component of the product; it does not establish the accuracy of its forecasts.
A sentiment score or market report is not the same as a verified prediction. News may be inaccurate, stale, already reflected in a stock’s price, or interpreted differently by the market. The public materials cited here do not establish a published forecasting methodology or independently validated performance record. Treat AI output as a prompt for further checking, not as a personalized recommendation or an instruction to trade.
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Education is part of the product proposition
In the interview, Westphal said StocksToTrade pairs software with tutorials, courses, discussion groups, and mentorship. The current plans page says StocksToTrade University is included with the software subscription. Education can help users learn what a scan does and build a repeatable process, but a buyer should check what is included in the specific plan and what is sold separately.
For a trader assessing the educational value, useful questions are whether instruction explains risk limits and reasons to avoid a trade, includes losing examples, and teaches users to evaluate signals independently. Education is more useful when it builds those skills than when it encourages reliance on recurring alerts or premium products.
What the subscription costs
Prices below are those listed on StocksToTrade’s public pages as checked August 18, 2026. Prices and inclusions can change; confirm the live plan and checkout terms before subscribing.
| Product or plan | Listed price | Qualification |
|---|---|---|
| Core software, monthly | $179.95 | Current public plans page; includes software and StocksToTrade University. |
| Core software, annual | $1,899.50 | Current public plans page; page claims $250 in savings versus monthly billing. |
| Level 2 | $29 monthly; $345 annually | Support pricing page updated June 17, 2025; an add-on. |
| Breaking News Chat | $49 monthly; $490 annually | Support pricing page updated June 17, 2025; an add-on. |
| TipRanks | $8.95 monthly; $89.50 annually | Support pricing page updated June 17, 2025; an add-on. |
| Small-Cap Rockets | $50 monthly; $500 annually | Support pricing page updated June 17, 2025; an add-on. |
| Daily Income Trader | $2,995 annually; $4,995 unlimited | Support page updated April 28, 2026; product-specific pricing. |
At $179.95 per month, twelve monthly payments total $2,159.40 before add-ons, brokerage expenses, or trading losses. That recurring cost is incurred whether or not a subscriber makes money. For a small account, the fee can be a significant hurdle: a trader must first earn enough to cover it before the software contributes to a net gain.
The company’s support pricing page also lists one-time 14-day trials: $7 without add-ons, $17 with Breaking News Chat, and $18 with Small-Cap Rockets. Those are trial prices, not recurring subscription rates. See the current plans page and the support page listing plans and costs for details.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.Where scanners and AI can fall short
StocksToTrade’s tools may make it faster to find and organize ideas. Faster discovery is not the same as a trading advantage. The company’s own disclaimer warns that securities trading can result in substantial losses and highlights risks including volatility, halts, short selling, and margin. Several practical issues matter especially when a scan surfaces small-cap, penny, or OTC securities.
- Liquidity and spreads: a displayed price may not be available for the size a trader wants. A wide spread or thin order book can make entry and exit materially worse than a chart suggests.
- Slippage and partial fills: a fast-moving price can change while an order is being filled; an order may also execute only in part. Any claimed setup’s potential reward must be considered alongside actual execution costs.
- Trading halts: a halt can prevent an exit at the intended time or price. StocksToTrade’s disclaimer warns that volatility and halts may make liquidation difficult or impossible at a reasonable price.
- False positives and weak validation: a scanner can identify a pattern that fails. Without transparent rules and performance results that include losing trades, spreads, slippage, and failed fills, a signal’s practical value is difficult to assess.
- News and AI errors: a report can be incomplete or stale, and positive sentiment does not mean a stock will rise. Confirm important information against the underlying source.
- Overtrading: frequent alerts can encourage activity for its own sake, especially if a user feels pressure to justify a recurring subscription.
- Paper-versus-live differences: paper trading is useful for practice, but simulated fills cannot be assumed to reproduce live liquidity, slippage, or emotional pressure.
- Broker differences: order types, fees, short-sale availability, routing, and trading restrictions depend on the user’s broker and account, not simply on the scanner.
StocksToTrade’s disclaimer says its content is not brokerage, investment, tax, accounting, or legal advice and that users remain responsible for their own decisions. It also warns that using borrowed funds can lead to losses greater than the initial investment. See the company’s trading-risk and legal disclaimer.
How to evaluate the platform before paying
A prospective subscriber can use a short due-diligence checklist instead of judging a product by the number of alerts or the sophistication of its language.
- Check the data: confirm which securities and sessions are covered, whether data is real-time, and whether Level 2 is included or extra.
- Inspect a signal: find out why a stock triggered a scan, whether the criteria are documented, and whether another user could reproduce the result.
- Ask for performance evidence: determine whether results are live or simulated and whether they include losing trades, spreads, commissions, slippage, and failed fills. Do not treat a hypothetical risk/reward ratio as a realized result.
- Test the workflow without risking money: use paper trading to learn the interface and record whether a strategy’s rules are clear. Do not assume simulation proves live performance.
- Calculate total cost: include the core plan, any data or product add-ons, brokerage costs, and the account capital exposed to risk.
- Compare with what you already have: broker-native research tools, general charting services, and paper-trading or coding platforms may meet some needs at a different cost or with a different learning curve.
Who might find it useful—and who should be cautious?
Potentially useful for
- Self-directed active traders who already have a strategy and want centralized screening, alerts, charts, filings, and news.
- Users who want to practice a defined approach with paper trading before placing live orders.
- Traders who value a combination of software and instruction and are willing to assess signals rather than follow them blindly.
Use caution if
- You are a passive, long-term investor unlikely to use frequent scans or alerts.
- You expect an AI product or scanner to choose profitable trades for you.
- The recurring subscription would be a large share of your trading capital or create pressure to trade more.
- You cannot tolerate rapid losses, illiquid securities, or the possibility of being unable to exit when intended.
- You need independently audited performance evidence before trusting a signal; the public materials cited here do not establish such validation.
Westphal’s democratization case is strongest when understood as a claim about access: retail traders can use software to search and organize information that would otherwise take time and effort to assemble. Access to tools can reduce friction, but it cannot supply a trader’s experience, create liquidity, guarantee execution, or ensure a profitable outcome.
Quick Recap
Product prices and availability are accurate as of the date/time indicated and are subject to change. Any price and availability information displayed on Amazon at the time of purchase will apply.
