COMPARISON

SureInsight vs Excel / Google Sheets

The old-school way to track trades

Try SureInsight Free

In short

A trading journal in Excel is the trading-journal equivalent of building your own CRM. It works at first, then breaks the moment your trade count crosses a few hundred or you want a question the formula can't answer.

The real cost isn't the spreadsheet itself — it's the 5-10 minutes per trade typing in fills, plus the analytics you can't build (intra-trade MAE/MFE, embedded charts, AI tags). Free + 30 hours of admin per year is more expensive than $7.50/mo and getting it back.

FeatureSureInsightExcel / Google Sheets
PriceFree / $7.50/moFree
Free plan
AI coaching
Broker auto-sync
Backtesting
Risk alerts
Daily journalManual
Advanced analyticsDIY
CSV/HTML importManual
Mobile appApp
Trade replay

Why traders switch from Excel / Google Sheets

Many traders start with spreadsheets, but they quickly become a nightmare. No automation, no analytics beyond what you build yourself, no AI insights, and hours wasted on data entry. SureInsight does everything a spreadsheet does — automatically — and adds AI coaching on top.

Auto-import trades vs hours of manual data entry

Built-in analytics: win rate, drawdown, R-multiple, session analysis

AI coaching identifies patterns you'd never spot in a spreadsheet

Daily journal with tags, screenshots, and notes

Backtesting suite — impossible to replicate in Excel

Honest take

When Excel / Google Sheets might be a better fit

  • You take <20 trades a year and the journal is genuinely 5 minutes a quarter
  • You enjoy building Excel models for the sake of it
  • You need a totally bespoke layout no off-the-shelf tool would offer (e.g. unusual asset class)

If neither of those is critical, SureInsight wins everywhere else.

0

How to migrate from Excel / Google Sheets in under 10 minutes

Switch your trade history over and pick up where you left off.

  1. 1

    Save your spreadsheet as CSV

    File → Export → CSV. Make sure each trade is one row with at minimum: symbol, side, entry time, exit time, entry price, exit price, P&L.

  2. 2

    Sign up at SureInsight

    Free plan, no credit card.

  3. 3

    Upload the CSV

    Settings → Import → CSV. Our universal column mapper handles arbitrary column names — just point it at your headers.

  4. 4

    Or connect your broker for the future

    Stop the manual data entry forever. MT4/MT5/cTrader/Tradovate auto-sync every 12-24h.

  5. 5

    Reclaim 30+ hours a year

    And get analytics + AI tags you couldn't build in Excel without a year of effort.

Ready to switch from Excel / Google Sheets?

Import your trades in minutes. No credit card required.

Start Free Today

Compare SureInsight to other trading journals

See how SureInsight stacks up against the alternatives.

Have questions? Check the help centre or view pricing plans.

Migrating from Excel / Google Sheets? Import your trades in 2 minutes.

SureInsight reads exports from every major broker and platform. Pick yours below.