Start freeTrading journal vs a spreadsheet
Most traders start with a spreadsheet: Excel, Google Sheets or a Notion table. It is free and completely yours, and it only knows what you type into it. SureInsight brings the trades in for you and does the maths. Here is when each one is the right tool.
Facts checked 30 September 2026 · sources
Choose a spreadsheet if…
- You take a handful of trades a month and are happy typing each one in.
- You want every column, formula and chart exactly your own way.
- You want your journal as a file you can open offline and send to anyone.
Choose SureInsight if…
- You would rather your trades came in from your broker than type them in by hand.
- You want win rate, R, profit factor and drawdown without building or checking the formulas.
- You want to ask questions of your trading and get answers from your own record.
- You want the patterns in your trading found for you, and only shown once they are not luck.
Feature by feature
Price
Spreadsheet
SureInsight
Getting trades in
Spreadsheet
SureInsight
Partial fills and fees
Spreadsheet
SureInsight
Stats
Spreadsheet
SureInsight
Calendar and journal
Spreadsheet
SureInsight
AI on your trades
Spreadsheet
SureInsight
Patterns found for you
Spreadsheet
SureInsight
Backtesting
Spreadsheet
SureInsight
Flexibility
Spreadsheet
SureInsight
Your data
Spreadsheet
SureInsight
| Spreadsheet | SureInsight | |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free (Google Sheets), or with Microsoft 365 | Free plan. Pro is $15.99 a month |
| Getting trades in | Typed or pasted in, one row at a time | Auto-sync from Tradovate, cTrader and MetaTrader 5, or a guided file import |
| Partial fills and fees | Worked out by you | Read from your broker's file and added up for you |
| Stats | The formulas you build and maintain | Win rate, R, profit factor, drawdown and more, built in |
| Calendar and journal | Possible, if you build them | A trading calendar and a journal linked to each day's trades |
| AI on your trades | No | Enki answers questions from your own record |
| Patterns found for you | No | Yes, each checked against luck before it is shown |
| Backtesting | No | Candle-by-candle replay, free |
| Flexibility | Any column, formula or chart you like | Tags, setups and notes, inside a fixed design |
| Your data | A file you own, open offline, export anywhere | Held in your account; a full copy on request |
What each one costs
Spreadsheet
- Google Sheets$0
Free with a Google account.
- ExcelVaries
Part of Microsoft 365, or a one-off purchase.
- Notion$0+
Free for personal use; paid plans for teams.
SureInsight
- Free$0
Free forever: your last 30 days imported from a file, one account, the overview report, your top finding and 2 Enki messages a day.
- Pro, monthly$15.99/mo
5-day free trial. Auto-sync, your whole history, every report and finding, and unlimited Enki.
- Pro, annual$89.99/yr
Works out at $7.50 a month, charged once a year.
Where each one is better
Where a spreadsheet is better
Completely yours
Every column, formula and chart is exactly how you want it, and nothing about the design changes unless you change it.
Free, offline, portable
A spreadsheet costs nothing, opens without the internet and can be sent to anyone as a file.
Nothing new to learn
If you already know Excel or Sheets, there is no new tool to get used to.
Where SureInsight is better
No typing
Trades arrive from Tradovate, cTrader or MetaTrader 5 on their own, or from your broker's file in a few clicks. Typing trades in is where most spreadsheet journals stop being kept.
The maths is done, and done the same way every time
Partial fills, fees, R and drawdown are worked out from the broker's own numbers, so a broken formula cannot quietly change your results.
Questions, not just columns
Ask Enki what your worst habit costs you or which setup is actually working, and it answers from your trades with the numbers behind it.
Patterns you would not have looked for
SureInsight looks across your whole record for what keeps happening, and only shows a pattern once it has enough trades and passes a check that it is not luck.
Moving from a spreadsheet
- 01
Export your history from your broker or platform and import it; that file has every fill. SureInsight has a guided import for 35 brokers and platforms.
- 02
If your spreadsheet has a row per trade with the symbol, direction, size, prices and times, save it as CSV and import it instead. Rows missing one of those are listed so you can fix them.
- 03
Keep the spreadsheet for anything personal you track; your trades and the maths now live in SureInsight.
SureInsight or a spreadsheet?
Is a spreadsheet good enough for a trading journal?
For a few trades a month, often yes. It gets harder as trades pile up: every trade has to be typed in, partial fills and fees have to be worked out by hand, and a single broken formula can change your results without you noticing.
Can I import my trading spreadsheet into SureInsight?
Yes, if it has a row per trade with the symbol, direction, size, prices and times. Save it as CSV and import it; any row missing one of those is listed so you can fix it. Importing straight from your broker is usually better, as that file has every fill.
Is SureInsight free?
There is a free plan with no time limit. It imports your last 30 days from a file and includes the journal, calendar and overview report. Pro is $15.99 a month, or $89.99 a year, with a 5-day free trial.
What does a trading journal do that a spreadsheet can't?
It brings trades in for you, works out the numbers from your broker's own data, links your notes to each day's trades, and in SureInsight's case answers questions about your trading and finds the patterns in it.
Will I lose the flexibility of my spreadsheet?
Some. SureInsight has tags, setups and notes, but the layout and the reports are its own. Many traders keep a spreadsheet for anything personal and let the journal handle the trades.
Try a review before moving your whole journal
Start with a recent broker statement. Free imports your last 30 days, so you can check the trade record and explore the overview report before deciding whether to bring in your full history on Pro.
Ask a specific question about your record, such as what happens after a loss. The Brief waits for enough history before showing a measured finding, and Enki can help you investigate the trades behind an answer.
How we checked
This page compares SureInsight with a trading journal kept in Excel, Google Sheets or a Notion table, the way most traders start. Google Sheets is free; Excel comes with Microsoft 365 or as a one-off purchase. SureInsight's side is taken from the app itself.
Try it on your own trades.
Start on the free plan. Pro comes with a 5-day free trial.
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