What is the best trading journal app?

TradeDog is an AI-powered trading journal that helps you find patterns in your trading data. Unlike spreadsheets or basic journals, TradeDog uses AI to analyze your trades and provide personalized insights like "You're 72% more profitable before 2pm" or "FOMO trades cost you $800/week."

How can I improve my trading performance?

Track your trades consistently with a journal that includes psychology tracking (emotional state, confidence, plan adherence). TradeDog's AI analyzes this data to show you exactly what's working and what's costing you money - patterns you'd never spot in a spreadsheet.

Yes, TradeDog has a free tier that includes up to 100 trades, P&L calendar, analytics dashboard, and psychology tracking - free forever with no credit card required. Pro ($20/month) adds AI coaching and unlimited trades. Elite ($40/month) adds unlimited AI and multiple portfolios.

What brokers does TradeDog support for CSV import?

TradeDog supports CSV import from Schwab, Robinhood, Fidelity, E*TRADE, Interactive Brokers (IBKR), Webull, and TD Ameritrade with broker-specific presets. Pro and Elite users can use AI parsing to handle any CSV format.

How does AI coaching work in TradeDog?

TradeDog's AI Coach analyzes YOUR actual trade history - not generic market data. You get a personalized daily briefing each morning, six insight cards (strengths, weaknesses, patterns, warnings, opportunities, action items), and a chat where you can ask questions about your trading in plain English.

What is trading psychology tracking?

Psychology tracking lets you log your emotional state (calm, anxious, FOMO, revenge, etc.), confidence level (1-5), whether you followed your plan, and trade quality for each trade. Over time, TradeDog shows you how your mindset correlates with your P&L, helping you identify psychological patterns that affect your trading.

Can I track options trades with TradeDog?

Yes, TradeDog fully supports options trading including calls, puts, multi-leg strategies (spreads, iron condors, etc.), expiry dates, and contract details. You can also track stocks, futures, and crypto - all in one journal.

Is my trading data secure in TradeDog?

Yes. All data is encrypted at rest and in transit. Row-level security means no one can access your data but you. TradeDog never sells your data, shares it with other users, or uses it for trading. You can export or delete everything at any time.

Day Trading Guide

Day Trading Journal Template

A template built for the speed and volume of day trading. Track scalps, momentum plays, and intraday setups with the fields that actually matter.

Day trading is different: You might take 5-20+ trades per day. Your journal needs to be fast to log, or you won't use it. But it also needs enough detail to find patterns across hundreds of trades.

Essential Fields for Day Trading

Every day trading journal entry should capture:

Trade Data (Required)

Field	Example	Why It Matters
Ticker	SPY	Track which symbols you trade best
Direction	Long / Short	Are you better at longs or shorts?
Entry Time	9:42 AM	Find your optimal trading hours
Exit Time	9:58 AM	Calculate hold duration
Entry Price	$445.20	Calculate P&L
Exit Price	$446.15	Calculate P&L
Position Size	100 shares / 5 contracts	Track risk per trade
P&L ($)	+$95	The bottom line

Setup Classification

Setup type — Breakout, breakdown, VWAP bounce, momentum, reversal, opening range, etc.
Timeframe — 1-min, 5-min, 15-min chart
Catalyst — News, earnings, technical, none

Psychology Fields

Emotional state — Calm, anxious, FOMO, revenge, confident
Followed plan? — Yes / No / Partially
Trade quality — A+, A, B, C, D setup

Speed tip

Use keyboard shortcuts and dropdowns for common fields. You should be able to log a trade in under 30 seconds. If it takes longer, you'll skip trades — especially on active days.

Day Trading Analytics to Track

After logging trades, these day-trading-specific analytics reveal where your edge is:

P&L by Time of Day

Most day traders have specific hours where they perform best. Common patterns:

Opening 30 min (9:30-10:00) — High volatility, wide spreads, fast moves
Morning session (10:00-12:00) — Trends establish, cleaner setups
Lunch (12:00-2:00) — Low volume, choppy, often unprofitable
Power hour (3:00-4:00) — Increased volume, trend continuation or reversal

Track your P&L in each window. If lunch is consistently negative, stop trading during lunch.

Win Rate by Setup Type

Compare your performance across different setups. You might discover:

VWAP bounces: 68% win rate, avg +$85
Breakouts: 52% win rate, avg +$120
Reversals: 41% win rate, avg -$25

The data tells you exactly which setups to focus on and which to avoid.

Hold Duration Analysis

Are you cutting winners too early? Holding losers too long? Track:

Average hold time for winners vs. losers
P&L by hold duration (scalps vs. longer holds)
How often you hit target vs. got stopped out

Daily Stats

Number of trades per day — Are you overtrading?
Green days vs. red days — What % of days are profitable?
Max daily drawdown — How bad do your worst days get?
P&L by day of week — Some traders do better Mon-Wed than Thu-Fri

Free Day Trading Journal Template

Here's a simple template you can copy into a spreadsheet:

Date | Time | Ticker | Direction | Entry | Exit | Size | P&L | Setup | Emotion | Plan? | Notes
-----|------|--------|-----------|-------|------|------|-----|-------|---------|-------|------
7/3  | 9:42 | SPY    | Long      | 445.20| 446.15| 100 | +95 | VWAP  | Calm    | Yes   | Clean bounce
7/3  | 10:15| NVDA   | Short     | 125.50| 126.20| 50  | -35 | Break | FOMO    | No    | Chased it
7/3  | 11:30| QQQ    | Long      | 380.10| 380.85| 200 | +150| Trend | Confident| Yes  | Held to target

This works for getting started, but most day traders outgrow spreadsheets quickly due to:

No automatic P&L calculations
No time-of-day analytics
Manual charting and visualization
Can't easily import broker data

Common Day Trading Journal Mistakes

Logging at end of day instead of after each trade — Memory fades. Your "why" becomes post-hoc rationalization.
Skipping the psychology fields — Tracking emotions is annoying but reveals your biggest leaks.
Not tracking time — Entry and exit times are critical for day trading analysis.
Overcomplicating it — Start with the essentials. Add fields later as needed.
Never reviewing — A journal you don't analyze weekly is just busywork.

Skip the spreadsheet

TradeDog is built for day traders — fast trade logging, automatic P&L calculations, time-of-day analytics, and AI that spots patterns across hundreds of trades. Free tier available.

Start Free Day Trading Journal

Summary

Day trading generates a lot of data fast. Your journal needs to be quick to log (30 seconds per trade max) but capture enough detail to find patterns. Focus on time-of-day, setup type, and psychology. Review weekly. The day traders who journal consistently have a massive edge over those who don't — because they're actually learning from their data.