Guides

How to choose an options alert app.

4 min read · Updated Oct 11, 2026 · Education only

There are many ways to receive stock and options alerts, and the marketing around them can be loud. This checklist focuses on things you can actually verify before you pay, so you can compare services on substance. It applies to any alert app, including ours.

1. Is there a complete, public track record?

This is the most important question. A credible record should:

• List every closed alert, not a selection. Look for losses and break-even results; a record without them is incomplete.
• Show dates, the exact contract, the entry and exit prices, and why each alert closed.
• Explain how results are calculated and what they leave out (spreads, fees, slippage).
• Disclose any delay, for example if results are published days after an alert closes.
• Be labelled honestly as hypothetical alert outcomes if they are not real account results.

Be cautious with screenshots of single winning trades. Any service can show a good day; the full record is what tells you how alerts behave over time.

2. Are alerts specific and complete?

A useful alert names the underlying, call or put, strike and expiration, plus a reference entry, a stop and one or more targets. Vague messages (“watching this one”) cannot be evaluated or tracked. Our guide on reading an options alert explains each field.

3. Are alerts tracked to a close?

Every alert should end somewhere: a target, the stop or a time-based exit, and that ending should be recorded. If alerts can quietly disappear, the record cannot be trusted.

4. How are alerts delivered?

• Push notifications reach your lock screen within seconds, but delivery still depends on Apple's and Google's push services, your phone's settings and your connection.
• Check whether you can filter alert types so you only receive what is relevant to you.
• Look for a feed or history inside the app so a missed notification is not a missed alert.

5. Is pricing clear?

• The price, billing period and what happens after any free trial should be stated plainly before you subscribe.
• Subscriptions handled through the App Store or Google Play can be cancelled in your device's subscription settings, and refunds follow Apple's or Google's policies.
• Remember that deleting an app does not cancel a subscription.

6. What does the service ask for?

An alert app does not need your brokerage username, password or account numbers to send you information. Read the privacy policy to see what is collected and why. Be very cautious with any service that asks for trading credentials or offers to trade for you without being clear about its regulatory status.

7. Is the regulatory position clear?

Alerts that are the same for every subscriber are general information. A service should say plainly that it is not giving personalized investment advice, and it should include clear risk disclosures. Terms of service and a risk disclaimer should be easy to find.

8. Is there education, not just signals?

A service that explains its terminology, the risks of options and how results are measured is helping you make your own decisions. See our guides on calls vs. puts and the Greeks.

9. Can you try it before paying?

A free trial lets you judge alerts in real market conditions: how quickly notifications arrive on your phone, how clearly each alert is written, and how the record updates as alerts close. A trial is most useful if you treat it as an evaluation period. Read every alert, follow how each one ends, and compare what you saw with the public record. If the experience does not match the marketing, cancel before the trial ends.

10. Does the service respond?

Look for a working support email and published contact details. A quick, plain answer to a question about how results are calculated tells you a lot about a service.

Red flags

• Guaranteed returns, “can't lose” language or income promises.
• Win rates or returns with no full record behind them.
• Countdown timers, pressure to “act now” or upsells to private groups.
• Requests for brokerage logins, remote access or payments outside the app stores.
• Edited or deleted past alerts.

How Stocks and Options Alerts approaches these questions

We built our app around this checklist. Every alert includes its contract and entry, stop and target reference levels, and is tracked until it closes. The Closed tab in the app keeps every closed alert, and our public Results page lists the last 200 closed alerts in full, wins and losses, each shown at least three days after it closes. Results are hypothetical alert outcomes based on alert prices, and the page explains exactly how they are counted.

The app never places trades and never asks for brokerage credentials. New subscribers get a 30-day free trial, then $14.99 per month, and can cancel anytime in their App Store or Google Play settings. You can read how it works and the FAQ for more detail.

Whichever service you choose, apply the same checklist and remember that alerts are information, not instructions. Not financial advice. Trading involves risk.