Best Stock Scanners for Traders (Trade Ideas vs Scanz vs Finviz) + Exact Scan Settings

by Prodigy Team

Best Stock Scanners for Traders (Trade Ideas vs Scanz vs Finviz) + Exact Scan Settings

If you want to become a consistently profitable trader, you need one thing before you ever place a trade: a repeatable way to find quality stocks worth trading.

Most traders lose because they do this backwards:

  • They open a random chart.
  • They try to force a setup.
  • They chase whatever is trending on social media.

Professional traders do the opposite. They use stock scanners to narrow the market down to a small list of stocks that are:

  • Moving for a reason (volume + catalysts)
  • Liquid enough to trade (clean execution)
  • Technically set up (structure + levels)

In this guide, you’ll learn how to use three of the most popular scanners:

  • Trade Ideas (real-time scanner + AI trade ideas)
  • Scanz (extreme real-time scanning + news + alerts)
  • Finviz (powerful screener + heatmaps + quick filtering)

We’ll also show exact scan criteria you can use for different strategies (premarket runners, breakouts, momentum, and more) and explain how Prodigy Trading Team uses scanners to find the best runners and build watchlists.

What a Stock Scanner Actually Does (And Why Most Traders Use It Wrong)

A scanner’s job is simple: filter thousands of stocks down to the few that match your strategy today.

But here’s the mistake most beginners make: they scan for “anything moving.” That creates noise and FOMO.

Instead, you want to scan for conditions that create tradable behavior, like:

  • Unusual volume (real participation)
  • Relative volume (today is different than normal)
  • Clean range expansion (price is breaking out)
  • News / catalyst (why the stock is moving)
  • Liquidity (tight spreads and execution)
  • Price range (to match your account + strategy)

Hidden Gem: A good scan doesn’t give you “the trade.” It gives you candidates. The trade comes from what price does at key levels after you build a watchlist.

If you want the step-by-step process for premarket scanning and building a real watchlist, read this Prodigy guide:
How to Scan Premarket for Breakout Stocks (Step-By-Step Guide)

Trade Ideas (Best for Real-Time Momentum + AI Trade Ideas)

Trade Ideas is built for active traders who want fast scanning during market hours, plus prebuilt channels that surface momentum as it forms.

Best use cases

  • Market open momentum (fast movers + volume)
  • Breakouts (range expansion + confirmation)
  • Unusual volume alerts (participation spikes)
  • AI-driven trade ideas (Holly AI)

How to think about Trade Ideas scans

Trade Ideas is strongest when you use it like a “live radar.” You are not trying to stare at every chart. You’re trying to catch the moment a stock becomes active and verify it with structure.

Trade Ideas Scan Templates (copy these concepts into your settings)

Scan #1: Premarket Runners (clean premarket momentum)

  • Time: Premarket session
  • Price: Set a minimum that fits your style (example: above $1–$2 to reduce noise)
  • Volume: Premarket volume threshold (avoid tiny volume movers)
  • % Change: Positive movers (example: +3% to +10%+)
  • Liquidity filter: Avoid extremely wide spreads

How to trade it: Scan finds the names; your job is to mark key levels (premarket high/low) and watch how price reacts at the open.

Scan #2: Market Open Breakouts (range expansion + volume)

  • Relative volume: above normal (today is different)
  • Volume: rising quickly
  • High of day / resistance break: price pushing a key level
  • Spread filter: keep execution clean

Hidden Gem: Your best breakouts usually happen after a stock consolidates near resistance, then breaks with expanding volume — not on the first spike.

Scan #3: “Second Wave” Momentum (less chase, more structure)

  • Stocks that already moved earlier but are now consolidating
  • Volume drying up during consolidation
  • Break above consolidation range with volume returning

This is where many of the cleanest trades happen, because the first wave shakes out weak hands and the second wave gives structure.

Where Holly AI fits

Trade Ideas includes an AI assistant (“Holly AI”) that generates trade ideas based on strategies and real-time conditions. The best way to use it is not blind-following — it’s using AI suggestions as additional candidates to verify with your chart, levels, and risk plan.

Scanz (Best for Extreme Real-Time Scanning + News + Alerts)

Scanz is designed for traders who want very fast market visibility, plus strong alerting and news integration. If you like trading catalysts, premarket movers, and intraday momentum, Scanz is built for that workflow.

Best use cases

  • Premarket movers (fast sorting and filtering)
  • News + catalyst trading (breaking headlines)
  • Breakout alerts (price expansion)
  • Custom alerting (you define the triggers)

Scanz Scan Templates (high-signal filters)

Scan #1: “What’s Moving Now?” (simple starter scan)

  • % Change: filter for meaningful movement (example: +3% or higher)
  • Volume: remove low-volume noise (example: above a threshold that fits your market)
  • Price: set a range that matches your strategy (example: $1–$20 for small-cap momentum)

Why it works: It immediately removes the dead market and highlights the stocks traders are actually trading.

Scan #2: News + Volume Combo (best for finding real catalysts)

  • Breaking news / headline trigger
  • Volume increase (confirm participation)
  • Price moving with continuation (not just one candle)

Hidden Gem: Many “news runners” fail because they have news but no liquidity. Your scan should still include a liquidity/spread check before you ever consider trading it.

Scan #3: Breakout Scanner + Confirmation

  • Price breaking a range
  • Volume increasing
  • Prefer: breakouts after tight consolidation

Scans find the breakout. Your job is to check: is the breakout happening into open air, or directly into major resistance?

Finviz (Best for Fast Filtering + Heatmaps + Research)

Finviz is one of the best tools for building lists quickly. It’s extremely useful for:

  • Finding stocks by trend, sector, and performance
  • Filtering by fundamentals + technicals
  • Visualizing sector money flow using heatmaps

Important: Finviz is a screener first, not a full “intraday momentum scanner” unless you’re using real-time features. It shines when you use it for watchlist building, swing candidate discovery, and confirmation.

Finviz Scan Templates (copy these into the screener)

Scan #1: Trending Stocks (trend-following watchlist)

  • Performance: strong daily/weekly performance
  • Price above key moving averages (trend bias)
  • Average volume threshold (liquidity)
  • Sector filter (follow the money)

Scan #2: Breakout Candidates (pre-breakout build-up)

  • Stocks near highs (tight range near resistance)
  • Increasing volume trend
  • Prefer: clean chart structure (no wild gaps and chaos)

Scan #3: Penny Stock / Small Cap Movers (high-risk, high-volatility list)

  • Price: low-priced range
  • Volume: high relative to normal
  • % Change: meaningful daily move

If you trade penny stocks and want a full step-by-step process (including how to use Finviz to spot movers early), read:
How to Find the Best Penny Stocks Before They Explode

Which Scanner Should You Use?

  • Trade Ideas: best for real-time momentum, alerts, and AI-assisted candidates
  • Scanz: best for extreme real-time scanning + news/catalyst workflows
  • Finviz: best for fast filtering, sector strength, and building lists for research

Hidden Gem: Most consistent traders use scanners in layers. One tool finds the movers, another tool filters the best candidates, and your chartwork confirms the setup.

The Prodigy Scanner Workflow (How We Find the Best Runners)

At Prodigy Trading Team, scanners are not used as “magic buttons.” They are used to build a daily process that produces consistent high-quality watchlists.

Our process looks like this:

  • Step 1: Identify what is moving (volume + % change + liquidity)
  • Step 2: Identify why it’s moving (news, catalyst, sector rotation)
  • Step 3: Check structure (levels, consolidation, trend, key resistance/support)
  • Step 4: Define risk (where you are wrong, not where you hope)
  • Step 5: Track the best names into the open + power hour

This is how runners are found early: not by chasing, but by scanning for participation and then confirming structure.

If you want to go deeper into low-float momentum mechanics (one of the biggest drivers of explosive runners), read:
Float Rotation Explained: How Float Rotation Creates Explosive Runners

Join Our Trading Community

If you want to learn how to scan like a real trader, see the scans in action, and understand why certain stocks become the day’s best runners, come join us.

👉 Join our chatroom:
https://discord.com/invite/e89cvT3

🚀 If you’re ready for deeper education, structured watchlists, and real-time scanner-based runners, explore Gold Membership here:
https://whop.com/prodigy-trading-team

Disclaimer

Disclaimer: All information is for educational purposes only and is not financial advice. Trading involves risk, and you should always do your own due diligence and use proper risk management on any trade ideas or strategies discussed.

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