Stock Benchmark Comparison Tools

A stock benchmark is a way to measure your investment's performance by comparing your portfolio's gains and losses to a specific market ticker or index. It gives you a different perspective on your risk, allocation, and return.

Theoretically, you can benchmark against anything, but you typically want to keep it within the same index. For example, you would compare a Dow Jones individual company to the Dow index as a whole. Your benchmark could be the growth of the entire index over the last year, and you want to know if the individual company you invested in did better or worse.

For example, let's say the Dow Jones Index went up 8% last year, and you want to know how Walmart performed against that benchmark. If WMT went up only 6% over the same time, it didn’t hit the mark. So how do you go about figuring all of this out? Luckily, there are plenty of tools that help you make personalized stock benchmark comparisons, and we have compiled a list of the most popular ones on the internet.

The Best Stock Benchmark Comparison Tools

Stock Market Eye

Stock Market Eye includes one of the best benchmark comparison tools and does most of the work for you. 

You pick a ticker symbol, and the benchmark tool will automatically compare your portfolio against it on a graph. It provides a total of seven columns that give you information such as the total return percentage, compounded annual growth rate, and internal rate of return. 

Benchmark comparison is just one of the features of this complete portfolio tracker. It allows you to consolidate your portfolios, categorize your investments, and run detailed reports so you can analyze your gains and losses. You can track stocks and securities from different markets in the same portfolio, and the charting software is particularly helpful for planning retirement.

Sharesight

Sharesight is another great portfolio management tool with an automatic benchmarking feature that allows you to compare your holdings against market indexes and funds. 

You can select any ETF in their database to use as a comparison and view the results in graph form. They even compare your portfolio with the benchmark as though you’ve invested equal amounts of money in both. That gives you a clearer picture of how your portfolio is doing, even if it’s more diversified.  

The other features of this portfolio management tool work to give you a comprehensive overview of your investments. You can track the performance, price, and dividends of stocks, cryptos, ETFs, and funds. You can see your returns over any given time period, and you’ll find all the information you need to file your taxes at the end of the year.

BarChart

BarChart is a one-stop shop for market data, charting tools, analytics, and investing news. Among their robust list of features is an easy-to-use stock comparison tool that you can use to see up to 5 tickers’ data side by side. 

It lets you compare price, performance, technicals, and other fundamental data. You can select from dozens of customizable fields and download your report. There is also the option to view it as a comparison chart so you can visualize it better.

BarChart.com also has a cloud computing platform that gives users API functionality to call on data for all types of uses. Engineers and developers can create charts, look at historical data, embed information into websites, and even build out financial applications.

Seeking Alpha

In investing, “alpha” is the amount you beat your benchmark by. The people over at SeekingAlpha.com aim to give you tools, software, and analysis so that you can fine-tune your portfolio and try to beat the market.

Their free news and alerts are great, but their premium plan is where the real value lies. Not only do you get detailed analysis and stock picks, but you can also import your portfolio from a brokerage and see their catered expert ratings automatically. That lets you compare and contrast your investments to the market as a whole and make moves based on alerts.

Even if you just read the education and articles, it’s a useful page to bookmark. You can stay current on trends, crypto, dividends, and other important events that could affect your strategy.

Stock Rover

Stock Rover is an investing tool package that is easy to use and understand. Among their dozens of features, you have the ability to compare watchlists, ETFs, and portfolios side-by-side.

This fully customizable tool lets you chart and display data about a ticker or group of tickers and get insights about everything as you go. The table view lets you compare fundamentals and technical details at a glance and even gives you predicted earnings. You can add or remove columns, adjust the default views, and design your own views.

It’s not just a tool for comparisons. You can track and analyze your portfolio and even project future income based on your current investments. Pair that with community information and expert opinions, and you have a powerful investing instrument.

What to Look For in a Stock Benchmark Comparison Tool

Clean Layout

A benchmark comparison tool should have a clean layout, so it’s easy to use and understand. With multiple fields to fill out and various points of data to study, the last thing you want to deal with is a confusing page.

Chart Function

Features like charts and graphs can make the data in a benchmark comparison tool easier to interpret. They give you a clear-cut visualization of the growth of your investment against the benchmark.

Customizability 

Look for a tool that has plenty of filters and field options. Customizability helps streamline the data into a concise report featuring only the information you’re after and no additional fluff.

See How Stock Benchmark Comparison Tools Can Help You

There are many resources available to investors that can change the game, including stock benchmark comparison tools. They put your investments into perspective and can influence how you allocate your assets. See how they can help you reach your goals.