TipRanks vs Motley Fool (2024)

Choosing the right stock research and analysis platform can make a huge difference in your investment success. Two of the most popular services today are TipRanks and Motley Fool. But which one is better for your needs?

In this comprehensive guide, we'll compare TipRanks and Motley Fool side-by-side across these factors:

• Overview of TipRanks and Motley Fool
• Key Features
• Accuracy and Performance
• Costs and Pricing
• Ease of Use
• Pros and Cons
• Best For
• FAQs

By the end, you'll have all the information you need to decide whether TipRanks or Motley Fool is the superior stock research platform for you. Let's dive in!

Overview of TipRanks and Motley Fool

First, a quick introduction to both platforms:

TipRanks is a financial accountability engine that tracks and measures the performance of financial experts. TipRanks collects ratings and price targets from analysts, bloggers, corporate insiders, hedge fund managers and individual investors to provide comprehensive data on over 7,000 stocks.

Motley Fool is a multimedia financial services company that provides financial solutions for investors through financial education websites, books, subscription services, software and more. Motley Fool is known for its stock picking services like Stock Advisor.

Now let's look at some of the key features of each service:

Key Features

TipRanks

• Tracks and measures performance of over 9,000 analysts and experts
• Collects ratings, price targets, and market activity from experts
• Proprietary Smart Score gives an overall stock rating
• Analyst consensus and price target data
• Insider trading activity and analysis
• Hedge fund holdings database
• Blogger opinions and analysis
• Interactive charts and filtering
• Customizable watchlists and alerts

Motley Fool

• Stock Advisor - 2 stock picks per month from Motley Fool experts
• Access to Motley Fool premium research services
• Stock research reports written by analysts
• Model stock portfolios and strategies
• Beginner investing education and tips
• Podcasts, videos, books and more educational content
• Stock screeners and data
• Trade planning tools
• User community and discussion boards

As you can see, TipRanks specializes in leveraging data and insights from experts and insiders. Motley Fool focuses more on education, stock picking services and community.

Next, let's compare their accuracy and performance.

Accuracy and Performance

TipRanks and Motley Fool take different approaches when it comes to measuring past performance.

TipRanks tracks the actual performance of every analyst recommendation made over time. This enables them to generate performance-based rankings and ratings for experts. TipRanks claims their data revealed most analysts underperform the market.

Motley Fool does not provide historical performance data or track records. They focus their efforts on finding the best ideas for future returns rather than past accuracy.

Independent analysis by third parties have found the performance of Motley Fool stock picks to be mixed:

• According to TipRanks analysis, 61% of Motley Fool picks were successful over a 1 year period.
• Analysis by Raging Bull found that over a 5 year period, the average Motley Fool stock pick gained +35% compared to +92% for the S&P 500.

So while Motley Fool stock picks seem to beat the market on average, the level of outperformance is debatable. TipRanks does not itself provide stock picks, but enables you to leverage data to find stocks with the highest upside potential based on analyst consensus.

Next, let's compare the pricing and costs.

Costs and Pricing

TipRanks and Motley Fool both offer free and paid subscriptions, but TipRanks pricing is more flexible.

TipRanks has a forever free plan with basic access to analyst data. Paid plans unlock more advanced features:

• Plus - $29/month or $198/year
• Premium - $59/month or $348/year
• Ultimate - $119/month or $699/year

Motley Fool also has a free tier with limited community access. But to get their stock picks and research you need a paid membership:

• Stock Advisor - $99/year
• Options Pro - $1,000/year
• Other services from $199 to $2,999/year

The low-end TipRanks plan unlocks much more functionality than Motley Fool's lowest tier plan. TipRanks offers more flexibility if you want to occasionally upgrade for a month to the higher tier plans.

Ease of Use

Both platforms have desktop sites as well as mobile apps on iOS and Android.

TipRanks has a cleanly designed, intuitive interface. Finding and filtering data on experts, stocks, funds or sectors is easy. The dashboard gives you a quick snapshot of market sentiment, daily changes, watchlists and your tagged experts. Customizable charting and ability to follow experts are handy features.

Motley Fool also has a user-friendly interface. The focus is less on data and more on educational content and their stock recommendations. Motley Fool prioritizes community engagement through discussion boards. Their features simplify portfolio planning and modeling different investment strategies. But less customization and charting options compared to TipRanks.

So TipRanks has a slight edge on ease of use due to its more flexible and powerful filtering, alerts, charting and ability to track experts.

Pros and Cons

Let's summarize some of the main pros and cons of TipRanks and Motley Fool:

TipRanks

Pros

• Massive database of analyst ratings and price targets
• Tracks actual performance of experts over time
• Identify stocks with highest upside potential
• Customizable newsfeed and alerts
• Powerful filtering to find best stocks
• Flexible pricing tiers

Cons

• No proprietary stock picks provided
• Can be data overload if you don't filter properly
• Limited educational guidance for investing basics

Motley Fool

Pros

• Two stock picks provided every month
• Strong focus on investor education
• Vibrant community and discussion boards
• Trade planning tools to model strategies
• Discounts available for annual subscriptions

Cons

• Mixed historical performance of stock picks
• Most features require expensive subscriptions
• Less tools for filtering and analyzing stocks
• Less objective data on analyst accuracy

Best For

Given the pros and cons, here is a summary of what types of investors are best suited to each platform:

TipRanks is ideal for:

• Savvy investors who can interpret data to find stocks
• Short term traders who need daily tracking of analyst ratings
• Investors who want to leverage insights from experts
• Those who want flexibility in pricing for different features

Motley Fool is better for:

• Beginning investors who need education
• Passive investors who want stock picks chosen for them
• Those who value community engagement and discussion
• Investors focused on buy and hold long term strategies

So in summary, TipRanks is best for self-directed investors comfortable doing their own research. Motley Fool is better for long term, passive investors who want guidance and education.

FAQs

Is TipRanks free?

TipRanks offers limited access to analyst consensus data on stocks for free. To unlock full features including insider activity, blogger opinions, advanced filtering and tracking experts, a paid subscription is required.

What are the Motley Fool premium services?

Motley Fool's premium research services that provide stock picks and analysis include Stock Advisor, Rule Breakers, Options Pro, Supernova, Blast Off, Everlasting Stocks and more. They range in price from $99 to $2,999 per year.

Which has better stock screening tools - TipRanks or Motley Fool?

TipRanks has more advanced screening capabilities. You can screen for stocks based on analyst ratings, price targets, trends, valuation, dividends, insider activity and more. Motley Fool focuses less on screening tools.

Is TipRanks accurate with its data?

Yes, TipRanks collects its vast database directly from public sources including SEC filings, analyst reports, financial blogs and Twitter. The data accurately reflects analyst consensus and insider trading activity.

Does Motley Fool beat the market?

According to Motley Fool's own research, on average their past stock picks have beat the S&P 500 over long time periods. However, independent analysis finds their level of outperformance vs the market is debatable.

Can you make money following TipRanks recommendations?

TipRanks does not make its own stock recommendations. The platform provides objective data so you can see what the best performing analysts and experts think are the best stocks. This data can absolutely help guide you to profitable investments.

Is TipRanks worth paying for?

The free version of TipRanks provides limited functionality. To unlock the full benefits including more advanced screening, real-time alerts, insider activity data and expert tracking, the paid plans are recommended. Many investors find the added insight well worth the monthly or annual pricing.

Does Motley Fool give refunds?

Motley Fool has a 30 day refund policy for most of its paid services. So you can request a full refund within 30 days if dissatisfied, no questions asked.

Who owns TipRanks?

TipRanks is a privately held company based in Israel. It was founded in 2012 by CEO Uri Gruenbaum and CTO Gilad Gat. Major venture capital firms backing TipRanks includeFinance Venture Capital, CrediFI Fintech Ventures and State Of Mind Ventures.

The Verdict: TipRanks Wins for Data While Motley Fool Better for New Investors

In summary, TipRanks is the superior platform if you want to leverage comprehensive analyst and insider data to identify stocks likely to outperform. The tracking of expert performance, customizable alerts, screening tools and charting give savvy investors an advantage.

However, Motley Fool is a better choice for beginners who want a one-stop shop for education, discussion boards, and pre-selected stock picks delivered to them monthly. Motley Fool offers more hand holding for passive investors less inclined to do stock analysis themselves.

So choosing between TipRanks vs Motley Fool depends mainly on your experience level, investment style, budget and specific needs. Keep this detailed comparison in mind as you evaluate both platforms and decide which is right for you.