Need trading journal templates to help you improve your trading? From Excel templates to PDF templates, here are the 4 best free trading journal templates you can use today.
1. Trading Journal Template for Excel or Google Sheets
This simple Excel trading template uses manual trade entry and formulas to track your trades. It also uses trade data to provide helpful reports. With it you can track trades in stocks, options, futures, or anything else you trade. For each trade it calculates:
- Profit or loss
- R:R
- Position MFE and MAE (how far each trade went for and against you)
- Position Efficiency to MFE (how far it went for you compared to your profit)
- Trade duration
On the analysis tab, you can see these calculations for every strategy and every tag:
- Win, loss, and breakeven rate %
- Total commission
- Total profit or loss
- Total risk, and R:R
- Average winning/losing trade P/L
- Average hold time, separated by winning and losing trades
- Average position MFE/MAE, and average efficiency to MFE
You pick what strategies to track and name them whatever you want. For trade tags, you can use four sets of complimentary tags - put as many in each set as you want. You can use the pre-filled ones or use your own.
To start, get my trading journal template for Excel (no email required, 100% free). Then view it in Excel, WPS spreadsheets, etc. or import to Google Sheets.
Trouble downloading? See Excel trading journal instructions.
If you want to use a more powerful journal that requires less time and effort, check out these top online trading journals.
2. PDF Trading Journal Template (Printable)
For you analog-journal lovers, this trading journal template pdf can be printed out so you can write your trades on it.
This is nice if you prefer to keep a simple journal offline. It's also great for people who like to write things down, especially for the mental benefits that come with writing something out by hand.
Alternatively, you might choose a multi-step process:
- Print and use these sheets to jot down your trades during the day.
- Use one of the other journals here for tracking trade stats and performing analysis.
- Add important notes from your handwritten notes to that journal so you can search for them later.
I like that method for myself, for a few reasons:
- I don't have to click away from my trading software
- I can jot a time and a quick shorthand note without entering trade info if I want.
- Handwriting activates a different part of the brain and helps me stay focused.
Your mileage may vary, but that's what works for me.
No email signup or anything required to get it, download the PDF Trading Template here.
To download:
1) Click "File", then "Download"
2) Dropbox will probably try to get you to log in or sign up - you don't need to do that. You can just click "Or continue with download only".
3. Stock Trading Journal Template for Excel
This stock trading journal template is also for excel or Google sheets. It includes weekly and monthly statistics and analytics dashboards.
The free version lets you tag trades by setup and other variables you can customize. It shows you basic analytics broken down by those variables.
Weekly and monthly dashboards show you basic stats, including expectancy and your net P/L per day and per ticker.
With this one, you do have to enter contact info and they'll email you the download link. You can get it here.
I may receive compensation from some of the companies reviewed on this site. I'm a trader, I write from personal experience with these tools and only give high marks where they're due.
4. Tradervue Trading Journal Basic
Tradervue's online trading journal offers a 'Basic' plan which is free and allows you to import 30 trades each month.
Although it's technically not a "template" and you do have to register an account, it's worth mentioning because of the benefits.
While a spreadsheet-based journal is useful, Tradervue can help save you time and provide you with more detailed and effective reports.
That includes some multi-factor reporting that can help you find ways to trade more profitably, where spreadsheets fall short.
Learn more about tradervue here and setting up your journal here.
Get All 4 Trading Journal Templates
To recap, here are the best 5 trading journal templates for improving your trading:
- Trading Journal Template for Excel or Google Sheets
- PDF Trading Journal Template (Printable)
- Stock Trading Journal Template for Excel
- Tradervue Trading Journal Basic