Snowball Analytics or Portfolio Terminal: who each one suits
- You want your brokerage synced automatically, and $79.99 a year is fine.
- You want dividend ratings, yield on cost and backtests in one app.
- You want native iOS and Android apps.
- You hold more than 10 positions and want them tracked for free.
- You want realized gains computed lot by lot (FIFO), with a CSV export.
- You'd rather import a file than link a brokerage account.
The same eight questions, asked of both
| Question | Snowball Analytics | Portfolio Terminal |
|---|---|---|
| Free plan | Free forever: 1 portfolio, 10 holdings, a dividend calendar and broker-report import.[1] | Free with no holding limit. A guest mode works without an account.[2] |
| Paid plans | Starter $79.99/year ($7.99 monthly); Investor $149.99/year; Expert $249.99/year (USD).[1] | Nothing to buy today. A Pro plan is in development at $9/month billed yearly ($11 monthly), with a waitlist.[2] |
| How holdings get in | Broker-report import on every plan; automatic sync with 1,000+ brokerages (Plaid, Yodlee, SnapTrade) from Starter.[3] | Upload a CSV or Excel file or a PDF statement, paste a table, or drop a screenshot from any broker. Transaction-history CSVs from 10 brokers are read directly, plus a generic format. No automatic broker sync.[4] |
| Dividends | A dividend calendar on every plan; yield on cost and dividend ratings on paid plans.[1] | Dividends received by month and year, a 12-month projection, and the next ex-dividend dates of your holdings.[5] |
| What is inside your ETFs | Yes: a Fund X-Ray of the holdings inside your ETFs, added in January 2026.[6] | Yes. The companies inside your funds, from the issuers' full holdings files for 30 US ETFs and the top 10 holdings for other funds.[7] |
| Realized gains | Realized profit counts in total profit; the cost method is not stated.[8] | FIFO lot by lot, or average cost, with a CSV export in IRS Form 8949 column order.[9] |
| Tax reports | None found.[1] | None. |
| Platforms | Web, iOS, Android.[3] | Web. Installable on a phone or desktop home screen (PWA); no app-store app.[10] |
Best for, and one honest limit each
Snowball AnalyticsSnowball Analytics SAS, Lyon, France
Best forDividend investors who want a dividend calendar, time-weighted and money-weighted returns, and automatic broker sync for under $80 a year.
LimitThe free plan stops at 10 holdings and 1 portfolio, and automatic broker linking starts with the paid Starter plan.[1]
Portfolio TerminalJulien Esnault, independent developer, France
Best forInvestors with US or European brokers who want a free web tracker with ETF look-through, FIFO gains and risk in plain English, without linking a bank login.
LimitNo automatic broker sync: you re-import a file or a screenshot when your holdings change. Prices come from Yahoo Finance and can lag the market by several minutes.[4]
Moving from Snowball Analytics
- 01Export your transactions from Snowball Analytics, or download the transaction-history CSV from your broker.
- 02Import it in Portfolio Terminal: the generic history import reads Snowball's "Event" column. Check every line before it is saved.
- 03Keep Snowball's free plan for its dividend ratings if you use them.
Snowball Analytics alternatives: what people ask
Is Snowball Analytics free?
Snowball Analytics has a free plan with 1 portfolio, 10 holdings and a dividend calendar. Paid plans are Starter at $79.99, Investor at $149.99 and Expert at $249.99 a year, in USD (checked October 5, 2026).
Is there a free alternative to Snowball Analytics with no holding limit?
Yes. Portfolio Terminal is free with no holding limit and includes dividends received and projected, ex-dividend dates and FIFO realized gains. It has no automatic broker sync.
Does Snowball Analytics sync with my broker for free?
No. Its free plan imports broker reports; automatic linking through Plaid, Yodlee or SnapTrade starts with the Starter plan.
Which one shows what is inside my ETFs?
Both. Snowball Analytics added a Fund X-Ray in January 2026. Portfolio Terminal reads the issuers' full holdings files for 30 US ETFs and the top 10 holdings for other funds.
Other trackers, same eight questions
Or see all of them on one grid: the best free portfolio trackers, compared.
Sources, read on October 5, 2026
Prices and plans are quoted as each vendor prints them, in its currency, on the day above. They change; the linked page is the one to trust. Found something out of date? Write to julien.esnau@gmail.com and the page is corrected with the date.
- [1]snowball-analytics.com/pricing
- [2]portfolio-terminal.com#pricing
- [3]snowball-analytics.com/portfolio-tracker
- [4]portfolio-terminal.com/import
- [5]portfolio-terminal.com/dividend-tracker
- [6]apps.apple.com/us/app/snowball-analytics-stocks/id6463484375
- [7]portfolio-terminal.com/etf-overlap
- [8]help.snowball-analytics.com/review-of-key-portfolio-indicators
- [9]portfolio-terminal.com/csv-portfolio-tracker
- [10]portfolio-terminal.com/llms.txt
Portfolio Terminal is made by the author of this page, so read the comparison with that in mind: every statement about Snowball Analytics links to Snowball Analytics's own pages, and Portfolio Terminal's limit is stated as plainly as theirs. Nothing here is investment advice.