Motley Fool vs Seeking Alpha – Which Is Better?
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There's so much new investors have to learn before entering the stock market. How much capital to commit, which investment strategies work best, and whether the money should be invested in growth stocks. These are some questions plaguing individual investors before they put money to work. Investing research on individual stocks will consume hours of your time to top it all off. You have to make all-important investment decisions to earn the highest return. Alternatively, you could sign up for investing newsletters that help you make the right investments. On the other hand, if you're more hands-on, you may want to look into stock research platforms.
Regardless of your investing style, The Motley Fool and Seeking Alpha will satisfy your personal finance needs.
Use Motley Fool's Stock Advisor To Invest
- Over 100 Stock Picks with 100%+ Returns
- Averaged Stock Pick Return over 593% (vs. 165% for the S&P)
- 2 New Stock Picks Every Month
- Investment Community With 700,000+ Loyal Members
- 30-Day Membership-Fee-Back Guarantee
- Joy Wallet Reader Deal: The Motley Fool is offering 50% off its top stock-picking service for new members (Limited Time)
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About each brand
The Motley Fool
The Motley Fool launched in 1993 and initially made monthly stock picks. But the company has since evolved into a suite of financial services that recommend stocks, ETFs, and even real estate. The Motley Fool Stock Advisor is its most-famous premium service, and for a good reason; it has beaten the S&P 500 consistently since its inception.
The Motley Fool is offering its top stock-picking service at 50% off for new members.*
*$89 is an introductory price for new members only. 50% discount based on current list price of Stock Advisor of $199/year. Membership will renew annually at the then-current list price.
Seeking Alpha
Seeking Alpha is a juggernaut in the investment research space. In finance parlance, "alpha" measures the return on investment compared to a market index. The crowd-sourced website bills itself as the world's largest investing community, boasting 20 million monthly users and 200,000 paid subscribers. Content like market analysis and investment ideas come from more than 16,000 active authors after an in-house team of editors has fact-checked them.
Use Motley Fool's Stock Advisor To Invest
- Over 100 Stock Picks with 100%+ Returns
- Averaged Stock Pick Return over 593% (vs. 165% for the S&P)
- 2 New Stock Picks Every Month
- Investment Community With 700,000+ Loyal Members
- 30-Day Membership-Fee-Back Guarantee
- Joy Wallet Reader Deal: The Motley Fool is offering 50% off its top stock-picking service for new members (Limited Time)
Features
The Motley Fool key features
Stock Advisor
This subscription service has beaten the S&P 500 three-to-one in the last 19 years. Stock picking services are The Motley Fool's bread and butter, but each premium subscription recommends a different type of stock. As for Stock Advisor, it picks large-cap stocks that should generate profitability in the long run. Once you sign up, you get access to new stock recommendations twice a month, alerts for when to buy or sell a stock, and news updates and podcasts.
Use Motley Fool's Stock Advisor To Invest
- Over 100 Stock Picks with 100%+ Returns
- Averaged Stock Pick Return over 593% (vs. 165% for the S&P)
- 2 New Stock Picks Every Month
- Investment Community With 700,000+ Loyal Members
- 30-Day Membership-Fee-Back Guarantee
- Joy Wallet Reader Deal: The Motley Fool is offering 50% off its top stock-picking service for new members (Limited Time)
Seeking Alpha key features
All the ratings
Exclusive to paid members, Seeking Alpha's quant ratings give you an idea of the best stock worth your while. Seeking Alpha's algorithm chooses its strong buy recommendation after evaluating a company's growth and profitability, among other metrics.
A paid subscription also unlocks ratings assigned by authors and ratings from more than 100 Wall Street brokerages. Seeking Alpha also rates companies based on their dividend consistency, safety, and growth, making it easy for you to zero in on dividend stocks.
The Motley Fool is offering its top stock-picking service at 50% off for new members.*
*$89 is an introductory price for new members only. 50% discount based on current list price of Stock Advisor of $199/year. Membership will renew annually at the then-current list price.
Stock screener and earnings call
The screener is another feature behind a paywall. One is a screener for Seeking Alpha's top-rated stocks, while the other focuses on investing ideas. You can fine-tune 100 metrics to help you arrive at the best investment. You can also access a company's earnings calls and transcripts of these calls.
Portfolio management
Seeking Alpha lets paid users link their brokerage account to their portfolio on its website, giving them insights into their holdings.
Use Motley Fool's Stock Advisor To Invest
- Over 100 Stock Picks with 100%+ Returns
- Averaged Stock Pick Return over 593% (vs. 165% for the S&P)
- 2 New Stock Picks Every Month
- Investment Community With 700,000+ Loyal Members
- 30-Day Membership-Fee-Back Guarantee
- Joy Wallet Reader Deal: The Motley Fool is offering 50% off its top stock-picking service for new members (Limited Time)
Summary of The Motley Fool and Seeking Alpha
Service | Cost | Best for |
The Motley Fool | $199 to $2,999 per year | Beginners and experienced investors |
Seeking Alpha | $230 to $2,400 per year | Beginners and experienced investors |
Costs
The Motley Fool
Motley Fool Stock Advisor, Rule Breakers, and Everlasting Stocks are a few affordable options with a 30-day membership-fee-back guarantee for new members. They cost $99 each for the first year and $199 at renewal. Real Estate Winners is also priced low at $249 per year, but it does away with refunds.
Seeking Alpha
Seeking Alpha offers two paid tiers: Seeking Alpha Premium at $239 per year and $540 for three years. Meanwhile, seeking Alpha Pro will set you back $2,400 each year.
Pros and cons
The Motley Fool vs. Seeking Alpha pros and cons
Pros
- Diverse range of investment recommendations.
- Best for high-growth and blue-chip stocks set to see huge upside.
- Some services have a solid track record of market-beating performance.
Cons
- Some services are not ideal for risk-averse investors.
- Can require a large amount of capital if you'd like buy all stock picks and maximize returns.
- Not ideal for passive investors.
Use Motley Fool's Stock Advisor To Invest
- Over 100 Stock Picks with 100%+ Returns
- Averaged Stock Pick Return over 593% (vs. 165% for the S&P)
- 2 New Stock Picks Every Month
- Investment Community With 700,000+ Loyal Members
- 30-Day Membership-Fee-Back Guarantee
- Joy Wallet Reader Deal: The Motley Fool is offering 50% off its top stock-picking service for new members (Limited Time)
Seeking Alpha vs. Motley Fool pros and cons
Pros
- Ratings system makes it easy to see worthy investments.
- In-house team of editors looks at content before it appears on website.
- Easy cancelation.
Cons
- The top paid tier is prohibitively expensive.
- The best services are reserved for paid users.
- Mutual fund coverage has room for improvement.
The Motley Fool vs. Seeking Alpha FAQs
Does Motley Fool send a lot of emails?
Yes, their email marketing tactics are rather persistent, to say the least. But you can easily change that in your account settings.
What's Rule Breakers all about?
The service recommends high-growth stocks with huge upside potential. On the flip side, these companies are prone to above-average volatility.
Can I connect my brokerage account with Seeking Alpha?
Yes, this allows you to look at all your investments in one place.
What's included in Seeking Alpha's basic plan?
Stock analysis email alerts, news updates and Wall Street brokerage's ratings for stocks are some of the features included in the basic plan.
Use Motley Fool's Stock Advisor To Invest
- Over 100 Stock Picks with 100%+ Returns
- Averaged Stock Pick Return over 593% (vs. 165% for the S&P)
- 2 New Stock Picks Every Month
- Investment Community With 700,000+ Loyal Members
- 30-Day Membership-Fee-Back Guarantee
- Joy Wallet Reader Deal: The Motley Fool is offering 50% off its top stock-picking service for new members (Limited Time)
The bottom line
The Motley Fool and Seeking Alpha each have products for all types of investors. The former is primarily a stock-picking service. Seeking Alpha lets you sit in the driver's seat and make all the decisions, thanks to the high-quality financial data on various companies. But all of Motley Fool's offerings are meant for long-term investors, and Seeking Alpha is best suited for active investors.
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Writer
Jasir Jawaid is Joy Wallet's Assistant Editor. He has more than 13 years of experience as a journalist covering Wall Street, equities, financial policy and regulation, and cryptocurrency and blockchain.
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