TradeHelp vs TradeZella:
own your journal, or rent it?
Both are serious trading journals. The real difference is philosophy: TradeZella is a polished cloud platform you subscribe to; TradeHelp is a desktop app you buy once, where your data never leaves your machine.
Side by side
| TradeHelp | TradeZella | |
|---|---|---|
| Price | launch price, first 100 | Subscription, $315–$891/year |
| Where your trades live | On your computer (local SQLite) | Their cloud |
| Account required | None | Yes |
| Works offline | Fully | No |
| AI coaching | Runs locally (Ollama, LM Studio…) or your own API key | Cloud-based |
| AI reads your chart screenshots | Yes, offline vision model | Limited |
| Prop-firm tracking | Per-account targets, trailing drawdown cushion, payout log & achievements | Basic |
| Live-session guardrails | Yes: pre-trade checklist, max-loss alarm, news warnings | No |
| Automatic broker sync | CSV import (NinjaTrader, Tradovate, TopstepX auto-detected) | Yes, for many brokers |
| Access from any device | Desktop app (up to 2 devices per key) | Any browser |
| Trade replay / backtesting | No | Yes |
Pricing and features as listed publicly at the time of writing. Check tradezella.com for their current plans.
Choose TradeZella if…
- You want automatic broker sync and are happy paying a subscription for it.
- You journal from multiple devices or in a browser at work.
- Trade replay and backtesting are a core part of your review process.
Choose TradeHelp if…
- You'd rather pay $50 once than $315+ every year. The journal pays for itself in two months of any subscription.
- Your P&L, notes and psychology data are nobody's business but yours. Everything stays on your machine.
- You trade prop-firm evals and want drawdown cushion, per-account P&L and payout tracking built in. See the prop-firm journal page.
- You want an AI coach that reads your actual journal of trades, notes and self-grades, without any of it leaving your computer.
- You want discipline tools at the moment they matter: a pre-trade checklist and a max-loss alarm while you're live.
FAQ
Can I move my TradeZella history into TradeHelp?
Yes. Export your trades from TradeZella as CSV, then use TradeHelp's Import. The column mapper handles any CSV with headers, and duplicate rows are detected and skipped if you import twice.
Is TradeHelp really offline? What about the AI?
The journal itself never needs internet. The AI coach runs on your own machine through Ollama, a free local model runner, so unlike TradeZella's cloud AI, your trade data never leaves your computer to get coaching. Optional extras (price ticker, economic calendar, updates) use the network only if you leave them on. More on the offline journal page.
Is there a free trial?
Yes. Every download starts a 14-day free trial with everything unlocked: no account, no card. TradeZella requires a paid plan from day one. If TradeHelp sticks, one $50 key activates up to 2 devices, forever.
Try the $50-once journal free for 14 days
No account. No subscription. Your data stays yours.
Download for Windows