Best 13F Trackers: 9 Tools Compared, Plus 2 Companion Tools

HoldingsIntel shows which reported positions stand out: conviction scores rated 0-100, funds adding into price declines, and four public-disclosure sources brought together in one verdict per stock. This guide ranks nine tools with institutional-holdings coverage by source transparency, analytics, coverage and history, and price. Two companion tools cover insider and congressional disclosures.

How We Ranked These Tools

We build HoldingsIntel to make reported portfolio changes clear and show investors which positions stand out. We rank the tools on four criteria: source transparency, analytics, coverage and history, and the price of the tier you would use.

• Source transparency - can the numbers be traced back to the SEC filing, and does the tool publish how it checks them?
• Analytics depth - does the tool score and synthesize filings, or display them?
• Coverage and history - how many funds, how many years?
• Price - what does the tier you would actually use cost?

The ranking weights those criteria for one reader: an individual investor looking for clarity on reported institutional positions. HoldingsIntel emphasizes the positions that stand out; archive depth or a free holdings feed may matter more for another job. Each entry explains its fit and tradeoffs and links the full comparison.

The Rankings

1. HoldingsIntel - find high-conviction positions worth your attention

HoldingsIntel reads 563+ of the largest US funds, 89% of US 13F capital (the dollar-weighted share of value reported across all SEC Form 13F filings), with data through Q2 2026. On top of the filings: Conviction Scoring rates fund buys 0-100 and publishes the record of its 90+ scores for every quarter from 2019, Double-Down Detection flags funds adding into price declines, and a 4-source Smart Money Verdict fuses institutional, insider, activist, and congressional filings per stock. Share counts and values matched the SEC filings on every sampled holding. Free tier; Pro is $19/mo ($190/yr). Verdict: the pick when the question is what the filings mean, not where they are archived.

2. WhaleWisdom - the deepest archive

Every 13F filed since 2001, all ~10,000 filers, an Excel add-in, and the category's most established backtester. If your work needs an obscure fund from 2009 piped into a spreadsheet, this is the tool built for it. Where it loses: its 13F, insider, activist and Congress data are searched separately, with no single answer per stock. $300-500/yr with a free tier. Verdict: the archive is the product - buy it when the archive is the job. Full comparison: HoldingsIntel vs WhaleWisdom.

3. Dataroma - the best tracker that costs nothing

Hand-picked superinvestors - including Buffett and Klarman - with clean quarterly buys and sells and insider-buy activity alongside, free, fast, no account. The curation is the quality filter. Where it loses: the roster stops at 82 managers, and there are no conviction scores, cost-basis estimates or manager ratings. Verdict: the cleanest possible starting point for superinvestor watching, and the price is unbeatable. Full comparison: HoldingsIntel vs Dataroma.

4. HedgeFollow - the widest institutional roster

10,000+ funds, estimated buy prices, fund ratings, double-down lists, insider, Congress and activist trackers, and screening tools, with a free plan and paid plans from $10/mo billed annually. Where it loses: a wide roster still leaves the filtering to you, and positions carry sizes but no rating of how much they mean to the fund. Verdict: browse wide and filter it yourself when roster breadth matters most. Full comparison: HoldingsIntel vs HedgeFollow.

5. Fintel - the widest ownership dataset

Beyond 13F into 13D/G, NPORT funds, and UK disclosures, plus official NASDAQ/NYSE short interest and options flow - the broadest ownership-research surface here, with global reach. Where it loses: it is a dozen dashboards rather than one conclusion, and its options tools and Ai+ sit in the Silver and Gold tiers. Verdict: the instrument for short-interest and options context around ownership. Full comparison: HoldingsIntel vs Fintel.

6. Quiver Quantitative - the widest alternative-data net

Congressional trades, lobbying spend, government contracts, patents, and app ratings in one feed, with 13F dashboards alongside, backtested strategies, and one-click Quantbase copytrading. Its catalog runs past 20 datasets. Where it loses: 13F holdings are one tab among many, with no per-position scoring; its 1-10 Smart Score grades stocks, not fund positions. Premium $25/mo with a free tier. Verdict: buy it for the data Washington produces, not for 13F depth. Full comparison: HoldingsIntel vs Quiver Quantitative.

7. Stockcircle - guru research with ETF context

13F portfolios, insider trades, congressional trades, and ETF holdings in one app, with AI earnings-call summaries, estimated purchase prices, and instant notifications, with a free entry point. Stockcircle Pro lists $99 per year, billed annually, or $16.49 per month, checked September 6, 2026. Purchase prices are estimates, not values filed in 13Fs. Where it loses: portfolios are followed, not ranked - no fund ratings, no conviction scoring, no backtest before you copy anyone. Verdict: choose it for a broad daily guru feed. Full comparison: HoldingsIntel vs Stockcircle.

8. GuruFocus - best when fundamentals come first

A fundamentals terminal with guru tracking inside: up to 30 years of financial statements, DCF and intrinsic-value models, a 500+ filter screener, and ~8,000 tracked portfolios. Where it loses for this use case: 13F tracking is one feature among hundreds, and at $549-2,448/yr, billed annually, you pay for the whole terminal. Verdict: ranked here as a 13F tracker - as a value-investing research suite it places far higher. Full comparison: HoldingsIntel vs GuruFocus.

9. Unusual Whales - the fast tape, with filings alongside

The reference product for real-time options flow and dark-pool prints, with an alert engine, a Discord bot, and congressional and insider feeds folded in, from $50/mo. Where it loses here: 13F institution pages sit alongside the flow tools rather than at the center, and the free tier delays the data. Verdict: an intraday instrument first - pair it with a filings tool rather than substituting one. Full comparison: HoldingsIntel vs Unusual Whales.

Companion tools for insider and congressional disclosures

OpenInsider - the free Form 4 screener

OpenInsider is a free insider-trading screener with Form 4 data, cluster-buy screens and per-insider drill-downs, no account required. It complements institutional-holdings research with a dedicated insider-disclosure view. Full comparison: HoldingsIntel vs OpenInsider.

Capitol Trades - the free congressional tracker

Capitol Trades covers recent congressional STOCK Act disclosures in a free feed, with member profiles and party, committee and state filters. It complements 13F research when you want a dedicated view of congressional activity. Full comparison: HoldingsIntel vs Capitol Trades.

How to Track Hedge Fund Portfolios

Whichever tool you pick, the method is the same four steps:

• Check the reporting period and filing date - A 13F reports positions as of quarter end and is due within 45 days after quarter end, or the next business day when that falls on a weekend or holiday. Many funds file earlier, and positions can change after quarter end. For additional context, see current holdings P&L estimates.
• Read changes, not snapshots - the information is in quarter-over-quarter changes: new positions, increases, and full exits, not the static holdings list.
• Weight positions by meaning - a 5% portfolio bet from a 15-position fund says more than a 0.01% nibble from a mega-manager. That difference is what a conviction score quantifies.
• Work the calendar - filings cluster around the four deadlines in mid-February, May, August, and November. The 13F filing calendar counts down to the next one.

Which Tracker Should You Choose?

For investors following smart money, start with HoldingsIntel: 563+ of the largest US funds, every buy scored for conviction, and funds, insiders, activists and Congress resolved into one Verdict per stock. Free to start; Pro is $19 a month.

Add a specialist only for a narrower job:

• Two decades of archived filings: WhaleWisdom.
• Short interest and options flow: Fintel or Unusual Whales.
• Lobbying and government-contract data: Quiver Quantitative.
• Full fundamental modeling: GuruFocus.

See which reported positions stand out with conviction scores and double-down analysis. Start with a free preview of the latest quarter. Explore portfolio analytics.

Related Terms

New to 13F data? Start with the 13F filings guide - who files, what's included, and filing deadlines and reporting lag. Key terms:

• 13F Filing - Quick definition and context
• Conviction Score - How HoldingsIntel quantifies position meaningfulness
• Position Changes - Quarter-over-quarter changes in fund holdings

Frequently Asked Questions