Two of the most common tools investors use to automate stock alerts are StockAlarm and FearAlert. On the surface they look similar — both monitor technical indicators and send alerts. But the philosophies behind them are quite different, and those differences matter depending on how you invest.
This is a full, honest comparison. We built FearAlert, so take our perspective for what it is — but we've tried to be accurate about what StockAlarm does well and where it's genuinely the better choice.
Overview: what each tool is built for
StockAlarm is built for active traders who want fast price and indicator alerts across a large number of stocks simultaneously. It's mobile-first, the UI is snappy, and it's designed for people who monitor many tickers at once.
FearAlert is built for investors who use the Fear & Greed Index — and who want to combine macro market sentiment with technical indicator signals. It's designed for fewer, higher-quality alerts rather than high-frequency monitoring.
Indicator support
| Indicator | StockAlarm | FearAlert |
|---|---|---|
| RSI | ✓ | ✓ |
| MACD | ✓ | ✓ |
| Bollinger Bands | ✓ | ✓ |
| Moving Averages (SMA/EMA) | ✓ | ✓ |
| Stochastic Oscillator | ✓ | ✓ |
| ADX (trend strength) | Limited | ✓ |
| CCI | Limited | ✓ |
| Aroon | ✗ | ✓ |
| 52-week high/low | ✓ | ✓ |
| Fear & Greed Index | ✗ Not supported | ✓ Core feature |
| VIX alerts | ✗ | ✓ |
| Put/Call ratio | ✗ | ✓ |
Alert logic: single vs compound
This is the most important functional difference between the two tools.
StockAlarm alerts fire on a single condition: "RSI below 30," "price crosses above SMA 50," and so on. One condition, one alert.
FearAlert supports compound alerts — multiple conditions chained with AND / OR logic. A compound alert only fires when all (or any) of the conditions are true simultaneously.
Example compound alert: Alert when RSI (SPY, 14) is below 30 AND the Fear & Greed Index is below 35. Both conditions must be true at the same time. This combination has historically fired during the most significant market dip opportunities — not just normal indicator fluctuations.
Without compound logic, you have to manually check the second signal yourself every time the first one fires. FearAlert automates the combination.
Alert delivery channels
| Channel | StockAlarm | FearAlert |
|---|---|---|
| ✓ | ✓ | |
| Push notification (mobile) | ✓ App required | ✓ Browser push, no app |
| SMS | ✓ Paid tier | ✓ |
| Daily digest email | ✗ | ✓ FGI morning briefing |
| Webhook | ✓ | Roadmap |
Alert quality vs alert volume
StockAlarm is optimised for volume — monitoring many tickers, firing alerts quickly. This suits active traders who want to know everything that's moving.
FearAlert is optimised for quality — fewer alerts, each with more context and confirmation. Alerts include the current Fear & Greed Index reading, market context, and the full indicator breakdown, not just a number.
FearAlert also has configurable cooldown periods per rule, so you don't get the same RSI alert every hour during a sustained downturn. You set a minimum time between alerts for each rule (6 hours to 1 week).
Monitoring frequency
StockAlarm offers faster monitoring for some alert types, depending on its current plan and configuration. FearAlert evaluates all indicator rules once per hour. For investors using daily or multi-day technical setups (RSI 14, MACD daily, Bollinger 20-day), hourly evaluation is more than sufficient — and prevents the noise of intra-hour fluctuations triggering alerts.
Who should use which tool
Use StockAlarm if:
- You're a short-term or day trader monitoring many tickers simultaneously
- You want faster alerts on rapid price movements
- The mobile app experience is important to you
- You don't use macro sentiment indicators in your process
Use FearAlert if:
- You use the Fear & Greed Index as part of your timing decisions
- You want to combine technical signals with macro sentiment in a single alert
- You prefer fewer, higher-quality alerts over constant monitoring
- You're a medium-to-long-term investor buying dips or managing positions at key levels
- You want a daily digest briefing instead of (or in addition to) triggered alerts
Pricing comparison
Both tools offer a free option. StockAlarm has a free tier with a limited number of alerts. FearAlert offers a 1-month monitoring trial after payment details are added — you get everything, including compound alerts and the Fear & Greed Index integration.
After the trial, FearAlert is a flat monthly subscription with no feature tiers. All supported indicators and delivery channels are included, with up to 10 paid alert rules.
Verdict
StockAlarm and FearAlert are genuinely different tools. The comparison isn't really "which is better" — it's "which matches your investment style."
If you monitor the Fear & Greed Index and want it integrated into your automated alerts, FearAlert is the only dedicated tool built for that. StockAlarm doesn't offer it at all. That single feature — compounded with multi-condition alert logic — is the reason most of our users switched.