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FP·EDITORIAL · VOL. III · ISSUE 14 · UNITED STATES · MAY 2026 last sweep 2026-05-14 · 2 programs scored · 1 defunct

Trader infrastructure · United States

methodology v3.2 · audited apr '26

iso 27001 · CompaniesHouse #OC4451x

Head-to-head

TradingView vs Trade Ideas — the US platform decision (2026)

Rank

Ranked number 6

Trader infrastructure · Multi-asset charting platform (revshare + recurring tail)

TradingView

† none
Commission
15% revshare on first subscription + 10% recurring on renewals
Cookie
30d
12m EPC
$12.41
Payout rel.
100
Clawback
30d
TradingView ranks #6 in the US trader-infrastructure cohort at $12.41 EPC — the structural ceiling is the 30-day cookie combined with own-funnel branded paid search that degrades attribution_factor to 0.85. The volume of the affiliate funnel (100M+ user base) partially compensates per-click economics on the demand side, and the 2026 Premium tier opens a higher-AOV upgrade path.

Pros

  • Largest charting platform brand globally — strongest organic-discovery affiliate funnel
  • Multi-asset coverage (stocks / futures / forex / crypto) supports the broadest content stack
  • 2026 Premium tier launch (~$200/mo) opens a high-AOV recurring conversion path
  • Pine Script automation engine drives sustained subscription retention
  • Direct-program tracking — no Tapfiliate or Impact intermediary fees

Cons

  • 30-day cookie window halves the attribution surface vs Bookmap and Trade Ideas (60d)
  • Aggressive branded paid search degrades attribution_factor to 0.85 — measurable cookie overwrite
  • 10% recurring on renewals is below the 25-30% revshare rates at Bookmap / TrendSpider / TraderSync

Rank

Ranked number 1

Trader infrastructure · AI scanning + Holly virtual analyst (recurring SaaS)

Trade Ideas

† none
Commission
20-25% recurring revshare on Standard ($84/mo) and Premium ($167/mo) subscriptions
Cookie
60d
12m EPC
$29.25
Payout rel.
100
Clawback
30d
Trade Ideas tops the US trader-infrastructure cohort on EPC at $29.25 — the combination of 22.5% midpoint recurring revshare against a $111/mo average subscription, a 60-day cookie window, and a category-defining AI brand produces structurally the strongest per-conversion economics in the shard.

Pros

  • Highest AOV in the cohort — $84-$167/mo Premium tier compounds recurring revshare faster than any peer
  • 60-day cookie ties Bookmap for the longest equity-scanner attribution window
  • Holly AI assistant is the most-cited brand in retail AI scanning — built-in conversion authority
  • 23-year operating history is the deepest payout track record in the independent-scanner cohort
  • Brokerage Plus integration with TradeStation + IBKR captures execution-curious converters

Cons

  • Premium pricing caps the TAM — Standard at $84/mo prices out hobby traders entirely
  • US-equity-only — content cannot cross-sell to futures, crypto, or forex audiences
  • AI-scanner skepticism in retail-trading subreddits requires honest editorial framing

How we review · Desk review — graded from published program terms, payout-reliability and regulator data (re-verified every 90 days), not from opening accounts. Hands-on testing is rolling out.

TradingView and Trade Ideas are the two biggest brands in US trader infrastructure, and they trade off reach against specialist economics. TradingView ranks #6 (grade C+, $12.41 EPC) as the largest charting platform by user count (100M+ globally), with multi-asset coverage and the strongest organic-discovery funnel in the cohort. Trade Ideas ranks #1 (grade A, $29.25 EPC) as the AI-scanner specialist — the cohort’s highest AOV, a 60-day cookie, and the most-cited brand in retail AI scanning (Holly) — for more than double TradingView’s EPC, but it is US-equity-only. Both are recurring-SaaS tools, not investment advisers. This head-to-head decodes which to feature. FintechPays earns a commission where a programme is live; it does not move the rank, which is set by a quality-and-economics composite.

The one-line verdict

Feature Trade Ideas for serious US-equity and AI-scanner content — its high AOV, 60-day cookie, and Holly brand authority earn more than double TradingView’s EPC on that audience. Feature TradingView for broad, multi-asset, mass-reach content — its 100M-user brand is the cohort’s biggest organic funnel and it covers every asset class. The split is specialist economics (Trade Ideas) versus brand reach (TradingView).

EPC vs reach — the core trade-off

The headline numbers invert intuition: Trade Ideas, the narrower product, earns more than double the EPC ($29.25 vs $12.41). The reason is economics structure. Trade Ideas’ subscriptions are the highest AOV in the cohort ($84–$167/mo), and 20–25% recurring of a large bill, captured over a 60-day cookie, compounds faster than any peer — so each Trade Ideas referral is worth far more. TradingView’s 15%-plus-10%-recurring on lower-priced tiers, over a 30-day cookie, earns less per conversion. But TradingView’s funnel is vastly larger: at 100M+ users it has brand recognition Trade Ideas’ premium niche can’t approach, so it converts a much higher volume of (lower-value) referrals. The honest framing: Trade Ideas earns the most per referral from a serious US-equity audience; TradingView reaches the most referrals across a broad, multi-asset one. Which wins for you depends on whether your traffic is deep-and-serious or broad-and-general.

Specialisation vs breadth — the product divide

The two are genuinely different products. Trade Ideas is the AI-scanner specialist: Holly, its AI assistant, is the most-cited brand in retail AI scanning, built-in conversion authority for content reaching traders who specifically want algorithmic scanning. But it is US-equity-only — it cannot cross-sell to futures, crypto, or forex audiences, which hard-caps the content it fits. TradingView is the charting platform of record: multi-asset coverage (stocks, futures, forex, crypto) makes it applicable to the broadest content stack in the cohort, and a 2026 Premium tier (~$200/mo) opens a higher-AOV path. So Trade Ideas is the deep, high-value pick for one asset class and one use case; TradingView is the broad, lower-value pick across every asset class. A creator covering multiple markets can put TradingView on all of them and Trade Ideas only on US-equity AI-scanner content.

TradingView’s attribution drag, Trade Ideas’ TAM cap

Each has one honest structural limit. TradingView’s enormous funnel is partly taxed by its own aggressive branded paid search, which degrades attribution to 0.85 — a measurable cookie overwrite where TradingView bids on its own brand terms and reclaims conversions that would otherwise pay the affiliate. Combined with its 30-day cookie (half Trade Ideas’ 60), that means an affiliate captures less of TradingView’s huge traffic than the reach suggests. Trade Ideas’ limit is the opposite: its premium pricing caps the total addressable market — at $84/mo the Standard tier prices out hobby traders entirely — and the US-equity-only scope further narrows it. So TradingView has huge reach taxed by attribution; Trade Ideas has uncapped per-referral value on a deliberately narrow audience.

Compliance note

Both are trading-analysis software tools, not financial products or advisers — they chart, scan, and alert; they do not manage money or guarantee results. Content should disclose the affiliate relationship (FTC), present them as analysis aids rather than implying trading profits, and make no performance guarantees. This is software-affiliate context, with no securities-advice claims attached.

Which should you choose?

Your priorityThe pick
Maximum EPC per referralTrade Ideas$29.25, high AOV × 60-day cookie
Serious US-equity / AI-scanner audienceTrade Ideas — Holly authority
Largest brand / organic funnelTradingView — 100M+ users
Multi-asset content (futures/forex/crypto)TradingView — every asset class
Clean attributionTrade Ideas — no brand-term overwrite
Broad, beginner-facing audienceTradingView — widest applicability

For US creators: anchor vs reach engine

These two are best run together by an affiliate with multi-asset reach. Use Trade Ideas as the high-value anchor for US-equity and AI-scanner content — it earns more than double per referral, the 60-day cookie holds attribution over a long decision cycle, and Holly’s authority converts the serious scanner audience — but accept that it can’t follow you into futures, forex, or crypto. Use TradingView as the reach engine across everything else — its 100M-user brand is the biggest organic funnel in the cohort, and its multi-asset coverage means a single recommendation applies to your whole content stack — while pricing in the attribution drag from its own paid search, which taxes the effective return below the headline reach. A multi-asset creator captures more total revenue by stacking both than by picking one: Trade Ideas earns the most on US-equity AI-scanner traffic, TradingView earns across the broad, multi-asset remainder. Present both as analysis tools rather than profit engines, disclose the affiliate relationship, and route by whether the content is deep-US-equity or broad-multi-asset.

Common questions

Is TradingView or Trade Ideas better for an affiliate?

Trade Ideas on per-referral economics — more than double the EPC ($29.25 vs $12.41) from a serious US-equity audience, on high AOV and a 60-day cookie. TradingView on reach — the cohort’s biggest brand and multi-asset coverage. Deep US-equity → Trade Ideas; broad multi-asset → TradingView.

Why does the smaller product earn more?

Economics structure. Trade Ideas’ subscriptions cost more (highest AOV), its cookie lasts twice as long (60 vs 30 days), and its audience is serious and high-value — so each referral compounds to far more than TradingView’s lower-priced, shorter-attributed, broader conversions.

What’s the catch on each?

TradingView’s own branded paid search overwrites affiliate cookies (attribution 0.85) and its 30-day cookie is half Trade Ideas’. Trade Ideas is US-equity-only and its premium pricing caps the addressable market — it can’t reach hobby traders or non-equity audiences.

Can I promote both?

Yes — and a multi-asset creator should. Anchor US-equity and AI-scanner content on Trade Ideas (highest per-referral return) and use TradingView across futures, forex, crypto, and broad content where Trade Ideas can’t follow.

The bottom line

TradingView and Trade Ideas trade reach against specialist economics. Trade Ideas is the high-value anchor — more than double the EPC, the cohort’s top AOV, a 60-day cookie, and Holly’s AI-scanner authority — for serious US-equity content, capped to that one asset class. TradingView is the reach engine — the largest charting brand, multi-asset coverage, and the biggest organic funnel — for broad content, taxed by its own paid-search attribution drag. Anchor US-equity and AI-scanner content on Trade Ideas and run TradingView across the multi-asset remainder, present both as analysis tools rather than advice, and route by your content’s asset focus.

¶ last reviewed 2026-06-09 · methodology v3.2

Editorial signatures and issue metadata

Edited by

Maren Holst

Senior Editor

Signed · M.HOLST

Fact-checked by

Asha Devi

Standards Desk (Fact-Checker)

Signed · A.DEVI

Issue meta

vol iii · iss 14

published 2026-03-12

last sweep 2026-05-14

methodology v3.2 · audited apr '26

Companies House #OC4451x