Lots of people pay for Unusual Whales or Quiver just to see what Congress and company insiders are buying. You may not need to. Here is what each alternative costs, what it covers, and one problem every tool has, ours included: the same public filings can be read two different ways. This sorts tools by the job, quotes prices from each pricing page (checked Nov 3, 2026), and walks through two real filings that still trip trackers up.
The short answer
If you trade options flow, stay with Unusual Whales. If you only want Congress trades, Capitol Trades is free and Quiver’s free Visitor plan has live Congress data. For insider buys, OpenInsider is free. Pay only for the extra tool you will actually use.
First, what are you actually using Unusual Whales or Quiver for?
Most alternatives pages put their own app first. The cleaner question is which job you hired the tool for.
Options flow and dark pool (Unusual Whales’ core)
Unusual Whales describes itself around “Live options flow, screeners, Greeks, and dark pool.” If that is your morning screen, nothing else here is a like-for-like swap. The free plan exists, but options flow is delayed two trading days.
Congress trades
Members report stock trades on Periodic Transaction Reports. If Congress is all you care about, you do not need an options terminal. Start free: our Congress stock trades tracker comparison, plus a Pelosi stock tracker walkthrough.
Company insider buys (Form 4)
Officers, directors and 10% owners file SEC Form 4, generally within two business days. Open-market purchases are code P. A free Form 4 screener is usually enough. See our OpenInsider alternative guide and how to read SEC Form 4.
Backtests and many datasets (Quiver Premium)
Quiver Premium is for people who want Congress, lobbying, contracts, insider data, politician portfolios and backtesters together. That is a different job from “show me today’s Form 4s.”
Unusual Whales: what you get and what it costs
Pricing page: unusualwhales.com/pricing (accessed Nov 3, 2026).
The free plan, in their words: “See the whole platform delayed 2 trading days. Upgrade for live data.” Free bullets list “Options flow: 2-day delay”, “News: 15-minute delay”, and “Alerts: 30-minute delay.”
Paid Dashboard tiers we confirmed on that page:
- Retail Basic: $50/mo, or $42/mo billed $504/yr.
- Retail Max: $120/mo, or $102/mo, $1,224/yr billed annually.
- Retail Pro: $75/mo monthly, or $63/mo billed $756/yr (live toggle checked Nov 3, 2026).
Every paid tier lists “Politician Trade Information” and “Institutional holders and insider trade data.” The free plan’s bullet list does not include “Politician Trade Information.” Paid plans also list “Mr. Whale, your AI Analyst and Trade Finder.” The API is separate: “API plans are data-only” via REST, WebSocket, or MCP. Trials: “Retail Basic and Retail Pro have a free one-week trial on monthly and annual plans.” And: “All sales are final.”
Bottom line: Unusual Whales is strongest if options flow and dark pool are the job. Paying Basic or Max only for Congress or Form 4 data is usually overpaying.
Quiver Quantitative: what you get and what it costs
Pages checked Nov 3, 2026: quiverquant.com, premium-vs-api, and api.quiverquant.com/pricing.
Visitor (free): “Explore Quiver’s free-to-use features” with live data listed for Congress Trading, Insider Trading, Government Contracts, Corporate Lobbying, CNBC Stock Picks, Google Search Trends, Institutional Trading, Corporate Flights, “and More!”
Premium on the homepage pricing block: yearly toggle “$25.00 / month”, “Billed $300 Yearly”; monthly toggle “$30.00 / month”, “Billed Monthly” (both checked Nov 3, 2026). Trials, exact: “New accounts receive a 7-day free trial when signing up for a Premium monthly plan, and a 30-day free trial if you sign up for an annual plan.”
Premium includes strategies, politician portfolios and leaderboard, screeners, Congress and institutional backtesters, Smart Score / Bull-Bear analysis, watchlists and exportable samples. Premium “doesn’t include an API key.” API plans (verified): Hobbyist $30/mo or $25/mo billed annually ($300/yr); Trader $75/mo or $62.50/mo billed annually ($750/yr).
Quiver’s own disclosure is worth quoting: “Invest in a selection of Quiver strategies through Quantbase, an SEC-registered investment adviser. A separate Quantbase fee applies.” And: “Quiver Quantitative receives a share of the fees Quantbase charges on Quiver Quantitative strategies, so Quiver Quantitative has a financial interest when you choose them.”
Bottom line: Quiver is strongest on breadth and a real free Visitor tier with live Congress data. Premium makes sense if you will use the backtesters, not if you only open Congress once a week.
The alternatives, by job
Free Congress trade trackers
Capitol Trades loaded live on Nov 3, 2026 and calls itself a free solution for tracking Capitol Hill politicians’ trades. Homepage stats are labelled “3 YEARS.” No Form 4 or insider-trading feature showed on the homepage. Quiver’s free Visitor plan also lists Congress Trading as live data.
Free insider trade trackers
OpenInsider is a free SEC Form 4 Insider Trading Screener. No login on the pages we read. Cluster buys, large sales and Form 4 code filters; no Congress trades. For the cluster idea, see cluster insider buying.
Paid data tools
Fintel sells Bronze, Silver and Gold tiers. We are not inventing prices (third-party reviews conflicted; the live site blocked our fetcher). Check fintel.io. Their insider page notes 10b5-1 flags are “premium subscribers only.”
Insider Monkey is closer to newsletters than a data terminal. Premium Readership is $99.99/year. Other newsletters cost more. We are not repeating their performance claims.
Where milo fits
milo is an AI investing and trading agent. On andmilo.com/stocks it shows “Insider purchases and sales from SEC Form 4, and material-event filings from Form 8-K, for 50 of the most-followed US stocks.” The table counts codes P and S only. The broader insider feed covers 503 tickers. Congress trades are available by asking milo, with a House Clerk or Senate link on each row.
milo is stronger at putting Form 4 buys and sells, 8-Ks and Congress trades for a ticker in one place with the filing link, then letting you paper-test an idea. It is weaker on options flow, dark pool, backtests and API (none for this audience), and coverage is smaller than whole-market OpenInsider. Its Congress feed showed duplicate rows on Nov 3, 2026 for at least one House filing (below). Brokerage wording: milo can link a brokerage for regular US stocks, but real buying isn’t switched on, so those trades are paper only for now and milo places no real orders for regular US stocks; tokenized stocks and crypto are real orders.
If you want insider buys and sells, 8-Ks and Congress trades for a stock in one place, with the filing one click away, and you’d rather test the idea on paper first, try milo with this link. You can also browse the free research page at andmilo.com/stocks.
Side-by-side table
The problem every tracker shares: reading the filing
Every tool on this page reads the same public disclosures. The hard part is not the scrape. It is knowing when two rows are one trade, when a feed duplicated a filing, and how late the report is.
One purchase, two Form 4s ($ROL)
On 2026-10-29, LOR, Inc. filed a Form 4 for a code P purchase of 1,444,402 $ROL shares at a weighted average of $34.5864, held direct (D) (0001104659-26-121502). The R. Randall Rollins Voting Trust filed the same 1,444,402 shares at $34.5864 as indirect (I), “Held indirectly through LOR, Inc.” (0001104659-26-121503). Both showed about $49,956,665.
That is one purchase of about $50.0 million, not two. It is a 10% owner family entity, not a CEO buy. OpenInsider and milo both listed both rows. Neither tool is wrong to show two filings. Adding them into $100 million is. Walk the boxes in how to read SEC Form 4.
One House filing, ten rows (Kean PTR 20035591)
Rep. Thomas H. Kean Jr (NJ-07) digitally signed House PTR 20035591 on 10/30/2026. Exactly six transactions, all $1,001 to $15,000:
- ABT S (partial), 09/17
- ESAB P, 09/29
- JNJ S (partial), 09/30
- MDLZ S (partial), 09/23
- SYK S (partial), 09/30
- TXN P, 09/17
Exact comment on the filing: “Transactions are initiated and made by third party advisors with no input from Rep. Kean.”
milo’s Congress feed showed duplicate rows on Nov 3, 2026 for this one filing (about 10 rows, with several symbols appearing under disclosure dates 2026-10-30 and 2026-11-02). We show the Clerk PDF so you can check. You should.
The lag no tool can fix
Form 4 is generally due within two business days. Congress PTRs can take up to 45 days under the STOCK Act. The Kean trades ran from 09/17 to 09/30 and were signed 10/30. No tracker can turn a late disclosure into a live tip. We paper-tested copying Congress trades in does copying Congress trades work, and the lag is a big part of why the simple version disappoints.
A 4-point check before acting on any tracker row
- Open the filing. Click through to EDGAR or the House/Senate PDF.
- Check direct vs indirect. Related owners often file separate Form 4s for the same shares.
- Check the code. Code P is an open-market or private purchase. Grants, gifts, option exercises and trust moves are not the same signal.
- Check the dates. Trade date, filing date and the day you saw the headline are three different clocks.
FAQ
What is a good alternative to Unusual Whales?
It depends on what you use it for. For Congress trades, Capitol Trades (free) or Quiver’s free plan. For insider buys, OpenInsider (free). For options flow, there is no free like-for-like swap.
Is there a free alternative to Unusual Whales?
Yes for Congress and insider data: Capitol Trades, Quiver’s Visitor plan and OpenInsider are free to browse. Unusual Whales’ own free plan shows options flow 2 trading days late.
How much does Unusual Whales cost?
Its pricing page lists Retail Basic at $50 a month or $504 a year, Retail Pro at $75 a month or $756 a year, and Retail Max at $120 a month or $1,224 a year (checked Nov 3, 2026). The API is a separate plan.
What is a good alternative to Quiver Quantitative?
Capitol Trades for free Congress data, OpenInsider for free insider data, and Unusual Whales if you also want options flow. Quiver’s own free plan may already cover what you need.
How much does Quiver Quantitative cost?
Quiver’s site shows Premium at $25 a month billed $300 yearly, or $30 a month billed monthly, with a free Visitor plan. The API is a separate subscription (Hobbyist from $30 a month, or $25 a month billed annually). Checked Nov 3, 2026.
Unusual Whales or Quiver for Congress trades?
Quiver gives live Congress data free and adds backtests on Premium. Unusual Whales bundles politician trades into paid options-flow plans. If Congress is all you want, start with Quiver’s free plan or Capitol Trades.
Are Congress trade trackers real-time?
No tool can be. Members can report up to 45 days after the trade, so every tracker shows the trade weeks late.
Why do insider trackers show the same trade twice?
Related owners often file separate Form 4s for the same shares, like LOR, Inc. and the Rollins voting trust on Oct 29, 2026. Check “direct” vs “indirect” before adding them up.
Can milo trade stocks for me?
milo can link a brokerage for regular US stocks, but real buying isn’t switched on, so those trades are paper only for now and milo places no real orders for regular US stocks. Tokenized stocks and crypto are real orders.
Pick by the job, then read the filing
Stay with Unusual Whales if options flow is the product. Use Capitol Trades or Quiver free for Congress. Use OpenInsider for Form 4 screens. Pay Quiver Premium only if you will use the broader datasets. Use milo when you want filings explained and a paper test first. Whatever you open, open the filing. Our paper test of 72 insider buys vs SPY is a reminder the signal is weaker than the headline at big companies.
Open milo to paper-test an idea, or browse filings on andmilo.com/stocks.
For education only. Not investment advice. milo agents and research are not registered investment advice. milo can link a brokerage for regular US stocks, but real buying isn’t switched on, so those trades are paper only for now and milo places no real orders for regular US stocks; tokenized stocks and crypto are real orders. Competitor prices and features checked on their own sites on Nov 3, 2026 and may change. Sources: unusualwhales.com/pricing; quiverquant.com and premium-vs-api; api.quiverquant.com/pricing; capitoltrades.com (about page and Internet Archive capture 2026-05-31); openinsider.com; fintel.io insider page wording; insidermonkey.com/premium; SEC EDGAR Form 4 accessions 0001104659-26-121502 and 0001104659-26-121503; House PTR 20035591; andmilo.com/stocks. Accessed Nov 3, 2026.
