AlphaYouBest 13F Tracking Tools Compared (2026)
13F trackers compared side by side - SEC EDGAR, 13F.info, Dataroma, WhaleWisdom, Quiver and AlphaYou. What each covers, what it costs, and which ones show share counts rather than dollar swings.
A headline says a famous fund "increased its stake by 32% last quarter." You look it up, and the share count did not move at all. The stock went up 32%, and the tracker measured the position in dollars. Nothing was bought. If your tool reports changes by value rather than by shares, a rising market makes every holder look like a buyer.
Direct answer13F.info and Dataroma are the best free options, 13F.info for looking up any filer and Dataroma for a curated set of about 83 well-known investors. WhaleWisdom is the strongest paid tool for filing history and backtests. AlphaYou and Quiver are the ones to look at if you want fund positions read next to insider and congress activity. The detail that decides most of it is whether a tool reports position changes in shares or in dollars.
- Six tools cover 13F filings seriously. Coverage and pricing were checked in September 2026; prices change often, so treat the paid column as a starting point and confirm on each site before subscribing.
- Managers with over $100m in qualifying US equities file within 45 days of quarter end, and they use the window. Across the 5,109 filings AlphaYou tracks, the median arrived on day 45 exactly, and 809 landed later still. So the typical 13F describes a portfolio as it stood roughly 6 weeks before you read it, and a position opened early in the quarter is already 4 months old.
- This is the check that separates a useful 13F tracker from a misleading one. A position's dollar value moves whenever the stock moves, so a "top increases" list built on value is partly a list of stocks that went up. The number that reflects a decision is the change in share count. Before trusting any ranking here, find out which one the tool is reporting, and prefer one that shows both. The same trap applies in reverse: a manager who trimmed 10% of their shares into a 30% rally still shows up as a buyer on a dollar basis.
The Options Side by Side
Six tools cover 13F filings seriously. Coverage and pricing were checked in September 2026; prices change often, so treat the paid column as a starting point and confirm on each site before subscribing.
| Tool | What it covers | Free tier | Paid from | Best for |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| SEC EDGAR | Every 13F, primary source | Full access, no signup | Free | Reading the original filing |
| 13F.info | Any 13F filer, plus Form D | Full access, no signup | Free | Looking up a specific manager fast |
| Dataroma | About 83 curated superinvestors, plus insider buys | Full access, no signup | Free | Following well-known long-term investors |
| WhaleWisdom | 13F history, filer groups, backtests | 2 years of history, 5-stock watchlists | $90 a quarter Standard, $150 a quarter Pro | Deep filing history and backtesting |
| Quiver Quantitative | 13F, insiders, congress, contracts, lobbying | Limited | About $25 a month, billed yearly | The widest alternative-data spread |
| AlphaYou | 13F, insider Form 4, congress, contracts, influencers | Free forever | $29 a month or $199 a year | One feed across every filing type |
The 45-Day Lag Is the Product, Not a Bug
Managers with over $100m in qualifying US equities file within 45 days of quarter end, and they use the window. Across the 5,109 filings AlphaYou tracks, the median arrived on day 45 exactly, and 809 landed later still. So the typical 13F describes a portfolio as it stood roughly 6 weeks before you read it, and a position opened early in the quarter is already 4 months old.
No tool on this list can change that. What they compete on is how fast the filing appears once EDGAR publishes it, and how clearly they show what actually changed. Any product promising to show you fund trades in real time is describing something the filing schedule does not permit.
Shares, Not Dollars
This is the check that separates a useful 13F tracker from a misleading one. A position's dollar value moves whenever the stock moves, so a "top increases" list built on value is partly a list of stocks that went up. The number that reflects a decision is the change in share count. Before trusting any ranking here, find out which one the tool is reporting, and prefer one that shows both. The same trap applies in reverse: a manager who trimmed 10% of their shares into a 30% rally still shows up as a buyer on a dollar basis.
What a 13F Still Cannot Tell You
Worth repeating because every tool on this list inherits it. A 13F shows long US equity positions on the final day of the quarter. It does not show short positions, cash, anything bought and sold inside the quarter, or bonds, commodities and most foreign holdings. A bullish-looking long book can be one leg of a hedge you cannot see. No tracker fixes this, because the filing itself does not contain it.
What a Free Tier Actually Gets You
This category is unusually well served for free, and it is worth saying so. 13F.info covers any filer with no account, and Dataroma covers the famous ones with genuinely useful presentation. Between them, plus EDGAR underneath, most people never need to pay. WhaleWisdom's free tier is real but capped at 2 years of history, which matters because history is exactly what you would pay it for. The paid tools are selling one of two things: depth, meaning years of filings and backtests, or breadth, meaning fund positions read next to insider and congress activity. Decide which you want before paying for either.
Where AlphaYou Fits
AlphaYou reads 13F positions next to insider Form 4s, congressional disclosures, government contract awards and tracked influencer calls in one feed, on the logic that a fund building a position means more when an executive at the same company is buying too. Changes are reported in share counts, and the free plan stays free rather than expiring into a trial.
Where it is a weaker fit: WhaleWisdom goes deeper on filing history and backtesting than we do, and 13F.info and Dataroma cost nothing. If 13F data alone is the job, the free tools do it well and we would rather say so than pretend otherwise.
FAQ
What is the best free 13F tracker?
13F.info for looking up any filer without an account, and Dataroma if you mainly follow well-known investors. SEC EDGAR sits underneath both as the primary source.
How current is 13F data?
Not very. Managers have 45 days after quarter end to file, and the median filing in our set of 5,109 used all 45. Expect the holdings to be at least 6 weeks old, and up to about 4 months old for a position opened early in the quarter.
Why do trackers disagree about whether a fund bought or sold?
Usually because one is measuring the position in dollars and the other in shares. Dollar value moves with the share price, so a flat position can look like a purchase after a rally.
Do 13F filings show short positions?
No. They cover long US equity positions only, so shorts, cash, bonds and most foreign holdings are invisible. That limit comes from the filing, not the tracker.
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