Whether you’re a newbie to investing or a seasoned pro, I’m willing to bet that chances are you’ve heard of Morningstar.
Morningstar is recognized as one of the biggest names in the game. They’re experts in investment research, and it’s no secret they’re one of the, if not the best.
If you’re interested in their independently researched reports and ratings, then you’ll have to sign up for the Morningstar Premium membership.
This begs the question, is Morningstar’s subscription cost worth it?
We think so.
Keep reading to find out what makes it so great and, why we think it’s worth every penny.
What Is Morningstar?
Morningstar is a trusted investment research firm and one of the most influential companies in the industry. Morningstar prides itself on providing investment ratings, investment information, and tools to help investors make smarter investment decisions.
Safe to say they are doing well because as of today, it has more than $220 billion in assets under management.
Morningstar rates mutual funds by their performance compared to similar funds. Funds receive one to five-star ratings, with the top-rated funds earning five-star ratings and the lowest-rated funds earning one-star ratings.
Morningstar is a good investment service if you believe in fundamentals, but if you’re into technical analysis of charts then Morningstar isn’t for you as the site doesn’t cover technical analysis.
Get started with Morningstar today!
Morningstar Pricing
There is only one primary difference between Morningstar Basic & Morningstar Premium memberships: access to independent analyst reports.
Anyone can use Morning Star’s free (basic) service, which includes some useful information, but you’ll be missing out on all the data available only with a Premium Membership.
Premium membership also gives you tools to refine your investing strategy, monitor your portfolio, and identify potential new opportunities.
Best of all, you can get started with a 7-day free trial and get an inside look at what you’re missing out on with the basic plan.
| Price Plan | Cost | Annual Cost |
| Monthly | $34.95 | $419.40 |
| Annual | $249 | $429.00 |
Here Are The Features Included With Morningstars Free Membership
With a Morningstar free membership, you’ll have access to some resources and charts. Honestly, there’s not much else to say about the free plan.
To get the full benefits of the platform, you’ll want to go for the Premium Membership.
Read more about whether the Premium membership is worth it here!
Here’s How It Works
After signing up and paying for Morningstar’s subscription cost, you’ll be given access to tools that will keep you connected with the markets.
You’ll have the ability to:
- Connect all of your accounts for a continuous overview of your performance.
- Access to in-depth analysis, news specific to your holdings, and commentary.
- Create custom watchlists in the investments tab.
You can search and filter mutual funds by category, analyst grade ratings, or performance using the “Premium Fund Screener”. A number of different criteria are considered, including Morningstar rating and risk, sustainability, annual returns, trailing returns, load-adjusted returns, tax cost ratio, yield, and many others.
Many compare Motley Fool and Morningstar but, both have their individual USPs. Morningstar is best known for mutual fund and ETF research and is considered the gold standard in the investment world.
Below Are Some Key Features Of A Paid Morningstar Subscription
- Investment Thesis: Morningstar compares stocks and ETFs providing readers with the pros and cons for each stock or investment. It’s dubbed the “Bulls and Bears”.
- Investors can find investments using hundreds of key data points, including S&P 500 index funds, Dividend Stocks, Bonds, ETFs, Mutual Funds, etc.
- Comparative benchmark performance category.
- Our subscribers get actionable research reports with over 2,000 mutual funds, ETFs, index funds, and individual equities.
- Stocked mutual funds are allocated into specific stock categories and securities.
- Transparency: Morningstar clearly displays the annual fees to own ETFs or mutual funds. This is one of the most important aspects that is often overlooked. Usually, the cheaper the investment, the greater the chances to outperform the comparable benchmark.
- Morningstar’s X-ray tool makes sure you’re not allocating too heavily into one particular country, industry, or stock.
- Cost Analyzer: A Morningstar investor analysis tool. This tool helps individual investors pick one ETF or mutual fund over another.
Morningstar Subscription Cost Summary | Is It Worth It?
If you’re looking for investment research, Morningstar is the best place to go. It has extensive research on everything from stocks to bond investing, covering more than 620K investments.
Yes, it can get expensive, but they offer a free trial for peace of mind. The information provided is worth every penny as you’ll be armed with plenty of ammo to go out and make profitable investments.
We think you should consider the Morningstar subscription cost for the excellent investment ideas and tools they provide. Once you sign up as a premium member, you’ll join 620,000 other individual investors that now gain access to all of Morningstar’s data and tools.
Read a full review on Morningstar’s platform here!
Morningstar Pros
- Expert research covering bonds, ETFs, mutual funds, and stocks
- The best investments list is awesome
- Covers over 620,000 investments
- Discounts for multi-year subscriptions
Morningstar Cons
- A paid membership is required for premium content
Get started with Morningstar today!