Exchanges & Trading
Best Crypto Trading Tools
Terminals, bots, screeners and portfolio trackers. Most never touch your funds — but they do touch your API keys, which is its own custody question.
All 4 compared
Sorted by computed score. Column headers carry this category's weighting; the highest score in each pillar is marked. Tap a name for the full assessment.
| # | Service | Score | Custody25% | Cost20% | Regulation10% | Performance30% | Access15% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 01 | TradingViewCharting that everything else is measured against | 8.5Strong | 8.4 | 7.6 | 8.2 — best in table | 9.0 — best in table | 8.8 — best in table |
| 02 | DefiLlamaNeutral, open protocol data you can check line by line | 8.5Strong | 9.0 — best in table | 8.8 — best in table | 7.0 | 8.6 | 8.4 |
| 03 | CoinGeckoBroad market reference data with a usable free API | 8.2Strong | 8.4 | 8.0 | 7.6 | 8.0 | 8.8 — best in table |
| 04 | DuneQuerying on-chain data directly, without taking anyone’s word for it | 7.8Solid | 8.6 | 6.8 | 7.8 | 8.4 | 6.6 |
The assessments
what each score rests on- 018.5/10
TradingView
Best for charting that everything else is measured against
Company file: TradingView, owners, incidents →Strong◆ Sources checked · 27 Sept 2026The default charting platform across every asset class, and deservedly so. Data quality is excellent, the scripting language is a genuine ecosystem, and the free tier is usable. Crypto-specific on-chain data is not its strength.
Pillar scores
- Custody & Security25%
- 8.4
- Cost & Fee Transparency20%
- 7.6
- Regulation & Legal Standing10%
- 8.2
- Performance & Reliability30%
- 9.0
- Access & Support15%
- 8.8
Strengths
- Best-in-class charting with openly attributed data sources
- Genuinely usable free tier
- No withdrawal permissions required for broker connections
Against it
- The features most crypto traders want sit on the higher paid tiers
- On-chain data is not a strength
- Alert limits on lower tiers are restrictive
Full assessment of TradingView →strong · 8.5/10 - 028.5/10
DefiLlama
Best for neutral, open protocol data you can check line by line
Company file: DefiLlama, owners, incidents →Strong◆ Sources checked · 27 Sept 2026The reference sheet most of DeFi agrees on, because anyone can open the adapter code behind a number and argue with it. Core TVL data is free and needs no account; since 2025 it also sells a Pro plan at $49 a month and an API plan at $300 a month, so the free site now sits next to a product it wants you to buy.
Pillar scores
- Custody & Security25%
- 9.0
- Cost & Fee Transparency20%
- 8.8
- Regulation & Legal Standing10%
- 7.0
- Performance & Reliability30%
- 8.6
- Access & Support15%
- 8.4
Strengths
- Open methodology and open source — the numbers can be checked
- Core data free with no account; paid plans clearly priced
- Corrections are made publicly
Against it
- Occasional lag covering newly launched protocols
- Interface assumes DeFi familiarity
- No portfolio or execution features
Full assessment of DefiLlama →strong · 8.5/10 - 038.2/10
CoinGecko
Best for broad market reference data with a usable free API
Company file: CoinGecko, owners, incidents →Strong◆ Sources checked · 27 Sept 2026The most widely used market data reference in crypto, with coverage far beyond the majors and an API that is free enough to actually build on. Methodology on volume reporting is better than it used to be but still leans on exchange-reported figures.
Pillar scores
- Custody & Security25%
- 8.4
- Cost & Fee Transparency20%
- 8.0
- Regulation & Legal Standing10%
- 7.6
- Performance & Reliability30%
- 8.0
- Access & Support15%
- 8.8
Strengths
- Very broad asset coverage with reliable pricing
- Free API that is realistic to build on
- Approachable for people new to the market
Against it
- Volume data still leans on exchange self-reporting
- Portfolio features are basic
- Rate limits on the free tier bite quickly at scale
Full assessment of CoinGecko →strong · 8.2/10 - 047.8/10
Dune
Best for querying on-chain data directly, without taking anyone’s word for it
Company file: Dune, owners, incidents →Solid◆ Sources checked · 27 Sept 2026Lets you write SQL against indexed data from 100+ chains and check a claim yourself rather than trusting a dashboard. The community dashboards vary wildly in quality, and since 10 Sep 2026 free accounts created before 21 Jul 2026 can read but not query, so checking a claim now usually costs from $65 a month.
Pillar scores
- Custody & Security25%
- 8.6
- Cost & Fee Transparency20%
- 6.8
- Regulation & Legal Standing10%
- 7.8
- Performance & Reliability30%
- 8.4
- Access & Support15%
- 6.6
Strengths
- Lets you verify an on-chain claim yourself rather than trusting a summary
- Indexed data with broad chain coverage and published provenance
- Large library of community work to build from
Against it
- Requires SQL to get real value
- Community dashboard quality varies with no visible quality signal
- Free accounts created before 21 Jul 2026 are view-only since 10 Sep 2026
Full assessment of Dune →solid · 7.8/10
Charting, screening, portfolio tracking and automation. Most of these never hold your funds — but many hold your exchange API keys, and a key with withdrawal permission is custody by another name. The other thing we look at is whether a tool documents where its data comes from, because one that quietly shows a stale price is worse than no tool at all — and a vendor who will not say what the source is has already answered the question.
Frequently asked questions
Why does a tool that never touches my money get a custody score at all?+
Because API keys are custody in disguise. A key with withdrawal permission lets a compromised tool empty your exchange account as effectively as stealing your password. We score what permissions a tool demands, and a product that asks for withdrawal rights it does not need is marked down for it.
Is free data trustworthy?+
Sometimes more so. A free, open-methodology source with no product to upsell has less reason to shade a number than a paid one selling a subscription on the strength of it. What matters is whether the methodology is published and whether corrections happen in the open.
Do you rate trading bots?+
Not yet, and not until we can test one honestly. A bot’s performance claim is only meaningful with audited execution over a full cycle, and vendor backtests are not evidence. When we can verify results, they will appear here.
Assessed by
By James Park
NFT & Web3 Gaming Analyst · September 27, 2026