A Trendlyne alternative where every scan is a backtest
Trendlyne is one of the few Indian platforms that backtests screeners at all, and it meters the feature: roughly 200 backtests a year on GuruQ, about 1,200 on StratQ, none at all on the free tier. If testing scans rather than reading analyst data is what pulled you to Trendlyne, that meter is probably why you are here. The replay on PatternsRadar is not a budget you spend down. It runs on every scan, free tier included, at its full depth: any window from ten sessions to thirty years, up to four forward horizons, entry at the close or the next open, an optional stop and target, excess return against seven NSE indices. A run comes back in 90 to 140 milliseconds.
| Capability | PatternsRadar | Trendlyne |
|---|---|---|
| Scan-level backtesting | Every scan, no annual quota, 90–140 ms | Yes, quota-metered (~200/yr on GuruQ, ~1,200/yr on StratQ), paid only |
| Backtest window | 10 to 7,500 sessions, every session since 1995 | Custom date ranges |
| Forward horizons measured per run | Up to 4 at once, each 1–60 sessions | One holding period per backtest, plus max stocks per period |
| Universe configurable per run | Liquidity tier and any query condition, but not an as-of-date universe | Yes, the stock universe is a backtest setting |
| Simulated entry, stop-loss and target | Entry at the close or the next open; stop and target in percent, with a stop/target/time exit breakdown | Not documented on their help pages |
| Benchmark-relative results | Excess return against 7 NSE indices, or none | Configurable benchmark |
| Replay outputs | Equity curve, monthly breakdown, return histogram, full trade list, each as CSV | What the screener would have selected, and its return |
| Fundamentals, analyst estimates, shareholding | Headline fields only: P/E, market cap, growth, promoter/FII/DII holding, point-in-time, coverage still backfilling. No analyst data or scores | 3,000+ parameters, DVM scores, Forecaster |
| F&O data | Per-stock scan fields: futures OI, OI change, basis, put-call ratios, all backtestable | Full F&O dashboards and analytics |
| Query model | Sift, a readable query language with event operators | Parameter/dropdown builder, plus an AI screener creator |
| Event conditions (crossed above within, has been above for) | Yes | No |
| Delivery % screening | Scannable and backtestable | Scannable, incl. multi-window averages |
| Intraday data | No, end-of-day by design | Live data; 15-min screener alerts on StratQ |
| Split-adjusted daily history | 30 years, any past session scannable | Long history; some parameters not backtestable for lack of it |
| REST API + MCP for agents | Every plan, including Free | No public API; Excel Connect and downloader on paid tiers |
| US markets | No | On Pro/Pro Plus plans |
| Entry price for backtesting + alerts | ₹400/month | ₹310/month (GuruQ) |
Trendlyne prices as commonly reported on 2026-08-16 (₹310/mo GuruQ, ₹5,900/yr StratQ). trendlyne.com blocks automated checks, so verify current pricing on their site. This page is maintained by PatternsRadar. Competitor capabilities as generally available at the time of writing; verify current features on their site.
The differences that matter
Metered testing changes how you test
A quota makes each backtest a small spending decision, and the scans that get tested are the ones you already believe in. A daily allowance inverts that. Testing a half-idea costs nothing you were saving, so the setups that die in the data die in an afternoon instead of in your account. On depth the two are closer than the pricing suggests. Both let you set the date window and the benchmark. Trendlyne varies the stock universe per backtest and this does not; this measures four forward horizons in one run, can enter at the next session's open, and simulates a stop and a target, none of which their help pages describe. The meter is what actually separates them: roughly 200 runs a year, against an allowance that refills every morning on every plan, Free included.
Dropdowns and sentences answer different questions
Trendlyne's builder covers three thousand parameters. No query language matches that for breadth. What a parameter list cannot say is sequence: crossed above the average within three days, has held above it for ten, rising for five. Those are sentences about time. Sift states them as written, and they are what swing setups are made of.
An API on every plan, or an Excel download on paid ones
Trendlyne's programmatic story is Excel Connect and a data downloader, both on paid tiers. PatternsRadar exposes a REST API and an MCP server on every plan including Free, so an agent like Claude can write and run scans directly. If your research ends in a spreadsheet, either tool works. If it ends in a script, only one does.
Which should you use?
When Trendlyne is the right choice
Choose Trendlyne if the research is the point. Fundamentals beside technicals, analyst forecasts, shareholding patterns, DVM scores, F&O dashboards, US markets on the Global tiers, live intraday data with 15-minute alerts on StratQ. As an all-in-one Indian research platform it has no equal in this comparison, and its backtester can vary the stock universe a strategy trades, which mine cannot.
When PatternsRadar is the right choice
Choose PatternsRadar if the scan is the point: you know the setups you want, you want them written readably, and you want every one tested before it earns your attention, without counting backtests. Delivery percentage, futures OI and put-call ratios arrive as scan conditions, along with point-in-time P/E and shareholding, thirty years of history, and the API. Screening itself costs nothing.
Common questions
Is PatternsRadar a free alternative to Trendlyne?
For technical screening, yes. The whole scan library, the query language, thirty years of history, the replay at full depth: all of it free with no account, bounded by a daily allowance rather than a yearly quota. It does not replace Trendlyne's research side. PatternsRadar has fundamentals as screening fields (P/E, market cap, growth, shareholding, still backfilling) but no analyst estimates, no DVM scores, no research pages, no intraday data.
What does Trendlyne have that PatternsRadar doesn't?
A great deal. Three thousand screening parameters spanning fundamentals, shareholding, analyst estimates. Proprietary DVM scores. Live intraday prices, 15-minute alerts on StratQ, US market coverage, and a backtester that takes a custom date range, a chosen stock universe, a chosen benchmark. PatternsRadar is deliberately narrower: NSE technicals, end of day, tested.
Can I backtest scans without a quota?
Yes, and that is the core difference. The replay runs on every scan and every plan, Free included, with no annual count. What bounds it is a daily allowance each plan states. Nor is the free version cut down: the window, horizons, entry mode, stop, target and benchmark are the same ones the paid tiers get. It is close-to-close, and it models no brokerage, no slippage, no position sizing. The pages say so wherever the numbers appear.