Day Trading Scanners
One of the hardest parts of day trading is deciding what to trade. By setting up day trading scanners, you can filter the entire market down to stocks that match your strategy. A well‑built scanner helps you spot breakouts, reversals, and high‑volume setups fast.
What Is a Day Trading Scanner?
Day trading scanners are tools that automatically search the market for stocks that meet specific criteria. Instead of manually flipping through charts or watching dozens of tickers at once, you let the scanner do the heavy lifting. It continuously scans the market in real time and surfaces the stocks that actually matter to your strategy.
Most scanners can filter by things like:
Price movement — sudden pushes, breakouts, pullbacks, or percentage gainers
Volume spikes — unusual volume, relative volume, or surges that signal fresh interest
Technical setups — VWAP tests, EMA crossovers, new highs/lows, consolidation breaks
News catalysts — earnings, press releases, upgrades/downgrades, sector headlines
Float size — low‑float runners, mid‑float momentum names, or large‑cap stability
Volatility — stocks with enough range to create opportunity
Liquidity — ensuring the stock actually trades enough volume to get in and out safely
Price range — filtering out penny stocks or overly expensive names
Market conditions — premarket movers, gap‑ups, gap‑downs, or sector‑specific activity
Why Scanners Matter for Day Traders
Speed is everything in day trading, and scanners give you that edge. They help you react to market moves instantly, stay focused on high‑probability setups, avoid distractions, and build consistency by sticking to the criteria that actually fit your strategy.
Scanners help you:
React quickly to market moves
Stay focused on high‑probability setups
Avoid distractions from random tickers
Build consistency
My Go-To Platform: Thinkorswim
Personally, I use Thinkorswim by Charles Schwab for my scanners. It’s powerful, highly customizable, and free if you have an account, which makes it a solid choice for beginners who don’t want to pay extra for software. I like Thinkorswim because it lets me build very specific scans, combine multiple filters, and quickly test ideas without needing any third‑party tools. The platform is stable, has good data for US stocks, and once you get past the initial learning curve, it becomes a flexible workspace you can really shape around your own style.
I’ll be sharing exactly how I set up my scanners in a separate post—including screenshots and code snippets—so you can follow along step by step and either copy my layouts or use them as a starting point for your own.
Two Must-Have Scanners for Day Trading
Below are two video tutorials that explain the scanner setups I use most often. These are based on proven Warrior Trading concepts and are great starting points if you’re building your first scans.
1. Pre-Market Scanner
This first scanner focuses on stocks that are ramping up during the pre‑market session. I typically start checking it around 6:30–6:45 EST (11:30–11:45 BST), which is when early volume and momentum begin to show up.
2. High-of-Day Momentum Scanner
This scanner focuses on stocks breaking their intraday highs with strong volume — a classic sign of momentum. I start using it right after the market opens at 9:30 EST to catch early moves.
Final Thoughts
Scanners are your radar in the market. Once you dial in your filters and match them to your strategy, everything becomes more focused and intentional. Instead of wasting time scrolling through random tickers or chasing whatever happens to be moving, you’re guided straight toward the setups that actually fit the way you trade. With the right scanners in place, you spend less time searching, more time executing, and you build the consistency that every day trader needs.
Using ThinkorSwim for day trading? Get instant access to all the custom scanners I use inside the Lab Experiment section.
Looking for Free Stock Scanners?
If you’re setting up scanners and want to explore the best free tools available, check out our full guide covering TradingView, Finviz, Webull, ThinkorSwim, and more.
Read the Free Scanner Guide →
