Zacks Review (2026)

Facts checked October 19, 2026 against Zacks's own pricing, help and policy pages (12 sources, listed below). We re-check prices about once a month. We do not earn a commission from Zacks Investment Research.

Zacks at a glance

What Zacks costs

Our arithmetic from the listed prices, before sales tax, assuming today's prices hold; subscriptions can renew at a different rate. Premium is sold by the year only. Zacks says you can cancel up to 90 days after any payment and get that payment back, which is longer than most tools on our list. The $1 trials of Investor Collection and Ultimate roll into monthly billing. On the Ultimate sign-up page, Zacks says you can cancel up to 90 days after the $1 trial ends and get your money back, including the $1. Ultimate trials are limited to 3 per customer, and a fourth converts to a $299-a-month subscription. Individual Zacks portfolio services are also sold separately; their sales pages list a "value" rather than a price, so check the order form.

How Zacks works

The Zacks Rank rests on one idea: Zacks says changes in analysts' earnings estimates are the strongest force on stock prices, a finding it dates to 1978. Each stock gets a rank from #1 (Strong Buy) to #5 (Strong Sell), and the #1 Rank List holds the top 5%, about 220 stocks. Zacks publishes a return figure for it: Rank #1 stocks averaged +23.82% a year from January 1, 1988 through October 5, 2026, against +11.58% for the S&P 500. That is a hypothetical, equal-weighted portfolio rebalanced monthly that ignores commissions, bid-ask spreads and price impact, and Zacks's own disclosure says: "These returns are higher than the returns an investor could achieve investing real money in a portfolio of Zacks Rank #1 stocks." Past performance, real or hypothetical, does not predict future results, so treat a rank as a place to start reading, not a reason to buy. See what the stock market has actually returned for a sober baseline.

Premium adds the full Zacks Rank for stocks, funds and ETFs, Style Scores (Value, Growth, Momentum), Industry Rank, the Earnings ESP filter, 45+ Premium screens, a 50-stock Focus List and Equity Research Reports with 6 to 12 month price targets on more than 1,000 stocks. Two companies carry the Zacks name: Zacks Investment Research publishes zacks.com and sells these subscriptions, while Zacks Investment Management, Inc., its wholly owned subsidiary, is the SEC-registered investment adviser that manages client portfolios. A Premium subscription is research, not advice from that adviser.

A hypothetical first year: Premium costs $0 for the 30-day trial, then $249 for the year. The Investor Collection, which includes Premium plus Zacks's long-term portfolio services, costs $1 for the first 30 days and then $59 a month, so 12 months come to $1 + (11 x $59) = $650, or $401 more than Premium alone. Ultimate at $299 a month would be $1 + (11 x $299) = $3,290 over the same year.

Who Zacks fits, and who should skip it

Limitations to know

• Zacks's performance figures for the Rank exclude commissions, bid-ask spreads and price impact, and Zacks says real returns would be lower. [7]
• Ultimate trials are limited to 3 per customer; a fourth trial converts to a $299-a-month subscription. [5]
• Zacks's terms say its Performance Guarantee does not apply to professional or institutional investors; we could not read the guarantee's full details. [5]
• The pages we read do not say whether stock quotes for each plan are real-time or delayed; the footer credits both a real-time source (BATS) and a delayed one (Sungard). [9]
• The pages we read do not mention broker account linking for the My Portfolio tracker. [8]

Zacks compared with alternatives

• Pick Morningstar if you want analyst fair values and moat ratings, fund research and a monthly plan.
• Pick Seeking Alpha if you want contributor articles, earnings-call transcripts and a quant rating next to Wall Street's.
• Pick TipRanks if you want to see which Wall Street analysts have the best track records.
• Pick Stock Analysis if you want financial statements and ratios for $79 a year, with no rating system.

Security and privacy

• Zacks says it does not "sell" personal data but "rents" its opt-in email, postal and phone marketing lists to outside marketers. It offers a state-law Do Not Sell opt-out. [11]
• Free pages carry ads; Premium, including the trial, is ad-free on zacks.com. [2]
• The Form ADV filed on May 29, 2026 by Zacks Investment Management reports no regulatory, criminal or civil judicial actions, and that section also covers its advisory affiliates, including Zacks Investment Research. [10]
• The pages we read do not say whether two-factor login is offered.

Zacks FAQ

Is Zacks Premium worth it?

It can be if you follow earnings closely and will read the research reports, since both come with the $249 a year. It is not worth buying for the advertised Rank returns: Zacks says those come from a hypothetical portfolio and are higher than real money could earn. The 30-day trial and 90-day refund make it cheap to find out.

Is Zacks free?

Zacks offers free stock, fund, ETF and option screeners and news on zacks.com, with ads. Zacks does not publish the free limits on the pages we read. Premium has a 30-day free trial.

How much does Zacks cost?

Premium is $249 a year. The Investor Collection is $1 for 30 days, then $59 a month, and Zacks Ultimate is $1 for 30 days, then $299 a month. Both of those include Premium.

Is the Zacks Rank a good way to pick stocks?

It is one input. Zacks reports that Rank #1 stocks averaged +23.82% a year from 1988 to October 5, 2026, against +11.58% for the S&P 500, but that is a hypothetical portfolio without trading costs, and Zacks says real returns would be lower. Past performance does not predict future results. Our guide to <a href="/common-investing-mistakes-and-how-to-avoid-them/">common investing mistakes</a> covers why chasing ratings can backfire.

Is Zacks a registered investment adviser?

The research site is published by Zacks Investment Research, Inc. A separate subsidiary, Zacks Investment Management, Inc., is the SEC-registered adviser that manages client money. Its 2026 Form ADV reports no regulatory, criminal or civil judicial actions.

How we researched this review

We did not get paid or receive a free account for this page. We read Zacks's own pricing page, help center, security and privacy pages and app-store listing on October 19, 2026, quoted each fact from those pages, and link every one below. We did not run a long-term hands-on test, so we do not score the app; where a point rests on what the company says rather than something we can check, we attribute it to Zacks. Cost figures are our own arithmetic. We re-check prices and plans about once a month and log changes in the table above.

Sources

1. Zacks, Zacks Premium sign-up page, checked October 19, 2026.
2. Zacks, Zacks Premium order form, checked October 19, 2026.
3. Zacks, Zacks Investor Collection sign-up page, checked October 19, 2026.
4. Zacks, Zacks Ultimate sign-up page, checked October 19, 2026.
5. Zacks, Terms of service, checked October 19, 2026.
6. Zacks, Investment services, checked October 19, 2026.
7. Zacks, Performance disclosure, checked October 19, 2026.
8. Zacks, Zacks Rank, checked October 19, 2026.
9. Zacks, Zacks Premium page (site footer data credits), checked October 19, 2026.
10. SEC Investment Adviser Public Disclosure, Zacks Investment Management, Inc. Form ADV (CRD 110897), checked October 19, 2026.
11. Zacks, Privacy policy (updated February 26, 2025), checked October 19, 2026.
12. Apple App Store, Zacks Mobile App listing, checked October 19, 2026.

This review is for general information, not investment advice. Ratings, scores and screens from any tool are not a recommendation to buy or sell a security. Prices change; check the vendor's site before you subscribe.