ForexFactory is a forum, news feed and economic calendar.Candleread is a free school that teaches the craft in order: ten grades, a quick check in every lesson, XP and streaks, and free calculators, with forex first and crypto and stocks looped in.Candleread has no forum or community.
Side-by-side: 10 criteria
Main job, format, learning path, calendar, community, practice and the other things that matter when you pick how to learn trading.
| Criterion | Candleread | ForexFactory |
|---|---|---|
| Main job | A free trading school. Ten grades in order, a quick check in every lesson, XP, streaks and badges. | A forum, news feed and economic calendar. Many forex traders check it every day for event times and trader chatter. |
| Format | Short lessons grouped into grades and tracks. Written and reviewed by the Candleread team, not crowdsourced. | Forum threads, a news feed, a calendar and broker discussion. Most of the content is written by users. |
| Learning path | Six tracks of reviewed lessons, from market basics and charts to crypto, stocks, futures and options. Risk comes in Grade 4, before any strategy. | No set course. Knowledge is spread across threads and changes in quality from one author to the next. |
| Economic calendar | No live calendar. The lessons teach how to read big events like jobs reports, inflation data and central bank meetings. | Famous for it. Free, color-coded and filterable, with forecast, previous and actual numbers. |
| Community | None. Candleread has no forum, chat group or community. It has a Q&A archive and beginner answers written by the team. | A large, active forum with years of threads. Good for trader-to-trader talk once you can sort good advice from bad. |
| Writing style | Plain words aimed at a 4th grade reading level. Every lesson passes a review check before it goes public. | Crowdsourced, so quality varies. Some threads are great; others repeat myths. |
| Practice | A quick check inside every lesson, practice charts labeled as practice, and free calculators. Progress, XP and streaks save on your device. | Trade Explorer lets traders track their own accounts. How much you learn depends on your own habits. |
| Free tools | 16 free tools, including position size, pip value, margin, risk to reward, drawdown recovery, Fibonacci, crypto profit, swap and spread cost. | Market and calendar tools built around the forum. |
| Broker stance | A written broker checklist (regulator, company, costs, withdrawals) and one paid partner, Genesis, always labeled and always demo first. | Broker talk lives in user threads, so you have to filter a lot of noise. |
| Markets | Forex first, with crypto and stocks looped in, plus clubs for crypto, stocks, futures and options. | Centered on forex: calendar, news and forum. |
What Candleread gives you
Where a school with practice pulls ahead of a forum and calendar.
A school with a set path
Ten grades in order, from Market Basics to Graduation, built from six tracks of reviewed lessons. You always know the next lesson.
Practice inside every lesson
A quick check in every lesson with instant feedback, plus XP, streaks and badges that reward learning, never trading.
Risk before strategy
Risk Camp is Grade 4, before any strategy grade. Position size, stops and drawdown come first.
Forex first, more markets too
The grades use forex as the main example, with crypto and stocks looped in, plus clubs for crypto, stocks, futures and options.
Pro is coming soon
An optional AI coach that teaches and explains is on the way. It will never give signals or trade calls. Every lesson stays free.
Frequently asked
Is Candleread a ForexFactory alternative?+
Should a beginner use Candleread or ForexFactory?+
Does Candleread have an economic calendar like ForexFactory?+
Does Candleread have a forum or community?+
Is Candleread free like ForexFactory?+
Why learn from a school before a forum?+
Try the free Candleread curriculum
Ten grades, a quick check in every lesson, XP, streaks and badges. No card. Free forever.
Start in the structured path, then use references when a term needs more depth.
- Next clickOpen full lesson 1
- ThenRead the lesson and answer the check
- AfterSave progress and continue to lesson 2