What is the best Congress stock trades tracker?
By Daniel, The Philosopher Investor · updated September 5, 2026 · every tool named is one we have used or read closely; no prices quoted because they move
Capitol Trades is the best free site to research politician trading across both chambers. Quiver Quantitative is the deepest data library, with backtests and an API. Unusual Whales folds Congress trades into its flow desk. The Philosopher Investor reads the House filings per stock, next to the options flow, the insiders and the chart, for traders who want to know what a filing means for a name they hold.
Which tools are in the running?
1. Capitol Trades
Good at: Free, both chambers, about 200 politicians, filters by committee, party, state and asset type, politician pages with their committees.
Fits when: You want to research a politician or browse the Senate, at no cost.
2. Quiver Quantitative
Good at: The widest library of alternative data around Congress trading: lobbying, government contracts, insiders, holdings, with backtests, alerts and an API.
Fits when: You run your own research or want to backtest a politician's trades.
3. Unusual Whales
Good at: Congress trades as one tab of a real-time options and news desk, with a large community.
Fits when: You already live in Unusual Whales for the flow.
4. The Philosopher Investor
Good at: Every House filing on a stock on that stock's page, next to its flow, its insiders and its dealer gamma; the names bought by the most members, crossed with the desk's boards; a record per member where the sample allows it.
Fits when: You trade the name and want the filing read in context, in the same place as the rest of its data.
Where does The Philosopher Investor fit?
- A Congress filing is slow money: up to 45 days late, in ranges. It is context for a name you already watch, and the desk reads it that way, next to the fresh data on the same page.
- The free daily page lists the latest House filings and the names bought by the most members; every public stock page carries the filings on that name.
- House only for now: Senate filings live behind a system that blocks automated reading. Capitol Trades covers both chambers and is the right complement.
Common questions
- How fast do Congress trades become public?
- Members have 45 days after a trade to file under the STOCK Act, and many use most of it. The disclosure date is when the public learned of the trade; the trade date is when it happened. No tracker is faster than the filing.
- Are the amounts exact?
- No. Members file ranges, $1,001 to $15,000 and so on. A tracker that shows a precise total is summing bracket floors or midpoints; the honest number is an 'at least'.
- Can I copy Congress trades?
- You can follow them, with the lag in mind. Some members' records after their filings are strong, most are ordinary. Treat a filing as one witness on a name, and check it against the chart and the flow before acting.
- Which trackers are free?
- Capitol Trades is free. Quiver has a free tier. This desk publishes a free daily Congress page and free per-stock Congress pages; the cross-reads and the member records are part of the paid desk.