Comparison

MVAR vs Stocksnips

Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.

Head to head
About

MVAR

Read full description

Helps you find and test your ideas of what might be "leading indicators" of particular stocks or ETFs. For one day ahead indicators only. Explore "The Machine" of the market, and backtest your ideas forthwith. For these types of simple models, if a backtest achieves 60%+ directional accuracy over a long period, it is considered fairly good. Our backtests have metrics which check how likely it is to achieve the model's level of accuracy by flipping coins for the same number of backtest days. For example, getting 6 out of 10 correct by flipping coins (60%) is much more likely than getting 60 out of 100 (also 60%) correct by flipping coins. You must look at % correct, and also how long you get this level of accuracy. The run length Plots give an idea if the model is getting better or worse over time. We don't even report out model Fit quality to avoid confusion, since Forecast quality is usually worse than Fit quality. Hence: Always backtest to estimate Forecast quality. The app models the (close-open) price direction (that is, today's price travel) of a given target stock as a function of prior days opening and closing prices of related stocks. Also works for ETFs if they are available in Google Finance historical data. Check out our newest features: low-contributor variable weed-out for K-nearest classifier models, to reduce overfitting and possibly improve forecast quality (searching as always for the most parsimonious model, "as simple as possible but no simpler..."), and the use of volatilities as candidate leading indicators. Some use cases: - You want to keep a position open for 1 trading day only. Models built with this app can give an estimate as to whether the stock/ETF will go up or down today. - You want to buy or sell a given stock/ETF for other reasons. Models built with this app can give an estimate whether Today is a good day to buy or sell, or whether you might want to wait until a later day to make a trade. Some thoughts on backtesting, to assist with judgement calls: http://www.quantstart.com/articles/Successful-Backtesting-of-Algorithmic-Trading-Strategies-Part-I From Wikipedia: "The only prior knowledge required is a list of variables which can be hypothesized to affect each other intertemporally." http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vector_autoregression For example, one might think that the price change of General Motors today (GM) might depend on the recent prices of oil (USO is an oil ETF). This can be modeled using a tool such as this. Note that there may not be a predictive relationship for your chosen symbols. In this case, a model's backtest will be poor (low % correct) and the model is not useful for forecasting. In the case where a backtest yields reasonable results, the model may have some predictive power for 1 day ahead forecasts. Only price travel Direction is attempted to be modeled, not the actual price change in dollars. Quickstart: 1. enter symbol to forecast and candidate predictor symbols. 2. select Backtest or Forecast. 3. Press Run. Calculation results will appear in green window. Further details at http://diffent.com/MktVecAR.pdf Features: Up to 6 candidate predictor stocks/ETFs (including target). 3 model types generated for every forecast for comparison purposes: annealing classifier (slow or fast) linear least squares k-nearest classifier 1 and 2 day data lags automatically generated [AR(2) type models] Up to 500 trading days of backtests. 1 day forward forecast. Model can be built/forecasted before market opens since "today's" open prices are not included in the model. Detailed log file of calculations. Calculations done on a server for battery conservation. Ability to Stop long calculations on the server. Download the assembled regression tables with dates aligned in CSV format for further study. Send downloaded tables to other apps on your device or via email.

About

Stocksnips

This app uses AI and machine learning to analyze financial news and SEC filings, providing concise summaries and sentiment analysis for Nasdaq and NYSE-listed stocks. It helps investors focus on relevant information and understand potential stock price movements.

Highlights
  • AI-powered news summarization
  • Financial sentiment analysis
  • SEC filing analysis
  • Real-time stock news monitoring
  • Topic and sentiment tagging
  • Portfolio company tracking
Features
Read full description

StockSnips real time news sentiment is a reliable way to monitor and understand stock price movements. Our AI and Advanced Machine Learning models do what the investor can't – Sift through and summarize millions of lines of text in SEC filings and news publications, and deliver concise information based on financial sentiment. It reduces time tracking stocks by helping you focus on relevant news. Snippets from articles are tagged by topic and sentiment. Sentiment trend on a daily basis impacts the stock price. Currently market news for stocks listed on Nasdaq and NYSE are analyzed for all dimensions like sales, revenue, earnings, mergers and cash flow. Stocksnips includes the option to subscribe to monthly and annual auto-renewing subscriptions which will increase the number of companies you can hold in your portfolio. * Basic Plus - 15 companies - 1 month ($3.99), 12 months ($39.99) * Pro - 50 companies - 1 month ($9.99), 12 months ($99.99) * Your subscription will be charged to your iTunes account at confirmation of purchase and will automatically renew (at the duration selected) unless auto-renew is turned off at least 24 hours before the end of the current period. * Current subscription may not be cancelled during the active subscription period; however, you can manage your subscription and/or turn off auto-renewal by visiting your iTunes Account Settings after purchase. * Privacy policy: http://stocksnips.net/privacy-policy * Terms and Conditions: http://stocksnips.net/TnCs-iOS.html

Screenshots

MVAR4 screens
Stocksnips4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is in-app purchases: MVAR at none against Stocksnips's 4. MVAR also leads on ads (none vs shown) and update cadence (every 5 days vs every 2 months). On price, device support and iOS requirement there is nothing between them.

Scored on Price · Rating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings · Update frequency · Ads · In-app purchases · Monetization · Best chart rank · Devices · Requires iOS

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

Both are free to download. Stocksnips sells 4 in-app purchases, starting at $3.99 per month. MVAR asks for nothing beyond the download.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

MVAR ships an update every 5 days, Stocksnips every 2 months. Both last shipped on October 8, 2026.

Scorecard3 real differences · 7 level
MVAR versus Stocksnips: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterMVARStocksnips
PriceFreeFree
Rating—4.6 (666 ratings) — better
Positive reviews—57.1% of reviews
Number of ratings—666 — better
Update frequencyEvery 5 days — betterEvery 2 months
AdsNo — betterYes
In-app purchasesNo — betterYes
Monetization—Free with in-app purchases
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPod, Mac — betteriPhone, iPad, iPod
Requires iOS14.013.6 — better
Further details — not scored
Size1 MB18 MB
Age rating4+4+
Developerdifferential enterprisesStocksnips, inc

Bugs and requests

MVAR

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

Stocksnips

Reported bugs

3 issues
  • Error messages when adding certain stocks
  • Inability to locate US stocks in database
  • TSE stocks not supported or searchable

Requested features

5 requests
  • Add Canadian stock support (TSE)
  • Expand to include ETFs
  • Increase portfolio size limit beyond 50 stocks
  • Add mutual fund portfolio management
  • Improve stock database coverage for US stocks

In-app purchases

None

MVAR

No in-app purchases

4 purchases

Stocksnips

Subscriptions4
  • Basic Plus$3.991 Month
  • Pro$9.991 Month
  • Basic Plus$39.991 Year
Show 1 more
  • Pro$99.991 Year

Questions

Is MVAR free?
MVAR is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is Stocksnips free?
Stocksnips is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Do MVAR or Stocksnips have ads?
Stocksnips shows ads; MVAR does not.
Which is updated more often, MVAR or Stocksnips?
MVAR ships an update every 5 days, and Stocksnips every 2 months. Most recently, MVAR was updated on October 8, 2026 and Stocksnips on October 8, 2026.

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