Our Morningstar Investor verdict
- Standard price
- USD 34.95 a month or USD 249 a year
- Offer through our link
- USD 199 for the first year of the yearly plan
- Free trial
- 7 days, one trial per person
- Free plan
- No
- Covers
- Stocks, ETFs, mutual funds and closed-end funds
- Own ratings
- Star rating, fair value, moat, Medalist Rating
Morningstar Investor is built around Morningstar's own analysts. Stocks they cover get a star rating, a fair value estimate and an economic moat rating, plus written reports. That makes it one of the deepest sources of original research in our rankings.
There is no free plan for the research tools. You can try it for 7 days. The standard price is USD 34.95 a month or USD 249 a year. On the Morningstar offer page our button opens, the first year of the yearly plan is USD 199, a saving of USD 50. Morningstar says the offer is for the first year of a yearly subscription only and cannot extend an existing subscription. Some quote pages are public, so you can see what a stock page looks like before you sign up.
Coverage is wide: we opened stock pages with ratings for the US, London and Xetra. Dubai and Abu Dhabi stocks have pages too, but they get automated Quantitative Ratings rather than analyst ratings.
Who Morningstar Investor is for, and who it is not for
Good fit if you are
- Long-term investors who want an independent view of what a company is worth
- People who like to read why an analyst rates a stock, not only the score
- Investors who hold funds and ETFs as well as stocks: funds and ETFs get a Medalist Rating from Gold to Negative, based on People, Process and Parent
Look elsewhere if you are
- Anyone who wants a free plan: the screener, watchlists and ratings need the paid plan
- Traders who want detailed price charts
- UAE-focused investors who want analyst ratings (UAE stocks get Quantitative Ratings only)
Morningstar Investor key features
Star ratings and fair value
Morningstar's own ratings measure a stock against its fair value estimate and its competitive advantage (economic moat). The star rating, from 1 to 5, combines the fair value estimate with an Uncertainty Rating from Low to Extreme. A wide moat means Morningstar expects the advantage to last more than 20 years, a narrow moat about 10 years. They are designed to reward long-term value rather than short-term trends.
Source: investor.morningstar.comIndependent analyst research
Unlimited access to Morningstar's analyst reports, commentary and news on the securities they cover.
Source: investor.morningstar.comScreener with 200+ data points
Filter stocks, ETFs, mutual funds and closed-end funds, and sort by Morningstar's own ratings. The offer page lists more than 200 data points. You can also start from Morningstar's Best Investments lists, which are pre-filtered by its analysts, and open them in the screener to add your own filters.
Source: morningstar.comPortfolio tools
See performance, allocation, fees and stock overlaps across your portfolio. You can link bank and brokerage accounts; linked accounts show balances and allocation, not cost basis.
Source: morningstar.comAlerts on ratings changes
Get notified about news on your portfolio and watchlist holdings, such as ratings changes and analyst notes.
Source: morningstar.comFull company reports
Investor unlocks the full analyst report on covered companies. Each report covers the business strategy, a Bulls Say and Bears Say section with the case for and against, financial strength, the economic moat, the assumptions behind the fair value, risk and uncertainty, and how management uses its cash. An archive shows older analyst notes, so you can see how the view changed.
Source: morningstar.comFund and ETF ratings
Funds and ETFs get two different ratings. The star rating, from 1 to 5, is purely quantitative and backward-looking: it measures how a fund has performed compared with similar funds. The Medalist Rating (Gold, Silver, Bronze, Neutral or Negative) is forward-looking and shows how confident Morningstar is that a fund can beat its benchmark or peer group. The Sustainability Rating shows a fund's ESG risk against its peers.
Source: morningstar.comPortfolio X-Ray
X-Ray looks inside your funds and ETFs and shows the whole portfolio by asset class, the 12 stock sectors and world regions, plus fees and expenses as a weighted average expense ratio, and style boxes, compared with benchmarks from aggressive to conservative. X-Ray works for portfolios of up to 150 holdings.
Source: morningstar.comStock Intersection
Shows the top 50 stocks you hold across all your funds and ETFs, so you can spot when several funds own the same companies.
Source: morningstar.comAI Quick Filters
In the screener you can type a request in plain words, such as "Five star stocks with a dividend yield above 3%", and the AI sets the filters for you. Morningstar notes that the AI can make mistakes, so check the filters it picks.
Source: morningstar.comMorningstar for dividend, fund and ETF investors
Most research tools in our rankings are built around single stocks. Morningstar also rates funds and ETFs and has tools to see what your funds hold together. Here is what that looks like in practice, from Morningstar's own help pages.
Find dividend payers with a plain-words screen
Type a request such as "Five star stocks with a dividend yield above 3%" into the AI Quick Filters, then check and adjust the filters it sets. A high yield is not always a safe yield, so read the company report before you rely on it.
Source: morningstar.comRecord reinvested dividends
For holdings you add by hand, you can record dividend and distribution reinvestment, so the portfolio shows what you really hold.
Source: morningstar.comSee what your funds cost
X-Ray shows the weighted average expense ratio of the whole portfolio, so you can see what your funds and ETFs cost together.
Source: morningstar.comSpot overlap between funds
Stock Intersection lists the top 50 stocks across your funds and ETFs, which helps you see when two funds own mostly the same companies.
Source: morningstar.comRoom for a real portfolio
Morningstar lists limits of 25 portfolios and 2,000 holdings, with X-Ray for portfolios of up to 150 holdings.
Source: morningstar.comRatings and fair values are Morningstar's opinions and model outputs. They can be wrong and they are not advice for your situation.
Morningstar Investor prices
| Plan | Regular price | With our link | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Investor | $249.00a year | $199.00Save 20% first year | USD 199 for the first year, then USD 249 a year. USD 34.95 billed monthly. 7-day free trial. |
The USD 199 offer, discounts and cancelling
These are the prices and terms on Morningstar's own pages on 3 Nov 2026. Prices are in US dollars and can change.
| Option | Price | Terms |
|---|---|---|
| Monthly | USD 34.95 a month | Standard price after the 7-day trial |
| Yearly | USD 249 a year | Standard price, about USD 20.75 a month |
| Yearly through our link | USD 199 for the first year | First year of a new yearly subscription only. Cannot be combined with other offers or extend an existing subscription |
| Students (US) | USD 25 a year for two years | New subscribers, status verified by Morningstar |
| Teachers (US) | USD 99 a year for four years | New subscribers, status verified by Morningstar |
| Military (US) | USD 75 off the first year | New subscribers, status verified by Morningstar |
The free trial ends at 11:59 PM Central Time, seven days after it starts, and Morningstar allows one free trial per person. To cancel, go to My Account, then Subscription, then Cancel Subscription. Cancelling removes your portfolios, watchlists and saved screens, so download your portfolio data first (Holdings tab, then Download, as a CSV file). You can also switch between monthly and yearly billing under Subscription.
Morningstar Investor pros and cons
Pros
- Original analyst research with fair value and moat ratings
- Wide coverage, including London and Xetra stock pages with fair values
- Rates funds and ETFs too, and X-Ray shows fees, sectors and overlap across them
- 7-day free trial
- USD 199 for the first year of the yearly plan through our link (USD 249 a year standard)
Cons
- No free plan for the research tools
- UAE stocks get automated Quantitative Ratings only
- Only one free trial per person
- If you cancel, you lose your saved portfolios, watchlists and screens (you can download portfolio data first)
Guided tour: how Morningstar looks inside
The same screens as above, in order, as a step-by-step tour. Each step zooms in on one part of the page.
Checking one stock and one ETF on Morningstar, step by step
We open the Apple page, read the fair value and moat, look at the valuation history, try the screener and the portfolio page, then check an ETF. Use Next, the step list or your arrow keys. On a phone you can swipe.
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Step 1 of 7Price vs fair valueThe Price vs Fair Value card compares the share price with the analyst's fair value estimate. The star rating comes from that gap and the Uncertainty Rating.Open full screenshot -
Step 2 of 7Moat and the 1-Star and 5-Star pricesUnderneath are the 1-Star and 5-Star prices and the Economic Moat rating: wide means Morningstar expects the advantage to last more than 20 years.Open full screenshot -
Step 3 of 7Why the analyst thinks soThe Analysis tab explains in words what drives the moat rating and the fair value estimate, so you can judge the assumptions yourself.Open full screenshot -
Step 4 of 7Ten years of multiplesThe Valuation tab lines up ten years of multiples, so today's P/E or price to book can be compared with the past.Open full screenshot -
Step 5 of 7Screen by moat and ratingThe screener can start from an AI Quick Filter, here US stocks with a wide moat trading below fair value (282 stocks on 3 Nov 2026). The filters it adds show on the left, so you can change them.Open full screenshot -
Step 6 of 7Start a portfolioThe portfolio page starts empty. Create a portfolio, or link accounts, to see Morningstar's ratings and data for what you hold.Open full screenshot -
Step 7 of 7Ratings for ETFsETFs and funds get a Medalist Rating from Gold to Negative, built on three pillars: Process, People and Parent. VOO shows Gold next to its 4-star rating, with a one-line reason below.Open full screenshot
Screens from Kai's own Morningstar account, captured 23 Oct and 3 Nov 2026. AAPL and VOO are only examples of how the pages look, not recommendations. Star ratings and fair values are analyst estimates and change over time.
Where Morningstar Investor ranks
We rank tools by job, not overall. Morningstar Investor is ranked in one of our job lists. We score every tool on the same published criteria, using facts from official pages and our own testing. How we score.
Morningstar Investor alternatives
Morningstar Investor FAQ: common questions
What is the Morningstar subscription cost?
Morningstar Investor costs USD 34.95 billed monthly or USD 249 billed yearly. New subscribers on the yearly plan pay USD 199 for the first year through our link, then the yearly price. There is a 7-day free trial.
Is Morningstar Investor free?
No. There is no free tier for Morningstar Investor. Some quote pages on morningstar.com are public, but the screener, watchlists, portfolio tools and ratings need the paid plan.
Does Morningstar Investor have a free trial?
Yes, 7 days. Morningstar says one free trial is allowed per person.
Does it cover UK, European and UAE stocks?
We opened London and Xetra stock pages with fair value estimates. Dubai and Abu Dhabi stocks have pages with Quantitative Ratings, which are automated, not from analysts.
Can I get the USD 199 offer if I already subscribe?
No. Morningstar says the offer is only valid on the first year of a yearly subscription, cannot be combined with another offer and cannot extend an existing Morningstar Investor subscription.
Are there student, teacher or military discounts?
Yes, for new subscribers in the US. Morningstar lists two years at USD 25 a year for students, four years at USD 99 a year for teachers, and USD 75 off the first year for active duty military, veterans and retirees. You verify your status on Morningstar's discount page, and discounts cannot be added to an existing account. The military discount applies to the first year only.
How do I cancel Morningstar Investor?
Go to My Account, then Subscription, then Cancel Subscription. Morningstar says cancelling removes your portfolio data, watchlists and saved screens, so download your portfolio data first if you want to keep it.
What is the difference between the fund star rating and the Medalist Rating?
The star rating looks back: it measures how a fund has performed compared with similar funds. The Medalist Rating looks forward: it shows how confident Morningstar is that a fund can beat its benchmark or peer group. Neither is a promise of future returns.
Is a Morningstar fair value a price I should buy at?
No. It is an analyst estimate based on assumptions that can be wrong, and it does not know your situation. Use it as one input in your own research.
Some links are affiliate links, so we may earn a commission at no extra cost to you. How we make money. General information, not personal investment advice. Ratings and fair value estimates are model outputs or opinions and can be wrong.