The Best Market & Business News App in India: An Honest Guide
There is no single best stock market news app for everyone. A trader who checks option chains all day, a salaried investor with a monthly SIP, and a UPSC aspirant reading about RBI policy want very different things from their phone.
We build ArthNow, so we are not neutral. This guide is upfront about that. It explains what to look for in a market news app, says plainly where ArthNow is strong and where it isn't, and points you to the app that suits you better when that's the honest answer.
Last reviewed:
The short answer
- For a quick, ad-free read of what moved Nifty, Sensex, IPOs, gold and the economy, in English or 7 Indian languages, with audio: ArthNow.
- For portfolio tracking, watchlists and deep stock data: Moneycontrol or ET Markets.
- For original reporting, interviews and long-form analysis: Economic Times, Mint or Business Standard, ideally with their paid tier.
- For live TV and expert commentary during market hours: CNBC-TV18.
- For a free, no-login list of every business headline: Pulse by Zerodha.
Indian market news apps at a glance
Based on each app's public listing and website in October 2026. Pricing changes often, so we describe the model instead of quoting competitors' prices.
| App | Best for | Free tier | Paid tier | Ads on free tier |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ArthNow | 60-second briefs on markets, economy, IPOs and commodities, with audio and Indian-language reading | Full feed, live market screen, 10 audio briefs and 3 searches a day | Premium: ₹199/month, ₹599/year or ₹2,499 lifetime | No |
| ET Markets / Economic Times | Original business reporting plus live NSE/BSE prices and portfolio tools | Most news and market data | ETPrime: in-depth stories, stock reports, ad-lite reading | Yes |
| Moneycontrol | Market data depth: quotes, portfolio tracker, watchlists, home-screen stock widget | News, quotes, portfolio and watchlist | Pro and Super Pro: ad-free, research and investment ideas | Yes |
| Pulse by Zerodha | A fast, free list of business headlines from many Indian publications | Everything; no login needed | None | No |
| Mint | Explanatory and long-form business and policy journalism | Selected stories | Subscription for paywalled stories | Yes |
| Business Standard | Detailed economy, policy and corporate coverage | Selected stories | Subscription, including e-paper | Yes |
| CNBC-TV18 | Live market TV, interviews and trading-hours commentary | Live updates and video | CNBC-TV18 ACCESS premium membership | Yes |
How to choose a market news app
Before comparing features, decide which job the app has to do. These six questions separate the apps most clearly:
- Do you want news, data, or both? News apps tell you why something moved. Data apps show you prices, charts and your holdings. Few apps are excellent at both.
- How much time do you have? If you read for five minutes before work, short summaries matter more than 1,500-word analysis.
- Can you tolerate ads? Free tiers of the large publishers are ad-supported. If ads break your concentration, check what the free tier really looks like.
- Do you read better in your own language? Most business coverage in India is in English. Few apps let you switch the whole feed to Hindi, Tamil or Gujarati.
- Do you need to read the original source? Summaries save time, but for earnings or a SEBI order you sometimes need the full report. Good apps link to it.
- Are you paying for advice by accident? Some premium tiers sell stock ideas. A news app should report, not recommend; know which one you are buying.
What ArthNow does well
ArthNow is a market and business news app from CanDoMinds Technologies in Bengaluru. Each story is condensed into a short brief you can read in under a minute, with a link to the publisher's full report when you want the detail.
- Focused desks: Market, Economy, IPO, Metals & MCX, Personal Finance and Crypto & Web3, plus a My Feed tab built from the topics you pick.
- A live market screen showing Nifty 50, Sensex and Bank Nifty with day ranges, Nifty 50 advances and declines, top gainers and losers, open, upcoming and recent NSE IPOs, and currency, commodity and global indices.
- Audio briefs with a choice of female or male voice and normal or fast speed, useful on a commute.
- Reading in English, Hindi, Bengali, Marathi, Telugu, Tamil, Gujarati or Kannada, translated on your phone.
- No ads in the app, on free or paid plans. ArthNow is funded by its Premium membership.
- Contextual search that answers a plain-language question from recent coverage, not just matching keywords.
You can try the same briefs on the web at arthnow.com/news before installing anything.
What ArthNow doesn't do
Being clear about this saves you a download. ArthNow does not have a portfolio tracker, a watchlist, stock charts, screeners or a discussion forum. It does not publish original investigative reporting or analyst research, and it is not a broker, so you cannot trade or apply for IPOs in it.
If those are what you need, Moneycontrol and ET Markets are stronger. Many readers keep ArthNow for the daily catch-up and use their broker's app or a data app for numbers.
Detailed comparisons
We have written separate, longer comparisons for the apps people ask us about most. Each one covers what that app is genuinely better at:
- ArthNow vs Economic Times: quick summaries versus a full newsroom with ETPrime depth.
- ArthNow vs Moneycontrol: a reading app versus a market-data and portfolio app.
- ArthNow vs Pulse by Zerodha: summarised briefs versus a free headline aggregator.
Who ArthNow is for, and who should look elsewhere
ArthNow is a good fit if you…
- Want to know what moved the market today in a few minutes
- Find ads and sensational headlines distracting
- Prefer reading or listening in an Indian language
- Follow IPOs, RBI policy, gold or crude without trading every day
- Are a student or aspirant who needs clear economy coverage
Look at another app if you…
- Need a portfolio tracker or watchlist (Moneycontrol, ET Markets)
- Want analyst research and stock ideas (Moneycontrol Pro, ETPrime)
- Want live TV during market hours (CNBC-TV18)
- Want every headline, unfiltered and free (Pulse by Zerodha)
- Read long-form investigations (ET, Mint, Business Standard)
Frequently Asked Questions
Have a question not listed here?
Our editorial & support team is here to help with questions or app feedback.
Keep comparing
Comparisons are based on each app's public store listing and website as of the review date above. Features and prices change; check the app itself before you subscribe. Economic Times, Moneycontrol, Pulse, Mint, Business Standard and CNBC-TV18 are trademarks of their respective owners, and ArthNow is not affiliated with them. Spotted something out of date? Tell us and we will correct it.
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