Free Level 2 quotes
// real-time order-book depth · bid/ask ladder · time-and-sales tape · browser-native
Read the live Level 2 order-book ladder for any US-listed stock — every bid and ask price tier with the size resting at each level — right in your browser, alongside the printed time-and-sales tape. No app, no download. The free tier shows delayed top-of-book; the Pro trial unlocks the full real-time depth.
What you get on each tier
| PLAN | LEVEL 2 DATA | COST |
|---|---|---|
| Free | 15-minute delayed top-of-book (Level 1, not full L2 depth) | $0 |
| Pro (7-day free trial) | Real-time Level 2 depth — full order-book ladder + time-and-sales | $39/mo |
| Terminal | Everything in Pro + L2-walked paper-trading fills (orders walk the real Level 2 book) | $79/mo |
What are Level 2 quotes?
Level 2 (L2) is the full order-book ladder for a stock — every published bid and ask price tier with the size sitting at each level, not just the single best bid/ask you see in a Level 1 quote. Where Level 1 tells you "AAPL 232.10 × 232.11," Level 2 shows the depth behind it: 232.10 for 4,000 shares, 232.05 for 12,000, 232.00 for 30,000 — and the same on the offer. That depth tells you where real liquidity sits, how much it costs to move the tape, and whether a move has fuel or is running on fumes. Tapeboard renders the L2 ladder live in the browser alongside time-and-sales (the printed "tape") so you read order flow the way a prop desk does.
Reading Level 2 is a skill, not a data feed. The ladder shifts constantly as market makers pull and reload, spoof orders appear and vanish, and genuine size accumulates at a level that holds. The real-time scanner, the paper-trading simulator, and the short-squeeze leaderboard all read off the same live feed, so the depth you learn to read here is the depth those tools act on.
Free Level 2 quotes FAQ
Are these Level 2 quotes actually free?
The free tier shows 15-minute delayed top-of-book (a Level 1 best bid/ask, not full Level 2 depth) at no cost and no signup. The full real-time Level 2 order-book ladder — every bid/ask price tier with size — is a Pro feature. Pro starts with a 7-day free trial, no credit card, so you can read the live L2 ladder for a week before deciding. We are upfront about this rather than burying it: "free level 2 quotes" is the query that lands you here, and the honest answer is free delayed top-of-book now, full real-time L2 on the trial.
What is the difference between Level 1 and Level 2 quotes?
Level 1 is the single best bid and best ask (the top-of-book) plus last trade price — what most retail quote sites show. Level 2 is the full published order book: every market-maker bid and ask tier with the size resting at each price, so you see how much liquidity sits at 232.10 vs 232.05 vs 232.00 and where a large order would have to reach to fill. Level 2 is how prop and institutional desks read supply and demand in real time. Tapeboard renders that ladder live in the browser.
How real-time is the Level 2 data on Tapeboard?
On the Pro and Terminal tiers, Level 2 is real-time streaming from Schwab's market-data feed, the same feed institutional desks pay for. On the free tier it is delayed 15 minutes and shows top-of-book only — SEC rules and exchange licensing make no-delay full-depth data a paid product, so genuinely free real-time Level 2 for every stock does not exist at any broker; anyone offering it is either delayed, a demo, or reselling a feed they charge for elsewhere. Tapeboard discloses the delay and the tier instead.
Can I paper-trade against the Level 2 book?
Yes, on the Terminal tier ($79/mo). The Tapeboard paper-trading simulator fills orders by walking the real cached Level 2 order book — a large market order steps down each rung of the ladder just like it would live, so slippage and fill realism reflect the actual depth you see. On Free and Pro, the simulator models spread and volume-scaled slippage without the true L2 walk. This is documented in the simulator fill methodology.
Which stocks and exchanges does the Level 2 cover?
Level 2 depth covers US-listed equities on NYSE, NASDAQ, and NYSE American/ARCA — the same tape the real-time scanner and squeeze leaderboard read. Crypto pairs (BTC, ETH, SOL and majors) carry their own full order books and depth charts from the matching exchange. Forex shows real-time G10 crosses but does not publish a Level 2 ladder (FX is decentralized; there is no single order book). Bonds and options show quotes and chains rather than an L2 ladder.
Do I need to download anything?
No. Tapeboard runs entirely in the browser — Level 2 ladder, time-and-sales tape, scanner, charts, and the paper-trading simulator all load in a single tab. There is no app to install and no plugin. The page you are reading is prerendered for search engines; the live terminal is a normal web app behind it.
Read the live order book for a week, free.
Real-time Level 2 depth unlocks with the 7-day Pro trial — no credit card, cancel anytime. The free tier keeps the delayed top-of-book scanner open in the meantime.
Start the free trial See the squeeze leaderboard