Investing & Stocks›Learn›Zoya vs Musaffa vs Islamicly: Best Halal Stock Screener App in 2026
Investing & Stocks
Zoya, Musaffa and Islamicly all check whether a stock is Shariah-compliant, but they use different rulebooks, cover different markets and charge in different ways. Here’s how to pick the one that fits how you invest.
Disclosure: FinWiser Labs is developing its own halal-aware stock screening tool, which would compete with the apps compared here. None of these three companies paid for, reviewed or had any input into this article.
If you pick your own shares, the hard part of finding the best halal stocks isn’t the picking. It’s the homework: reading a company’s filings to see how it earns its money and how much interest, or riba, it pays and earns. Zoya, Musaffa and Islamicly all promise to do that homework for you, but they don’t do it the same way.
This isn’t a contest with one universally correct winner. The three apps apply slightly different Shariah rulebooks, cover different markets and price their plans differently, so the right pick depends on where you invest and how deep you want to dig. Below, we compare them on the same criteria, using each company’s own published methodology and pricing as of September 2026.
Our Wisers Say
Pick the screener whose Shariah standard you’d be comfortable explaining to a scholar you trust, then stay with it. If a stock fails your chosen standard and you go looking for an app that shows it green, you’ve stopped screening. You’re shopping for a ruling.
Good News: You Don’t Have to Choose
All three apps let you check stocks for free, at least in part. That means you can run a borderline company through two apps before you buy, at zero cost, and pay only for the one you use day to day.
Many careful investors end up with this two-app habit anyway. One app becomes home base for alerts and portfolio tracking; the other is a second opinion when a verdict looks surprising. When a verdict is borderline, that second opinion costs nothing.
At a Glance: Zoya vs Musaffa vs Islamicly
Here’s how the three line up on the criteria that matter most when you’re screening for the best halal stocks. Figures are each company’s own, and prices are U.S. list prices unless noted. Most apps localize pricing, so check your country’s app store before subscribing.
| Criteria | Zoya | Musaffa | Islamicly |
|---|---|---|---|
| Shariah standard | AAOIFI by default; S&P, MSCI, Dow Jones and FTSE Russell on Pro | AAOIFI-based; more standards announced | Own Shariah board; described as converging with AAOIFI |
| Stocks screened | 30,000+ global stocks | 120,000+ stocks and 8,200+ ETFs | 30,000+ stocks, 100+ markets |
| ETF and fund screening | U.S. ETFs and mutual funds (top 10 holdings free) | Global ETFs | Stock-focused |
| Free tier | Compliance status only | Halal status on stocks | One market, 20 preset stocks |
| Paid plan (U.S.) | $14.99/month or $119.99/year | $200/year (monthly option too) | Priced per market; varies |
| Compliance alerts | Email alerts on Pro | Status and score alerts on Premium | App notifications for portfolio holdings |
| Zakat and purification | Zakat calculator | Automatic purification and zakat on Premium | Per-stock dividend purification ratio |
| Best for | U.S.-focused DIY investors | Research-heavy, multi-market investors | South Asian and Gulf market investors |
Finding the Best Halal Stocks, Criterion by Criterion
Screening Standard: Whose Rulebook?
Every Shariah screen runs two tests. A business test removes companies whose core income comes from things like alcohol, gambling or conventional interest-based lending. A financial test then checks the balance sheet for interest-bearing debt and cash.
Zoya defaults to AAOIFI, the Bahrain-based standard-setter whose rules cap interest-bearing debt and interest-bearing assets at 30% of a company’s market capitalization. Pro subscribers can switch to S&P Shariah, MSCI Islamic, Dow Jones Islamic or FTSE Russell Shariah instead.
Musaffa applies an AAOIFI-based standard and says results under eight more global standards are on the way. Islamicly follows criteria set by its own Shariah board, chaired by Dr. Mohamed Elgari, which it describes as converging with AAOIFI. One twist: Islamicly measures debt against a 36-month average market value, which smooths out share-price swings.
That’s why the same company can show green in one app and red in another. Neither verdict is necessarily wrong; each app is applying a different, recognized rulebook.
Market Coverage
Musaffa casts the widest net, at 120,000+ stocks and 8,200+ ETFs by its own count, from the U.S. and India to Saudi Arabia and Malaysia. Zoya reports on 30,000+ global stocks across exchanges in the U.S., U.K., Canada, Australia, Germany, India, Japan and more.
Islamicly also covers 30,000+ stocks, but its edge is depth in markets the other two treat as an afterthought. Its country list includes Pakistan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Kuwait, Oman and Qatar alongside the big Western exchanges. If the best halal stocks on your watchlist trade in Karachi or Dhaka, that matters more than any headline total.
Report Depth and Transparency
Musaffa goes furthest here. Paid users get reports prepared by Shariah-trained analysts, a letter grade from C– to A+, up to three years of compliance history, and a separate 0–100 score for broader Islamic social responsibility.
Zoya’s free tier shows compliance status only; Pro unlocks the full report with exact ratios, thresholds and the revenue breakdown behind each verdict. Islamicly publishes its full criteria openly, including a 49% ceiling on receivables, and says a research team manually reviews each company’s revenue sources.
Price and Free Tier
Zoya Pro costs $14.99 a month or $119.99 a year in the U.S., with localized prices elsewhere. Musaffa lists its Premium plan at $200 a year, about $16.67 a month, with a pricier month-to-month option.
Islamicly prices plans per market. Its own FAQ describes a free tier limited to one market and a preset list of 20 stocks. Promotions change the price often, so check the in-app plans page before you commit.
Alerts, Tracking and Purification
Compliance isn’t permanent: a company can take on debt next quarter and drop out. Zoya Pro emails you when a holding’s status changes and syncs linked brokerage accounts on demand. Musaffa’s paid plan alerts you to status and score changes and links to a long list of banks and brokers.
For purification, Musaffa calculates the amount automatically for linked or manual portfolios and adds a zakat calculator. Islamicly publishes a dividend purification ratio for each stock it covers. Zoya includes a zakat calculator that can import your holdings.
A Screener Is Not a Broker
These apps are research tools first. They help you find the best halal stocks, but where your money sits is a separate decision. Zoya positions itself that way: it reads your holdings from the broker you already use, and on Pro it lets you buy and sell through supported brokers without switching apps.
Musaffa goes further. It is an SEC-registered investment adviser that also runs its own self-directed investing platform and managed portfolios, with trades cleared through Alpaca Securities. Islamicly bundles screening with gold and silver savings and model portfolios aimed largely at investors in India.
Why this matters: a verdict is only useful if you can act on it where your money actually lives. Decide where you’ll buy first, then choose the screener that covers those markets well.
The Data: Where the Best Halal Stocks Actually Sit
Here’s the number that surprises most people. Of the 6,403 U.S.-listed stocks Musaffa tracks, only 1,339 are rated halal, about 21%. Yet those companies make up 41.17% of total U.S. market value, according to the coverage figures on Musaffa’s pricing page.
In other words, the stocks that pass skew large. Big companies with modest borrowing tend to clear the financial screens, while heavily indebted firms and nearly all conventional banks fail. Saudi Arabia shows the flip side: 358 of 393 listed stocks there pass.
The practical lesson: a portfolio built only from screened U.S. stocks will tilt toward larger companies. Keep in mind this is one screener’s snapshot under one standard; the split will look different in Zoya or Islamicly.
The Halal-Aware Note: What a Screener Can’t Check
A green verdict clears the company, not your whole setup. Riba can still creep in at the account level: a margin account charges interest on borrowed money, and many brokers pay interest on uninvested cash by default. Opting out of both is your job, not the app’s.
The subscriptions themselves are flat fees rather than interest, so paying for any of these plans raises no riba issue. But even the best halal stocks usually earn a sliver of impermissible income, such as interest on cash reserves. That’s why purification, giving that share of your dividends to charity, is standard practice under all three methodologies.
If you’re unsure which standard to follow, ask a scholar you trust once, then set your app to match. That single conversation saves you from second-guessing every verdict.
Pros and Cons: Where Each App Wins
Where Zoya Wins
- Methodology choice. Pro lets you check a stock under five recognized standards, which is ideal for companies sitting near a threshold.
- Easy monitoring. Email alerts and on-demand account syncing make it simple to keep a live portfolio compliant.
- Trading in one place. Pro supports buying and selling through supported brokers you already use.
- Trade-off. Fund screening covers U.S. ETFs and mutual funds, and the free tier shows status without the reasons behind it.
Where Musaffa Wins
- Sheer coverage. The largest stock and ETF universe of the three, spanning dozens of countries.
- Research depth. Letter grades, three years of compliance history and up to 10 analyst coverage requests a day on the paid plan.
- Built-in purification. Purification and zakat are calculated for you once your portfolio is linked or entered.
- Trade-off. Only one screening standard for now, and it’s the priciest of the three at U.S. list price.
Where Islamicly Wins
- Regional depth. Strong coverage of Pakistan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka and Gulf exchanges that other apps cover thinly.
- An open rulebook. Its full screening criteria are public, down to which cash and receivable items count.
- Daily updates. Screening is refreshed daily with the latest market values, backed by manual revenue reviews.
- Trade-off. A very limited free tier, and per-market pricing that adds up if you invest across several countries.
Other Halal Screeners Worth Knowing
These three aren’t the only ways to find the best halal stocks. Two others are worth a look if none of the above fits:
- Finispia. A free screener whose app listing claims 220,000+ stocks across 90+ exchanges, with results under five methodologies side by side.
- HalalScreener. A web-based, U.S.-focused screener with a $9.99-a-month Pro plan; it doesn’t yet cover Saudi or other Gulf exchanges.
Which One Is Right for You?
You invest mainly in U.S. stocks and want simplicity: Zoya. Clear verdicts, strong alerts, and the option to compare standards when a stock is borderline.
You want to research deeply or hold ETFs across markets: Musaffa. Its reports and coverage justify the higher price if you actually read them.
You invest in Pakistan, India, Bangladesh or the Gulf: Islamicly. If you’re investing on the Pakistan Stock Exchange or Tadawul, its regional coverage is hard to beat.
You’re just starting with small amounts: Stay on free tiers until your portfolio is big enough that a wrong verdict would cost more than a subscription.
Key Takeaways: Screening for the Best Halal Stocks
- There’s no single right screener; the right one depends on your markets and how much detail you want.
- Zoya suits U.S.-focused investors, Musaffa suits researchers and multi-market investors, and Islamicly suits South Asian and Gulf markets.
- Apps can disagree because they apply different thresholds, such as 30% versus 33% of market cap. Pick one standard and stick with it.
- A passing stock doesn’t clean up your account. Even with the best halal stocks, avoid margin, switch off interest on idle cash, and purify your dividends.
Sources and Further Reading
Each app publishes its own screening rules, and they’re worth reading before you trust any verdict:
- How Zoya screens stocks for Shariah compliance (Zoya Help Center)
- Musaffa’s screening methodology and certifications
- Islamicly’s Shariah screening criteria
- SEC Investor Bulletin: exchange-traded funds (ETFs), if you’re weighing a screened fund instead of single stocks