Take a look at Nextrend.com. The last time I looked they had a real nice realtime package for around $14.95 a month.
The most important criteria in the use of software imo, especially for a beginner, are ease of use, reliability and lack of bugs. After trying out several packages the combination of e-signal and Ensign Windows really stands out for me in this respect.
This is one of those impossible questions. Best for a beginner? How much money does the beginner have? I agree with stevet that a beginner probably needs the best package, not some compromise aimed at saving $79/mo. Thsi is real money we're playing with, well ok for a lot of us it is, and you don't want to shortchange yourself by using crap data feeds or clunky charting. The next question is what does the beginner want to do? Someone who wants to backtest futures trading systems needs a totally different setup from someone who wants to daytrade QLGC or someone with an investment portfolio who wants to look at charts once a day. The good news is you can get this stuff on a trial or month to month basis. The bad news is there is a learning curve and setup time involved.