Making simulated trades is a good way to try out new strategies and get familiar with the interface of the trading platform you are using, without having to worry about losing money if you make a mistake.
If you are looking for a forex trading demo account, you’re in luck – many of the best forex and stock trading platforms on the market provide paper trading, allowing users to get comfortable with trading without putting money at risk.
Here are the best forex demo trading accounts in 2024:
MetaTrader 4 and MetaTrader 5 – The best forex trading demo account overall
Thinkorswim – Fully-featured online trading platform with paper trading account feature
eToro – One of the world’s most popular online trading platforms
TradingView – Leading charting platform with paper trading functionality
Interactive Brokers – Best forex demo trading account for advanced traders
Plus500 – Easy to use trading platform with demo trading option
IG – Solid trading platform with demo trading and educational resources
The best forex trading demo accounts
Now, let’s take a closer look at each contender on our list of the best forex trading demo accounts. We’ve made sure to include a diverse selection of platforms, which should allow every type of trader to find a demo trading solution that suits their needs perfectly.
1. MetaTrader 4 and MetaTrader 5 – The best forex trading demo account overall
MetaTrader 4 and MetaTrader 5 are trading platforms that are extremely well-supported in the forex trading industry. These tools have earned their popularity thanks to their intuitive and user-friendly interface, as well as their advanced charting tools.
You can use both MetaTrader 4 and MetaTrader 5 for demo trading with supported brokers. There’s many different brokers that support demo trading on MetaTrader – examples include FOREX.com, IG, CMC Markets, Admiral Markets and Eightcap.
When using MetaTrader 4 or 5, you can utilize custom indicators and scripts to test out various strategies while demo trading.
Although both MetaTrader 4 and 5 are excellent trading platforms, MetaTrader 5 has a more robust order management system, which unlocks more advanced trading strategies. However, one advantage of MetaTrader 4 is that it has been on the market for a longer period of time, which means there’s a larger amount of educational resources and tutorials available for it.
Demo Trade on MetaTrader 4
2. Thinkorswim – Fully-featured online trading platform with paper trading account feature
Thinkorswim is a trading platform offered by major financial services firm Charles Schwab. The platform can be accessed via a desktop application, a mobile app or a web platform (traders who want access to all of Thinkorswim’s features should choose the desktop version).
The Thinkorswim platform offers a Guest Pass, which is a hassle-free way for users to get started with demo trading without having to create an account with Schwab. The Guest Pass lasts for 30 days and gives users $100,000 in virtual capital to trade with. Users can access markets such as equities and forex through spot markets, futures and options.
If you create a Schwab brokerage account after your 30-day Guest Pass expires, you can still access demo trading on Thinkorswim through the platform’s paperMoney feature.
Demo Trade on Thinkorswim
3. eToro – One of the world’s most popular online trading platforms
eToro is a trading platform known for its wide range of supported assets, including stocks, cryptocurrencies, forex, commodities, indices, and ETFs. It also features social networking capabilities for traders to share ideas. One of eToro’s standout features is social trading, allowing users to follow and replicate the trades of successful traders, which is especially useful for beginners.
The platform offers a demo account where users can practice trading with virtual funds, making it an excellent tool for beginners to learn the platform and test trading strategies without taking on financial risk. This feature provides access to a broad selection of markets, enabling demo traders to gain experience across various asset classes. The eToro demo account gives traders access to $100,000 in virtual capital.
Demo Trade on Etoro
4. TradingView – Leading charting platform with paper trading functionality
TradingView is an extremely popular chart analysis tool that offers a plethora of customization options and indicators. The platform also allows users to create their own trading tools using the Pine Script programming language.
Although TradingView is primarily known as a charting tool, it actually offers a paper trading feature that makes it possible to try out trading strategies without putting real capital at risk. TradingView’s paper trading supports a wide variety of assets, and can of course also be used as a forex trading demo account.
You can access TradingView’s paper trading feature by clicking on the Trading Panel under any chart on TradingView. Then, you will be able to select TradingView as your “broker” and start making trades. The platform will track your open positions, order history, account balance, P&L stats, and more. The starting balance of a paper trading account on TradingView is $100,000, but you can reset the balance at any time if you wish.
Demo Trade on TradingView
5. Interactive Brokers – Best forex demo trading account for advanced traders
Interactive Brokers is a renowned trading platform that’s usually favored by experienced traders who require advanced functionality. One of the features offered by Interactive Brokers provides is paper trading, which allow users to access all of the platform’s trading features to test their strategies in real market conditions without putting real money at risk.
Users who wish to paper trade on Interactive Brokers have to request a paper trading account. Approval typically takes less than 24 hours. The default account balance for paper trading on Interactive Brokers is $1 million.
Interactive Brokers is a trading platform that’s best suited for those who already have experience in the markets and are looking for powerful features. However, it’s difficult to recommend for beginners, who might find the platform too overwhelming.
Demo Trade on Interactive Brokers
6. Plus500 – Easy to use trading platform with demo trading option
Plus500 is a trading platform known for its simplicity, ease of use, and focus on Contract for Difference (CFD) trading. It provides a demo account for users to practice trading with virtual funds, which is particularly valuable for beginners to familiarize themselves with trading strategies without risking real money.
The platform employs a no-commission model for most trades, making it an attractive option for traders of all levels. Plus500 offers a wide range of tradable assets, including stocks, forex, cryptocurrencies, commodities, indices, and options, all within an intuitive user interface that features advanced charting capabilities.
Demo Trade on Plus500
7. IG – Solid trading platform with demo trading and educational resources
IG is an online trading platform that offers trading in various asset classes such as forex, stocks, indices, commodities, cryptocurrencies and more. Users on IG can also access a demo account which provides a virtual balance of €10,000 and a risk-free environment where users can get familiar with IG’s platform and try out trading strategies.
Users can demo trade on IG either through their proprietary trading platform or MetaTrader 4. Demo traders also get access to the IG Academy, which is a collection of educational materials about using the IG platform and trading concepts in general.
Demo Trade on IG
The bottom line
Although demo trading can certainly give you valuable practice and insights into trading strategies, success in demo trading doesn’t necessarily translate to success in real trading.
The psychological aspect of trading is an important skill that every trader has to master in order to achieve success, and successfully navigating emotions such as fear and greed is a much more difficult task when real money is on the line. The profitability of forex trading in real market scenarios depends on more factors than just chart analysis and your trading style.
If you want to explore more tools for forex trading beyond demo trading accounts, make sure to take a look at our list of the best forex trade copiers.