Demo Account: Trainer’s Simulator

Almost all of the more or less famous Forex brokers provide traders with the opportunity to use demo accountMost of them are free, with unlimited validity period. For beginning traders, working on a demo account is an obligatory stage of preparation for real trading (How to start forex trading). Advanced traders on a demo account can practice new trading strategies.

Why trade on a demo account

A beginner trader is likely to register on one of the popular trading platforms, which always have a demo service. But if there is a problem of choice, then it is necessary to choose licensed brokerage companies, which have been working in the market for a long time and with good reviews, which are included in various ratings, – there are a lot of them on the Internet (Which forex broker to choose). It is necessary to pay attention, where exactly the company is licensed. If there are mostly good reviews about the broker, but the registration is offshore, you should once again consider the advisability of trading with such a broker (Forex Trading in 2020). Of course, if a broker offers to deposit a substantial amount to take advantage of the demo mode, then it is hardly necessary to work with him.

In addition to the demo account, large brokers also offer training materials from tutorials to webinars (Forex Trading Training). A demo account is needed in order to put the knowledge gained into practice immediately, but without the risk of losing money (no risk forex). The only difference between the demo service and the real trading platform should be that in the demo-mode, trading is done with conventional signs, not with real money or assets. Everything else – price dynamics, trading tools, execution of orders, market situations must be the same, trading conditions as close to “live” as possible.

Forex brokers

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Each broker offers its own trading conditions, even small differences in trading conditions can seriously affect the result of the trade – and this is another reason to practice in the demo mode when mastering a new platform. Even if you intend to trade on the same assets. A demo account should always be ready to trade, so that you can quickly work out a course of action for a particular situation, for example, in the event of a sharp drop in the ruble, as in the past few days, when the rate of change was so fast that it was not quite clear what to do.

In order to switch to a real account, trading on a demo account must bring a stable “demo profit”. It is not known exactly how much time this will take, they say different terms – from one day to thousands of hours. If the broker does not limit the work on a demo account, the training period is determined by the trader. But the duration of using a demo account can be limited by the broker. This can stimulate the trader to study trading more thoroughly. But it is better to learn about such limitations beforehand, and if time is short, it is better to start trading on a platform with no limitations on the period of using a demo account. For the beginner trader, a demo account offers such opportunities:

• to check whether trading is really a good choice of application;
• understand how the trading platform works;
• master the basics of trading and learn not to make too many gross mistakes;
• Practice your first steps in trading without spending any real money;
• learn and practice the first trading strategy (Best Forex Strategies).

It is important that the demo mode does not fully reflect the emotional load on the trader during significant losses or a sharp increase in profits, and this is one of the most significant elements of trading. It would be a misconception to think that one can fully learn how to trade only on a demo account. Such mode allows only mastering basic trading skills. That is why there is no sense to stay on it for too long. A trader who already has experience in trading can do the following on a demo account:

• to test their actions in a new market situation;
• master a new strategy (simple forex strategies);
• to try to trade new assets;
• get acquainted with the features of the new platform.

Thus, the demo mode of the broker can be even more useful for experienced traders than for beginners.

Platforms with demo mode

Let’s take a closer look at some of the most popular platforms that allow you to trade on a demo account.

Finam-Forex

Finam – is a huge broker, working on the market for a very long time, controlling a significant share of the currency turnover of the Moscow Exchange and having a license from the Russian Central Bank, which for some traders is a proof of the company’s reliability. Provides traders with a platform MetaTrader 4, QUIK and WebQUIK, and there is also its own trading platform FinamTrade. Finam offers trading in assets such as currencies, stocks, bonds, futures, commodities, and mutual fund/ETF investment funds. Minimum deposit is individual, but most often 30 thousand rubles.

To open a demo account, you need to register, get a password and link to the program, and install it. The “training” amount is up to 100,000 roubles, with a leverage of 1 to 9. By the way, the demo mode shows currency trading on the Moscow Exchange. It is important to note that Finam holds an annual Forex trading contest, Energy Drive, with a relatively large prize fund of up to 100,000 rubles. Beginners can also count on a large number of training materials: video seminars with online lectures by highly qualified traders, both paid and free, as well as distance learning with free online courses on the basics of working on the FX market and practical classes on a paid or free of charge basis.

Alpari

Alpari – is a veteran of the Russian forex market, working also with binary options, also offers PAMM accounts and so on. For training, a beginner trader can open any number of Alpari demo accounts without authorization and choose a conventional dollar, euro or ruble to start mastering trading. The trader may also try to trade any amount of currency units. In addition, Alpari holds a “Virtual Reality” contest for demo account holders with a prize pool of $2,000 and a real account, with bonuses that can only be used for trading. The broker also offers traders a free consultant who will help them learn how to trade for a month.

BCS

BCS (Fig. 2) one of the largest Russian brokers, which offers a trading simulator, and you can also get a tutorial and take a basic trading course. Brokerage services are provided on behalf of BCS Markets Ltd. registered in Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, i.e. it is not subject to regulation by the Russian jurisdiction. Forex-BCS company is registered in Cyprus.

BKS gives traders the opportunity to trade currencies, binary options, CFDs. The broker offers different statuses – Standard, if the client makes a deposit up to 20 thousand dollars, Comfort Avia when the deposit is more than 20 thousand dollars, Priority – when the deposit is more than 50 thousand dollars. Different privileges are added to the status. The broker accepts minimal deposit beginning from $1, and traders are provided rather loyal trading conditions – with minimal lot 0.01 and leverage from 1:1 up to 1:200. Direct and Pro accounts can count on a free demo account, which opens in the personal cabinet after registration.

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Alfa-Forex

Alfa-Forex – part of the Alfa Group structure, is regulated by the Federal Financial Markets Service of the Russian Federation and the Saint Vincent and the Grenadines Financial Commission. The fact that the broker belongs to a particular banking group means that the money deposited by traders for trading is kept in Alfa Bank accounts. Traders are offered Metatrader 5, MT5 and Zulutrade trading terminals; the type of account that is provided to a new client depends on the choice of terminal. Currencies, precious metals and CFDs are available for trading.

Officially the demo service is not offered to clients, but the broker has it (Fig. 4). To get it, you need to register an account and leave an application for a demo account in the online cabinet. The functionality of the demo service does not exactly correspond to the realities of Alfa-Forex trading, for example, the leverage on a real trading account is 1 to 50, and on a demo account 1 to 100, this must be kept in mind when training. Also, Alfa forex offers significant opportunities for training – educational materials, tutorials, courses, and so on.

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RoboForex

RoboForex Ltd – a stable participant in the ratings of the most popular brokerage organizations. It is regulated by IFSC Belize (International Financial Services Commission of Belize), so the choice to work with it or not is the full responsibility of the trader. The broker offers trading forex, stocks, indices, ETFs, commodities, metals, cryptocurrencies, crypto indices (RoboForex demo accounts). Trading is done on cTrader, MT4, MT5, Proprietary platforms, trading is possible in mobile format. There is no minimum deposit required to start trading with RoboForex.

The broker provides a free demo account, it is connected to all trading terminals and allows you to learn trading eight major categories of assets. Also, the broker provides a large amount of training materials, which can be used after registration. In addition to the forum, the broker offers a collection of training videos on a variety of topics, for viewing which you only need to register. RoboForex has a forum where traders can address a question to more advanced players and discuss strategies – this can be considered an advantage of the broker.

Forex4you

Forex4you A popular broker, regulated by the Financial Services Commission (BVI FSC, British Virgin Islands). Users are offered to trade on MT4 and Forex4you Terminal platforms. Forex4you traders can trade currency pairs, commodities, stocks, indices, cryptocurrencies and so on. A distinctive feature of Forex4you is Share4you social network, where you can copy trades. Also, the broker has developed MarketPlace Forex4you – a special software that accumulates offers from liquidity providers, selects the best prices Bid/Ask, which can facilitate the work of the trader.

The broker offers four types of account, including a demo account and it is also necessary to note the cent account, on which all transactions are reduced a hundredfold, which prevents too large losses, so the account can be considered a training account, as well as a demo. It should be noted that not only this broker has such an account, and if it is offered, it would not be unreasonable to register it. Well, a Forex4you demo account can be opened for free, the notional amount for trading is up to $100,000 and the leverage is 1 to 500.

Grand Capital

Grand Capital – is a Russian broker, which is quite popular in Russia, Ukraine, Belarus, Asian countries. It has a license of independent organization FinaCom (Hong Kong) and the Seychelles. It offers possibilities of trading currency pairs, securities, CFD, cryptocurrencies, precious metals and commodities on the MT4/ MT5 platforms.

One of the interesting features of the broker is the possibility to open a Non Dealing Desk account, under which orders are placed outside the servers of Grand Capital or Dealing Desk, when transactions are executed within the structure of the company – the trading conditions on both accounts are different. A demo account can be opened in your personal client cabinet after you register. A demo account is free and can be used indefinitely. $10,000 is credited to the account.

Forex Club

FXClub (Fig. 1) is one of the most famous brokers in Russia and nearby countries. The company is regulated by the Commission for the Regulation of the Relationship of Financial Market Members (CFRM) and the International Financial Commission of Saint Vincent and the Grenadines. Provides traders with a platform for work Libertex, MetaTrader 4 and 5, including mobile versions and Rumus. You can trade currencies here, CFDThe company has a number of other types of securities, stocks, indices, commodity and raw material contracts, and precious metals, cryptocurrency, – more than 70 assets in total. It does not work with binary options (binary options demo account). The broker offers five statuses for traders – Silver, Gold, Platinum, Diamond, Exclusive, depending on the amount credited to the account, from 500 to 500 thousand dollars and above.

Depending on the status, the functionality expands. But all statuses have free basic training, reimbursement of transfer fees and 24-hour support service. The broker offers work on a demo account, for which the broker credits a demo account with 5000 demodollars. The trader can work independently, connect programs-advisors, trading robots. To switch to real money trading, you need to register again. In the Forex-club training system there are courses for novice traders, for those who want to increase their professional level, group or individual mode.

TeleTrade

TeleTrade – is a very well-known forex broker in Russia and the near abroad. It has a license from the CentroBank. To trade with this broker, an initial deposit is not required – the client initially receives an account of Standard status. But it is better to clarify the terms of opening an account individually. Traders can trade currencies, stocks, CFDs, futures and precious metals. Leverage of 1 to 200 (maximum) is provided. Traders can trade on MetaTrader 4 and 5 platforms and mobile service.

A demo account is connected to a standard trading account, and you can use it to test currencies, stock and commodity contracts and so on. To get a demo account, you need to send an application to open a demo account and contact a manager. You can use the MetaTrader 4 trading platform. You will be credited with $50,000 conditionally when you open a trading account.

Even a beginner trader can take part in the broker’s contest projects: “Investor School” on forecasting the dynamics of an asset evaluated by points and prize money; and “Millionaire School” on the world economy also with a prize account with money. In addition, the company provides great learning opportunities – videos, subscriptions to trading signals, investment calendar. TeleTrade is licensed by the Ministry of Education and can provide educational services in a face-to-face, group or individual format, online training and branded training courses.

eToro

eToro – a broker that entered the global market relatively recently, but has already become one of the popular forex brokers. Companies under the eToro brand are managed by divisions in the UK, Australia and there is a company responsible for operations in Europe outside the UK. The company positions itself as a social platform for traders that provides online transactions in currencies, commodities, stocks and indices. The company presents its own web-based trading platform, the distinguishing feature of which is a well-developed “Copy Trader” function, otherwise the platform is not superior to other trading services. The broker also offers a mobile trading service for Android and iOS devices.

The company offers an open-ended demo account, which the trader receives after registering an account. When registering, the user is given a choice: to start trading on a real account right away or to open a demo account. A demo account will be credited with $100,000. For experienced traders, eToro offers standard and professional trading accounts. To open a real account, eToro requires a minimum deposit of $200 to $500. But the specific amount depends on the country in which the client’s account is registered.

Plus500

Plus500 9 (Fig. 3) is a fairly well-known British broker, which is regulated by the UK financial regulator FCA, similar regulators of Cyprus, Australia, Israel. The broker offers online trading services for several assets, but mostly specializes in CFDs, currencies, ETFs, cryptocurrencies, options and so on.

Plus500 offers a simplified trading platform of its own design, WebTrader, a browser-based and mobile version. All you have to do to start trading is enter your username and password. One of the broker’s features is that it prohibits hedging, automatic data entry, scalping and transactions that Plus500 may regard as insider trading and close the account. The Plus500 demo account has no expiration date and to access it, you need to register, select a demo account and deposit the equivalent of $100 into your balance.

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InstaForex

InstaForex – One of the largest brokers. The company is registered in an offshore zone, and it is not quite clear which structure is regulated, it should be kept in mind when registering and trading. But this fact does not affect the popularity of the broker. The broker provides the opportunity to trade forex, CFDs on shares, CFDs on futures and indices, binary options, cryptocurrencies and so on.

The minimum deposit to open an account with the company is $1. Trading is performed on the platforms MetaTrader 4 and 5. The leverage provided to traders is 1 to 1000. Also InstaForex offers ForexCopy service, investment in PAMM accounts, free training on currency trading, daily analytics, affiliate program etc.forex analysis). When registering, InstaForex offers demo accounts cabinet, where you can choose training accounts of MetaTrader 4 format according to your requirements.

Exness

Exness – is a major broker popular among traders in the CIS, licensed by CySEC (Cyprus Securities Commission) and FCA (UK Financial Services Authority). It offers trading currency pairs and CFD futures on the MetaTrader 4 and MetaTrader 5 platforms and their mobile versions. You receive a demo account immediately after registering a personal account. 10 thousand conditional dollars are credited to the account. On the other hand, the broker does not provide training, beginners are offered to contact the help center, read the reference book, that is, the trader about his professional growth must take care of himself.

How to work in demo mode

Suppose a new trader has decided to try trading on the demo service of Grand Capital. On the main page of the site you need to go to the “Trading” section and to the subsection “Demo accounts” (Fig. 5).

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Next, you need to select a demo account from the three options presented. For example, Standard (Fig. 6).

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To open an account, you need to register an account (Fig. 7).

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The next page shows basic information on the demo account (Fig. 8).

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And after clicking “Ok” the account is created. And on the next page you can go to the crediting of conditional dollars and go to the web terminal (Fig. 9) to test strategies.

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When and how to switch to real forex trading

Practice trading in a demo account until the profit is stable for a long period of time. It can be said that if the trader receives a profit (regardless of the amount of profit) for two weeks, then you can think about switching to trading on a real account. But even if the broker does not have time limits for using a demo account, one should not use it for a long period of time. When a trader “hangs out” in the demo mode for a long time, he/she has a condition that is sometimes called “demo man syndrome” – loss of understanding of the real risks.

As a result, the trader on the real account makes wrong, most often overstated bets, tries to implement risky strategies, makes hasty bold decisions, which brought a stable “demo profit” in the absence of psychological pressure, and loses the deposit. After that, the opposite effect occurs – the trader loses confidence, takes too cautious actions, makes decisions too late. And all this is the consequence of too long work in the demo mode. It follows that you only need a demo account to practice working on a specific trading platform.

When you move from demo mode to the real world, you need to realize very clearly that money is money now, not conventional digital units. Real money must be safeguarded and multiplied and all the requirements of money management must be applied immediately in trading. Also, one must remember that on a real account, one must seriously control one’s emotions and be prepared for situations in which emotions can lead to loss of control and a series of wrong actions – the demo mode does not teach this, and it is the trader’s full personal responsibility.

One of the mistakes that lead to loss of deposit on a real account is using too much leverage when trading on a demo account. It becomes a habit, the trader begins to trade with such leverage on the real account and loses the deposit very quickly. The demo mode also does not teach you to be sensitive to news that can quickly and strongly influence the markets. And on a real account this turns out to be a real loss. If an experienced trader uses the demo account to work on a new strategy, he also shouldn’t do it for too long. In fact, he only needs to understand the essence of the strategy and work out the basic actions, and then immediately switch to a real account.

Also, remember that demo accounts do not provide universal knowledge, they are designed to master the functionality of a particular trading platform. If you switch to another platform, you need to be trained on the demo account again, on the new platform. So, before switching from a demo account to a real one, a trader should have a clear understanding of what trading is, should fully understand the functionality of the trading terminal of a certain broker, should master the basics of trading a specific asset. Also, it is necessary to have a considerable excess of positive deals over negative ones, to test and work off the actions of the strategy with which the trader enters the market, to know and apply the rules of money management. A trader needs to be ready to control his emotions in absolutely any trading situation.