There are so many forex brokers out there and most of them have free forex demo accounts which you can easily download and use for about 30 days. Many believe that demo accounts are useless because they don’t give you a right idea about real forex trading. I would disagree with that point of view, though. First of all, forex demo accounts are important for the newcomers.
Demo Account is a trading account that allows a trader to become familiar with a trading platform without making a deposit. Funds are simulated in demo account, therefore you can check our execution, available trading tools and other features or test your trading strategy risk free.
Learn forex completely risk free
The Forex market offers attractive opportunities for traders, but also involves risk. That’s why before diving into Forex trading with a live account, it’s best to open a risk-free Forex demo account. Forex Demo Account provides the same Forex trading experience as real accounts. The only difference is that the funds on the Forex demo account are simulated. You don’t trade with real money, so it is completely risk-free.
- Practice trading without fear of loss
- Some brokers offer demo contests where traders can win real money!
- Test your new Forex strategies
Gain the trading experience you need and enter the market with confidence.
Advantages of a Demo Account:
- Unlimited usage
- Real market conditions
- Test trading strategies
- Access to trade with the MT4 and MT5 Terminal and Webtrader
- Up to $100,000 virtual opening balance
Access demo account without deposit
Forex Demo Account is essentially a practice account, which is accessible through simple registration. Get accustomed to a variety of features of the Forex trading platform and get familiar with the dynamics of the Forex market before committing any real funds. Practicing with unlimited demo dollars helps you better understand how to execute trades, as well as your risk exposure. While being equipped with all the real account features, it allows you to:
- Use it completely free of charge:Test your trading strategies and bots for scalping, and execute trades completely risk free as many times as necessary
- Trade with virtual money: Even though it’s a trading simulation, we still provide you with real trading signals that are also free of charge
- Discover all the features of the trading platform: Learn to read charts and use graphic objects, levels, Fibonacci retracements, and more
- Experiment with different order types.
With demo account a freshman trader can come up with his own forex trading strategy, practice his skills and continue to self-educate. It might be true that demo accounts give you a false sense of security. But then it is your responsibility to understand that a pretend trade is nothing compared to the emotional adrenalin you get when you forex trade for real money from your own paycheck.
Not only newbie can profit from forex demo account. Both newbie and a professional forex trader can learn how to actually use the trading platform of the selected broker via demo accounts. It is never a good idea to start trading for real money without knowing which button to press to get the charts, where to see the currency rates, how to track your account history, how to execute, make or close the trade.
The last thing you want to do is to go over a long list of Questions-Answers or franticly wait for online support to help you with a simple trading task. Forex market is fast – it requires a fast reaction from your part. If you don’t know how to operate your trading platform, you are simply screwed. So, yeah, I am very pro demo account. Practice everything you can possibly think of with your forex demo account before you even consider a real live account.
Another beautiful thing about demo account is that you can make mistakes and watch what happens!! You can analyze your actions, set ups and carts without freaking out about money being lost. I would even suggest making mistakes with demo accounts and taking losses! It will teach you about risk management strategies which are crucial in forex trading.
Why Choose a Demo Account?
Trading in a demo account can really help forex beginners who might otherwise have to learn how to trade forex using real money and the financial risks that come with it. While demo trading lacks the emotional rush involved in risking real funds, it does train you to watch the market. It can also give you a good feel for how exchange rates move without risking any real money.
Virtual trading removes the key psychological element involved in risk-taking that can make or break a trader. Even though it does not accurately assess your trading abilities, it can help you practice. You can also use demo account trading to assess the historical performance of your trade plan and train yourself to use a trading platform.
While you are learning how to trade in foreign currency, you are also learning how to read and interpret market fluctuations. Not only can you see the performance of your trades, but you can compare that performance to the global markets, current events and other factors that influence currency values. While research is key and you should study how successful investors manage their funds, this is a good place to start.
Basically, a forex demo account offers an educational tool for novices to begin trading forex and test their strategies in a real-time trading environment without taking the associated financial risks involved in trading a real money account.
Real market conditions
Although Demo Account does not involve real money, trading takes place in real market environment with actual trading and quoting data, as it is viewed in the real accounts. You’ll see live trading signals, charts, and trading assets absolutely free!
Are forex demo accounts accurate?
Most of the Forex Demo Accounts are not accurate and are rigged. All the demo accounts are not rigged, but most of the brokers rig their accounts. Forex Demo Accounts are used by brand new traders who need to know the basic concepts of forex trading. Needless to say do your research and go with a reputable broker.
Disadvantages of risk-free demo account
Demo account may give a false sense of security, and emotional detachment from the trading. This happens because there is no risk of loss of real capital. Many beginner investors who start with paper trading may show considerable profits in demo accounts but when real money is on the line, emotions overtake and impact the decision-making process.
How do I open a forex demo account?
In order to start trading on demo account, you should:
- Open forex a demo account.
- Get account number and password.
- Download MetaTrader 4 and log in to it using the received data.
- Start forex trading on demo account.
Do I need a broker to trade forex?
So, yes, it is possible for someone to start Forex trading without a broker, and it is because Forex is simply a currency exchange process. You can easily convert Euros to USD with the help of an appropriate bank
Can I withdraw from demo account?
No, it is not possible to withdraw profit earned in demo account. Demo account balance is just virtual money. Trading on demo is intended for learning, not for earning or losing
The bottom line is that forex demo accounts are free of charge and it didn’t hurt anyone to open one yet!!
Here is an example of what you get from Liteforex practice account:
Demo accounts at LiteForex – training under real market conditions
A Forex demo account is a training account that is perfectly suitable for practising and getting ready for trading with real money. You can use your demo account free of charge to boost your trading skills, refine on your trading strategies or test Experts-Advisers under real market conditions. Money put on a demo account is a virtual investment. Demo accounts can be opened via Personal Profile in less than 1 minute. Master the MetaTrader platforms and acquire trading experience on a demo account from LiteForex with no risk of losing any of your money.
DEMO ECN
Virtual deposit
Risk 0%
Correspondence to real ECN trading 100%
The best way of training your trading skills with market execution and low spreads.
- Real quotes from liquidity providers
- Scalping and news trading allowed
- Market execution of orders with no requotes
- Unlimited duration of transactions
- No Stop & Limit levels
- Access to all trading instruments
Training account DEMO ECN
Trading on a DEMO ECN account will help both Forex beginners and Forex professionals work out their own trading plans and choose the most convenient strategy. There’s no risk of losing money when refining your trading strategies. Try out a few ideas and choose the best system that will help you in the future when trading on a real account.
Account specification
Spread floating, from 0.9 points
Execution type MARKET EXECUTION
Platform MT4
Leverage 1:400 – 1:1
Account base currency USD, EUR, CHF, RUB, MBT
Islamic accounts Yes
Social trading Available
Minimum lot 0.01
Maximum lot 100
Minimum step 0.01
Max. number of orders Unlimited
Margin Call Level 20%
Stop Out Level 10%
Octafx broker went one step further and offers demo contests with real cash prices!
Learn with demo contests and win prizes
In order to turn your learning steps into a more rewarding process, we’ve developed several demo contests that will allow you to earn real money. You can practice reversal trading, use automated trading, or show your newly built skills to get the first prize.
CHAMPION DEMO CONTEST
Practice trading on your demo account and win real money! OctaFX’s long-standing demo contest runs for a month and has a $1,000 prize fund. The prize amounts for the first, second, and third positions are $500, $300, and $100, respectively. Register for a new demo account to stand a chance of winning. You can use any possible trading strategies and EAs in this contest.
CTRADER WEEKLY DEMO CONTEST
Trade using your cTrader demo account and get the chance to win prizes from OctaFX. The contest lasts for one week—from Monday market opening to Friday market closing—and has a $400 prize fund.
Important points
A demo account provides you with the opportunity to try our web trading platforms in an environment with reduced risk. While much of the functionality of the live platform features in the demo, there are key differences to be aware of, including (but not limited to):
- Trades made through the demo account will not be subject to slippage, interest and dividend adjustments, or out of hours price movements
- Trades may be rejected if you have insufficient funds to open them, but, unlike on a live account, will never be rejected on the grounds of size or price
- You will not be charged for chart packages on a demo account
- Trades will not be closed if you have insufficient funds to cover margin and running losses, which can happen on a live account
What Should I Look For In A Forex Demo Account?
The most important element when looking for the best forex demo accounts is to consider the platforms offered. The trading platform is what you will be using to trade, so it is important to choose a platform you are comfortable using. Traders generally have a personal preference for MetaTrader 4, MetaTrader 5 or cTrader trading platforms.
The second important factor is the features within the demo account that will replicate a real trading environment in the CFD and forex market. This includes what access how similar the spreads are to real markets, available leverage, customer service and risk management tools. Like choosing the best forex platform for you when forex trading, having the right features within the platform to suit your forex strategy can be critical to future success.
A third factor is execution speed which helps traders make fast trades with reduced slippage in higher volatility markets that can carry high risk. A demo account should simulate real trading conditions. This means taking spreads from real markets so you can learn how CFDs work in the real world.
The final factor is the expiration date of the demo account and how much virtual currency is available. Some demo accounts are only valid for one month while others are unlimited.
Psychological Discrepancies
- Emotions – Demo accounts will not expose you to the fear, hope and greed that you may experience when you live trade. The fear of losing your capital can result in costly mistakes. Whilst greed can lead to holding onto a winning position for too long. Unfortunately, you cannot practice controlling these emotions with demo accounts.
- Complacency – Managing risk properly with a practice account is often overlooked. Traders often take more risks than they would if real funds were on the line. This can result in bad habits when you transition to live trading.
- Overtrading – The excitement of trading can cause many with demo accounts to overtrade. After all, why not take that risk when it isn’t real money on the line? This can develop into a habit of overtrading. However, when you move to live trading, you will then need to learn quantity doesn’t always trump quality.
To conclude, a comparison of a demo account vs a real live-trading offering will highlight a number of potential pitfalls to take into account.
Yet that does not necessarily mean you shouldn’t use demo accounts. It simply means you need to be aware of the risks, so you can prepare for the differences when you do start trading with real capital.
How Do You Set Up a Demo Trading Account?
If you are eager to start trading in a risk free environment right away then it only takes a few clicks to open a demo trading account. After inputting your name and email you can begin to enjoy benefits such as:
- The ability to trade on any device (Windows, Mac, Android, iOS, etc)
- A fully immersed live market experience
- Free market data and real time news
- An expert quick-start guide
- 30 days access, or for a lifetime when opening a live trading account
