Best Forex Demo Accounts

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Contributor, Benzinga
July 23, 2024

Trading forex in a demo account offers a great way to get started operating in the world’s largest financial market. Forex demo accounts let you practice different trading strategies without risking any real money. They also allow you to test out the functionality of different brokers before committing to one. 

In this article, we've reviewed the best forex demo accounts available in the market. Whether you are a new trader looking to try out new strategies with various forex brokers, a demo account can be a valuable tool in your trading arsenal. So let's explore the top demo accounts and find the perfect fit for your trading needs.

Quick Look: Best Forex Demo Trading Accounts

  • Best for Unlimited Demo Time: Plus500
  • Best for MT4 and MT5 Users: FOREX.com
  • Best for Multiple Demo Accounts: Trading.com
  • Best for Fast Execution: tastyfx
  • Best for Copy Trading (Non-US): eToro
  • Best for High Volume Traders (Non-US): Tickmill
  • Best for $100,000 Virtual Funding Amount (Non-US): AvaTrade
Disclosure: CFDs are complex instruments and come with a high risk of losing money rapidly due to leverage. 69% of retail investor accounts lose money when trading CFDs with this provider. You should consider whether you understand how CFDs work and whether you can afford to take the high risk of losing your money.

Best Forex Demo Accounts

These days you have a lot of options to choose from among the various online forex brokers to trade currencies through. Below you will find the top forex, CFD and/or spread betting brokers that offer a trading demo account in 8 key categories. You will also find details about each broker along with a screenshot of the trading platform you can check out via demo account trading.

1. Best for Unlimited Demo Time: Plus500

Plus500 has over 1,000 assets available for trading in a demo account that includes 70 forex currency pairs, as well as stocks, cryptocurrencies, exchange-traded funds (ETFs), indices and options. Plus500 desktop and mobile trading platforms have an intuitive interface that both novices and experienced traders will find very accessible to use for demo account trading.

Why We Picked It: Plus500 offers unlimited time on its demo accounts, which makes them ideal for building a long-term performance track record. Opening a demo account is effortless during registration, just opt to open a demo account by selecting "Demo Mode" in the "Select Account Mode" window. If you want to switch back from Real Money mode to Demo mode, simply click "Switch to Demo Mode" on the main platform screen or from the app's menu.

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2. Best for MT4 and MT5 Users: FOREX.com

  • Forex.com
    Best For:
    Earning Cashback on FX Trades
    VIEW PROS & CONS:
    securely through Forex.com's website

    CFDs are complex instruments and come with a high risk of losing money rapidly due to leverage. 69% to 77.7% of retail investor accounts lose money when trading CFDs with this provider. You should consider whether you understand how CFDs work, and whether you can afford to take the high risk of losing your money.

    The products and services available to you at FOREX.com will depend on your location and on which of its regulated entities holds your account

FOREX.com offers a demo trading account to prospective clients and ranks as the best forex broker overall. You can practice trading 80+ currency pairs on FOREX.com’s advanced trading platforms. FOREX.com lets you trade with customizable charts, drawing tools, and indicators.

Why We Picked It: Even in FOREX.com's demo account you'll experience real-time pricing and live markets with ultra-fast execution and reliability on both web and mobile platforms. You'll get 90 days risk-free trading with up to $50,000 in virtual funds. Demo accounts for MetaTrader 4 last for 30 days unless there are open trades.

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3. Best for Multiple Demo Accounts: Trading.com

  • Trading.com
    Best For:
    $100 Welcome Bonus
    VIEW PROS & CONS:
    securely through Trading.com's website

    Terms & Conditions: No deposit needed, all profits are withdrawable. Customer must maintain a verified account to qualify for one-time promotional credit. Credit is part of tradable equity but is not withdrawable until trading requirements are met. Trading Requirements: For every one lot traded, $5 credit vests into cash balance. Residual trade losses exceeding cash balance are deducted from credit until depleted.

Trading.com is becoming the go-to choice for traders seeking a straightforward yet effective trading platform. Tailored for modern traders, it boasts a user-friendly interface that streamlines trade executions, especially for those who prioritize simplicity over complex features.

Why We Picked It: Trading.com allow you to open a total of 5 demo accounts so you can test out various strategies before opening an account. You can use the demo account to trade on MT5 and all features and functions of a real account are available for a demo account. Speed of execution is the same for real trading accounts as for the Trading.com demo accounts.

Screenshot-2024-07-23-at-10.19.15 AM

4. Best for Fast Execution: tastyfx

  • tastyfx
    Best For:
    $10,000 Funding Bonus
    VIEW PROS & CONS:
    securely through tastyfx's website

    Spread bets and CFDs are complex instruments and come with a high risk of losing money rapidly due to leverage. 71% of retail investor accounts lose money when trading spread bets and CFDs with this provider. You should consider whether you understand how spread bets and CFDs work, and whether you can afford to take the high risk of losing your money.

tastyfx (formerly, IG Group) is a comprehensive online forex and CFD broker that offers full access to the currency market via multiple trading platforms and supports trading in almost 90 currency pairs.

Why We Picked It: Novice traders will like tastyfx's intuitive mobile, web and desktop platforms that are available to demo account users and include the popular MetaTrader 4 suite. While you'll only get up to $20,000 in virtual funds, tastyfx offers exclusive free online courses, webinars and seminars as part of its IG Academy which offers extensive value to traders of all levels.

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5. Best for Copy Trading: eToro

  • eToro Forex
    Best For:
    Copy Trading
    VIEW PROS & CONS:
    securely through eToro Forex's website

    CFD trading is not available to U.S. users. 51% of retail investor accounts lose money when trading CFDs with this provider. You should consider whether you can afford to take the high risk of losing your money.

eToro specializes in social or copy trading that allows you to follow and duplicate in your own account the trades of expert traders who have an established track record with proven profitability. eToro also lets you trade more than 2,000 different assets in a demo account, and virtually any trader should find its intuitive forex platforms and apps easy to use, although it does not support the popular MetaTrader platforms. 

Why We Picked It: eToro offers a generous $100,000 in virtual funds for demo account users and you'll get to know the intuitive and innovative platform. You can try out eToro's features and tools first hand and have the ability to trade multiple assets including forex, crypto and stocks. The downside is eToro does not accept U.S. forex traders.

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6. Best for High Volume Traders: Tickmill

Tickmill's offers a wide range of trading instruments, including forex currency pairs, commodities, and indices, which allows traders to explore various markets and assets. The platform is user-friendly and intuitive, making it suitable for traders of all levels. It's easy to navigate and offers various trading tools and indicators.

Why We Picked It: Tickmill forex demo account is a valuable tool for traders looking to practice their skills in the world of currency trading. Tickmill's demo account provides a realistic trading environment with live market data. One of the significant advantages is that traders can use the MT4 and MT5 trading platforms. Tickmill does not accept U.S based traders.

7. Best for Virtual Funding Amount: AvaTrade

AvaTrade excels when it comes to the number and variety of trading platforms supported, which include MetaTrader, ZuluTrade and an impressive forex and options trading platform called AvaOptions. They also offer an extensive range or educational resources for traders of all skill levels.

Why We Picked It: If you want a substantial amount of virtual money to practice trading with, then AvaTrade offers an impressive sum of $100,000 to initially fund your demo account. A demo account allows users to test drive MT4, MT5, the proprietary WebTrader, and their award-winning mobile app AvaTrade App. AvaTrade does not accept U.S. forex traders.

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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 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. A demo trading account can also be useful to practice in and improve your trading skills in different market conditions.

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.

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.

Risk and Reward in Currency Trading

Forex traders make money just like stock traders do by taking positions that rise in value. They can also lose money by taking positions that depreciate in value. When trading positions remain open, any profits or losses stay unrealized, but they become realized when the position is closed out. 

Almost all online forex brokers let traders increase the risk they can take and potentially magnify their profits by leveraging. Leverage is generally expressed as a ratio of the size of the position you can control when you place 1 base currency unit on a deposit to use as margin. A 200:1 leverage ratio, therefore, means you can control a $200 position by placing just $1 on deposit as margin. 

To trade successfully, typically only consider making transactions that meet a certain minimum risk/reward ratio that you find acceptable. For instance, you could risk 100 pips on 1 trade to potentially gain 300 pips if your market view turns out to be correct. This results in an estimated risk/reward ratio of 100:300 or 1:3 on that trade. 

No matter what you decide to do, you must be prepared to lose all the money you put up as margin when trading forex, so do not trade with funds you cannot afford to lose. If you are mentally prepared for a loss, you will not be shocked if a trade doesn’t work out. Keeping mentally prepared lets you think through all your options instead of viewing the forex market as a get-rich-quick scheme, which it most definitely is not since most retail traders lose money.

A demo account gives you a real-time accounting of the profits and losses on your simulated trading positions without you incurring any actual financial risk or rewards. Ultimately, it is the best way to learn how to trade forex by practicing in a risk-free environment.

Opening a Demo Account Helps You Choose a Forex Broker

Selecting the right forex broker is one of the most important decisions you will make as a forex trader, so choose wisely. In addition to finding one that fits your trading requirements, you’ll also want a reliable and reputable broker that submits to a strong regulatory agency for oversight. 

Opening a forex trading demo account with any online broker that you would consider using makes total sense. You can use a demo trading account to learn how to use the broker’s trading platform to practice trading and test out new trading strategies in a real-time trading environment without the risk of actual financial loss.

  • Plus500 Forex
    Best For:
    Forex and CFD Trading for Mobile Users
    VIEW PROS & CONS:
    securely through Plus500 Forex's website
  • Forex.com
    Best For:
    Earning Cashback on FX Trades
    VIEW PROS & CONS:
    securely through Forex.com's website

    CFDs are complex instruments and come with a high risk of losing money rapidly due to leverage. 69% to 77.7% of retail investor accounts lose money when trading CFDs with this provider. You should consider whether you understand how CFDs work, and whether you can afford to take the high risk of losing your money.

    The products and services available to you at FOREX.com will depend on your location and on which of its regulated entities holds your account

  • Trading.com
    Best For:
    $100 Welcome Bonus
    VIEW PROS & CONS:
    securely through Trading.com's website

    Terms & Conditions: No deposit needed, all profits are withdrawable. Customer must maintain a verified account to qualify for one-time promotional credit. Credit is part of tradable equity but is not withdrawable until trading requirements are met. Trading Requirements: For every one lot traded, $5 credit vests into cash balance. Residual trade losses exceeding cash balance are deducted from credit until depleted.

  • City Index
    Best For:
    Spread Betting, CFD and Forex Traders
    VIEW PROS & CONS:
    securely through City Index's website

    CFDs are complex instruments and come with a high risk of losing money rapidly due to leverage. 69% of retail investor accounts lose money when trading CFDs with this provider. You should consider whether you understand how CFDs work, and whether you can afford to take the high risk of losing your money.

Frequently Asked Questions

Q

Are forex demo accounts correct?

A

Forex demo accounts allow you to practice trading currency pairs in a real-time environment using actual market exchange rates. The main deficit with demo account trading is that you are not risking actual money, so your emotional responses may differ from those you experience in a live trading scenario.

Q

Is forex demo account free?

A

Yes, most forex brokers offer free demo accounts for users to practice trading with virtual money before they start trading with real funds. This allows traders to familiarize themselves with the platform and test their strategies without any financial risk.

Q

What are good forex demo accounts?

A

FOREX.com, AvaTrade, IG Markets and Plus500 offer good demo accounts suitable for most purposes. Beginners will probably find eToro and Capital.com easiest to use for demo account trading. 

Get a Forex Pro on Your Side

FOREX.com, registered with the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), lets you trade a wide range of forex markets with low pricing and fast, quality execution on every trade. 

You can also tap into:

  • EUR/USD as low as 0.2 with fixed $5 commissions per 100,000
  • Powerful, purpose-built currency trading platforms
  • Monthly cash rebates of up to $9 per million dollars traded with FOREX.com’s Active Trader Program

Learn more about FOREX.com’s low pricing and how you can get started trading with FOREX.com.

Jay and Julie Hawk

About Jay and Julie Hawk

Jay and Julie Hawk are the married co-founders of TheFXperts, a provider of financial writing services particularly renowned for its coverage of forex-related topics. With over 40 years of collective trading expertise and more than 15 years of collaborative writing experience, the Hawks specialize in crafting insightful financial content on trading strategies, market analysis and online trading for a broad audience. While their prolific writing career includes seven books and contributions to numerous financial websites and newswires, much of their recent work was published at Benzinga.