Top picks for demo accounts
Best Broker for Demo Accounts - IG
| Company |
Overall Rating |
Minimum Deposit |
Average Spread EUR/USD - Standard |
Virtual Trading (Demo) |
 IG
|
 |
£250.00 |
0.98 info |
Yes |
IG is my top pick for brokers that offer forex demo accounts in 2024. In addition to offering demo trading accounts with access to its versatile trading platforms, I’ve found from years of testing IG’s offerings that it delivers stellar research, excellent educational content, one of the best forex trading apps, and a wide range of available markets.
Opening a demo account with IG also includes access to their IG Academy, a series of educational courses that helped IG win our 2024 Annual Award for #1 Education. This resource allows you to benefit from the learning experience of simulated trades while also exploring their well-designed online courses covering forex basics.
These offerings put beginner forex traders in a great position to open a live account using real funds once they finish test-driving the platform with a virtual balance. IG’s demo accounts offer access to both their proprietary trading platform (winner of our 2024 Annual Awards for best web platform and mobile app) as well as MetaTrader 4 (MT4). Read my full-length IG review to learn more about why I’ve rated IG so highly for so many years.
Best demo account for experienced traders - IBKR
| Company |
Overall Rating |
Minimum Deposit |
Average Spread EUR/USD - Standard |
Virtual Trading (Demo) |
 Interactive Brokers
|
|
$0 |
0.63 info |
Yes |
Interactive Brokers (IBKR) is another great option for experienced traders seeking a demo account for simulated trading. IBKR is a highly trusted multi-asset broker that ranks among the best forex brokers, differentiating itself with a wide offering of investments and a vast number of markets you can access from its platform.
A demo account provides access to these platforms, which includes its powerful charting and extensive software suite (IBKR won our 2024 Annual Award for #1 Platform Technology). The platform comes packed with plenty of research and trading tools that can satisfy even the most demanding traders.
The ability to test run Interactive Brokers’ platform in a simulated environment is a boon to professional traders (IBKR’s desktop platform may be too complicated for inexperienced traders). Read my full-length review of Interactive Brokers to learn more.
Award-winning platforms and tools - Saxo
| Company |
Overall Rating |
Minimum Deposit |
Average Spread EUR/USD - Standard |
Virtual Trading (Demo) |
 Saxo
|
|
$0 |
1.1 info |
Yes |
Another strong pick on our list of the best brokers for forex demo accounts is Saxo, a well-regulated, highly trusted broker that ranks for many key categories. The broker's impressive SaxoTraderGO and SaxoTraderPRO platform suite helped it snag our 2024 Annual Award for #1 Platforms & Tools.
Saxo provides a great demo account to test these trading platforms, which are available for web, mobile, or desktop. You can also access its charts, trading signals, and versatile order entry tickets. One thing I like about Saxo’s order entry ticket is the ability to switch instrument types, such as when trading forex as either a spot or an option.
Live account minimum deposits were also recently lowered for its entry-level classic account, making it easy to transition from a demo account to a live account after you learn the trading software. Saxo provides outstanding research content, high-quality educational materials, and access to a substantial range of global markets. Read my full-length Saxo review to learn more.
FAQs
What is a demo or paper trading account?
A paper trading account, also known as a demo account, simulator, or virtual practice account, is like a free trial to using a broker’s trading platform for investing or trading in the financial markets. Frequently these test accounts are funded with a free allotment of fake currency to test out the software by making simulated trades. Once you have familiarized yourself with the trading platform in demo mode, you can decide whether you want to open a live version of the trading platform by funding a real account.
What are the advantages of forex demo accounts?
Learning to trade
While any gains or losses generated in a demo trading account shouldn’t be used as an indication of how well you’ll trade with real money, a demo account is still a good way to get started and learn some trading basics or troubleshoot an automated trading script.
I want to emphasize that the results you see in your demo account can vary greatly from results achieved in a live account. For this reason, demo accounts are best used to learn how to use the software effectively. Those attempting to test an actual trading strategy are better off using a live account with a small amount of risk capital to provide more realistic results.
Backtesting strategies
Some demo accounts allow you to backtest an automated trading system, such as when using an automated trading strategy with forex trading platforms like MetaTrader or TradingView.
It is important to note that just because a trading strategy performs well within the backtesting environment of a demo account does not mean it will perform well when applied to a live trading environment.
I highly recommend instead testing any live trading strategies with a small amount of real funds to ensure the performance meets your expectations before scaling your investment capital higher.
Testing different signals and tools
Another benefit of using a demo account is that you can access the features available within the platform before using them with real funds in a live account.
For example, if a broker offers forex trading signals within the demo platform, you can test using them by replicating the trade or copying the signal in the demo account.
Be aware that some brokers may restrict access to certain premium features unless you have a live account already. Regardless, a free demo account can be a great way to preview any available features within the software that you want to explore without taking any risk.
Additional advantages
A demo account can complement your learning experience while consuming free educational content from a broker. It can serve as an essential tool while taking a free forex trading course or reading educational articles as it allows you to put some of the theory into practice.
Even for more experienced traders, demo accounts can be useful to reveal possible pain points or troubleshoot errors with your algo trading strategy that you can attempt to redress with assistance from the broker before funding your account with real money.
Is it free to open a demo account to trade forex?
Yes, it is free to open a demo account for forex trading. There may be some differences between brokers where some will allow you to open a free demo account independent of their live ecosystem, by providing only a name and e-mail, while others might require that you first open a live account. Additionally, some brokers may only offer trial periods for their demo accounts.
What is the best forex broker offering a demo account?
IG is our number one overall forex broker for 2024, and my top pick for simulated trading as it offers a robust demo account from within its client portal where you can see all of your simulated accounts across its various available account types, including forex, CFDs, options, spread betting, and share trading. The IG demo provides access to their web platform as well as the mobile app, using the same demo username and password across the board. They also offer a separate MetaTrader 4-focused demo account (read our MetaTrader 4 guide here).
Are forex demo accounts accurate?
Yes, forex demo accounts are an accurate representation of how the broker’s trading platform technology works. While simulated prices may not be completely aligned with real-time market prices, the simulation is sufficient to replicate the general experience even if it can’t be relied upon to predict how well you’ll succeed with live trades. I recommend using demo accounts solely to learn or troubleshoot the software before using a live account. There are far too many real-world variables like order rejection or slippage that don’t appear in simulated trades. It’s important to keep in mind that your trading performance in a demo account is entirely hypothetical and your trading strategy will often be different when risking actual money. Real-world trading strategies should always be tested live with a small amount of capital that you are willing to lose.
Our testing
Why you should trust us
Steven Hatzakis is a well-known finance writer, with 25+ years of experience in the foreign exchange and financial markets. He is the Global Director of Online Broker Research for Reink Media Group, leading research efforts for ForexBrokers.com since 2016. Steven is an expert writer and researcher who has published over 1,000 articles covering the foreign exchange markets and cryptocurrency industries. He has served as a registered commodity futures representative for domestic and internationally-regulated brokerages. Steven holds a Series III license in the US as a Commodity Trading Advisor (CTA).
All content on ForexBrokers.com is handwritten by a writer, fact-checked by a member of our research team, and edited and published by an editor. Our ratings, rankings, and opinions are entirely our own, and the result of our extensive research and decades of collective experience covering the forex industry.
Ultimately, our rigorous data validation process yields an error rate of less than .1% each year, providing site visitors with quality data they can trust. Click here to learn more about how we test.
How we tested
At ForexBrokers.com, our online broker reviews are based on our collected quantitative data as well as the observations and qualified opinions of our expert researchers. Each year we publish tens of thousands of words of research on the top forex brokers and monitor dozens of international regulator agencies (read more about how we calculate Trust Score here).
Mobile testing is conducted on modern devices that run the most up-to-date operating systems available:
- For Apple, we use MacBook Pro laptops running macOS 14.5, and the iPhone XS running iOS 17.6.
- For Android, we use the Samsung Galaxy S9+ and Samsung Galaxy S20 Ultra devices running Android OS 14.
All websites and web-based platforms are tested using the latest version of the Google Chrome browser.
Our researchers thoroughly test a wide range of key features, such as the availability and quality of watch lists, mobile charting, real-time and streaming quotes, and educational resources – among other important variables. We also evaluate the overall design of the mobile experience, and look for a fluid user experience moving between mobile and desktop platforms.
Forex Risk Disclaimer
There is a very high degree of risk involved in trading securities. With respect to margin-based foreign exchange trading, off-exchange derivatives, and cryptocurrencies, there is considerable exposure to risk, including but not limited to, leverage, creditworthiness, limited regulatory protection and market volatility that may substantially affect the price, or liquidity of a currency or related instrument. It should not be assumed that the methods, techniques, or indicators presented in these products will be profitable, or that they will not result in losses. Read more on forex trading risks.
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