Free Demo Account

[vatofl88 10]

I am interested in day trading and would like some advice on various free simulation/demo accounts that I could use to begin papertrading. Once I get comfortable in the demo account and I learn more about day trading, I would like to work with with a prop firm such as cy group and starting making real trades.

 

What I am looking for is an simulation/demo account that is going to be as close as it gets to real live trading and having a real account with prop firm/or general retail account. Meaning something that will give me access to stop/loss, p&l statements, etc.

 

I have seen a few places mentioned such as interactive brokers, infinity trading, ninja trader, etc. All I am looking for is something free that is very similar to the real thing. Thank you for the help.

[youngsequan 10]

There is a 20 minute delay with their paper trading, but you can try Think or Swim

[tommaso 10]

I am interested in day trading and would like some advice on various free simulation/demo accounts that I could use to begin papertrading. Once I get comfortable in the demo account and I learn more about day trading, I would like to work with with a prop firm such as cy group and starting making real trades.

 

What I am looking for is an simulation/demo account that is going to be as close as it gets to real live trading and having a real account with prop firm/or general retail account. Meaning something that will give me access to stop/loss, p&l statements, etc.

 

I have seen a few places mentioned such as interactive brokers, infinity trading, ninja trader, etc. All I am looking for is something free that is very similar to the real thing. Thank you for the help.

 

IB paper trading (not the demo!) is fine. (It's free once you create the account) . Can have multiple paper trading account.

 

Tom

[simon007 10]

I use the IB paper trading account, that works fine and it works the same as my real account. Ofcourse you need a relevant data subscribtion and a normal IB account to have access to the papertrading account.

[ScottB 10]

What size account are you thinking of opeing?

 

If you open a decent size account (10,000+, maybe in some cases a little less) most brokers have a demo account with live feeds that are pretty realistic. NinjaTrader has an excellent simulator given a real time data feed. That will meet the requirements you stated above.

 

You mention trading with a prop shop like cy group; do you mean immediately once you get comfortable with the demo account? You might do a search on cy group to see how they are thought of; I don't personally know anything about them.

 

Scott

[brooky29 10]

I use Go Markets real and Demo for all the indicators etc I develop and use.

You can read about them on my Indicator Website.

(Moderator: Promo URL removed)

They could be just what your looking for.

Cheers

Brooky

[numbersgame 10]

What products are you intending to trade?

 

I primarily trade ES emini's, have a ToS account and intend to move it. Recently demo's the BestDirect platform w/ PFGBest, it was the closest to live trading I've experienced. By that I mean one does not get an instant fill when a limit or stop price trades, but it simulates actual fills, unlike paper money w/ ToS, or other simulators I've used.

[arasheed 10]

Hi Vatofl88

You can use Marketiva Virtual Plus $5.00 Real Account. With every free ccount it is prefunded $5.00 for real trading.

arasheed

[gg80108 10]

The next challenge u will face is one of going back and looking at historical trades, any thing beside real data coming in is historical.. Depending on the time frame of ur charts and how close to the tic ur entries and exits are, u might spend ur whole career trying to figure out, why the backtrading looks so good but I lost my account real time.. The most pure historical data is tic data,, but finding enough of it in the platform u like and can afford, will be the next challenge which is really the first challenge.. Charts may change subtly everytime u reload the chart.. Also some of the providers skip tics or the volume data is inaccurate if ur trading system depends on these... The further u get away from minute bars the more ur charts may change on reloads..

 

Wish I would have known this 15yrs ago....

Edited January 6, 2011 by gg80108

[Stock.Jock 10]

Getting historical quotes are a challenge. I like to work with 1 minute bars, but historical quotes are generally 1 day bars. Attached is an Excel spreadsheet that downloads your stock symbol data from Yahoo to a csv formatted file. There's one csv file for each symbol. From there you can import the data into your trading platform.

 

If anyone finds free historical data with 1 minute bars, please reply and let me know how to get it.

Excel Historical Quote Downloader.zip

[alfa2430 10]

if u have a data feed ,use ninja trader,,,,,every thing is real in demo.historical data is free end of day in ninja with kinetick as well.u can test your strategies and indicators as long as u want.

[gg80108 10]

The situation one runs into using data "bar data" aka: OHLC , End Of Day, Was the High price made before the Low price or versa? Can make a real difference in some systems especially minute bars that the range can be vast in one minute, when the entry and stop could be hit on the same bar..

Its one thing recognizing the various charting formations after the fact(bar data), (i'm 100%) but recognizing the patterns as they are occurring, priceless...

[Stock.Jock 10]

I know that NinjaTrader as well as MetaTrader are free; however, the data sources are free depending on the brokerage company you get them from. So where did you get your download of NinjaTrader and what broker do you use as a data source? Also does your free data source include stock data? Thanks for the info.

[SpecTrade 10]

Opening demo account with a broker that has MT4 (Meta trader 4) platform is a good idea. It's free, some brokers require you re-open new demo after 3 months or so, some let you keep demo forever. Many brokers with MT4 are forex, but some also have futures and stocks. You can open demo and write the amount of money, and you trade these virtual money under the exact conditions you would trade real. No data delay.

 

The problem is that if you want to trade futures, better don't use "bucket shops". But as far as demo is concerned, then you have no risk.

 

Plus there is a way to import historical data to MT4 and keep the platform off-line, treat it as your charting software. You would need to update data by hand thereafter, but you know, many people still keep doing this using various charting software using EOD data.

 

I did that to backtest many markets, once I had data on my excel sheet (which you need to obtain from some source, and I really think there are many possibilities to get it free of charge) you import it into MT4. That depends if you need data for floor traded session or not.

 

Anyway, i feel MT4 is worth trying, free, many indicators, you can make your own, etc.

 

One thing I wouldn't trust is MT4 strategy tester.

I always test by hand, bar-by-bar.

 

Happy New Year.

[alfa2430 10]

i have a real time acount with IB(interactive brokers)charges for data are very low,,downloads for ninja is available in there support forum.almost every thing is there.or u can try bigmiketrading.com

goodluck

[Stock.Jock 10]

I have a data source from TOS. Amibroker and Metatrader can link to TOS by using a DDE. Can NinjaTrader do that? If so, then I can tryout NinjaTrader.

[cfrn 10]

Get in touch with Burt Schlichter at Daniels Trading. Real time data and he'll go out of his way to help you get set up.

[alfa2430 10]

i think.none of them in the list of ninja trader support but u can ask this question in ninja support forum

or directly to tos if they have api switch for ninja.

[vatofl88 10]

There is a 20 minute delay with their paper trading, but you can try Think or Swim

 

I went through the process of tos, but they wanted me to fax forms and fund the account. I am just looking for something simple, where I can exchange some basic info, open account, and start paper trading.

[alfa2430 10]

only in forex,,real time data is free for demo.if u want real time demo,u have to open an account with some stock/future broker,,,like IB,MIRUS,VELOCITY,AMP or GLOBAL FUTURES, or some like this.u can fund your account and stay in demo as long as u able to go for live trade.it depend what u like to trade

[floattankman 10]

I used Alpari's demo platform and am now trading for real on their micro account. The demo is very authentic albeit with the smaller spreads associated with their professional account which needs $20,000 to start trading with unlike the micro which needs $200 to start trading. However, I think this is no issue unless you are trading less than a 15 minute chart. However, Alpari is for Forex and some cfd's. Unlike some other organisations, there is no time limit on practicing on their demo.

[brownsfan019 17]

Open ECry's demo is really good imo. You get the same thing the live accounts get in terms of the software and the data on the demo's is good as well. It's free to try so worth a shot.

[PQL111 12]

wallstreetsurvior is slow

[alfa2430 10]

open e cry simulating is only for 15 days.

[gg80108 10]

Yes this is a rubrics cube, which dominated more time and frustration which I care to admit, getting the platform/charting/order entry with the indicators, the broker is the least consideration, since they all have competitive fees now...If u venture outside of the standard indicators that every charting package has.. Think I would go for TradesStation,, cause u get what u pay for... I'm a Ninjatrader now due to the various gurus I followed over the years, but seem like most pro traders depend on TradeStation..