Best Forex Demo Accounts

Pepperstone won us over by having the best Forex demo account with MetaTrader 4. There are several reasons for that but chief among them are combining a transparent fee structure, ECN-like spreads, and fast execution speeds, especially while using MT4.

When testing out Pepperstone’s demo account on MT4, we found the trading experience extremely smooth, from the broker’s account opening to trading itself. In fact, we scored Pepperstone a perfect 15/15 for account opening experience, which no other broker could match.

Straightforward Account Opening

We set up a MetaTrader 4 forex trading demo account at Pepperstone to explore the Australian broker’s features and services. Opening the free demo account was as simple as it gets, only requiring us to enter basic personal details like name and email address.

Unlike other brokers that often require financial information and extensive questionnaires, Pepperstone’s process was quick and hassle-free, which is why we gave them a perfect 15/15 for account opening.

Smart Trading Tools on MT4

Pepperstone’s demo account gives you access to 4 major trading platforms, MT4, MT5, cTrader and TradingView, but it is MetaTrader 4 where the broker stood out from our testing. In addition to being a reliable forex trading platform with great trading tools such as 30 built-in indicators, we particularly liked the broker’s Smart Trader Tools add-on of 28 smart tools to expand the platform’s functionality.

One standout feature we liked is the sentiment indicator, which gives insights into how Pepperstone’s clients are positioned in the markets. We found this tool valuable, as it allows you to leverage the collective wisdom of the crowd to make informed decisions on whether to go long or short in the market.

Fast Execution Speeds

From our MT4 testing on a variety of demo accounts, Pepperstone had some of the fastest execution speeds out there, averaging 77ms for limit orders and 100ms for market orders. These speeds placed the broker third overall, just behind BlackBull Markets and Fusion Markets.

Having fast execution speeds reduced the latency on our trade execution and thus, our overall slippage when trading on the broker’s demo account, ensuring a smooth trading experience.

Competitive Spreads

When analysing the spreads on Pepperstone’s live MT4 accounts, we found the broker had competitive RAW spreads of 0.1 pips for EUR/USD and slightly wider spreads of 1.12 pips on its Standard account.

Both account types (Standard and Razor) offer spreads lower than industry averages for their respective categories, meaning lower trading costs for you.

100% Zero pip Spreads

From our analysis, most brokers advertise spreads as low as 0 pips on their RAW accounts. To test this theory, our analyst Ross Collins investigated how frequently Pepperstone offers these zero-pip spreads.

He found Pepperstone offers zero pip spreads 100% of the time on the major pairs, meaning you would only pay the $3.50 commission per lot traded. This can lead to significant savings, especially for frequent traders of major currency pairs.

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We like IC Markets for two key reasons: its low trading costs and MT5 trading experience. In fact, we even awarded IC Markets as our best MT5 broker overall.

This is because IC Markets combines tight spreads, low commissions, and excellent MT5 integrations, which puts it above the rest of the competition.

Our testing of IC Markets’ CFD Demo account using MT5 proved that fact in spades.

From our testing of IC Markets’ demo account, we found we could trade with unlimited virtual funds and as long as we placed a trade every twenty days, it never expired. Be mindful though, the demo account will expire after 30 days of inactivity.

Superior MT5 Trading Experience

While you can trade with MT4, MT5 and cTrader on the broker’s demo account, we primarily focussed on the MetaTrader 5 demo account, as the platform offered a more comprehensive set of tools for technical analysis, including over 38 indicators, more than 15 drawing tools, and three chart types.

One standout feature is the inclusion of the depth of market (DoM) tool, which allows you to view the order books of liquidity providers and observe where other traders are placing their orders. This feature intrigued us as it provided insight into the relative strength of both the buy and sell sides.

Lowest Standard Account Spreads

While using the demo account, our analyst Ross tested IC Markets’ Standard account spreads for major forex pairs and compared them to those of 14 other brokers we’ve evaluated in order to assess the competitiveness of IC Markets’ pricing.

Ross found that IC Markets had the lowest average spread of 1.03 pips across major pairs. Additionally, we observed that they offered the lowest spreads for EUR/USD and USD/JPY, averaging 0.73 and 1.09 pips, respectively.

For a commission-free account, these spreads are much lower than our tested industry average of 1.52 pips across the 5 most traded currency pairs.

It’s no competition, BlackBull Markets has the fastest execution speeds we’ve ever seen. The broker ranked 1st and 2nd for limit and market orders respectively, putting it at number 1 overall when we tested using its MT4 demo account.

A fast execution speed is extremely important to us as a way of avoiding slippage (I.E. reducing your trading costs) but also having a reliable platform trading experience.

BlackBull Markets ticks this box in spades, as one of only two brokers to have execution speeds under 100ms (0.1 seconds) for limit and market orders.

From our analysis, BlackBull Markets offers demo accounts for the TradingView, MT4 and MT5 trading platforms. Where BlackBull Markets stood out, however is in its lightning-fast execution speeds.

Fastest Execution Speeds on Demo Account

Based on testing conducted by our team on the broker’s demo account, BlackBull Markets had the fastest execution speeds of any broker. The broker had execution speeds of 72ms for limit orders and 90ms for market orders, putting BlackBull Markets firmly at the top of our list of 20 brokers.

We found the huge advantage of fast execution speeds is reducing the latency at the point of trade execution, thus keeping your slippage to a minimum and ensuring a smoother trading experience.

Tiered Account Types and Spreads

BlackBull Markets sits just above the industry average spreads with spreads of 1.2 pips for 0.23 pips across its Standard and Prime accounts for the EUR/USD. For the lowest spreads, we recommend the ECN Prime account, although you’ll need a $2000 minimum deposit to start trading.

Diverse Platform Range

The ability to practice trading using MT4, MT5 and TradingView added to our appeal of BlackBull Markets, each with unique advantages.

Our favourite feature is that BlackBull Markets offers a free subscription to TradingView Pro, which gives you access to great benefits like additional trading indicators on your charts and more price alerts.

While we’re an experienced team at CompareForexBrokers, we understand novice forex traders require low trading costs, a simple, reliable trading platform and risk management tools.

When we tested Plus500’s demo account, the broker ticks all of these boxes, offering commission-free trading, a user-friendly proprietary platform and a guaranteed stop loss order (GSLO) to minimise your risk.

In our opinion, this gives Plus500 the best combination of features that beginners will appreciate.

Plus500’s demo account stood out to us for its unlimited time demo account, risk management features and platform ease-of-use, which is most suited for novice traders.

Best Demo Account for Novices

The broker’s demo account allows users to “deposit” new funds using an internal transfer system, enhancing the realism of the trading experience and serving as a practical tutorial on managing real funds. We found this to be a clever and subtle educational tool.

The platform is beginner-friendly, providing essential features for starting trading without overwhelming users with a clean design and easy-to-access charting tools.

We were also impressed that you could trade a decent range of 71 currency pairs, over 1,100 shares, 30 indicators, 15 crypto markets, and 12 commodities.

Risk Management Features

One standout feature of Plus500 for novice forex traders is the availability of guaranteed stop-loss orders, which we found on every order ticket we opened. We value brokers that offer this option, as it can protect against losses during volatile markets and prevent slippage, which is especially important for those still learning.

Additionally, while the Plus500 trading platform lacks advanced analytical tools, we still found 100 technical indicators, and a ‘traders sentiment’ feature that shows the ratio of buyers/sellers for a particular instrument beneficial for more in-depth market research.

We liked that OANDA gives you free and unlimited access to trade forex and test your trading strategies under real market conditions.

After we tested OANDA’s demo account, we found it was great for those wanting to experiment with automated trading.

While we prefer using MT4, you can also practice with OANDA Trade Fx, the broker’s proprietary platform. We particularly liked Multicharts, excellent for backtesting and automation, and the Elliott Wave analysis app MotiveWave.

In our assessment of OANDA, we were particularly impressed by the unrestricted access to the broker’s demo account, which comes preloaded with $100,000 in virtual funds on the OANDA Trade platform or MT4.

Unlimited Trading on Demo Account

From our testing of the OANDA Trade platform, we found having an unlimited demo account to practice with allowed us to take the time to refine our trading strategies.

What we found especially noteworthy was the platform’s default trade ticket feature, which significantly streamlines the trading process. By allowing us to pre-set trade size, stop loss, and take profit levels, all future trade tickets automatically reflect these settings. This not only saved us time but also minimised the risk of costly errors due to manual input mistakes.

While the broker also offers MT4 as a demo account with benefits such as EAs for algorithmic trading, we highly recommend OANDA Trade, particularly for beginners.

Competitive Commission-Free Spreads

In our live spread tests, OANDA performed excellently for its Standard account, with spreads on EUR/USD averaging at 0.6 pips, significantly lower than the industry average of 1.24 pips.

This level of performance was consistent across the 5 most traded currency pairs, with an average spread of 0.7 pips, positioning OANDA as the lowest-cost broker in the forex market for commission-free accounts.

Top Educational Resources

Lastly, OANDA has a wide range of training and research tools you can utilise while testing its demo account. We appreciated the ability to develop our trading strategies using OANDA’s newsfeed, currency heat maps, webinars, as well as economic and technical analysis tools.

When we tested Eightcap’s live account, the broker stood out with a great account for crypto trading using the TradingView platform.

While you can’t use TradingView in a demo account, you can practice trading using both MT4 and MT5, which we like as not all brokers offer.

While we like Eightcap’s large range of cryptocurrencies on its demo account, what stood out to us was the unlimited virtual funds you can use while practising your trading.

After setting up a demo account with Eightcap, we were pleased to discover the broker’s wide range of 95 cryptocurrency markets on offer.

This selection includes major players like Bitcoin, Ethereum, and Litecoin, as well as other options like Ripple and Cardano, making it one of the most comprehensive cryptocurrency offerings we’ve seen from a forex broker.

Top Crypto Trading with TradingView

While Eightcap only offers MT4 and MT5 demo accounts, we liked the inclusion of our favourite charting platform, TradingView, with its intuitive user interface and over 100 technical indicators. To use TradingView, you’ll have to sign up for a live account but Eightcap makes it easy switch between a demo and live account.

For those interested in automating cryptocurrency trading strategies without the need for complex programming, Capitalise.ai is for you. Within minutes of starting the beginner tutorial, we were able to create an automated strategy.

This feature is particularly attractive for those looking to capitalise on the volatile crypto market with automated strategies, as Capitalise.ai allows you to apply these strategies to cryptocurrencies.

Competitive Spreads

In our testing, Eightcap showed competitive spreads, averaging 0.2 pips on EUR/USD, slightly lower than the industry standard of 0.22 pips.

For cryptocurrencies, spreads were similarly competitive against top brokers, with Bitcoin spreads starting from 12 USD, whilst the next nearest competitor was IC Markets at 18.2 USD.

eToro’s social trading reputation precedes itself, but when we tested the broker’s demo account, eToro truly lives up to its name.

We particularly liked eToro’s simple user interface, making it the top choice for those interested in copying other trader strategies in a dynamic, community setting.

The eToro platform is simple, which we found not only user-friendly but it makes it easy to follow and replicate the strategies of seasoned traders.

All in all, eToro is perfect if you’re looking to bypass the complexities of individual analysis and trade placements.

eToro is a globally renowned social and copy trading broker and our testing of its demo account proved that in spades. The broker offers an unlimited demo account for its eToro trading platform with a generous $100,000 in virtual funds, combining manual trading and social trading.

Copy Traders Risk-Free

We particularly appreciate the inclusion of the CopyTrader feature in the demo environment (with the same functionality as the live account), allowing us to pick traders to copy without risking real money.

Where the platform really stands out, however, is in its filtering capabilities. With over 2 million trader profiles to sift through, we found the 14 different settings easy to narrow our options down, demonstrating how effective the filter was in precisely aligning with our preferences and specific goals.

Commission-free Spreads

Given eToro is a market maker, the broker only offers a commission-free Standard account, with spreads averaging 1 pip for the EUR/USD, which is the industry average.

One slight downside of eToro’s account is that hedging and scalping is not permitted, but you do have the option of algorithmic trading via copy trading.

While we’re primarily forex traders, we like IG Group’s huge range of trading instruments, easily having the best range of products for those seeking to diversify their trading portfolio.

We particularly liked that you can trade with the IG trading platform, MT4 and L2 Dealer in IG Group’s demo account, letting you test multiple platforms before opening a live account.

Your demo account will also last for 2 years, more than any other broker we’ve tested, giving you plenty of time to master your trading.

When trading with IG Group’s demo account, what stood out to us was its vast array of financial markets, 17,000 products, the most of any broker we’ve tested. This includes a diverse selection of asset classes including 80+ forex pairs, over 12,000 shares, 130 indices, 41 commodities, 15 cryptocurrencies, and more than 6,000 ETFs.

The next aspect we enjoyed was that IG Group’s demo account is valid for 2 years, although $20,000 in virtual funds is relatively low compared to other top brokers.

IG Group offers multiple trading platforms you can test with on a demo account, including MT4, IG’s proprietary platform and ProRealTime, a technical analysis software.

When testing, we focussed on IG Group’s flagship trading platform which gave us access to the broker’s full range of products. We found the platform user-friendly whilst boasting an impressive charting package with over 28 indicators and trading signals from PIA First and AutoChartist, helping you find new trading ideas throughout the day.

For more complex technical analysts, we highly recommend ProRealTime, which stands out for the ProRealTrend tools that automate the drawing of support/resistance levels and trend lines.