Paper trading is the practice of placing hypothetical trades with fake money so you can test strategies and build confidence before risking a single real dollar.
Start practicing: Make your first risk-free trade in the simulator right now.
Paper trading got its name from the days when traders tracked imaginary positions on paper. Today it means the same thing with software: you buy and sell with simulated money, watch how your decisions would have played out, and learn — all without financial risk.
Paper trading can't perfectly mimic real psychology — it's easier to stay calm when nothing is at stake. It also skips real-world frictions like slippage and commissions. Treat it as a powerful training ground, not a guarantee of real-money results.
Our virtual stock market game is a gamified form of paper trading: you get the portfolio, the P/L and a leaderboard, but with simulated prices instead of real-time quotes. Same skill-building, more fun.
Open the stock market simulator, get your $10,000, and make your first paper trade. Try a strategy — say, buying only the dips — and see how your ROI compares after a few market days.
Yes. Our simulator is completely free and needs no brokerage account — you start with $10,000 in play money.
Yes, especially for beginners. It builds familiarity with mechanics and strategy without any financial risk, though it can't fully replicate real-money emotion.
They're nearly the same idea — both use fake money. 'Demo account' is the term brokers use; 'paper trading' is the classic name.