I'm often asked about which broker is best to 'DEMO' on when first learning forex.
Here's the thing: demo will not prepare you for live trading. You'll still be learning when you go live. However, it's important you know the basics and even more so that you know how to operate any given platform, and for that a demo account is a great start.
Forex is dominated by just a few major platforms. Some brokers offer platforms developed in-house by their own team, but most brokers offer platforms by one of two major vendors: MetaQuotes and Spotware.
We will be using demos from Pepperstone and Darwinex for this article.
MetaQuotes offers the MetaTrader platforms. This platform family is old as dirt and is probably the most wide spread platform in the retail forex world. Right now there are two major releases on offer with most brokers: MetaTrader 4, and MetaTrader 5. There's benefits and drawbacks of both:
MT4
MT5
Right now I'm recommending people use Darwinex for their MT4/5 needs. You can create a demo login with Darwinex here and create as many perpetual demo accounts as you'd like. Why Darwinex? Because after registering a demo account with them, you can have all your account stats tracked and a score given. This allows you to compare strategies (just generate multiple MT4/5 accounts within your demo login for each strategy,) as well as give you metrics to work on as you are learning. I feel Darwinex does a better job measuring performance than you'll find elsewhere online and there's no need to link your data to a 3rd party since it's all in-house.
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Spotware offers cTrader (and cAlgo.) This platform family is newer but probably has been the biggest competition MetaTrader has seen in the better part of two decades.
cTrader
Right now I'm recommending people use Pepperstone for their cTrader needs. You can create a demo login with Pepperstone here. Why Pepperstone? They have grown to be one of the largest retail FX brokers over the last decade and have amazing customer support. They will treat you well with questions even while you're demoing and, in my opinion, are the strongest cTrader offering out there at the moment.
I hope this helps anyone new to the FX game who is looking to master a platform and wrap their head around how the act of taking a trade even happens. Please feel free to post any questions or comments on this article here.
Cheers,
Jack
Here's the thing: demo will not prepare you for live trading. You'll still be learning when you go live. However, it's important you know the basics and even more so that you know how to operate any given platform, and for that a demo account is a great start.
Forex is dominated by just a few major platforms. Some brokers offer platforms developed in-house by their own team, but most brokers offer platforms by one of two major vendors: MetaQuotes and Spotware.
We will be using demos from Pepperstone and Darwinex for this article.
MetaQuotes offers the MetaTrader platforms. This platform family is old as dirt and is probably the most wide spread platform in the retail forex world. Right now there are two major releases on offer with most brokers: MetaTrader 4, and MetaTrader 5. There's benefits and drawbacks of both:
MT4
Pros: |
|
Cons: |
|
MT5
Pros: |
|
Cons: |
|
Right now I'm recommending people use Darwinex for their MT4/5 needs. You can create a demo login with Darwinex here and create as many perpetual demo accounts as you'd like. Why Darwinex? Because after registering a demo account with them, you can have all your account stats tracked and a score given. This allows you to compare strategies (just generate multiple MT4/5 accounts within your demo login for each strategy,) as well as give you metrics to work on as you are learning. I feel Darwinex does a better job measuring performance than you'll find elsewhere online and there's no need to link your data to a 3rd party since it's all in-house.
---
Spotware offers cTrader (and cAlgo.) This platform family is newer but probably has been the biggest competition MetaTrader has seen in the better part of two decades.
cTrader
Pros: |
|
Cons: |
|
Right now I'm recommending people use Pepperstone for their cTrader needs. You can create a demo login with Pepperstone here. Why Pepperstone? They have grown to be one of the largest retail FX brokers over the last decade and have amazing customer support. They will treat you well with questions even while you're demoing and, in my opinion, are the strongest cTrader offering out there at the moment.
I hope this helps anyone new to the FX game who is looking to master a platform and wrap their head around how the act of taking a trade even happens. Please feel free to post any questions or comments on this article here.
Cheers,
Jack