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Trading foreign exchange on margin carries a high level of risk, and may not be suitable for all investors. Before deciding to trade foreign exchange you should carefully consider your investment objectives, level of experience, and risk appetite. You could sustain a loss of some or all of your initial investment and should not invest money that you cannot afford to lose. Trading foreign exchange on margin carries a high level of risk, and may not be suitable for all investors. Before deciding to trade foreign exchange you should carefully consider your investment objectives, level of experience, and risk appetite. You could sustain a loss of some or all of your initial investment and should not invest money that you cannot afford to lose.

Demo trading account

Try our award-winning platform* for free with a free forex demo account. Start developing your trading skills with IG.

Practice trading with $10,000 virtual funds

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Open a demo trading account

Try our award-winning platform* for free and develop your FX trading skills.

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What is a demo trading account?

A demo account is a simulated market environment offered by a trading provider that aims to recreate the experience of ‘real’ trading as closely as possible. This is so that you can get a feel for trading FX on our platform. The main difference is you won’t be at risk of losing any money, so you can explore and experiment with confidence.

When you open a demo account with IG, you’ll be given immediate access to a version of our online platform, along with a pre-set balance of $10,000 in virtual funds to practice with and access to IG Academy.

Discover the differences between a live account and a demo account

Why use a demo account?

Traders will choose to practice trading on a demo account, because it enables them to get to grips with a platform, build their strategy and grow in confidence, without having to risk any real money.

Demo accounts aren’t just for newcomers. Experienced traders often like to use demo accounts to try out new strategies, tools or ideas, safe in the knowledge that they won’t result in any real-world losses.

You’ll often see demo accounts described as ‘paper trading’, which is the term to describe simulated securities trading. However, with an IG demo trading account, you’ll gain access to over 80 FX pairs.

FAQs

What can you do on a demo trading account?

A demo account will enable you to view all the FX pairs available to you with IG and get used to how they behave. You’ll be able to select the pairs you want to keep an eye on and set alerts so you can react instantly to any price volatility. The demo account will also help you navigate the IG platform, ensuring that you can read and analyze price charts, fill in the trade ticket and monitor open positions.

Alternatively, if you’re interested in using more advanced software, we also offer an MT4 demo account. This enables you to build your understanding of the MetaTrader4 online trading platform in a risk-free environment.

What is the difference between a demo trading account, trading simulator and paper trading account?

There is no difference between a demo trading account, trading simulator or paper trading account. All of these terms are just synonyms for the same type of simulated trading platform.

"Award-winning” is based on the ForexBrokers.com 2024 Annual Review, a submissions-based process where companies are invited to enter the judging process in which IG won #1 Web Platform. Awards are given by ForexBrokers judges, based on demonstrating innovative ideas implemented in a practical way for solving issues for clients. You can view how they rate brokers by visiting here: https://www.forexbrokers.com/how-we-test