What is paper trading?
Paper trading is essentially practice investing: You get to try buying and selling investments with fake money. Paper trading platforms, also known as stock simulators, are great for beginners who want to get comfortable with the process of investing, but they’re also helpful for experienced traders looking to try out new strategies.
The best paper trading platforms are free, offer a good amount of fake cash to play with, and give you access to a wide range of investments. Some trading platforms allow you to practice with riskier types of assets such as futures and options in addition to stocks. Note that the scores below show the broker's overall score, but brokers are included on this list for their paper trading offering.
How does paper trading work?
Paper trading works the same way regular investing works: You open an account and select your investments from there. The only difference is that with paper trading there is no real money at stake. Paper trading allows you to act like you purchased a stock (or other investment) and see what happens to your investment over time. It's also a great way to get comfortable using a platform before there is any real money on the line.
What is the best platform for paper trading?
This year, the broker with the best paper trading platform is TradeStation. TradeStation offers users unlimited cash and the ability to practice with stocks, options and futures. Schwab and Interactive Brokers also give you access to a wide range of practice assets, but with less initial practice cash. If you don't need access to the more advanced assets such as options and futures, Webull and E*TRADE make for good options as well. None of these brokers charge anything to open a paper trading account.
Can I paper trade for free?
Yes, you can paper trade for free. You will have to open an account to do it, but all the brokers listed here allow you to open an account for free.
Can you make money paper trading?
No, because the money you're "investing" with isn't real. But paper trading is a great way to learn and get comfortable with the process of buying and selling assets.
Is paper trading legal?
Yes, paper trading is legal. But since it's fake investing, you won't make any money from it.
