Simulated Accounts vs Free Stock Market Simulator: Complete Guide for Traders

When you enter the world of trading, one of the most critical decisions is choosing where to practice risk-free. In this article, we break down the fundamental difference between free stock market simulators and demo accounts offered by brokers, and we present the five best options available today on the market for you to master your strategies before investing real capital.

Differences You Need to Know: Simulator vs Demo Account

Although they seem the same at first glance, there are substantial differences. The free stock market simulator typically comes from educational platforms focused on training investors: examples include Wall Street Survivor, Investopedia Stock Simulator, or La Bolsa Virtual. Its purpose is purely educational, although they increasingly offer more realistic experiences.

Demo accounts, on the other hand, are offered directly by brokers that provide real investment services. The advantage here is that they reflect exactly what you will experience when trading with real money. You not only see the same assets but also access all advanced tools: risk management, social trading, strategy automation.

A free stock market simulator can be excellent for learning basic concepts, but a broker’s demo account specifically prepares you for the environment where you will actually trade.

Why You Need to Practice Before Investing Real Money

The difference between success or failure in trading often lies in preparation. Both simulators and demo accounts serve two critical functions:

Education is the first pillar. Here you gain experience trading specific assets and mastering trading tools. You learn in real-time, without financial pressure.

Training is the second. Once you have some knowledge, you use these platforms to test new strategies, unfamiliar assets, or simply to maintain mental consistency. The best brokers allow switching between demo and real accounts in seconds, removing psychological barriers.

What You Can Trade: Available Assets

In a typical free stock market simulator, you access:

• Domestic and international stocks
• Stock indices
• Currency pairs (Forex)

Broker demo accounts go further. In addition to the above, they include:

• Cryptocurrencies
• Contracts for Difference (CFD)
• Exchange-Traded Funds (ETF)
• Commodities

Premium brokers even add fixed income, structured products, and complex derivatives for professional traders.

The Top 5 Simulators and Demo Accounts You Should Try

After evaluating ease of use, execution speed, order flexibility, unlimited platform use, and asset variety, here are our five recommendations:

MiTrade: The Unlimited Demo Account

The Australian broker has gained reputation in Asian markets for its focus on empowering retail traders. Its demo account stands out because:

• It is completely unlimited in usage time
• Offers $50,000 in virtual capital
• Access to thousands of CFDs on stocks, indices, forex, and more
• Allows leverage and short positions in demo mode
• Compatible with web, iOS, and Android
• Instant switching between virtual and real account

Perfect if you want to practice advanced strategies without time restrictions.

MarketWatch Virtual Stock Exchange

Here we have a truly quality free stock market simulator, backed by MarketWatch, a portal specialized in financial analysis. Its strengths are:

• Access to professional analysis tools
• Custom watchlists
• Active investor community sharing strategies
• No complications: just register for free

Ideal for those seeking a pure simulator focused on education and fundamental analysis.

IG: The Historic Platform

As one of the oldest and most respected brokers globally, IG offers:

• Demo account with access to thousands of CFDs
• Integration with MetaTrader, the most widely used professional platform
• Extensive educational resources
• Solid regulatory reputation (listed on the stock exchange)

The choice for those seeking proven professionalism.

HowTheMarketWorks.com: Education at Scale

The most academically oriented simulator, with nearly half a million students trained annually:

• Virtual capital of $100,000
• Designed specifically for classrooms and formal education
• Excellent for beginners building fundamentals
• Premium version with advanced tools

If you want to learn from scratch in a structured way, you will find it here.

eToro: Simplified Social Trading

The world leader in social trading offers:

• Free demo account mirroring the real account
• Intuitive interface without overwhelming charts
• Access to social trading panels
• Wide product catalog

Excellent for beginners hesitant about technical complexity.

The Psychological Dangers You Don’t See

Here’s the truth that no one clearly tells you. When practicing with a free stock market simulator, you experience two dangerous mental traps:

Fictitious euphoria: Since the money isn’t yours, you often make irrational decisions you would never make with real capital. You enter too many positions, ignore risks, act impulsively.

The effect of abundant capital: Simulators give you $50,000 or $100,000 virtual to try “everything.” But when you invest your real money, you probably have $5,000 or $10,000. This completely changes your trading psychology: you will be more cautious, more selective, less risk-tolerant. Simulated practice does not reflect this reality.

Other drawbacks:

• Some simulators suffer from limited speed and accuracy (by educational design)
• Many demo accounts have 30-day limits, forcing you to trade with real money before you’re ready
• Without real pressure, your decisions won’t be authentic

How to Properly Use Your Free Stock Market Simulator

Let’s take MiTrade as a practical example:

Step 1: Access mitrade.com and look for the “Demo Account” button on the main screen.

Step 2: Select your country of residence. You can browse as a guest (faster) or complete registration.

Step 3: Verify in the top right corner that you see the “Demo” indicator activated. It will confirm your $50,000 virtual capital.

Step 4: Start trading. Select assets, practice limit and market orders, experiment with leverage. The simulator is available on web and mobile.

Winning Strategy: How to Maximize Your Benefits

Experiment fearlessly. This is the only place where you can try crazy ideas without financial consequences. But do it intentionally: every trade should teach you something.

Treat each position as real. If you don’t analyze, track results, and extract lessons with the same rigor as you would with real money, you’re wasting the opportunity. Discipline is what matters.

Combine simulator with education. True acceleration happens when you study strategies during the week and test them in your free stock market simulator on weekends. Theory + practice = mastery.

It’s not just for beginners. Professional managers and funds constantly use simulators before executing major trades in the open market. Your ego shouldn’t prevent you from using these tools.

The Final Verdict

Free stock market simulators and demo accounts bridge the gap between dreaming of trading and actually doing it. They are mainly free, widely available, and modern brokers like MiTrade allow seamless switching between demo and real modes.

The real advantage: you have no excuse to arrive unprepared to the real market. Practice, make safe mistakes, adjust your psychology, master your tools. Then, when you are genuinely ready, transition to real capital with confidence.

Traders who achieve consistency are not the most talented. They are those who practiced enough first.