Paper trading on eToro: What can you expect from the demo account?

Every broker that uses its own proprietary platform will usually offer you the chance to experience its software using a paper trading simulator, also known as a demo account. 

With a demo trading account, you can explore the broker’s platform without investing your own money as you familiarize yourself with its features and tools. 

Demo trading accounts come with their own virtual currency attached, so they are risk-free and don’t require any capital or commitment as you build your virtual portfolio and gain a sense of comfortability with the platform. 

In this review, we’re taking a look at eToro’s demo trading account and provide an in-depth look at its features, including:

• How to open a demo account with eToro
• How to navigate the dashboard of the demo
• How to use eToro’s key features on a demo platform
• Opening positions and placing trades
• Monitoring and analyzing our portfolio
• Overall review 

Getting started with eToro Paper Trading simulator

eToro is probably best known as a social trading platform on which users can sign up, follow influencers or traders, and copy their trading strategies. Known as copy traders, users can look at the wider global community to trade stocks, cryptocurrencies, and ETFs. Available worldwide, the broker boasts around 30 million users and is considered a pioneer in social trading. 

As usual, this review will focus on the web app of eToro’s offering, which doesn’t require any additional software or installation. 

To sign up for eToro’s demo trading account, follow the steps below:

1. Visit eToro practice-account page
2. Click ‘Let’s Start’
3. Fill out the short form and validate your email address
4. Complete your profile (or click the ‘x’ of the window if you want to skip creating a full profile)
5. Expand the menu on the left-hand side of the platform and select ‘Switch to Virtual.’
6. You’re ready to start exploring the demo

Navigating eToro’s dashboard

Unlike many of its competitors, eToro’s dashboard places very little emphasis on its charts. Instead, you’re given a scrolling tab at the top of the platform, which shows the latest moves in the market, alongside a social feed of popular investors and their posts, which are often accompanied by links, hashtags, and images. 

In addition to your home screen, you have tabs on the left-hand side that include Watchlist, Portfolio, and Discover. 

If we click on Discover and then Stocks, for example, we are presented with three stock examples and the biggest daily movers. It’s only when we click on any of these that we are given its chart. 

Once you click into a market, you’re given several additional tabs to choose from: Overview, Chart, Analysis, News, and Stats. It’s worth pointing out that Analysis and News are both locked for demo account holders, and clicking on them gives you prompts to upgrade to a full account and deposit funds. Unlike some other paper trading simulators, eToro’s demo account really seems to push users toward opening real accounts as soon as possible. 

Executing trades with eToro’s demo account

Opening a position with eToro’s demo account is very straightforward, due in large part to the simplicity of the platform’s deal ticket. 

Click on the market you’re interested in and click ‘Buy’ on the right hand side of the platform..

A deal ticket then pops up where you can select the amount of capital you’d like to invest and choose between a market order and a limit order. A market order is buying the market at the current price, while a limit order will automatically open a position once a market reaches your desired price. 

Once you’ve confirmed all aspects of your trade, your position is then opened and found under the ‘Portfolio’ section of the platform, where your profit/loss is displayed in real-time. 

Monitoring and analyzing trades with eToro

As touched upon earlier in this review, many of eToro’s analytical tools are not available on the demo platform. One of its features, ProCharts—a comparative tool for technical analysis—is locked behind a full account, as are the analysis and news tabs, which restricts the ability to analyze or monitor your trades on the demo platform. 

This seems a deliberate tactic to push demo users toward the popular investors’ feed, where you can browse a Twitter-style feed of the latest opinions and breaking news. 

You’re also able to look at trader sentiment and the 52-week price range for markets under the Watchlist section of the site – these are useful tools to monitor your ongoing open positions. There’s also the option to set price alerts for the platform. 

eToro’s demo account also offers a range of drawing tools and indicators for the charts, including all the usual additions. There’s also an option to draw long positions on charts to help you identify risk:reward ratios and target profit/stop loss levels.

Additionally, you can add subsequent Stop Loss/Take Profit levels under the Portfolio section of the dashboard for any positions that you have opened. 

Our take on eToro Paper Trading

Overall, eToro is a pioneer in social trading with its integrated Twitter-style posting feature, the option to copy trade, and the ability to base strategies on a wider global community. 

However, we find the demo account to be quite lacking in terms of depth and analysis, as it seems to be a deliberate ploy to lock a lot of the platform’s potential behind a full, real account. 

Therefore, eToro isn’t the best choice to hone your trading strategies if you’re looking for a comprehensive suite of technical analysis tools. 

Best ALTERNATIVE

ProRealTime Paper Trading Simulator

ProRealTime is a trading platform that delivers a comprehensive suite of charting software and technical analysis tools designed to help traders navigate the markets with precision.

With over 22 years of experience in the field, ProRealTime has garnered the trust of more than a million users worldwide. While there may be a bit of a learning curve, ProRealTime is undoubtedly the gold standard for trading platforms.

Pros

Smooth trading experience

Intuitive interface and dashboard

Powerful tools and features

Comprehensive market access

Cons

No glaring weaknesses

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