Paper Trading is a powerful risk-free trading simulator. It allows you to test your skills and strategies without depositing or risking real money. You can practice under near real-world market conditions, refine your technical and fundamental analysis, and deepen your market understanding.
This guide covers everything you need to know about TradingView’s Paper Trading feature.
What Is Paper Trading?
Paper Trading is a simulated trading environment where you can buy and sell assets using virtual funds. Everything works just like real trading, but without any financial risk. The system tracks your orders and positions, allowing you to evaluate the profitability of your strategies.
It serves as an ideal starting point for new traders. TradingView’s simulator is integrated with all chart types, indicators, drawing tools, and other features, providing a realistic experience. As the old trading wisdom goes: having a unique strategy tailored to your risk tolerance and preferred assets is crucial.
Why You Should Use Paper Trading
Before risking real capital, it’s essential to test your strategies in a safe environment. Paper Trading offers a reliable platform for this purpose.
Financial markets are complex, and no single trading approach works in all conditions. Technical and fundamental analysis are powerful but can sometimes contradict each other. Indicators, drawings, and other data may behave differently depending on the asset and market environment.
With Paper Trading, you can experiment with various methods—from basic chart analysis to advanced user-generated Pine Script® strategies—and see how your ideas perform in real-time scenarios.
Whether you're day trading Forex, futures, or cryptocurrencies, or building long-term stock portfolios, each asset class has its own rules. Practice is key to mastery. Developing a reliable strategy takes time, and Paper Trading provides the perfect practice ground.
How to Activate Paper Trading
To get started, locate the Trading Panel at the bottom of your chart. This panel displays brokers available in your region. Paper Trading is accessible to everyone, everywhere.
Click the "Paper Trading" icon, then select "Connect." You’re now ready to start simulated trading.
Understanding the Trading Panel
The Trading Panel is located in the lower toolbar. It allows you to manage your account, track orders and positions, and place trades.
It consists of three main sections:
- Account Manager
- Order Entry Panel
- Depth of Market (DOM) Display
Account Manager
Here, you can adjust account settings, monitor orders and positions, and customize the information displayed in the account summary bar.
Trading Settings
To modify your broker or trading preferences, click "Paper Trading" at the top of the Account Manager.
Under "Trading Settings…", you can choose which values appear on your chart. You can hide "Buy/Sell" buttons, "Positions," "Orders," and more. Experiment with these settings to find a layout that suits your needs.
You can also enable one-click trading for instant order placement. For more advanced tips, consider exploring additional trading resources.
Configure the summary bar to display:
- Balance: Your total virtual funds
- Equity: Balance plus unrealized profit and loss
- Realized P&L: Profitability of closed positions
- Unrealized P&L: Profitability of active positions
- Account Margin: Funds used for open positions
- Available Funds: Funds available for trading
- Order Margin: Funds reserved for pending orders
For quantitative analysis, you can export your trading data as a CSV file.
To view available brokers without logging out, click "View Broker List…". In the "Accounts:" section, you can create new accounts or switch between different Paper Trading accounts.
Account Settings
Once logged into Paper Trading, you can begin placing orders. Your account starts with a $100,000 virtual balance and preset leverage ratios for different asset classes:
- Stocks: 1:1
- Futures: 20:1
- Forex: 50:1
- Crypto: 10:1
- Other: 50:1
You can customize these settings via the gear icon next to your account name. Options include:
- Leverage per asset class
- Commission per contract for futures
- Commission type: fixed fee or percentage
Adjust these to match your trading style and goals.
Resetting Your Account
You can reset your Paper Trading account at any time.
Note: This action cannot be undone.
Resetting will change:
- Balance: Your demo currency amount
- Currency: Over 20 options, including fiat and crypto
- Leverage: Borrowing ratios for asset classes
It will also delete:
- Orders: All placed, executed, canceled, rejected, and active orders
- History: Trade and account history (balances, P&L, traded assets, etc.)
- Positions: Open long and short positions
If you wish to test new strategies without losing your current setup, you can create multiple accounts. Delete additional accounts by clicking the trash icon.
How to Monitor Orders and Positions
The next tabs in the panel are "Positions," "Orders," "History," "Account History," and "Trading Journal."
Note: These tabs may vary by broker. The following applies specifically to Paper Trading.
- Positions: Shows active positions for all assets in your current account
- Orders: Displays all orders for your current account
- History: Provides details on executed, rejected, and canceled orders, including margin used, placement time, and closing time
- Account History: Information on closed positions, entry and exit prices, realized P&L, and more
- Trading Journal: Various data about your orders and timings
How to Place a Trade
The simulator supports multiple asset classes available on TradingView, including stocks, Forex, crypto, commodities, index futures, and more.
Using the Order Panel
After selecting your asset, click the "Trade" button to open the order panel. Here, you can place orders via an order ticket or using the Depth of Market (DOM).
In the order ticket, you can use the following order types:
- Market Order: Specify the number of units you want to buy or sell. These are executed immediately at the best available market price and are always filled.
- Limit Order: Set the number of units and a limit price. The order will only be executed if the market reaches your specified price. These may not fill due to lack of liquidity.
- Stop Order: This order is only placed after the asset price reaches your specified value. It is not active until the stop price is hit. Once triggered, it becomes a market order and is fully executed. If the price never reaches the stop level, the order won’t execute.
Trading Directly on the Superchart
One of TradingView’s standout features is the ability to trade directly on the chart. This allows you to perform analysis and execute trades simultaneously. It is available for both Paper Trading and live broker accounts.
👉 Explore advanced chart trading methods to enhance your strategy.
The Leap: Test Your Skills in a Global Competition
Once you’ve mastered Paper Trading, consider joining "The Leap"—TradingView’s 30-day virtual trading competition. Compete against traders worldwide to see whose strategies are most effective.
The competition requires no deposits, broker fees, or hidden charges. No real money is used during the event, but the cash prizes are real. Join the competition on the official contest page and check the rules for more details.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the difference between Paper Trading and live trading?
Paper Trading uses virtual funds and simulated market conditions, while live trading involves real money and actual market execution. The interface and tools are identical, but slippage and liquidity may differ.
Can I change the starting balance in Paper Trading?
Yes, by resetting your account you can modify the initial virtual balance and currency type.
Is Paper Trading available on mobile devices?
Yes, the TradingView mobile app supports Paper Trading, allowing you to practice on the go.
How does leverage work in the simulator?
You can adjust leverage settings per asset class via the account settings gear icon. This allows you to simulate different risk levels.
Can I use custom Pine Script strategies in Paper Trading?
Yes, you can test any strategy published on TradingView, including those written in Pine Script, within the Paper Trading environment.
Are there any costs associated with Paper Trading?
No, Paper Trading is completely free for all TradingView users.
Conclusion
TradingView’s Paper Trading is a comprehensive, risk-free simulator with no fees or tricks. It’s an invaluable tool for practicing chart analysis and order execution without financial pressure.
Technical analysis requires time and continuous adjustment. We recommend patience and thorough practice before risking hard-earned capital. Utilize additional guides and resources available in the TradingView knowledge base.
When you’re confident in your skills, consider participating in "The Leap" competition for a competitive test. Once ready, you can select a broker from TradingView’s integrated list and begin your live trading journey.
Good luck, and trade wisely!