8 Best Brokers for Paper Trading of January 2025
These brokers offer free paper trading accounts, several types of assets to practice with and $100,000 or more in fake cash.
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Interactive Brokers offers the best of paper trading and real trading thanks to its low fees, tradable securities and excellent platform. Webull and Moomoo also offer excellent paper trading platforms. If you want a legacy platform with a paper trading experience, Schwab will be your best bet.
All of the brokers listed below offer paper trading for free, but some offer more fake cash or more tradable securities than others. If you want to nerd out on the particulars, check out our table below.
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Nerdy Tip
Paper trading is great for both beginners and advanced traders: Beginners can get comfortable with market fluctuations and advanced traders can hone their options and futures trading strategies.
Best Brokers for Paper Trading
| Broker | NerdWallet rating | Fees | Account minimum | Promotion | Learn more |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
5.0/5 | $0 per trade | $0 | None no promotion available at this time | Learn moreLearn more on Interactive Brokers' website | |
4.8/5 | $0 per online equity trade | $0 | None no promotion available at this time | Learn moreLearn more on Charles Schwab's website | |
4.3/5 | $0 per trade. Other fees apply. | $0 | Get up to $1,000 when you open and fund an E*TRADE account | Learn moreLearn more on E*TRADE's website | |
5.0/5 | $0 per trade | $0 | Get up to 40 free fractional shares ( each valued up to $3,000) when you open and fund an account with Webull. | Learn moreLearn more on Webull's website | |
4.1/5 | $0 per trade | $500 | Qualify for up to $5,000 when you open and fund a new TradeStation account. Offer Code: NERDAFJO. | Learn moreLearn more on TradeStation's website |
Our pick for
both paper trading and real trading
Fees
$0
per trade
Account minimum
$0
Promotion
None
no promotion available at this time
Our pick for
paper trading with a legacy broker
Fees
$0
per online equity trade
Account minimum
$0
Promotion
None
no promotion available at this time
Fees
$0
per trade. Other fees apply.
Account minimum
$0
Promotion
Get up to $1,000
when you open and fund an E*TRADE account
Fees
$0
Account minimum
$0
Promotion
None
no promotion available at this time
Fees
$0.35 - $1.29
Lower price plans available
Account minimum
$0
Promotion
None
no promotion available at this time
Fees
$0.01
per share
Account minimum
$250
Promotion
None
no promotion available at this time.
Our pick for
unlimited paper cash
Fees
$0
per trade
Account minimum
$0
Promotion
Get up to 40 free fractional shares ( each valued up to $3,000)
when you open and fund an account with Webull.
Our pick for
paper trading exclusively
Fees
$0
per trade
Account minimum
$500
Promotion
Qualify for up to $5,000
when you open and fund a new TradeStation account. Offer Code: NERDAFJO.
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?
Like most things, the "best" in any category will depend on what you're looking for. That said, the app with the best paper trading platform (according to our calculations) is Interactive Brokers. It combines the best of paper trading (lots of tradable securities and a good amount of fake cash to play with) and a solid broker for when you're ready to transition to real investing. Unlike other brokers, Interactive Brokers doesn't limit you: You can paper trade any security it offers. But if you need more than $1 million in fake cash, Webull, at our number two pick, gives you unlimited fake money. If you're looking for a seamless app experience, Moomoo or Webull may be your best options.
Empty Table Header | Overall NerdWallet score | Paper trading securities | Paper cash |
|---|---|---|---|
Interactive Brokers | 5.0 | All products offered | $1,000,000 |
Webull | 5.0 | Stocks, options and futures | Unlimited |
Schwab | 4.8 | Stocks, options and futures | $100,000 |
Moomoo | 4.7 | Stocks, options and futures | $1,000,000 |
E-Trade | 4.3 | Stocks, options | $100,000 |
TradeStation | 4.1 | Stocks, options and futures | Unlimited |
Zacks Trade | 4.0 | All products offered | Unlimited |
NinjaTrader | 2.5 | Futures contracts only | Unlimited |
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.
Last updated on December 13, 2024
Methodology
NerdWallet’s comprehensive review process evaluates and ranks the largest U.S. brokerage firms by assets under management, along with emerging industry players. Our aim is to provide an independent assessment of providers to help arm you with information to make sound, informed judgements on which ones will best meet your needs. We adhere to strict guidelines for editorial integrity.
We collect data directly from providers through detailed questionnaires, and conduct first-hand testing and observation through provider demonstrations. The questionnaire answers, combined with demonstrations, interviews of personnel at the providers and our specialists’ hands-on research, fuel our proprietary assessment process that scores each provider’s performance across more than 20 factors. The final output produces star ratings from poor (one star) to excellent (five stars).
For more details about the categories considered when rating brokers and our process, read our full methodology.
NerdWallet's Best Brokers for Paper Trading of January 2025
- Interactive Brokers IBKR Lite: Best for both paper trading and real trading
- Charles Schwab: Best for paper trading with a legacy broker
- E*TRADE
- Webull: Best for unlimited paper cash
- TradeStation: Best for paper trading exclusively
- Moomoo
- NinjaTrader
- Zacks Trade