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Forex demo accounts are free practice accounts for new traders. Think of them like flight simulators for new pilots. Like a flight simulator, you can make all kinds of mistakes without any consequences – except for maybe a bruised ego and the realisation that you have a lot to learn. Demo accounts are always free, but some are better than others. Most traders with a demo account will go on to open a live account with the same broker.
To test these demo accounts, we set up the trading software, read the educational material, traded away all of the virtual money we were given, and used the customer service teams to help get us started. While trading with these brokers, we rate the quality of their financial regulation, trading platform choice and read the fine print to get a grasp of the trading conditions should a novice trader want to open a live trading account. These are the best Forex demo accounts in Malaysia for 2021, according to our testing and our research.
A demo account trading account is a risk-free setup for beginners and experienced traders equally. While beginner traders will use this account type to test trading platforms and learn how trading works, experienced traders will use a demo account for testing new strategies without the risk of losing capital. To compare demo accounts, consider the following:
Free Education: Any legitimate demo account will be free. A reliable broker will never charge for opening a demo account and will often provide free learning material to get you started. Structured trading courses complemented by top-quality market analysis by in-house analytics teams are a great addition to any demo account.
Trading platform: The first thing a beginner trader will learn is how to manage the trading platform. Learning Forex strategy is complex enough, so before trading any real money, invest the time in finding a trading platform you are comfortable operating.
Customer service: Demo accounts are mainly used by beginners, and beginners often need customer service support. While customer service hours vary between brokers, the evening and weekend opening hours will affect when you can get the support you need and fit your learning into a busy schedule.
FXTM – Best Demo Account in Malaysia
The free demo account at FXTM allows clients to trade 60 Forex pairs on their choice of the MT4 or MT5 platforms. The FXTM Demo Account never expires and is available as an option on all account types, including FXTM’s market execution Advantage and Advantage Plus Accounts. The Micro Account is also available as a demo, but only on the MT4 platform.
For new traders, FXTM has a great deal of high-quality educational material. The comprehensive education section includes articles, videos, and webinars. There is an additional set of videos covering analysis topics and more detail on chart reading techniques. Market analysis is updated daily and offers many actionable trading ideas.
Accepts Malaysian Clients. Minimum spread EUR/USD 1.50 pips on trading account with lowest minimum deposit. Islamic account available. MT4 & MT5 platforms supported. Leverage offered can vary depending on country of residence, and your trading knowledge and experience. FXTM is regulated by CySEC, FCA, FSCA, and the FSC.
OctaFX – Best Demo Account Platforms
OctaFX offers demo accounts on all three major platforms: MT4, MT5 and cTrader. All demo accounts are unlimited, and OctaFX runs frequent demo account contests. The Champion Demo Contest is a monthly contest with a prize pot of 1000 USD. The cTrader Weekly Demo Contest runs weekly and has a prize pot of 400 USD – but is only available on the cTrader demo account.
Beginner traders will appreciate OctaFX’ education and analysis sections and a range of useful trading tools. Traders on MT4 and MT5 with a 500 USD or higher balance will have free access to AutoChartist – an algorithm that highlights trading opportunities. The Account Monitoring tool allows users to monitor any other OctaFX traders account – traders can access the history of an account which is valuable for beginners studying successful traders. Accounts are only represented by numbers, so all holders remain anonymous. Copy trading is also available on all accounts.
Accepts Malaysian Clients. Average spread EUR/USD 1.10 pips on trading account with lowest minimum deposit. Max leverage 500:1. Islamic account available. MT4 & MT5 platforms supported. OctaFX is regulated by CySEC & SVG FSA.
Tickmill – Most Flexible Demo Account
Tickmill’s demo account is available on MT4 and MT5 and both desktop and mobile devices. The great thing about Tickmill’s demo account is its customizability and flexibility. Tickmill’s demo account will only expire after 14 days without a login attempt and clients can choose any level of virtual funds to start with. Similarly, clients can choose any level of leverage, whichever account currency they want (from USD, GBP, and EUR) and one of Tickmill’s three account types (Classic, Pro and VIP). Being able to choose which account type is especially important as it allows demo users to experience the difference between trading purely on the spread and trading with a commission.
The demo account perfectly mirrors the price movements on Tickmill’s range of CFDs including Forex, Bonds, Commodities, Indices and Cryptocurrencies and comes with the full suite of tools available on the MetaTrader platforms.
Accepts Malaysian Clients. Average spread EUR/USD 0.00 pips with 4 USD commission round turn on the trading account with lowest minimum deposit. Max leverage 500:1. Islamic account available. MT4 platform support. Tickmill is regulated by CySEC, FCA, FSCA, and the FSA-Seychelles.
AvaTrade – Best Mobile Demo Account
The free demo account is available on AvaTrade’s webtrader platform, MT4, MT5 and its mobile app, AvaTradeGO. Clients can trade over 1250 instruments, including Forex, cryptocurrency, stocks, commodities, and indices. Voted the best Forex Trading App 2020, AvaTradeGO offers a sophisticated dashboard, complete with a set of intuitive management tools, clear zoomable charts, and many more helpful features.
AvaTrade offers a library of educational material, tools and analysis to assist clients in finding the best trading opportunities. The demo account includes a 100,000 USD balance that expires after 21 days. If you are not ready to open a live account after this time, contact the customer service team and extend it. Customer support is available 24/5.
Accepts Malaysian Clients. Spreads start at 0.90 pips on theEUR/USD on trading account with lowest minimum deposit. Max leverage 400:1. Islamic account available. MT4 & MT5 platforms supported. AvaTrade Group regulated by ASIC, FSCA, B.V.I FSC & FSA.
XM – Best MT5 Demo Account
Awarded the Global Forex Broker of the Year 2020 in the Global Forex Awards, XM is a serious market maker broker. The demo account at XM is funded with a 100,000 USD virtual balance and available on both the MT4 and MT5 platforms. XM’s MT5 Demo Account is aimed at traders who want to trade more than just Forex. With over 1000 instruments available, traders will have access to Stock CFDs, Stock Indices CFDs, CFDs on Precious Metals and CFDs on Energies. The MT5 demo account also features a market depth indicator, hedging, and full EA functionality. XM’s demo account is not time-limited.
For beginner traders, XM Group’s educational content is based on instruction in a video format. The core educational offerings are three Education Rooms, aimed at traders of differing skill levels – primary, intermediate and advanced. The Primary Education Room is open to the public, but access to the others requires registration.
Accepts Malaysian Clients. Average spread EUR/USD 1.60 pips on trading account with lowest minimum deposit. Max leverage 888:1. Islamic account available. MT4 & MT5 platforms supported. XM Group regulated by CySEC, ASIC, and the IFSC.
Pepperstone – Best ECN Demo Account
Pepperstone is internationally recognised for its high-speed trading execution and an offering for beginners that most ECN brokers don’t have. Free demo accounts at Pepperstone allow clients to trade 80+ Forex pairs on MT4, MT5 and cTrader platforms, withcustomer support. The demo account expires after 30 days unless you have a live account, in which case you can request a non-expiry demo account.
The demo and the live account the same in performance and conditions, except the demo account comprises of 500,000 GBP in virtual funds. Pepperstone’s education section called Learn to Trade Forex helps traders get started with some of the technical concepts, while a section called Trading Guides supports traders with issues that they will confront every day; how to keep a trading journal, developing a trading plan and managing risk.
Accepts Malaysian Clients. Average spread EUR/USD 0.69 pips with 0.0 USD commission round turn on the trading account with lowest minimum deposit. Max leverage 200:1. Islamic account available. MT4, MT5 & cTrader platforms supported. Pepperstone is regulated by the FCA, ASIC, and CySEC.
HotForex – Best MT4 Demo Account
HotForex is a well-regulated STP broker with awards for its client protection and product line. The HotForex demo account is unlimited and comes with 100,000 USD pre-loaded on both MT4 and MT5. But the MT4 Demo Account experience is the standout here; with complete access to expert advisors and over 50 built-in indicators, this is the better MT4 demo experience for new traders.
Award-winning customer service and their client-focused approach to doing business means that beginner traders at HotForex can rely on premium support. High-quality structured courses and market analysis will benefit beginners and intermediate traders.
Accepts Malaysian Clients. Average spread EUR/USD 1.00 pips on trading account with lowest minimum deposit. Max leverage 1000:1. Islamic account available. MT4 & MT5 platforms supported. HF Markets Group regulated by the FSCA, FCA, FSC, CySEC and the DFSA.
FxPro – Best cTrader Demo Account
FxPro is a reputable and strongly regulated broker – one of the biggest brands in the business. FxPro supports demo accounts on all major platforms: MT4, MT5 and cTrader, but cTrader access is what sets the platform choice apart from many. The cTrader demo account, available on desktop and Android/iOS mobile apps, is loaded with $100,000 in virtual funds and expires after 180 days.
A comparatively light education section includes trading courses for beginner and advanced traders. An economic calendar, calculators and trading news caps off the support offered. While education material exists, the true draw for FxPro is the cTrader support at a reputable brokerage.
Accepts Malaysian Clients. Average spread EUR/USD 1.40 pips on trading account with lowest minimum deposit. Max leverage 200:1. Islamic account available. MT4, MT5, cTrader and FxPro proprietary trading platform supported. FxPro Group is regulated by FCA, CySEC, FSCA, and the DFSA
BDSwiss – Best Market Research Provider
The free demo account at BDSwiss comes with 10,000 USD virtual credit and has no time limit. It is available on MT4, MT5, the BDSwiss WebTrader and the recently updated mobile app. Adding another demo account or changing the demo account balance can be done by contacting the BDSwiss support team. Winner of our award for the Best Market Research Provider of 2020, beginner trader’s will benefit from the accuracy of its market forecasting. BDSwiss is also known for its comprehensive trading education, tight spreads and free deposits and withdrawals.
Live trading accounts at BDSwiss are suitable for both beginners and more experienced traders, including a Raw Account with spreads down to 0 pips. All accounts benefit from fast execution speeds, with 97.5% of all trades executed in less than 0.2 seconds.
Accepts Malaysian Clients. Average spread EUR/USD 1.50 pips on trading account with lowest minimum deposit. Max leverage 500:1. Islamic account available. MT4 & MT5 platforms supported. BDSwiss is regulated by CySEC, FSC, and the FSA-Seychelles.
What is a Forex Trading Demo Account?
Demo accounts are trading accounts that let you trade on live markets with pretend money. You can use them to practice trading all manner of financial instruments including foreign exchange (Forex). Any trades you make will behave exactly as they would if you were using real money in a real trading account. This type of trading is also known as “paper trading” since no real money is involved. Demo accounts are a great way to learn how a trading platform works without the fear of losing money as you get to grips with the basics of trading as a beginner.
Trading platforms offer demo accounts to allow prospective customers to try out their knowledge and practise strategies before committing their hard-earned savings for real. Just as trainee pilots spend many hours on flight simulators learning how to fly a real aeroplane, demo accounts allow would-be forex traders to make all kinds of mistakes – and hopefully learn valuable lessons in the process – in a risk-free environment.
Demo accounts are always free, but some are better than others. Most traders who use a demo account will go on to open a live account with the same broker, but opening a demo account with a broker does not mean that you are tied to them. Demo accounts differ little from broker to broker, but they are a good way of learning how a particular broker operates and deciding if you want to use them.
Why use a demo account?
You can make money trading currencies and other financial instruments, but prospering at any endeavour requires hard work, determination and practice. The harder you work and the more practice you undertake, the more likely you are to succeed – and it clearly makes sense to practise as much as you can when you are considering risking your money trading forex. This is a highly complex financial market and you will be risking your savings against seasoned professionals who have spent years honing their skills and strategies. Moreover, many traders work for large institutions with vast technical and financial resources.
In short, the odds are stacked against you as a beginner. You can win, but only if you make the most of the resources available to you – and the most important of those is the demo account. So, research the market and find out what it takes to be a successful forex trader. Look for simple, profitable trading strategies, learn by heart how to implement them, and then rehearse them over and over again on a demo account.
Demo accounts are also useful when you have gained some experience in trading, to test out new strategies without the risk of losing capital.
Do all forex brokers offer demo accounts?
Most but not all do. Choosing a reputable broker is one of the critical factors determining success in FX trading. There are many issues to consider before you choose a forex broker and the ability to practise on a free demo account is among the key ones. All the brokers we recommend offer this option.
Is a forex demo account free?
Yes. Reputable brokers offer free demo accounts because they want you to deposit money with them and become long-term customers. That is more likely if you are able to trade successfully – and the best way of ensuring you will be successful is to learn the ins and outs of their trading platform and how to implement successful strategies.
How do you open a forex trading demo account?
It is very easy to open a demo account. Having decided which broker you wish to use, you simply:
Fill in a registration form
Receive a demo account number and a trader’s password
Download the software, often the well-known MT4, MT5 and cTrader platforms.
You can explore the platform within a few minutes of opening an account and start learning how forex trading works. It is much easier to open a demo account than a live account, a process that usually requires traders to send some form of an identification document to the broker, fill out an application, and make a deposit.
Here is a video tutorial showing how to open a demo account on FXTM, but the process is similar to other brokers.
How does a demo account work?
Demo accounts work in exactly the same manner as real live accounts using real money. That is why they are so useful. The amount of virtual money you are given varies from broker to broker. Some brokers will offer as little as US$10,000, while others will offer US$100,000 or even US$1,000,000. When you feel almost ready to start trading with a real account, you should use the same amount of money in your demo account as you plan to have in your real account. This will give you a better idea of the limitations and market conditions you will face when trading.
Financial instruments: All reputable forex brokers will, of course, offer forex trading, but most traders also want to trade other instruments. If you are interested in trading commodities or stock CFDs, make sure that your demo-account broker offers those instruments.
Tips for using a forex demo account
You should approach the use of a demo account in the same way as if you were using real money. That way, you will get the most out of the experience. For example, real trading can spark a strong emotional response and you have to be aware of how this can influence your decision-making. The fear of making losses, for example, can cause a trader to execute their trade too early or hold on to a position for too long in hopes of the market reversing. Greed, meanwhile, can drive a trader to make reckless decisions.
Monitor your emotions and make the trading experience more realistic by giving yourself a reward for trading well or withholding something if your trading is poor. Do anything that will make the experience more realistic. That will allow you to learn to control your emotions and stop them from influencing your trading decisions in the live market.
It is also a good idea to practise with the same amount of capital that you would deploy if you were trading for real. That will prepare you better for live trading and will give you a better understanding of how much money you could realistically make… and how much you could lose.
Research and open/close a trade
A forex trade involves a simultaneous purchase of one currency and the sale of another, the combination of which is commonly referred to as a cross pair. You can open virtual trading positions – using a demo account – for just about any currency pair you wish, make use of various trading tools and features into your positions, and see how the trade would have fared had it been in the real market.
Imagine you have a demo account and you have decided to focus on trading the euro against the US dollar. The currency that is used as reference is called the quote currency (in this case the euro), while the currency that is quoted in relation is called the base currency, the US dollar in this example. Trading platforms generally show one ticker symbol per each currency pair, and the EUR/USD currency pair’s ticker symbol is EUR.USD
Imagine you expect the euro’s value to rise against the dollar, you would then “buy the pair”. If you were expecting the euro to fall in value against the greenback you would “sell the pair”. In this case, based on your analysis you believe it is a good time to buy euros as you anticipate the currency will rise further. Having clicked in the ticker symbol (using the Meta 4 platform) to get the EUR.USD, you will see a chart showing how the pairs are performing. You simply press the buy button in the top left-hand corner of the screen to execute a buy order and a green horizontal line will immediately appear showing at what price you bought into the market. You also are shown how the trade is performing in terms of profit or loss. Any profit or loss is notional until you close the position, again achieved with the click of a mouse.
The decision whether to buy or sell or even whether to trade at all will be based on analysis you have already conducted. The two main types of research are fundamental and technical. Fundamental analysis is based on a thorough understanding of the impact of political, economic and social factors on the relative value of a currency, and using that knowledge to develop informed trading decisions. Technical analysis involves using historical price movements and patterns to try and predict future price movements.
Exploring the platform
Demo accounts are the perfect way to find out how a trading platform works, allowing you to explore the platform without risking any real money. Try to find the answers to questions such as the following:
Is the platform easy to navigate? Can you adjust it to best suit your specific needs?
Does the platform work well on the device you favour and using your internet connection?
Does it contain all the instruments you are ever likely to need to trade?
Do you understand how to conduct research into trades? Are you able to use the tools for technical analysis, charting, etc and do they suit your particular needs?
Do you understand how to open and close positions, apply stops and limits, and do other trading-related tasks?
Do you know how to use the platform to implement a particular trading strategy?
Can you easily gain get access to information about your previous trades and is it easy to analyse them to learn how to improve as a trader?
Do the news feed work well and does it contain useful information?
Is there a watch-list feature? This is a list of financial securities that are monitored for potential future trading opportunities.
Understanding the basics of forex strategies
Forex trading strategies help traders decide when or where to buy or sell a currency pair. They are simply a set of rules that help a trader determine when to enter a trade, how to manage it and when to close it. There are many, many strategies available. Fortunately, there is also a vast amount of information available on forex strategies, from books to YouTube videos to the educational information offered on broker platforms.
No single strategy is best, and the type of strategy you decide to employ depends upon many factors, not least your skill and experience. As a beginner, it is best to focus on the most basic and effective strategies. Other variables include: how much time you want to devote to trading; which pairs you want to focus on; the size of your positions; whether you are going long or short etc, etc. Moreover, some may work better in certain situations than others. A demo account allows you to practise these strategies over and over again until you find the ones that you are most comfortable with and are ready to use in live trading.
A trading strategy can be very simple or very complex.
Chartingand trading tools
Learn how to interpret and utilise charts, from testing technical indicators to identifying patterns on a demo account. You can also learn how to interpret and utilise information from news feeds and market data.
Find out what the customer service is like
Demo accounts are used mainly by beginners, and beginners often need customer support. Almost all brokers offer 24-hour customer support during the working week, but some still offer only office-hours support. If you are still learning how to trade and expect to be trading overnight, make sure that your broker can help you out with technical or administrative support during the night.
FAQs
How long do demo accounts stay open?
Some demo accounts will expire after a set period of time, usually 30–90 days. The best demo accounts, however, will never expire or will only expire after a period of inactivity. As a general rule, demo accounts should always be kept open. Even experienced traders use demo accounts to test new strategies or try out trading on new assets. If your demo account does expire and you still want to keep it open, it is always worth getting in touch with your broker’s customer service department to ask them to reopen it or extend it.
Here are the regulated brokers with unlimited demo accounts. They are ordered by overall score, showing the broker with the highest overall score at the top.
You will be trading the real market only with pretend money so they are accurate. Remember, however, that you can never replicate the real emotions you will experience when trading your own money. So, while useful for practicing different approaches and strategies, traders are likely to behave far less cautiously on demo accounts than on a real, live account.
Why use a forex demo account?
A demo account allows you to learn all about forex trading without risking your own money. This is vital given that forex markets are highly complex and volatile and subject to seemingly random movements. Diving straight into trading your own money without any or very little experience is a recipe for financial disaster. Using a demo account helps you to build up your knowledge and this may take weeks and even months in a risk-free manner. At the very basic level, it can provide guidance on whether you can actually make money trading Forex, and whether it’s something you like doing. It can also, determine how much time, effort and money you want to devote to trading and influence your choice of strategies etc.
What is the difference between live and demo accounts?
There is no distinction other than the very important one that in a demo account you are trading without risk since no money is involved.
How long should I trade on a platform before depositing real money?
You should stay on the demo account until you completely understand the basics of forex trading and feel comfortable risking your own money. The answer will vary from individual to individual and will depend on your aptitude and how much effort and time you put into trading on the demo account. Never feel that you need to rush into live trading, the more time you spend practicing on a demo account the more likely you are to be successful using real money.
When you do start trading for real, begin with a small amount such as US$250 to US$500; any less limits the number of trades you can make. You need to be prepared to lose some or all of this money. Also, trade cautiously. You don’t want to risk more than 1% to 2% of your capital on each trade. That will allow you to make 50 to 100 trades, by which time you will be well placed to know if you can make a profit trading forex.
Which trading platforms can I use with my demo account?
The type of trading platform you use will depend on which broker you open a demo account with. The most popular trading platforms are MT4, MT5 and cTrader. They can be used with multiple brokers, and all will prepare you for any number of potential markets. You may be unable to trade stocks with some demo accounts, so if you want to switch brokers in the future – or use multiple brokers – and want to trade stocks, be careful which platform you start with.
Many brokers also off their own speciality trading platforms but these tend to be devised for experienced traders with particular requirements. For example, there are speciality platforms aimed at technical and algorithmic traders (who use computer codes and software to open and close trades according to set rules such as points of price movement in an underlying market), and automated trading.
Some brokers will offer more than one choice of platform. Choosing a broker with a wide platform choice would allow for the trader to try different trading platforms on the demo account. Here are the regulated brokers with a wide platform choice. They are ordered by overall score, showing the broker with the highest overall score at the top.
All brokers will have customer service open on weekdays, but the better brokers extend their customer service into the evenings and weekends. We include the customer service hours in our reviews and some of the tables on this page. Contact methods can vary from poor customer service ticketing systems (eToro) to direct email addresses and local toll-free phone numbers. Live chat and other messenger services are also available with some brokers, but responsiveness can vary depending on the time of day.
Forex Risk Disclaimer
Trading Forex and CFDs is not suitable for all investors as it carries a high degree of risk to your capital: 75-90% of retail investors lose money trading these products.
Forex and CFD transactions involve high risk due to the following factors: Over-leveraging, unpredictable market volatility, slippage arising from a lack of liquidity, inadequate trading knowledge or experience, and a lack of regulatory protection for clients.
Traders should not deposit any money that is not disposable. Regardless of how much research you have done, or how confident you are in your trade, there is always a substantial risk of loss. (Learn more from the FCA or from ASIC)
Our Methodology
Our State of the Market Report and Broker Directory are the result of extensive research on over 100 Forex brokers. The explicit goal of these resources is to help traders find the best Malaysian Forex brokers – and steer them away from the worst ones – with the benefit of accurate and up-to-date information.
With over 150 data points on each broker and over 3000 hours of research and review writing, we believe we have succeeded in our goal.
In a world where trading conditions and customer support can vary based on where you live, our broker reviews focus on the local trader and give you information about these brokers from a Malaysian perspective.
All research has been conducted by our in-house team of researchers and writers, gathering information from various company representatives, websites and by sifting through the fine print. Learn more about how we rank brokers.
References
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Trading Forex and CFDs is not suitable for all investors and comes with a high risk of losing money rapidly due to leverage. 75-90% of retail investors lose money trading these products. You should consider whether you understand how CFDs work and whether you can afford to take the high risk of losing your money.
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Accepts Malaysian Clients. Minimum spread EUR/USD 1.50 pips on trading account with lowest minimum deposit. Islamic account available. MT4 & MT5 platforms supported. Leverage offered can vary depending on country of residence, and your trading knowledge and experience. FXTM is regulated by CySEC, FCA, FSCA, and the FSC.
