How to Use the Investopedia Simulator
The Simulator reproduces the full sequence of placing, modifying along with settling equity, option in addition to cryptocurrency orders without exposing the user to monetary loss. Each action mirrors the workflow of a retail brokerage - quote retrieval, order ticket completion - routing confirmation, fill notification next to position update. The platform delays price feeds by twenty minutes to comply with exchange rules yet retains the tick-by-tick feel of live markets.
Every trade settles in a virtual U.S. dollar ledger. Open positions reprice continuously. Closed positions lock in a gain or loss that alters the cash balance immediately. A ranking engine compares the percentage return of each account against every other account enrolled in the same game. Rankings update after each market close.
The Simulator grants one hundred thousand virtual dollars to every newly registered user. Registration demands only an email address, a username, a password. No credit card or identity verification step appears.
After login the system drops the user into the Portfolio screen. A toggle in the upper right corner switches between Stocks but also Crypto. Each asset class possesses its own ledger, order ticket along with research suite.
The Stocks workspace divides into four permanent panels.
Portfolio lists every open position, the number of shares, the average cost, the last price, the market value, the day change in addition to the total gain or loss. A second table records every executed trade with time stamp, symbol, side, quantity, price next to commission. A third table tallies dividends, splits, spin-offs. A fourth table displays the account's cash balance, margin loan - buying power, and net liquidation value. A fifth table shows the user's percentile rank within the selected game.
Trade opens an order ticket that accepts market, limit, stop, stop limit, trailing-stop along with bracket orders for equities and single-leg options. A drop down menu selects the order duration - day, good-till-cancel, fill-or-kill, immediate-or-cancel. A checkbox toggles margin on or off. A second checkbox toggles short sale authorization. A small calculator link displays the largest share quantity the cash balance supports at the current ask.
Research presents a quote strip with last, bid, ask, size, volume, open interest, implied volatility, dividend yield in addition to ex-date. Below the strip sits an interactive candlestick chart with one minute granularity and twenty-year history. A fundamentals tab shows income statement, balance sheet, cash flow statement next to ratio analysis for the last ten fiscal years. An estimates tab lists analyst revenue, EPS, price targets for the next eight quarters. A news tab streams headlines from ten wire services. A screener tab filters the entire U.S. equity universe by sector, market capitalization, price, volume, valuation, growth, profitability along with technical signals.
Games lists every public and private competition the user has joined. Each row shows the game name, start date, end date - starting cash, allowed instruments in addition to current rank. A Create button launches a wizard that configures custom games.
Fast Fact
The Portfolio panel calculates annualized return since inception - remaining cash, and total buying power. Historical trades sort into long equity, short equity, long call, long put, short call, short put next to covered option assignments. A miniature leaderboard pins the user's percentile rank against every active Simulator account.
Before committing capital a prudent investor studies the underlying business. The Simulator embeds the full EDGAR filing archive, earnings call transcripts, and consensus estimate revisions. A single click on any ticker symbol surfaces the entire research dossier.
The stock screener accepts Boolean combinations of more than one hundred fundamental and technical criteria. Results export to a watchlist that feeds directly into the trade ticket.
To execute an order the user clicks Trade, selects Stock or Option, enters the symbol, chooses buy or sell, enters the share or contract quantity, selects the order type, enters the limit or stop price if required, selects the duration, reviews the estimated commission, and clicks Submit. The Simulator fills the order against the delayed quote feed and posts the result to the Portfolio ledger.
Important
The Max link populates the order ticket with the largest share quantity the available cash balance supports at the current ask. Users who intend to hold more than one position should leave cash in reserve instead of exhausting the balance on a single trade.
The Simulator hosts both private and public investing contests. Each contest tracks percentage return from a fixed starting date to a fixed ending date. Equity options, cryptocurrencies trade under identical rules.
A new user who declines to create a custom game receives automatic enrollment in the open ended Investopedia Trading Game. The Join Game tab lists thousands of perpetual public games. A user retains membership in any number of games simultaneously.
To create a custom game the user clicks Games - Create Game. A form appears with the following fields:
Game name: any string up to fifty characters.
Game description: a paragraph that states the objective, the benchmark along with any special rules.
Game type: Private restricts entry to users who possess the password - Public allows anyone to join.
Starting cash: defaults to one hundred thousand virtual dollars - accepts any integer between one thousand and one million.
Date range: calendar pickers set the open date and the close date.
Trading features: checkboxes enable margin, short sales, options, cryptocurrency in addition to portfolio visibility among members.
Advanced rules: sliders set commission per share, market delay, forced diversification, minimum price, quick sell restriction period, margin maintenance requirement, and interest rate on debit balances.
After the creator clicks Create Game the system generates a password for private games. The creator distributes the game name, password, start date, end date next to starting cash to every intended participant. The Leaderboard tab ranks participants by total return and by Sharpe ratio.
The Crypto workspace lists twenty five digital assets. The top eleven by market capitalization are:
Bitcoin (BTC)
Ethereum (ETH)
Tether (USDT)
USD Coin (USDC)
BNB (BNB)
Binance USD (BUSD)
XRP (XRP)
Cardano (ADA)
Solana (SOL)
Dogecoin (DOGE)
Polkadot (DOT)
Clicking Trade beside any coin opens a ticket that displays price, twenty-four-hour change, market capitalization, launch date - circulating supply, total supply, fifty-two-week high, fifty-two-week low, session high, session low, previous close. The Crypto Portfolio panel graphs unrealized profit or loss over the last seven days, thirty days, ninety days, one hundred eighty days, and three hundred sixty five days.
Are classes available on how to trade stocks?
Udemy, Coursera along with most state universities list courses that cover fundamental analysis, technical analysis, portfolio construction, and risk management. A Simulator account complements coursework by providing a sandbox for immediate application of each concept.
Are other stock trading simulators available?
Charles Schwab offers paperMoney inside the thinkorswim platform. The SIFMA Foundation offers The Stock Market Game for primary and secondary school students. MarketWatch, Wall Street Survivor in addition to HowTheMarketWorks provide browser based alternatives.
What does paper trading mean?
Paper trading denotes any simulated purchase or sale of a financial instrument. The transaction posts to a ledger that tracks profit or loss without transferring real money. The practice tests strategy hypotheses and familiarizes novices with market mechanics before capital is placed at risk.
The Simulator equips every participant with research terminals, real time position valuation, and competitive scoreboards. Beginners learn execution details. Veterans test refinements to established systems. All activity occurs under market conditions that replicate live trading with precision.
