TradeHQ — Free Paper Trading Simulator

What TradeHQ actually is

TradeHQ is a free paper-trading simulator for people learning how markets work. Every account starts with $100,000 in virtual cash. Nothing on the site touches real money: there is no brokerage account, no deposit, no withdrawal and no order ever reaches an exchange. Prices shown in the simulator are sourced from public market data and, between refreshes, moved by a small simulation layer so charts behave realistically during practice sessions.

The point of a simulator is to let you make the expensive mistakes for free. Most beginners lose money not because they picked the wrong stock but because they sized positions badly, moved a stop, doubled down after a loss, or traded an instrument they did not understand. All of those habits are visible in a practice account, and all of them are cheaper to unlearn there.

What you can do here

• Paper trade 150+ instruments across stocks, crypto, ETFs, forex and commodities with market and limit orders.
• Track a full practice portfolio — open positions, realised and unrealised P&L, win rate, Sharpe ratio and maximum drawdown.
• Work through four structured courses (options, futures, macro reading and trading psychology) with quizzes and completion badges.
• Read a 49-term trading glossary written in plain language, each entry with an expert explanation and a worked example.
• Follow step-by-step guides for individual assets, side-by-side asset comparisons, and named strategy walkthroughs.
• Keep a trading journal, build daily streaks with the daily challenge, and run a 30-day practice duel against a friend.

Who it is for, and who it is not for

TradeHQ is built for complete beginners and for self-taught traders who want a place to rehearse a process before risking capital. It is particularly used by students, who often have time to learn but very little capital to lose.

It is not for you if you want signals, copy-trading, portfolio management, or someone to tell you what to buy. We do not publish price targets, we do not run a Discord with calls, and we do not accept payment for coverage of any asset. If you are looking for a recommendation, this is the wrong site.

How to start in five minutes

• Open the markets page and pick one instrument you already recognise.
• Read its guide page so you know what actually moves it before you trade it.
• Place a small practice position — 1-2% of the $100,000 balance, not 50%.
• Write down, before you enter, where you would exit if you are wrong.
• Come back the next day, review the trade in the journal, and repeat.

Why practice first, honestly

The argument for a simulator is not that practice guarantees profit — it does not. It is that the cost of learning market mechanics is unavoidable, and you get to choose whether you pay it in money or in time. A beginner who learns what a limit order does by watching it not fill in a fast market has learned the same lesson as one who paid for it, minus the loss.

There is a real limitation to be honest about: a simulator removes the emotional weight of losing your own money, and that weight changes behaviour. Treat practice as the place to build a repeatable process — sizing, exits, journaling, review — and expect the emotional part to still be new when real money is involved.

Common questions

• Is TradeHQ free? Yes, entirely. There is no paid tier, no trial and no card required.
• Do I need an account? No. Practice trading, courses and the glossary all work without signing up; an account is only needed for public profiles, duels and cross-device sync.
• Is the money real? No. Every balance, order and result is simulated, and the platform holds no funds.
• Are the prices real? They are based on public market data and refreshed periodically, with a simulation layer between refreshes. They are not a live trading feed.
• Does TradeHQ give advice? No. There are no signals, price targets or recommendations anywhere on the site.
• Where is my data? Portfolio, journal and progress are stored in your own browser unless you create an account.