Best options trading simulators

Options can be a blast, allowing you to make many times your money in a short period. But getting familiar with how options trading works can take some time – and if you’re using real money, it can be expensive. That’s where options simulators can be a great benefit for traders looking to learn how options prices move, how to enter orders and how to not lose your shirt.

The best options simulators let you place trades just as you would on the real-life trading platform itself. You’ll decide to trade calls or puts, pick out the option strategy you want, choose the strike prices and decide how much to buy. An options trading simulator can be about the closest thing to trading real options as you can get – without the threat of losing real money.

If you want to downshift into stocks, many of the best options simulators also offer virtual trading of stocks, futures, ETFs or other securities.

Here are the best simulators, many of which are offered at the best brokers for options trading.

Best options simulators

The following simulators offer virtual trading or what’s sometimes known as paper trading.

Interactive Brokers

Interactive Brokers offers what it calls paper trading, starting you out with $1 million in equity, and then lets you go, giving you access to the broker’s Trader Workstation or IBKR mobile app and its whole array of option trading tools. You’ll place trades just as you would with real money, and you’ll get to work with the broker’s options order entry, which can be complicated at times.

To get started, you’ll need to request a virtual account, which will have different login credentials from your main account. If there’s a downside here, you’ll need not only an account but also funding in it to start with virtual trading here, so it’s a better fit for clients or those soon-to-be.

TradeStation

TradeStation goes after active traders with a range of tools and its simulator offers the whole experience of its real-life trading plan. Its tools include OptionStation Pro, which lets you build and analyze option strategies, charting apps and other screening tools. You can also code your own trading strategies and then automate them in the simulator to see how they perform.

You’ll need to register online for access and then can get started with any amount of virtual currency. However, you’ll need to have a funded account to set up the simulator and trade.

Webull

Webull is a solid financial app that also lets you in on the simulation game, and you’ll be able to trade options as well as stocks and cryptocurrencies. You’ll need to register with the app, but then can easily flip between trading real money and just the paper stuff. You can track your options’ performance over time and see daily and total profit-and-loss statements.

Paper trading at Webull is a notable benefit of one of the top mobile trading apps out there, and it joins the app’s other slick features such as charting to offer a strong experience.

Charles Schwab paperMoney

Charles Schwab lets you run through its much-lauded thinkorswim trading platform with what it calls paperMoney, its own trading simulator. You’ll get the ability to practice options trading with $100,000 of virtual currency, entering trades on thinkorswim just as you would in real life. You’ll be able to track profits and losses daily and over time, and can export trading data for review.

You’ll get access with a Schwab account, which you can open immediately with no money.

E-Trade Paper Trading

E-Trade also offers paper trading on its Power E-Trade web platform, giving you $100,000 to trade options as you see fit. You’ll trade under your paper trading account, which looks like the real thing, so be sure that you’re in the right account. You’ll be able to track your gains and losses just as you would on the regular platform, allowing you to get the hang of the real thing.

You can sign up for paper trading right from the brokerage site’s main page, and it will launch the virtual trading platform.

Moomoo

Here you’ll start as a virtual millionaire and be given free rein at moomoo to trade options as well as stocks, futures and ETFs. You can quickly register on the site and then you’re up and running. You’ll get real-time quotes as you trade and moomoo’s suite of tools to help you make trading decisions. When you’re ready to go with the real thing, you won’t pay any commissions on options trades, and you’ll also get access to Nasdaq Level II data to help your trading game.

Bottom line

Options simulators can be great at helping you understand how to place trades, getting familiar with a broker’s order entry and learning the pros and cons of advanced option strategies. But it’s important to remember that despite those positives, it’s not quite the same experience as when real money is on the line, and you’ll respond differently from when it’s just virtual money at stake.