TradingView Paper Trading is a simulated trading account for practising trades with virtual funds instead of real money.
To connect it, open Supercharts, click Trade in the top-right corner, select Paper Trading, and click Connect. You can then choose a market, open the order ticket, select an order type, enter your quantity, and submit the simulated trade.
No deposit or broker account is required. For example, a basic practice trade could use 10 shares, a stop-loss 5% below entry, and a take-profit 10% above entry.
TradingView Paper Trading at a Glance
| Feature | How It Works |
|---|---|
| Cost | Uses virtual funds and does not require a deposit |
| Access | Available through TradingView Supercharts |
| Markets | Stocks, forex, crypto, futures and other supported assets |
| Order types | Market, limit, stop and stop-limit |
| Risk controls | Take-profit and stop-loss orders |
| Trade management | Positions, orders, account history and trading journal |
| Real-money trading | No. Paper Trading simulates execution |
How Do You Activate TradingView Paper Trading?
Activate TradingView Paper Trading from the Trade panel in Supercharts.
- Open TradingView Supercharts.
- Click Trade in the top-right corner. You can also open the Trading Panel at the bottom of the chart.
- Select Paper Trading from the broker list.
- Click Connect.
Your simulated account is now active. TradingView says Paper Trading is available globally and supports stocks, forex, cryptocurrencies, commodities and index futures.
How Do You Place Your First Paper Trade?
Place a paper trade by choosing a market, opening the order ticket, selecting an order type, and submitting the order.
1. Choose a Market
Use the Symbol Search box at the top left of the chart. You can search for:
- A stock ticker
- A forex pair
- A cryptocurrency
- A futures contract
- An index or commodity
Check the exchange and instrument before placing the order. Symbols can have different trading hours, contract sizes, currencies and price feeds.
2. Open the Order Ticket
After connecting Paper Trading, click Trade again or use the Buy and Sell buttons on the chart.
The order ticket lets you select:
- Buy or sell
- Quantity
- Order type
- Entry price
- Take-profit level
- Stop-loss level
TradingView can calculate quantity using units, a cash amount, a percentage of your balance, or a specified risk amount based on your stop-loss.
3. Select an Order Type
| Order Type | What It Does | Example Use |
|---|---|---|
| Market order | Attempts to execute immediately at the best available price | Entering a trade now |
| Limit order | Executes only at your chosen price or a better price | Buying a pullback |
| Stop order | Becomes a market order after the trigger price is reached | Entering after a breakout or limiting a loss |
| Stop-limit order | Becomes a limit order after the trigger price is reached | Controlling the maximum entry or exit price |
A market order prioritises execution speed. A limit order gives you more control over price, but it may not execute if the market never reaches your chosen level.
A stop-market order can experience simulated slippage after activation because it becomes a market order.
4. Add a Stop-Loss and Take-Profit
For a basic long trade, you could use:
- Asset: hypothetical stock
- Entry: market order
- Quantity: 10 shares
- Stop-loss: 5% below entry
- Take-profit: 10% above entry
A stop-loss is designed to close the position if the price moves against you. A take-profit closes the position when the target is reached.
TradingView allows take-profit and stop-loss levels to be attached to market or limit orders. Each position generally supports one take-profit and one stop-loss. When one is triggered, the other is cancelled.
5. Review and Submit the Order
Check the order preview before confirming:
- Buy or sell direction
- Quantity
- Order type
- Entry price or trigger price
- Estimated position value
- Stop-loss and take-profit levels
- Margin or leverage requirements, if applicable
Click Buy or Sell to submit the simulated order. If it is not filled immediately, find it under the Orders tab.
How Do You Manage an Open Paper Trade?
Manage an open paper trade from the Trading Panel.
The panel provides separate areas for:
- Positions: Open trades and unrealised profit or loss
- Orders: Pending limit, stop or stop-limit orders
- Account history: Completed transactions
- Trading journal: A record of executions and account activity
To close a position, open the Positions tab and click Close. You can close the full position at market or enter a smaller quantity for a partial close.
When the relevant chart-trading controls are available, you can also drag order, stop-loss and take-profit levels directly on the chart. TradingView lists chart trading, the order ticket and Depth of Market as methods for placing and managing paper trades.
Why Can Paper Trading Profit or Loss Differ From the Chart Price?
Paper Trading can show a different result because the position is generally valued using the bid or ask price rather than the last traded price shown on the chart.
For most instruments:
- A long position is valued using the bid price.
- A short position is valued using the ask price.
- The difference between the relevant bid or ask price and your average fill price is multiplied by the position quantity.
This can create a small loss immediately after entry because of the bid-ask spread. TradingView calculates the result in the symbol's currency and converts it to the account currency, which is USD by default.
How Should You Set Your Position Size?
Set position size by deciding how much you are willing to lose before placing the trade. Do not use the full simulated balance simply because Paper Trading allows it.
Use this formula:
Position size = Maximum acceptable loss ÷ Distance from entry to stop-loss
Example:
- Maximum planned loss: $100
- Entry price: $50
- Stop-loss: $48
- Risk per share: $2
- Position size: $100 ÷ $2 = 50 shares
Using this method makes the simulated account closer to the conditions of a real account. It also reduces the effect of oversized virtual positions on your results.
How Does Leverage Work in TradingView Paper Trading?
Leverage increases the simulated position size relative to your available funds, which also increases potential losses and the margin required to maintain the position.
You can usually adjust simulated leverage through the account settings gear beside the paper account name. TradingView says this feature simulates broker behaviour but does not provide real margin trading.
For more realistic practice, use leverage, margin and contract specifications that match the broker or exchange you may use later.
How Can You Add Commissions to Paper Trading?
Add commissions through the Paper Trading settings to make the results closer to your expected trading costs.
Commission settings matter particularly for:
- Day trading
- Futures
- Options
- High-frequency strategies
- Strategies with small profit targets
TradingView supports commission settings for different asset classes. For futures and options, commission can be configured per contract and charged when opening and closing a position.
Ignoring commissions can make a strategy appear profitable when the same trades would produce a much smaller result in a live account.
How Do You Reset Your Paper Trading Account?
Reset the account when you want to start a new test with a clean balance.
A reset can delete:
- Transaction history
- Active orders
- Open positions
If you want to test several strategies, keep separate accounts or record each trade in a spreadsheet instead of resetting the same account repeatedly. TradingView also allows different account currencies, with USD as the default.
Paper Trading vs. Bar Replay
Paper Trading and Bar Replay serve different purposes.
| Tool | Main Use |
|---|---|
| Paper Trading | Practising decisions and order management in current market conditions |
| Bar Replay | Practising chart reading with historical price data |
| Strategy Report | Testing automated or Pine Script strategies against historical data |
Paper Trading uses virtual funds in current market conditions. Bar Replay lets you practise with historical price data, but it is a separate mode. Trades made during a Bar Replay session are not saved in the same way as trades made in the Paper Trading account.
What Are the Main Limitations of TradingView Paper Trading?
TradingView Paper Trading is useful for learning order placement and testing discipline, but it does not reproduce every part of live trading.
The main limitations are:
- Virtual money does not create the same emotional pressure as real money.
- Simulated fills may differ from fills available through a live broker.
- Liquidity, slippage and order queues may not match live execution.
- Leverage is simulated rather than provided as real margin.
- Futures have settlement and expiration rules that affect live trading.
- A profitable paper strategy can still fail with real capital.
Use Paper Trading to practise a defined strategy with realistic position sizes, commissions, stop-loss rules and a complete trade journal.
What Should You Do During Your First Paper Trading Session?
Use one market and record each decision before placing the order.
- Connect Paper Trading in Supercharts.
- Choose one liquid market.
- Write down the entry, stop-loss and target.
- Use a small, realistic position size.
- Place a market or limit order.
- Add a stop-loss and take-profit.
- Monitor the position under Positions.
- Record the result and reason for entry.
- Repeat the process across a large enough sample of trades before considering live trading.
TradingView Paper Trading works best as a structured practice account. Connect it from the Trade panel, place orders through the order ticket, manage positions from the Trading Panel, and assess results after accounting for position size, spreads, commissions and execution limits.