Forex Demo Accounts: How Long They Last and When to Move to a Cent Account

A demo account lets you practise with virtual money on the same platform as a real trading account. It is free at every broker, but if you stop using it, the broker closes it, and how soon depends on the broker.

At XM, registration opens your first demo account automatically, so you can start practising on the same day.

Which Forex Demo Account Lasts the Longest?

Of XM, HFM, XS and Exness, XS keeps an unused demo account open the longest, for 90 days. HFM deletes an unused demo account after 29 days, which is the shortest limit.

To keep a demo account open, trade on it at least once every four weeks. Each limit counts only the days without a trade, and HFM’s 29 days is the shortest of them, so one trade every four weeks keeps your demo accounts open at XM, HFM and XS.

Exness also deletes demo accounts that nobody uses, but it publishes no number of days. So at Exness, no rule tells you in advance how long an unused demo account lasts.

At HFM, the type of demo account matters too. A Demo Premium account ends after 60 days even when you trade on it, and Demo Zero shows no end date when you open it. So for practice that lasts longer than two months at HFM, open Demo Zero.

What Balance and How Many Demo Accounts Do You Get?

At XM and HFM, you choose the demo balance yourself when you open the account, and an Exness demo account starts with $10,000. At XS, you add virtual money after opening.

The table below shows the balance and how many demo accounts you can hold at each broker.

	Demo balance	Demo accounts
XM	$1,000 to $5,000,000	5 accounts at a time
HFM	Up to $100,000	Not published
XS	You can add more	10 accounts per type
Exness	$10,000 to start	100 accounts per type

The balance changes what the demo teaches you. With $10,000 of virtual money, a loss that would hurt a small real deposit looks tiny. So a demo balance close to your planned deposit shows you what a loss really costs.

If you chose the wrong amount, you can change it later. XM and Exness both have a Set Balance button, HFM lets you raise the balance three times a day and lower it twice, and XS lets you add more with Add Demo Funds.

Is a Demo Account the Same as a Real Account?

No. A demo account earns no rebate, its spreads and swaps are confirmed to match only at XM and Exness, and its slippage cannot be checked. So a real trading account with a rebate costs less than the demo shows.

• Rebate
  A real trading account opened through ForexFanClub gets part of the cost of every lot back as a rebate, and a demo account gets none. Our forex rebates page shows how much at each broker.
• Spreads and swaps
  At XM, both matched in our comparison of demo and real accounts. Exness says its demo has the same conditions as live accounts. HFM and XS do not say so, and we have not compared them.
• Slippage
  The price you get can differ from the price you asked for, and the gap changes with every order. So comparing it fairly would need a very large number of trades with real money.

So a demo account shows you whether your plan works, and only a real trading account shows you the full cost and the prices that you really get.

When Should You Move From a Demo to a Cent Account?

A cent account is the next step once your plan works on the demo account, because it lets you trade real money in sizes 1/100 of a standard account’s. One cent lot is 1/100 of a standard lot, so the profit, the loss and the cost are 1/100 too.

Gold moves $20 against your trade

	Loss	Part of $100
Standard account, 0.01 lot	$20	20%
Cent account, 0.01 lot	$0.20	0.2%

On a $100 deposit, the same $20 move in gold takes 0.2% of your money on a cent account at 0.01 lot, and 20% on a standard account. So one bad trade on a cent account leaves almost all of your first deposit.

At XM, HFM and Exness, you cannot practise these small sizes on a demo account first. XM has no demo of its Micro account, HFM offers no Cent demo account, and Exness offers Standard Cent only as a real trading account.

So at these brokers, a cent account is where you first trade sizes smaller than 0.01 lot. Our cent account comparison shows which broker’s cent account has the lowest spread and how much money you need to open one.

How Do You Open a Demo Account?

At all four brokers, you open a demo account in the broker’s client area, and it needs no deposit.

• XM
  At XM, registration opens your first demo account automatically, and you can add more from Home in the Members Area. The XM demo account guide shows each step and how to log in to MT5.
• HFM
  At HFM, register (opens in a new tab) for a myHF area first. Then open the demo account under Trading Accounts, Open Demo Account.
• XS
  At XS, you can use a demo account before you verify your profile. After you register at XS (opens in a new tab) and answer the questionnaire, open it under Accounts, Open Demo Account.
• Exness
  At Exness, registering (opens in a new tab) opens a Standard demo account on MT5 for you, with $10,000 of virtual money. Demo accounts of the other types are in your Personal Area.

Questions People Ask About Forex Demo Accounts

Is a forex demo account free?

Yes, at all four brokers. A demo account needs no deposit, and all the money in it is virtual.

Can you make real money on a demo account?

No, the profit on a demo account is virtual, and you cannot withdraw it.

The exception is a demo contest, where the prizes are real. HFM runs a monthly Demo Contest with prizes paid as credit on a real trading account.

XM also runs weekly demo competitions, which our XM demo competition guide explains.

Can a demo account become a real trading account?

No, you open a real trading account separately, and the demo account stays as it is.

At all four brokers, you open the real trading account in the same client area as your demo accounts, so you do not register again.

Which Page Do You Need Next?

For trading real money in small sizes after the demo, start with the cent account comparison.