Finding forex brokers with free and unlimited demo accounts is an easy task, but that's not what happens in binary options.

You can easily find any forex broker with an unconditional demo account, but that's not going to happen in binary options case. Several years into its launch, binary options is still relatively new compared with spot forex trading. However, binary options (BO) has been progressing well over the years. Improvements had been made, upgrades were also implemented, even innovations in trading types and platform features were already attempted. Yet, an unconditional demo account is still rare and some traders eventually resort to comply with brokers' requirements, so they can try practicing in that so-called demo account.

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What Makes Free Binary Options Demo Account Hard To Find?

It is partly due to binary option's freshness among the trading online system. Let's take forex brokers as comparison. Forex popularity can be sensed not only from the huge daily trading volume and the big number of traders participating in this market around the world. If you type for a forex broker in an internet search engine, there will be heaps of forex brokers popped up, indicating the tight competition among them. It doesn't come as a surprise if demo accounts from those brokers come with the best possible condition. As a result, you can find brokers with free and unlimited forex demo accounts everywhere.

Another reason comes from the absence of unconditional demo accounts in the most dominant trading platforms used by binary options brokers. Unlike forex brokers, BO brokers operate their trading platforms on a web-based interface. They either buy a license from a certain software provider or build their own proprietary platform. The fact is, providers, don't always complete their platforms with demo account support. If they provide platforms for the majority of binary options brokers, then the scarcity of unconditional demo account is surely not a surprise.

Even so, binary options brokers sometimes keep their stance in not providing any free or unlimited demo account, although their providers already supply the platforms with demo account feature. The cost to manage a demo trading system is the main reason why such condition happens. Free demo accounts do not provide brokers with real income, while they have to maintain expensively-designed platforms, access to live prices, and execution for virtual orders. That's why most of them choose to either don't provide demo account at all, or charge their clients with initial deposit to open a demo account.

Apparently, they don't feel the immediate neccesity to fix thiscondition as there are a lot of BO brokers still working with that rule. Thus, we can just anticipate for the increasing interest in binary options to generate more demands on unconditional demo account, and drive binary options brokers to compete with more accommodative requirement for demo account.

 

So, Is There A Chance To Find Any Broker With Free Demo Account?

Don't worry, even just a few, brokers offering free and unlimited demo account do exist. What are they?

 

Binary.com

Through its proprietary platform, Binary.com provides a free and unlimited demo account. To start practicing binary options in this broker's demo account, traders are only required to fill a registration form with personal information like email address and phone number. There is already a virtual balance of 10,000 USD waiting for demo traders.

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If you're a beginner, trying out Binary.com's free demo platform can help you getting used to binary options trading. Even if the platform is very distinctive from most brokers, at least you can learn how to place an option in various types (high/low, touch/no touch, in/out) and analyze market in short term, especially with the tick trades that Binary.com provide. The only downside comes from payout system. Unlike other binary options brokers that just give payout rate as the possible profit generated in one successful option, Binary.com reveals the amount of capital you need to place in order to receive a certain amount of payout, that you can decide for yourself. Obviously, Binary.com uses a distinctive payout calculation that differs from other binary options brokers.

IMPORTANT UPDATE: As of May 2020, Binary.com has rebranded to Deriv

 

IQ Option

Another broker that offers free demo account with its own platform is IQ Option. Opening a demo account in this broker is even easier than in Binary.com, as traders can log in through social media account to start trading in demo platform. However, the vitual balance is only up to 1,500 USD, and expiry time only ranges in short term periods. Furthermore, high/low serves as the only option type you can use in IQ Option's demo account.

In spite of the lacklusters, trading instruments are available in various asset class. You can choose to place options in forex pairs, commodities, or stocks. Also, technical indicators can be directly applied in the trading chart. What makes IQ Options platform more interesting is its new attractive display. Compared with other brokers' platforms, IQ Options' is available in larger size, and equipped with impressive trading features, eye-catching interface, and refund option.

 

InstaForex Options

Although InstaForex Options is just an extra feature from InstaForex, but the free demo account can be too good to pass up, considering the few choices of unconditional demo account in binary options. InstaForex has its own proprietary trading platform to facilitate traders with binary options service. Demo platform can be accessed by any InstaForex client who previously sign up for forex demo or live account. If you haven't registered to any InstaForex account before, you can directly open a demo account on the site.

InstaForex demo platform for binary options trading is quite well-equipped with graphic styles (bar and candle), indicator choices, time frames, and chart personalization. Unfortunately, there is no clear indication of payout rate in case an option goes in-the-money. There is only a note of 80% profit rate for a successful trade. Besides, you may need to try harder in getting used to this broker's binary options platform, as there are specific terms and ways applied by InstaForex in their BO system.

 

OptionTrade

OptionTrade is a binary options brand from HotForex. Powered by SpotOption, a populer platform provider among online trading business, OptionTrade provides free and unlimited demo account for its traders.Virtual balance provided in this broker's demo account is only up to 1,000 USD.

Trading assets and option types are quite variable, ranging from currencies to stocks for instrument choices, and varying from high/low to ladder for option types. In addition, there are special features like sell back, double up, and rollover, to give you alternatives when your option is likely to end up out-of-the-money. It's such a pity that there are no indicator tools to help you analyze price movement. Another drawback from price chart comes from the presentation. It is displayed in a small sized window with customizations available for only time frame and graphic style.

 

RoboOption

RoboOption shares some similarities with OptionTrade as both use SpotOption as their platform provider. The binary options service of RoboForex provides a virtual balance from 1,000 USD to 100,000 USD. Although you may find resemblances between RoboOption and OptionTrade's platforms, there are still some differences, especially in option types.

To begin with, there are no one touch and ladder options in RoboOption. The price chart also lacks the personalization for graphic style. Compared with OptionTrade's, trading instruments are more limited in this broker. Still, the huge amount of virtual amount certainly can cover up those lacklusters.

 

Alpari Binary Options

Alpari binary options used to be supported by MarketsPulse, but now it's powered by Binarystation. You can easily practice trading in the demo platform even without signing up for an account. A virtual balance as much as $10,000, and payout rate up to 90% are provided to facilitate your demo trading.

At glance, Alpari binary options seem simple, especially when you only pay attention to the price chart. it's displayed in a line style with no technical indicators to choose. Yet, option types are offered in a quite variable scope, ranging from high/low, touch, range, and spread. Furthermore, the expiry time varies from 1 minute to 1 day. There is also a put out option given as a kind of sell back tool so traders can close a losing option earlier and gain back some of their investment. However, instrument choice is not this broker's strong point as a few pairs of forex and commodities are the only ones available for binary options trading.

 

Lion Binary Options

Lion Binary Options is a brand from Hirose UK, an FCA-regulated forex broker. The trading platform is proprietary and available not only in live but also demo version. The registration process for a demo account is as easy as that in Binary.com. With 10,000 USD of virtual balance, your binary options demo trading also comes up with an early closure feature and payout rate that ranges from 70 percent to 90 percent.

Despite the abovementioned features, Lion Binary Options still lack in option types and instrument choices. Apparently, you can only trade with high/low and a few forex pairs and commodities. Expiry time is also limited in minutes, ranging only from 3 to 30 minutes.  All in all, the platform concept of Lion Binary Options is sufficient enough to support the company's main objective, which is aimed to facilitate binary options beginners.

 

Which One To Choose?

Since registering for demo accounts don't cost anything, you may assume that it's okay to just choose one of the brokers' demo account above. Still, as trading platform in binary options are very distinctive for almost each broker, it will be better for you to start trading demo in a broker that you project to open a real account with.

The importance of demo account is undebatable. Some may say that there is no withdrawable profit from this account to prove its ineffectiveness. But from a newbie's point of view, demo account is a place to learn trading, familiriaze with the trading platform, and testing the broker's quality. An unconditional demo account is certainly of great importance, and binary options brokers mentioned in this article may just be the ones you look for when searching for a binary options demo platform.