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Bankrate follows a strict editorial policy, so you can trust that we’re putting your interests first. Our award-winning editors and reporters create honest and accurate content to help you make the right financial decisions.
We value your trust. Our mission is to provide readers with accurate and unbiased information, and we have editorial standards in place to ensure that happens. Our editors and reporters thoroughly fact-check editorial content to ensure the information you’re reading is accurate. We maintain a firewall between our advertisers and our editorial team. Our editorial team does not receive direct compensation from our advertisers.
Bankrate’s editorial team writes on behalf of YOU – the reader. Our goal is to give you the best advice to help you make smart personal finance decisions. We follow strict guidelines to ensure that our editorial content is not influenced by advertisers. Our editorial team receives no direct compensation from advertisers, and our content is thoroughly fact-checked to ensure accuracy. So, whether you’re reading an article or a review, you can trust that you’re getting credible and dependable information. Bankrate logo
Hey traders! I’ve been exploring the wild world of options trading lately, and lemme tell you – it can be intimidating when real money’s on the line. Options trading has this amazing potential to multiply your investments quickly, but the learning curve? Steep as a cliff.
That’s why I wanted to share my findings on the best places to practice options trading without losing your shirt (or your lunch money). These simulators are basically training wheels for options traders – giving you the full experience without the financial risk.
Why Use an Options Trading Simulator?
Before jumping into my recommendations let’s talk about why these simulators are so valuable
- Practice complex options strategies without real financial consequences
- Learn how options prices move in response to market conditions
- Get comfortable with placing different types of options orders
- Test your trading theories before applying them with real money
- Gain confidence in your trading decisions
Most good simulators give you virtual money (sometimes up to $1 million!) to trade with and they work just like the real platforms. You’ll select calls or puts choose strike prices, and watch your virtual portfolio grow (or shrink) based on your decisions.
7 Best Options Trading Simulators in 2025
After testing multiple platforms here are my top picks for where you can practice options trading risk-free
1. Interactive Brokers Paper Trading
Virtual Starting Capital: $1,000,000
If you’re looking for a simulator that feels exactly like the real thing, Interactive Brokers delivers with their paper trading option. You get access to their professional Trader Workstation or mobile app with all the same trading tools as funded accounts.
What makes it great:
- Professional-grade trading tools
- Identical experience to real trading
- Access to their full array of options tools
The downside? You’ll need to have an actual IBKR account with some funding to access the simulator. This makes it better for people who are already clients or planning to become one soon.
2. TradeStation Simulator
TradeStation targets active traders with sophisticated tools, and their simulator doesn’t hold back on features.
What I love about it:
- Access to OptionStation Pro for building and analyzing strategies
- Advanced charting capabilities
- Ability to code and automate your own trading strategies
- Test your strategies in simulation before going live
Like Interactive Brokers, you’ll need a funded account to use the simulator, which is a bit of a barrier for complete beginners.
3. Webull Paper Trading
Webull offers one of the most accessible options trading simulators for beginners. After registering with the app, you can easily toggle between real trading and paper trading.
Standout features:
- Clean, mobile-friendly interface
- Ability to trade options, stocks, and even cryptocurrencies
- Easy performance tracking with daily and total P&L statements
- No funded account required to start practicing
This is probably the most beginner-friendly option on the list if you’re just getting started.
4. Charles Schwab paperMoney (thinkorswim)
Schwab’s thinkorswim platform is legendary among options traders, and their paperMoney simulator gives you $100,000 in virtual currency to practice with.
What makes it awesome:
- Full access to the powerful thinkorswim platform
- Realistic order execution
- Ability to track profits/losses over time
- Option to export trading data for review
The best part? You only need a Schwab account to access it – no minimum deposit required. Just open an account and you can start practicing right away.
5. E-Trade Paper Trading
E-Trade’s Power E-Trade platform includes a paper trading feature with $100,000 in virtual funds.
Key benefits:
- User-friendly interface that mirrors the real platform
- Detailed tracking of gains and losses
- Easy sign-up right from the main brokerage page
- Strong educational resources alongside the simulator
This is a great option for traders who are considering E-Trade as their eventual broker.
6. Moomoo
Wanna feel like a millionaire while you learn? Moomoo starts you with a cool million in virtual cash and lets you trade options, stocks, futures, and ETFs.
What’s great:
- Quick registration process
- Real-time quotes while trading
- Comprehensive suite of trading tools
- No commissions on real options trades when you’re ready to transition
- Free Nasdaq Level II data access
Moomoo is gaining popularity fast and offers a solid practice environment.
7. TD Ameritrade paperMoney
Though not mentioned in the original article, TD Ameritrade’s paperMoney (also on the thinkorswim platform) deserves a spot on this list.
What I like:
- $100,000 in virtual trading capital
- Access to one of the most powerful trading platforms
- Robust options analysis tools
- Educational resources integrated into the platform
How to Make the Most of Your Practice Trading
I’ve found that simply using a simulator isn’t enough – you need a strategy to maximize your learning. Here are some tips that helped me:
-
Treat virtual money like real money – It’s easy to make reckless decisions when there’s no real risk. Discipline yourself to trade as if it were your actual savings.
-
Keep a trading journal – Document your trades, reasoning, and outcomes. This helps identify patterns in your decision-making.
-
Start with simple strategies – Before attempting complex spreads, master basic calls and puts.
-
Set specific learning goals – Maybe you want to understand how implied volatility affects option prices, or how to properly execute a vertical spread. Focus on one concept at a time.
-
Use real market conditions – Practice during actual market hours to experience realistic price movements and liquidity.
-
Follow a trading plan – Develop and stick to specific entry and exit criteria for each trade.
Limitations of Options Simulators
While these platforms are amazing learning tools, they do have some limitations you should be aware of:
- Emotional disconnect – You simply won’t feel the same psychological pressure when trading virtual money.
- Perfect executions – Some simulators don’t accurately replicate slippage or partial fills that happen in real trading.
- Limited market conditions – You’re practicing in whatever market exists now, which might not prepare you for different environments (like high volatility crashes).
Moving from Simulation to Real Trading
When you feel comfortable with your paper trading results, here’s how I recommend transitioning to real money:
- Start extremely small – Use the minimum contract size and amount you’re willing to lose completely.
- Stick with the strategies you’ve proven – Don’t suddenly try new approaches with real money.
- Expect emotional differences – Be prepared for the psychological impact of real trading.
- Keep your journal going – Continue documenting your trades and decisions.
- Gradually increase size – Only scale up your position sizes after demonstrating consistent success.
Final Thoughts: The Best Simulator Is the One You’ll Actually Use
The “best” options simulator ultimately depends on your specific needs. If you’re already planning to use a particular broker, their native simulator probably makes the most sense so you can get comfortable with their specific platform.
For absolute beginners with no broker preference yet, I’d probably recommend Webull or Moomoo for their accessibility and user-friendly interfaces.
Remember – options trading is complex, and no amount of simulation completely eliminates risk when you switch to real trading. But with proper practice, you’ll be far better equipped to navigate the options markets successfully.
Have you tried any of these simulators? Which one worked best for you? I’d love to hear your experiences in the comments!
P.S. If you’re looking to take your options knowledge beyond just simulators, check out some of the free educational resources offered by these brokers. Many provide webinars, tutorials, and strategy guides that complement your practice trading nicely.
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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.
The following simulators offer virtual trading or what’s sometimes known as paper trading.
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 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 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 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 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.
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.
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. Did you find this page helpful?
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Bankrate is always editorially independent. While we adhere to strict , this post may contain references to products from our partners. Heres an explanation for . Our is to ensure everything we publish is objective, accurate and trustworthy. Bankrate logo
Founded in 1976, Bankrate has a long track record of helping people make smart financial choices. We’ve maintained this reputation for over four decades by demystifying the financial decision-making process and giving people confidence in which actions to take next.
Bankrate follows a strict editorial policy, so you can trust that we’re putting your interests first. All of our content is authored by highly qualified professionals and edited by subject matter experts, who ensure everything we publish is objective, accurate and trustworthy.
Our investing reporters and editors focus on the points consumers care about most — how to get started, the best brokers, types of investment accounts, how to choose investments and more — so you can feel confident when investing your money.
The investment information provided in this table is for informational and general educational purposes only and should not be construed as investment or financial advice. Bankrate does not offer advisory or brokerage services, nor does it provide individualized recommendations or personalized investment advice. Investment decisions should be based on an evaluation of your own personal financial situation, needs, risk tolerance and investment objectives. Investing involves risk including the potential loss of principal. Bankrate logo
Bankrate follows a strict editorial policy, so you can trust that we’re putting your interests first. Our award-winning editors and reporters create honest and accurate content to help you make the right financial decisions.
We value your trust. Our mission is to provide readers with accurate and unbiased information, and we have editorial standards in place to ensure that happens. Our editors and reporters thoroughly fact-check editorial content to ensure the information you’re reading is accurate. We maintain a firewall between our advertisers and our editorial team. Our editorial team does not receive direct compensation from our advertisers.
Bankrate’s editorial team writes on behalf of YOU – the reader. Our goal is to give you the best advice to help you make smart personal finance decisions. We follow strict guidelines to ensure that our editorial content is not influenced by advertisers. Our editorial team receives no direct compensation from advertisers, and our content is thoroughly fact-checked to ensure accuracy. So, whether you’re reading an article or a review, you can trust that you’re getting credible and dependable information. Bankrate logo
How to Practice Trading Options on Robinhood (And Not Lose Money)
FAQ
What is the 60/40 rule for options?
Non-equity options taxation
60% of the gain or loss is taxed at the long-term capital tax rates. 40% of the gain or loss is taxed at the short-term capital tax rates.
Where can I learn options trading for free?
Option Alpha’s free education courses and guided tracks are perfect for new traders looking to learn the basic of options trading, as well as experienced traders that want to better understand more advanced options topics. Do I need a membership for the education? No, all our options trading education is 100% free.
Where can I mock trade?
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.
Can you practice options on Robinhood?