Plus500 was first created in 2008. It offers CFD trading both online and via mobile app, allowing users to trade on over 2000+ assets. Instrument classes include CFDs on shares, indices, Forex, commodities, options, ETFs and cryptocurrencies (availability subject to regulation).
During this review, we’ll discuss the pros and cons of the Plus500 demo account and assess it against the standards you’ve come to know us by. We’ll also ensure that you know exactly what you need to get started – from the location needed to download the Plus500 practice account, to the personal information you’ll need to register.
A Plus500 demo account is a trading account that is designed to mimic the appearance of a real money trading account. It is used by a broker’s new registrants to familiarise themselves with the layout and the trading possibilities of the Plus500 product without providing a financial commitment. The Plus500 demo trading account gives newcomers a demo budget of £40,000 to trade in any way they should see fit. Ideally, you will want to approach this £40,000 as if it were your money and research and place potential trades in the same way you would if the money was your own. This allows you to accurately get a true reflection for how trading with Plus500 is possible. Any profits you make from the demo budget are not yours to keep, this is simply play cash to allow you to practice the art of trading using Plus500’s software.
If, at the end of your Plus500 demo trial you don’t like the platform’s layout or you find trading with Plus500 a difficult or unpleasant experience, there’s no harm done to your bank balance. No money leaves your account, because you’re trading with dummy funds.
To make the Plus500 demo experience as similar to real money trading as possible, you can trade from over 2000+ assets from several asset classes, including shares and commodities. You can download the Plus500 demo mobile app if you prefer to trade on the go, or alternatively visit the online trading platform to trade using a larger screen. If you want to compare other demo accounts from different providers, the Forex.com practice account or the XTB practice account are great places to start!
There are two different ways to access the Plus500 account software. The first is via the Plus500 website, where clicking one of the ‘start trading’ links on the home page or FAQ section will give you access to the Google Play or iOS store button to download the Plus500 software. Alternatively, you can go directly to the Google Play Store or Apple Store to download the correct Plus500 demo trading account software for your device. The app is completely free and offers the same functionality than on the online trading platform.
Both the Plus500 practice account and their real money account can be accessed by the software, although you’ll need to complete an online application form to trade using real money before you’re allowed to make a deposit. This is then checked by Plus500 to ensure that you have enough trading knowledge to trade CFDs with them.
You don’t actually have to download the software to trade using Plus500, though. If you prefer, you can use the Plus500 online platform which can be accessed via their website. The website is also mobile compatible, allowing you to trade on the go without being tied down by software. This is perfect for those with older devices or those that do not use Android or Apple compatible mobiles.
Why use a Plus500 practice account?
There are plenty of reasons to use a Plus500 practice account. One of the most obvious is to familiarise yourself with the Plus500 online trading platform prior to spending your hard-earned cash. The practice account can be accessed via a web or mobile device using an Android or iOS app. The Plus500 practice account is designed to mimic the appearance of the real money account in every way, providing a realistic trading experience that can be used to decide if Plus500 is right for you.
By familiarising yourself with the trading platform before spending your money, you allow yourself the advantage of knowing how to navigate the platform with ease when the time comes to spend cash. This means that you can react quickly to market turbulence or rapid price changes without wasting time finding the relevant tools to action your trade.
The benefits are clear. You gain a better understanding of the services offered by Plus500 and you can also use this time to study the markets and their trading guides to educate yourself on the latest CFD market trends.
We’ve completed a lot of broker demo account reviews over the years, and ones that focus on real money accounts, too, like our overall review of Plus500 . One of the things we find more often than not are the numerous differences between the demo account and the real money account in terms of service. It’s common for us to find demo accounts with fewer trading assets or time restrictions placed upon them. With the Plus500 test account, it was nice to find that their demo services were pretty much identical to their real money options. There was, however, one addition to the demo account that we wish Plus500 would be gracious enough to give us, and that is the £40,000 starter balance. If only we had that in our real money account from the off, that would be a huge boost! But, we digress. It’s nice to be given demo funds, even if we can’t profit from them.
These funds can be used on no less than 2000+ assets. For example, commodity purchasers will likely be interested in the Chicago Mercantile Exchange commodities such as live and feeder cattle. Commodities can be traded on the real money account from as little as £100, making it an accessible asset class for many. If you’re interested in finding out more about different brokers, take a look at the FP Markets demo account.
The thing that sets us apart from the rest is our testing procedure. We don’t just write about betting sites, we try them too. That’s why we downloaded the Plus500 demo account software for our Android device. This is what we found.
We accessed the Plus500 practice account by visiting Google Play Store and downloading the app. It was easily found by typing in ‘Plus500’. The app itself was completely free, and took around 20 seconds to download. Next up, we had to register an account.
The account registration process is simple, but varies depending on whether you want just a demo account or a real money account. For the purposes of our review, we decided to go through the full real money process, which meant that we had to give personal information relating to our financial trading experience.
The registration form needed our name, address, telephone number and date of birth. After this was completed, we filled in an assessment on our financial trading experience. It’s important to provide an honest assessment to ensure you understand the implications of CFD trading.
Once we completed the assessment we were given the all clear to trade CFDs. The time taken to register can vary at this point, with some people needing more in-depth assessments to qualify.
If you were trading for real, this would be the point that you can make a deposit. We clicked the ‘Demo account’ button, which allowed us to trade immediately. Our trading account was credited with £40,000.
We opted for commodity trading, choosing gold from the popular instrument list in the centre of the screen. Clicking the tab button to the left would provide further trading options including shares and indexes.
We allowed the trade to continue for a couple of days, where the profit never did meet 0.25%, lingering at around 0.07%. Still, a profit is a profit, and we wanted to know how easy it was to close a trade.
Clicking the left-hand tab brings up a menu. We selected ‘open positions’ from our menu to access our gold trade. Faced with two buttons, we could either ‘edit’ or ‘close.’ Edit would allow us to set our limits, adjusting the profit and loss margin we could accept. We didn’t want this, we wanted to close, so clicked that button. Once you click ‘Close’ you still have the option to change your mind. You can make a partial close, click back and forget all about ever closing the trade or you can confirm your closure by clicking the ‘close’ button. That’s what we did. All in all, the closing process took a couple of seconds, which is great in a world where prices can change in an instant.
Firstly, you’ll need to know that there’s no in-depth application form for a demo account. The idea is to get users started as soon as possible with demo betting to familiarise themselves with the ins and outs of Plus500 financial trading. Of course, this is a slight negative as ideally, you’d want as true an experience as possible from the beginning of the trial.
There are, however, no differences in the commodities, shares and other assets you can trade between the two accounts. This gives a sense of realism that few demo accounts manage to capture sufficiently. We were also pleased to find that the speed in which the demo account monitored and facilitated trades was in line with the speeds expected of a financial trade in the real world. Financial trading can be cutthroat and ruthless in its speed, so knowing that the demo account gives a realistic view of that and can manage just as well as the real money trading account is great. It provides a steep learning curve for those who have some business experience of CFD trading, but would like to trade on their own.
Fees are also calculated similarly on the Plus500 practice account to the way they are calculated on the real money account. For a full picture of trade fees, it’s important to visit the FAQ section of the Plus500 website as fees vary between transactions depending on the size and type of transaction. If in doubt, these are displayed at the time of buying/selling.
If you’re a new user looking to get started with a Plus500 demo account, this is the section for you. We’ll go through the basics and let you know how to download the all-important Plus500 demo account app if you wish.
For more detailed information on the Plus500 practice account and how it compares to other financial trading accounts please visit Tradersbest.com’s demo account page for more details – including our latest Vantage FX practice account review.
Conclusion – Our final thoughts on the Plus500 demo account
We’ve hit the end of our Plus500 practice account review, so what have we found? While it is easy to get a trader to use a demo account, it is harder to get them to stick around and place real money trades with a broker. But Plus500 seem to be managing it just fine. We think part of their success is down to their demo account mirroring their real money account, giving traders a thorough understanding of what they’re getting into before parting with their cash.
The demo account benefits from being accessible on the go via a mobile app and also through web trading, supporting the trader throughout the whole financial day.
Many online brokerages offer demo accounts that you can use on your mobile. If you’re planning on signing up to Plus500, why not give their demo account a try first? To find out if there’s an app available for your device, take a look at our latest Plus500 demo account review.
When using a demo account, you’ll want it to act and feel like the real thing – otherwise, you’re not getting a worthwhile experience from it. If you’d like to see how the Plus500 demo account performs, why not take a look at our demo account review here at Tradersbest.com?
Before signing up for an online brokerage, you’ll want to know that they’re regulated. While Plus500 is one of the most renowned trading platforms in the UK, it’s good to exactly what licensing is currently in place. Thankfully, our latest Plus500 practice account review will help you decide whether this brokerage is worth your time.
Please don’t do this! Sharing any financial trading account is not recommended, and in the case of Plus500, cannot be done. To find out why this is not recommended, be sure to read our guide to the Plus500 demo account at Tradersbest.com.
Trading financial products carries a high risk to your capital, especially trading leverage products such as CFDs. CFDs are complex instruments and come with a high risk of losing money rapidly due to leverage. Between 74-89% of retail investor accounts lose money when trading CFDs. You should consider whether you understand how CFDs work and whether you can afford to take the high risk of losing your money.
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