When will zerodha launch a Demo trading platforms?

Demo trading platforms are very useful for new traders with learning experiences as well as for old traders to test some new strategies on live market without losing actual money.

Demo trading allows us to practice and get comfortable to a new strategy and give us confidence confidence before testing with real money.

To be a successful trader,

1st step is Back testing.
Now, if you are following a discrete method and trading visually using charts, or you are tape (price quote) reader or you are trading dynamically on various scripts using tv news or events etc then there is no such option to back test it using old data. A live demo trading platform is the best option.

2nd step is executing plans instantly by placing orders quickly in dynamic market which needs lots of practice.
Traders can practice this step using demo trading account without loosing real money. You must know trading is not easy. And in any profession you face difficulty during during days when your main goal is try get learning experience rather than earn a good salary. So this apply to trading also, during initial days when are learning there is more chance to lose money and most of traders quit as beginners as they lose their money fast during learning process.
So a demo trading platform can help such beginners.

3rd step
contains risk management, money management etc which a trader can also try to achieve using demo trading platform without loosing real money.
Learning trading especially risk management and money management is a lengthy process which a trader can learn by trading in dynamic live market. During initial days also a trader have no idea how and where to average trade and how important is partial profit booking. A trader can learn such things slowly without loosing money using a demo trading platform.

And after gaining some experience of above 3 step using a demo platform if a trader enter to real trading with real money to achieve the final and most difficult 4TH step then the chance of success will definitely increase.

The 4th and final step is, trade with real money and by controlling hope, greed and fear gain the ultimate trading psychology. This is most difficult and most important final step as we all know it is rather easy to make money using back testing on a strategy using bodes.
But people starting trading with real money directly above mentioned 4th step without even gaining an edge on first 3 step are losing easily and rapidly.
So to help a large number of trading community a fully functional demo platform is must.

There is also a clear advantage of demo platform than just backtesting a strategy which is as follow.

Such programed back testing don’t involve real bid ask spread, and most importantly slippages, so not actually show the real possible outcome.
A demo platform can actually teach a trader most part of successful trading except the final and most difficult part emotional attachment with real money. But without learning the basic parts of trading and start trading with real money are making things complicated.

So, I request Nithin and Zerodha to launch a Demo Platform for your traders.
I know it will add up a cost so you can charge a nominal 6 mohth or yearly subscription and make it optional. Using that you can help the trader community and earn a good amount of money too.
I know many beginners try and fail and out of market quickly. You can retain them with demo trading account with a nominal yearly subscription say, 299 for 6 month or 399 per Year. You can make a very big amount as you have very big amount of in active traders who are mainly inactive bcoz uncertain about outcome.

@nithin read the above post and let us know if it is possible to launch a Demo trading platform to help the trader community.
I take my time to give you the idea bcoz as a seassional trader I have faced such difficulty in my initial years and missed the presence of a good demo trading platform.
As a number one brokerage house you can launch a Demo (Virtual) trading Platform to help the trader community and increase your revenue with a nominal yearly subscription say, 299 for 6 month or 399 per Year.

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Paper trading on Kite :heart_eyes::heart_eyes::heart_eyes::heart_eyes:
Zerodha Team plz consider this post.
moneycontrol and tradingview is not that much helping when the Demo Trading is concerned.
Most of the trading community is dependent on Zerodha so consider Demo Trading as well

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We tried a lot on providing this but not possible for us to provide demo platform for some reasons,mentioning few below.

  1. How to separate demo platform to regular platform? can’t provide under same login so need to have other login with separate set of login credentials this is not practical at our scale.
  2. What if someone lost money and claim they thought that is virtual platform as he got confused?
  3. We can’t redistribute exchange data as a broker we can only show to our users in live platform.

My personal view – To be frank paper trading won’t teach anything on controlling emotions, If there is will to learn there is a way, thing is user should be ready to take that and work on it. Some popular websites are already providing that facility, can try there. Also one can add 1k or something like that and start learning by placing small quantities in less valued scrips in live markets, nothing teaches better than real money, this has to considered as investment,I opine.

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I agree with @Siva .Nothing helps more than being in real market with real money even if started with less money in the starting.The way we respond if your real money is on the line is completely different when we are paper trading with virtual money.

I already said in details that paper trading or demo platform don’t teach, controlling emotions, controlling emotion is the last and fourth (the final and most difficult step in trading). Perhaps you don’t read my full post, I explain it in details how a demo platform can help a trader before entering into real market.

I know there is no question of redistribute exchange data as a broker, so I already tell in that post only Zerodha Registered Customer can use that optional facility. As it is optional and with a minimal subscription fee so only interested people will use it. In that way there is less chance of mixing up as it is not fee.
After subscription it is possible to ENABLE the demo login from settings or console, in that case Zerodha can display the ‘DEMO MODE’ on order window and chart window too, so that no one can confused.

If a trader learn the above mentioned step 1-3 using the demo platform and try to learn the final and most difficult 4th of ‘controlling emotions’ with real platform then obviously there will be more chance of success.

My personal view it is possible but don’t sure about cost and is that a profitable option or not for Zerodha so I am not forcing or demanding anything.
If someone read my entire post can easily understand there are more basic steps in trading which one can learn with a virtual platform before start trading real money.

Good to know that Zerodha tried a lot, can try it differently as mentioned above with nominal subscription and terms and condition which a trader agree to enter a demo platform(so that no one can claim about such confusion of real and demo platform).

Anyway Zerodha can give it a try even it a ‘breakeven trade’ for their business. :grinning: bcoz such platform will help the trader community to grow as a successful trader and a successful trader is an asset of a broker too.

And as always. . . . . . .
ICICI Direct does it.
Edelweiss does it.
Heck , even NSE used to do it.

Zerodha continues to give really really lame and obviously stupid excuses.

My tips for those who are asking.

  1. Use ICICIDirect for paper trading in index derivatives
  2. Use Moneybhai for virtual day trading and investing.
  3. Use chartmantra for practice.

In zerodha charts one can use left/right button to reveal one candle at a time. Use it for manual back testing and paper trading.

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Let me correct Siva slightly, it isn’t that we can’t provide a demo platform. There is a way to solve for all the points he has mentioned, but we have more important things to solve for and on our list of things to do, before we get to building a demo trading platform.

Btw another issue with demo trading platform is - Dabba trading. Dabba trading is where an operator allows people to settle all profits and losses in cash, no real trading happens on the exchange. Historically these trades were getting noted down on a sheet of paper and then settled. There have been cases found recently where demo platforms was used for book keeping, instead of a sheet of paper. Imagine the implications for a regulated broker, if their demo platform was used for this purpose. The regulated entity will be the easiest person to blame. As a business we are also essentially in a way trading, we take up building new initiatives where the risk to reward is in the favor of the business, not against it. Otherwise like many traders, we could be doing well for a period of time, but eventually give up everything earned if this basic risk to reward principle is not kept in mind.

All the regulators are taking strict actions wherever dabba trading is spotted, but is still rampant in cities like Ahmedabad, Surat, Jaipur, Kolkatta, etc, where business communities probably still earn quite a bit in cash.

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i think trading view allows paper trading. and it is the best charting platform.so if someone whats to have demo trade i think that is the best option.

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