In the past, trading has always been reserved for investors with a substantial budget. But that’s changed in recent years, thanks to innovative business models and technologies that have lowered the minimum amounts required to get started. With account minimums getting lower almost every year, it makes sense to wonder whether we’ve reached a point where you can start trading with zero out-of-pocket investment.
You can start trading with no money using no deposit bonuses and demo accounts. Forex and options brokers are usually more prominent in offering such no deposit bonus and demo accounts. However, while these avenues are great to get you started, the amount of money you can make using these is often limited.
Read on to learn more about your options as an aspiring trader with no capital to get started.
IMPORTANT SIDENOTE: I surveyed 1500+ traders to understand how social trading impacted their trading outcomes. The results shocked my belief system! Read my latest article: ‘Exploring Social Trading: Community, Profit, and Collaboration’ for my in-depth findings through the data collected from this survey!
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Is It Possible To Start Trading With Zero Investment?
It’s possible to start trading with zero investment. But in most cases, you’ll be limited to forex trading and possibly options trading. And depending on how you go about it, you might not be able to make any real money. If you do, you may face limitations on when you can withdraw your money.
With that said, we all need to start somewhere, no matter how small.
So if you don’t have any money to fund a deposit, you may be better off starting your investment journey with a few limitations than giving up altogether. Postponing things until you have enough money to invest isn’t always the best decision either.
The earlier you get started, the sooner you can get acquainted with the intricacies of trading and position yourself to profit later on.
Alright, enough encouragement. Let’s get back on track.
So far, we identified what you can trade with no money: forex. What we’re yet to explore is the “how” part of it. As it turns out, there are several ways to start trading with no money:
- Use a demo account.
- Sign up for a no deposit bonus account.
- Use a demo account to win your starting capital.
Let’s discuss each option in greater detail.
Use a Demo Account
When I mentioned not being able to make real money when trading without a deposit, I was referring to a demo account. But don’t skip this section yet, because I’m about to explain the value of a demo account.
Demo accounts are exactly what they sound like. You open one and start trading with “fake” or virtual money. Since you’re not risking any real money, you can’t withdraw the profits you make on such an account.
So what’s the use of a demo account?
Besides allowing you to participate in contests where you can win real money, a demo account prepares you for actual trading, where you’ll be risking real money. As a novice trader, you might think that you’ve read widely enough to understand things like quotation dynamics, risk analysis, trading terminals, and so on.
But nothing beats the actual experience of making profits and handling losses.
Trading can be an emotional rollercoaster, especially when things aren’t going your way. Reading charts and executing strategies aside, you want to learn how to handle your emotions when trading, something even experienced traders still grapple with.
That, in my opinion, is why demo accounts are a necessary first step for anyone getting started on trading. The good news is that virtually every broker offers demo trading accounts, along with some virtual money and handy guidelines on how to get started.
Once you’ve gained some experience with a demo account, you can sign up for one with which you can make real money, which brings us to the next option.
Signing Up for a Non-Deposit Bonus Account
Some brokers may refer to these accounts as “non-deposit,” while others term them “no-deposit” bonus accounts. Regardless of the name, they all mean the same thing. You open a live trading account, and your broker funds it with a non-deposit bonus ranging from $10 to $500.
Once that’s done, you can start trading with real money without you making any deposit.
A non-deposit bonus account is by far your best shot at starting trading and with real prospects of profits without investing a cent. To sign up for one of these, start by finding a brokerage that offers them because not all do.
Next, go to their website and register by filling in the necessary information. In most cases, you’ll be awarded the bonus almost instantly.
In case you don’t know any brokers offering this type of bonus, here are a handful of options to get you started:
- XM: Offers a $30 bonus.
- Tickmill: $30 bonus
- Grand Capital: $500 bonus.
Note: All the above bonuses are exclusive to forex trading. However, Grand Capital is a bit different, offering a $50 no deposit bonus for binary options.
There are a couple of things you need to keep in mind when using a no deposit bonus to start trading. First on that list is that you can only withdraw profits you make trading with the bonus, and never the bonus itself. This stipulation is universal to all brokers, as it’s their way of ensuring that people don’t sign up, withdraw the bonus and vanish without executing a single trade.
Second, some brokers have a minimum amount of volume you’ll need to trade before you’re allowed to withdraw your profits. This is usually expressed as lots and varies from one broker to another.
Using a Demo Account To Win Your Initial Capital
If you’re an aspiring investor with trading knowledge and experience but lack the capital to get started, this somewhat unorthodox avenue is worth looking into.
What usually happens is that a forex broker starts a contest with real money to be won. The specific terms and conditions are set by the broker, and so is the prize money. For instance, winners might need to record the most transactions or earn the most in a given period.
In most cases, you can participate in these contests with a demo account or a cent account.
As someone looking to risk absolutely nothing, you’ll want to choose a demo account. However, keep in mind that the winnings may be higher for participants using cent accounts because they’re risking some money. Also, note that some brokers may charge a participation fee.
Now, I did mention that contests are mostly suited to traders with a bit of experience. But with a bit of research, you might stumble onto a demo account contest tailored specifically for novice traders.
For instance, Traders Union holds forex trading contests for novice traders, where winners are determined based on the profits they earn on a demo account. The beauty of this particular platform is that you don’t necessarily need to be number one to win.
Winnings are distributed among the top ten novice traders based on the proportion of profit made.
What To Expect When You Start Trading With No Money?
While it’s possible to get started on forex and potentially options trading with zero capital, it’s important to keep your expectations in check. Understand that it’ll take time and effort to turn your limited capital into significant profits, let alone a full-blown trading career.
Also, expect to come across scammers, especially when looking for no deposit accounts.
While I have listed some reliable brokers that let you start trading with no money, please make sure that you do proper research before making an investment – be it of time or money. Always remember, the onus is on you to do a background check on all available options to distinguish scammers from legit brokerage service issuers.
Author’s Recommendations: Top Trading and Investment Resources To Consider
Before concluding this article, I wanted to share few trading and investment resources that I have vetted, with the help of 50+ consistently profitable traders, for you. I am confident that you will greatly benefit in your trading journey by considering one or more of these resources.
- Roadmap to Becoming a Consistently Profitable Trader: I surveyed 5000+ traders (and interviewed 50+ profitable traders) to create the best possible step by step trading guide for you. Read my article: ‘7 Proven Steps To Profitable Trading’ to learn about my findings from surveying 5000+ traders, and to learn how these learnings can be leveraged to your advantage.
- Best Broker For Trading Success: I reviewed 15+ brokers and discussed my findings with 50+ consistently profitable traders. Post all that assessment, the best all round broker that our collective minds picked was M1 Finance. If you are looking to open a brokerage account, choose M1 Finance. You just cannot go wrong with it! Click Here To Sign Up for M1 Finance Today!
- Best Trading Courses You Can Take For Free (or at extremely low cost): I reviewed 30+ trading courses to recommend you the best resource, and found Trading Strategies in Emerging Markets Specialization on Coursera to beat every other course on the market. Plus, if you complete this course within 7 days, it will cost you nothing and will be absolutely free! Click Here To Sign Up Today! (If you don’t find this course valuable, you can cancel anytime within the 7 days trial period and pay nothing.)
- Best Passive Investment Platform For Exponential (Potentially) Returns: By enabling passive investments into a Bitcoin ETF, Acorns gives you the best opportunity to make exponential returns on your passive investments. Plus, Acorns is currently offering a $15 bonus for simply singing up to their platform – so that is one opportunity you don’t want to miss! (assuming you are interested in this platform). Click Here To Get $15 Bonus By Signing Up For Acorns Today! (It will take you less than 5 mins to sign up, and it is totally worth it.)
Conclusion
That does it for today’s post.
To recap, we’ve established that it’s possible to start trading with no money, using a demo account or a no deposit bonus account. While a demo account doesn’t allow you to make tangible profits, you can use it to gain experience and participate in a broker-sponsored contest where you can win real money and use it to fund your trading account.
Hopefully, this has opened your eyes to new opportunities and demonstrated that the lack of capital doesn’t necessarily mean that trading is beyond your reach.
BEFORE YOU GO: Don’t forget to check out my latest article – ‘Exploring Social Trading: Community, Profit, and Collaboration’. I surveyed 1500+ traders to identify the impact social trading can have on your trading performance, and shared all my findings in this article. No matter where you are in your trading journey today, I am confident that you will find this article helpful!
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