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# TradingView Paper Trading: How to Set It Up and Use It
- URL: https://www.daytraderincome.com/tradingview-paper-trading/
- Published: 2026-10-27T21:23:12.000Z
- Updated: 2026-10-31T23:11:06.000Z
- Description: TradingView has a free paper trading account built into its charts. Here's how to turn it on, set a realistic balance, place orders and avoid the traps.
- Author: Indy Karveli
- Tags: Tools

**Short answer:** TradingView paper trading is a free simulated trading account built into TradingView's charts. You place buy and sell orders on real market prices with pretend money. To turn it on, open a chart, click **Trade**, choose **Paper Trading** and click **Connect**. It works on the free plan.

## How to set up TradingView paper trading

1. Open a free account at [TradingView](https://www.tradingview.com/?aff%5Fid=1173482&ref=daytraderincome.com) (affiliate link) and sign in.
2. Open a chart: go to tradingview.com/chart, or click Products, then Supercharts.
3. Click **Trade** at the top right of the chart.
4. In the list of brokers, choose **Paper Trading**, TradingView's own brokerage simulator.
5. Click **Connect**. An order ticket opens on the right, and a Paper Trading panel appears at the bottom of the chart.

## First, fix the balance

The simulator starts with a large default balance. That's a trap: with a pretend six-figure account, oversized trades feel normal. Reset it to what you'd really trade with. Here's [how to reset TradingView paper trading](https://www.daytraderincome.com/reset-tradingview-paper-trading/).

## How to place a paper trade

1. Pick the symbol, for example **MNQ1!** for micro Nasdaq futures.
2. In the order ticket, set the quantity. Use the size you'd really trade.
3. Choose **Market** (fills now), **Limit** (your price or better) or **Stop**. See [order types explained](https://www.daytraderincome.com/order-types-explained/).
4. Tick **Take profit** and **Stop loss** so your exit exists the moment you're in.
5. Click buy or sell. Your position and its live result show in the Paper Trading panel.

## What to know before you rely on it

- **Fills are kind.** Buys fill at the ask and sells at the bid, with no slippage. Real fills in a fast market are worse.
- **Commission is off by default.** Set a realistic one in the account settings so your results include [costs](https://www.daytraderincome.com/what-day-trading-actually-costs/).
- **Futures data is delayed on the free plan.** CME futures like NQ and MNQ show about 10 minutes late unless you add real-time data on a paid plan. More in [TradingView futures data explained](https://www.daytraderincome.com/tradingview-futures-data/).
- **Replay trades aren't saved.** Trades you place during Bar Replay don't go into your paper account history.
- **One position per symbol.** New orders on the same symbol merge into one position.

## Make it count

Paper trading only teaches you something if you treat it like real money: the same size, the same written rules, every trade logged. Read [how to paper trade so it actually counts](https://www.daytraderincome.com/how-to-paper-trade/) and [is paper trading worth it?](https://www.daytraderincome.com/is-paper-trading-worth-it/)

## Questions

### Is TradingView paper trading free?

Yes. It's included on the free Basic plan. See [is TradingView free?](https://www.daytraderincome.com/is-tradingview-free/)

### Can you paper trade futures on TradingView?

Yes, including NQ, MNQ and ES. On the free plan the futures data is delayed. See [how to paper trade futures](https://www.daytraderincome.com/paper-trading-futures/).

### Is TradingView paper trading realistic?

The chart and prices are real. The fills are kinder than real life, and losing pretend money doesn't feel the same, so expect live results to be a bit worse.

Want the whole thing in order? My free course, [The Paper Route](https://www.daytraderincome.com/paper-route/), takes you from a blank TradingView account to 30 logged sessions on paper.

*Education only, not investment advice. Most people who day trade lose money. Simulated results have limits. TradingView links on this page are affiliate links: if you sign up or upgrade, I may earn a commission at no extra cost to you. TradingView changes its plans and menus from time to time; check its site for what's current.*