Welcome to tradingmasters.io, the reference portal for those seeking to learn how to trade online, learning from those who trade online everyday. On the web there are many sites similar to each other, but on our website you’ll find guides to all the best online trading platforms offered by authorized and safe brokers. We don’t sell pipe dreams, and instead offer all our readers the opportunity to learn efficiently, taking advantage of demo accounts with no deposits required and our free guides.
If you are just starting to trade online and don’t have a large budget, you can practice with a risk free demo account or start with a real account for just $10.
In the table below, you’ll find some of the best legal and regulated online trading platforms in the world. Each of them offers a demo account with which to practice without risk and without depositing any funds. These brokers offer CFDs, Contracts for Difference, which are the ideal tool for trading online. With CFDs you can trade up and down, even with small amounts, on stocks, Forex (currency pairs or currency exchanges), cryptocurrencies, commodities, such as gold and oil, stock market indices, options, and more.
Do you want to learn? Start with our CFD Tutorial, a complete course with specific lessons.
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Broker:Minimum Deposit: 10 €License: Cysec 247/14- Last generation User Interface
- Low minimum deposit
*Terms and Conditions apply **Your capital is at risk (CFD service) -
Broker:Minimum Deposit: 200 €License: Cysec 109/10- Copy the BEST Traders
- TOP crypto choice
*Terms and Conditions apply **Your capital is at risk (CFD service) -
Broker:Minimum Deposit: 100 €License: Cysec 250/14- Among the best CFD brokers
- Broad cryptocurrency selection
*Terms and Conditions apply **Your capital is at risk (CFD service) -
Broker:Minimum Deposit: 100 €License: Banca Centrale d'Irlanda (No. C53877)- MT 4 e 5
- APP AvaTrade GO
*Terms and Conditions apply **Your capital is at risk (CFD service)
Online trading in 4 steps
Our site is aimed primarily at online trading for those who have never traded and want to learn. Our goal is to get you started the right way: without rushing and without risk. We will guide you with our free trading courses, and you’ll be able to practice with demo trading without depositing any funds.
When you want, when you’re ready, and if you want to, you can start trading with real money. If you show you have the ability to identify good trades, maybe you can achieve satisfactory economic results.
What is Online Trading?
“Online trading” means trading in financial instruments, online. Tradable financial instruments can vary in type but the most famous are CFDs, which allow you to trade up and down on any asset. Generally, therefore, when you hear about online trading, reference is made to trading with CFDs.
On our site you’ll find a complete CFD guide, in which you’ll learn details of this practical tool that allows you to negotiate on the online financial markets, in full autonomy. As we will also explore on this page, CFDs allow you to trade up or down on the price of an asset, even operating with a small amount of capital. However, there are also platforms that allow you to trade on instruments other than CFDs. For example, some platforms allow you to buy shares directly.
So, with online trading you trade on financial assets. You can turn a profit on the price changes that occur, but there is a risk involved when trading and that losses could occur if the traders are not familiar with the broker or the instrument they have chosen to trade with. You can trade up or down:
- Negotiate on the upside (Long): allows make trading to be made based on the asset’s price hikes
- Negotiate at the downside (Short): allows you to make trading based on the asset’s price reductions
The asset can consist of stocks, cryptocurrencies, Forex, commodities, indices, options, bonds, ETFs and more.
How to trade online
Online trading requires:
- An internet connection
- Subscription with a broker
- A trading platform
The nice thing is that the trading platform is offered by the broker. A broker can offer one or more trading platforms to choose from depending on your degree of experience.
To start trading with real money you would also need capital, however when you sign up for a broker you can chose to start with a demo account first.
Demo account and real account, what are the differences?
When you sign up with a broker, you can start with a demo account. The demo account is an account where you trade with virtual money (fake money). A bit like Monopoly. The nice thing is that you trade on a real platform and also the data (prices, graphs, etc.) are the same as you would find by operating with a real account. The only difference is that a demo account works with fake money and does not influence the market.
A real account, on the other hand, allows you to actually trade with real money.
At any time, you can switch from a real account to a demo account and vice versa, simply by clicking on the “switch” button. The two accounts do not interfere with each other.
How trading platforms work
The broker provides the assets on which to trade, but how do you place purchase or sale orders on these assets? Answer: with trading platforms.
With trading platforms, you can place orders which are then given to the broker. Once the order is received, the broker must execute it.
So, for example, if you want to open a BUY position on Amazon’s stock, you can use a trading platform. This is represented by a virtual environment or software in which you can place orders, consult items in your account, view real-time price charts, and perform technical analysis studies on the charts themselves.
Education, practice, psychology
Successful trading isn’t what makes you instantly rich but rather what in the long term offers constant (and perhaps growing) average profits. To achieve this result we require training, practice, and the right psychological approach:
- Education: through our free guides (CFD, Forex etc.)
- Practice: through free demos accessed on our trading demo page
- Psychology: with the right emotional detachment
Trading Education
On our site you will find all the online trading guides you need because we believe that trading education is essential to getting started the right way and continuing successfully. There are many traders who don’t have the basics and who only operate based “on a hunch”, choosing a stock (sometimes at random) and negotiating upward and downward without the right analysis. In doing so, one can only lose, sooner or later.
Practice with a trading demo
Practice is the best way to learn, hands down. This applies to everything, including online trading.
Today, online trading brokers provide you with the opportunity to practice with a free demo account, with no deposit required. This means that all you have to do is register for free to access the demo and practice.
With the free demo account, accompanied by our guides, you can learn trading by practicing. For example, you could sign up for IQ Option to practice with its free demo, and at the same time study our specific guide on the IQ Option platform.
We have published guides for different platforms, so all you have to do is:
- Choose a trading platform to practice with
- Access the page on our site where the guide for that platform is published
- Read the guide and apply the practical examples to the demo
In our opinion, this is the best way to learn. We’d be delighted if you were to achieve results immediately, however, we recommend you be patient before starting to trade with real money. Practice on the demo account until you feel 100% sure you are ready to use the real account.
We’d also like to remind you that it is possible to switch from the demo to the real account, and from the real account to the demo account, at any time. The two accounts are independent of each other and continue to function even when switching between them.
The demo account is great for those people who are still learning, but also for those who already have experience and want to test new strategies, maybe trying new technical indicators or new combinations of indicators.
Psychological approach to trading
The psychological aspect of trading is much more important than you think. For example, let’s pretend to practice with a demo account for a month, knowing that our investments are made with virtual money and, worse case scenario, we won’t lose anything. After the first month we switch to our real account and top it up with $500 to start off with. Any trade we place we could profit from or we could lose on, however, this time it’s real money. Money lost from our account.
With this example we are putting you in front of the first psychological situation you will face when deciding to trade with real money. This is the first of many. Next, you’ll face several steps:
- The choice of instrument
- Timing of entering the market (are you be able to wait for the right moment?)
- Timing to exit the market (will you be able to settle for a specific profit target?)
- Any unfavourable market situations, where you lose (could you have the patience to wait, as this could lead to results?)
These are some of the psychological situations that all traders have to face, day after day.
Emotional detachment is fundamental, since the moment your emotions enter he picture, your judgment is heavily affected.
Best online brokers
We’ve selected only the best online brokers in order to offer you the best trading experience. Our selection is also based on the desire to choose the best online brokers, because we are aware of the fact that in order to learn you must be able to practice with a trading platform that is simple to use, clear, and understandable.
Online brokerage Comparison
When choosing an online broker, you should do so based on your personal needs and preferences. For this very reason, we compiled a page on online brokerage comparisons in which you can compare brokers according to their offers: option of a free demo, minimum deposit, regulation, negotiable assets, etc.
Choosing a good online trading broker is the first step in getting off on the right foot. More and more people are falling for scam sites, so choosing a broker among those we offer will help you trade safely.
Here you can find info about:
Your Online Trading Academy
With all our free online trading courses we want to become your trading school. Even better, we want to become your online trading academy. In ancient Greece, the term “Academy” was used to refer to the Plato’s school where one went to study and learn.
Our philosophy is: an informed trader is more likely to succeed.
This is why we have compiled our guides on individual categories of trading products, as well as on individual platforms. By offering you material centred on learning how to trade on individual platforms, we allow you to access free instruction manuals (generally not offered by brokers) so you can learn to use the trading platform of your choice.
For example, if you want to try platform “X”, you can access our complete X trading guide, and learn how to trade with that platform by looking at concrete trading examples.
With the right amount of dedication you will soon be able to get passionate about trading the right way. Being in a hurry is counter-productive, as is entrusting your money to sites that promise safe earnings without doing anything. Using your own head not only pays off better, but also offers you greater satisfaction. Always be the master of your own time and money.
The best online trading platforms and software
In the table at the top of this page you’ll find listed some of the best online trading platforms on the market. To these we must add MetaTrader’s software,
Trading platforms can be simple to use (such as eToro, Plus500, IQ Option) or a little more complicated. The MetaTrader 4 trading software, for example, is more complicated, although very popular. In fact it is the most used professional trading software in the world.
Authoritative brokers reviews
On tradingmasters.io you will find reviews for trusted brokers, from an objective point of view. We are not interested in promoting one broker more than another, but instead want to offer you detailed information on each one, so that you can choose the one that best fits your needs.
To consult the reviews, access the brokers’ page by comparison, or the page on broker reviews.
CFD brokers
Among the brokers we are herein presenting are CFD brokers. CFD brokers offer CFDs, instruments that allow you to obtain results proportional to price rises and falls of the asset on which you trade.
For example, if you trade on Amazon shares on the upside, you will earn profits proportional to increases in the Amazon stock. If, on the other hand, Amazon is trading lower, profits are obtained proportional to the fall in the Amazon stock.
It is important to highlight that with CFD trading, as well as earning, you can also lose money. Everything depends on which direction the price takes. If your prediction turns out to be correct, you’ll get profits proportional to the price change in your favour.
CFDs are characterized by leverage, which allows them to operate with smaller amounts of capital. In fact, thanks to leverage, you can invest a small part of the capital value on which you want to invest. For example, if the leverage is 1:100, you can invest $100 instead of $10,000.
CFD Trading
What are CFDs? What does trading with CFDs mean? Below we will answer all these questions, but in the meantime we’d like to remind you once more that a complete guide to CFDs is available on our website. In fact, we have a multi-lesson course plus a complete synthetic guide on a single page and very soon we will also have a video tutorial for CFD trading.
CFD trading meaning
What does CFD trading mean? It means trading using a tool called CFD, which stands for “Contract For Difference”.
A CFD is a financial instrument whose price derives from the value of other types of investment instruments. In other words, instead of negotiating or physically exchanging an asset (e.g. a share), the CFD allows two parties to exchange money based on the change in the value of the asset itself.
So, for example, when working with CFDs on Apple shares, you do not buy or sell Apple shares, but you negotiate on their value.
A CFD in fact replicates the price trend of the underlying asset, so those who trade on the upside will see profits based on the rise in price, while those who trade on the downside will see profits based on the fall in price.
Profits and losses, in CFD trading, must be calculated from the moment the position is opened. We can see this better in this figure below.
The three essential moments of a trade are:
- Opening
- Retention
- Closing
From the moment a trading position is opened, the fluctuations of the market will begin to have an effect on the invested capital.
The market will continue to have an effect on the invested capital until the position is closed. Obviously, there aren’t any profits made or lost when the market is closed (e.g. after the close of the trading day or at the weekend).
Differences between CFDs and Stocks
As we have seen, CFDs have very interesting features. First of all they allow you to invest using only a small portion of the capital on which you want to trade. This is possible thanks to leverage, which for example, at 1:100, allows you to trade on a value of $10,000 with only $100.
The difference with traditional investment is obvious: instead of investing $10,000, you invest only $100. This is the main reason for the success of CFD trading over the past 30 years.
Another difference is that with CFDs you can trade on other assets: commodities, futures, stock indexes, bonds, cryptocurrencies, Forex, ETFs, and more.
Keep in mind, with CFDs, shares are not materially owned, nor do they provide voting rights at shareholders’ meetings. But, as you well know, to carry any weight in shareholder meeting, you must have invested millions and millions of dollars.
Another nice difference is that with CFDs you can work in full autonomy. You will always choose what to invest in, when to invest, and how much to invest.
| Stock | CFD |
|---|---|
| Suitable for the long term | Suitable for the short term |
| Distributes dividends | Doesn’t distribute dividends (But you get benefits from them) |
| Shareholders meetings: yes | Shareholders meetings: no |
| Profits only if prices rise | Trading based on prices rises and falls |
If you are a beginner the important thing, as we have explained in the course of this article, is that you follow a training guide and above all that you start practicing with a demo account.
With a demo trading account there is no monetary risk, since it is fake money. Even those who have no trading experience can practice without any problems and learn, perhaps following our free trading guides, written by trading masters who trade every day.
There are even platforms that have a feature called “copy trading”. Copy trading or copytrading consists of the ability to automatically copy the operations of other more experienced traders, choosing them based on special performance rankings. For example, you can decide to copy traders who had the best returns over the last year, or over the last month or last week. Our advice is to always try to be consistent, rather than seeking high return rates in the short term. Nonetheless, you will always be free to choose the profit strategy you prefer.
CFD trading platform
Most trading platforms available today are actually CFD trading platforms.
A CFD trading platform allows you to:
- Choose the asset on which to trade
- Define the transaction (amount to invest, stop loss, take profit, pre-orders etc.)
- Open the position with one click
- Follow the price chart in real time
- Apply technical indicators to the charts
- Monitor income statements, open positions, chronology
- Close the position with one click
Beginners are always advised to start trading with the demo account.
The great practicality of CFD trading platforms is often combined with ease of use. In fact, most CFD brokers choose to offer their customers at least one simple to use platform. To the simple platform add other more professional ones, such as the MetaTrader 4.
Forex trading
When you hear of trading, you often hear of Forex trading. Forex trading is trading on the exchange market, the market in which currencies are traded.
When trading on Forex, you buy currency and sell another at the same time. For example, when operating on the EUR/USD exchange you buy euro and sell dollars, or buy dollars and sell euro. The choice depends on which of the two currencies is expected to strengthen against the other. There are also significant risks which could not be avoided and there are losses related to trading.
When the Euro strengthens, the EUR/USD currency cross goes up. When the US dollar strengthens, the EUR/USD currency cross goes down.
Forex trading is very popular. Moreover, thanks to higher financial leverage, it allows investing starting with small capital amounts.
Learn how to trade on Forex with our special Forex Trading Course, a complete tutorial.
The Best Forex brokers and platforms
It’s important for us to offer you only the best Forex brokers and the best Forex platforms available today. Only this way can we be sure that your trading experience will be satisfactory. When preparing a dinner for someone, having genuine ingredients is essential for the success of the dish. Similarly, you can’t have quality Forex trading if the broker is not quality.
We offer only the best Forex brokers, so that you can choose the one you want to practice with, based on the conditions they offer and based on your preferences.
As for Forex, it is advisable to look at the spread offered. For example, if you think you want to trade above the EUR/USD, then it would be more convenient to choose a broker that offers the lowest spread on EUR/USD, or at least a good spread. The lower the spread, the less expensive the transaction is.
Best spreads in Forex trading
The spread, in CFD trading, is the difference between the ask price and the bid price. The share value is also based on the spread, which is subtracted from your trading account when a position is opened.
When an operation is started, up or down, the profit/loss account starts in negative because the cost for opening the position is applied. This is based on the spread. Therefore the lower the spread, the lower the cost applied.
Forex trading offers the lowest spreads. For this reason, Forex trading is considered more convenient than trading on other financial instruments.
Stock Indices, Commodities, ETF
With CFDs you can also trade on any stock index, as well as on all commodities and ETFs. You have full access to the world’s major financial markets and you can implement a varied portfolio diversification. Although every platform has hundreds, and in some cases thousands, of shares to trade, the possibility of having a wide choice is a definite advantage.
Trade on a Stock Index
Online trading with CFDs allows you to trade on all the major stock indexes in the world. From the American stock exchange (S&P 500, NASDAQ, Dow Jones) to European markets, such as the FTSE100 in London, FTSE MIB in Milan, CAC40 in London, and the DAX30 in Frankfurt, passing through Asian markets, such as the Nikkei and Hang Seng. From Tokyo to Shanghai, from New York to London, and passing through the Australian stock exchange. All the world’s venues are at your disposal for trading on stock indices.
Commodities
Do you remember the movie Trading Places? Unforgettable. Well, that movie was all about trading on commodities. When the protagonists buy and sell futures, those are the same commodity futures that you can trade.
Tradable commodities on trading platforms include: gold, oil, silver, platinum, natural gas, heating oil, propane, cocoa, wheat, sugar, coffee, and much more.
You too will be able to, just like in the movie, buy low and sell high.
ETFs
ETF stands for “Exchange Traded Fund” and represents a particular type of investment fund. The peculiarity of ETFs lies in the fact that their shares are negotiable, just like stocks. This allows them to have both the benefits of shares and funds:
- The advantage of being liquid and with low operating costs
- The advantage of having intrinsic diversification
Their diversification is due to the fact that ETFs, being funds, include numerous financial assets, managed by a fund manager.
Cryptocurrencies
In recent years the phenomenon of cryptocurrencies has exploded, albeit with highs and lows. CFDs offer a significant advantage for those wishing to trade on cryptocurrencies, or the possibility of trading on their downside.
In fact, with CFDs it isn’t necessary to wait for a cryptocurrency to rise in value, in order to turn a profit. With CFDs, as we have seen, it’s also possible to negotiate on their downward movement and profit from the price reduction of a cryptocurrency.
Another advantage of CFDs for cryptocurrency trading is leverage, which allows you to trade by investing less capital than the value of the cryptocurrency itself. It’s also possible to invest in cryptocurrency fractions (eg 1/10 or 1/100).
Most CFD trading platforms offer a variety of major cryptocurrencies to trade on, including Bitcoin, Ethereum, Ripple, Neo, and Iota.
