VOL. XCIV, NO. 247

★ FINANCIAL TOOLS & SERVICES DIRECTORY ★

PRICE: 5 CENTS

Thursday, September 25, 2025

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Top Paper Trading Tools for Investing

Community-ranked paper trading software ordered by net upvotes with starred picks breaking close calls.

Every entry here is part of our living directory of paper trading software for investors, traders, and analysts. We surface tools that earn consistent upvotes from the community, highlight trusted platforms we’ve personally vetted, and track popularity shifts so research, screening, and execution workflows stay current. Use this page to compare pricing tiers, platforms, and capabilities side by side, then dive into individual reviews for deeper due diligence.

Explore more tools

Use this shortlist to zero in on the paper trading standouts, then pop over to the Find My Moat home page for curated collections, AI-guided discovery, and deep comparison filters across more than 205 investing tools. It’s the quickest way to shape a modern research, screening, and execution stack without getting lost in tabs.

See all 10 paper trading tools Discover the full investing catalog

Ranked tools

1
Interactive Brokers
A global, multi-asset direct-access broker with coverage across 160 markets in 36 countries and 28 currencies. Crypto trading and some services vary by region (IBKR Crypto is powered by Paxos or Zero Hash where supported). Client APIs include the Client Portal Web API and TWS API; retail users authenticate via the local Client Portal Gateway, while OAuth2 applies to approved web integrations.
Pricing: OtherPlatforms: Web, Mobile, Desktop, API
Categories: Brokerage • Paper Trading • Advanced Order Types • Smart/Direct Routing • Order Book / Level II • APIs & SDKs • Data APIs • Portfolio • Watchlist • Risk Metrics (VaR/ES/Drawdown) • Scenario & Stress Tests • Performance Attribution • Options & Derivatives
2
TradingView
A global, multi-asset charting and trading platform with advanced analytics, strategy backtesting, and broker connectivity. Features include Pine Script® v6 for custom indicators, server-side alerts, options chains with strategy builder, and multi-asset screeners. Real-time data feeds are sold as add-ons, with availability and pricing varying by exchange and region.
Pricing: Free, SubscriptionPlatforms: Web, Mobile, Desktop
Categories: Screeners • ETF Screeners • Stock Ideas • Data Visualizations • Options & Derivatives • Portfolio • Watchlist • Backtesting • Paper Trading • Advanced Order Types • Smart/Direct Routing • News • Alerts • Calendar • Order Book / Level II • Dividends • Splits • Financials • ETF Overview • Forums • Education
3
Unusual Whales
Real-time options flow and dark-pool analytics built for active traders. Free plans view delayed data; paid tiers stream live flow, with annual plans unlocking data downloads. The public API is sold separately, and “Periscope” (market-wide SPX exposure) is available as an add-on.
Pricing: Free, SubscriptionPlatforms: Web, Mobile, API
Categories: Screeners • Options & Derivatives • Portfolio • Paper Trading • Dark Pool & Off-Exchange • Alerts • News • US Government Trades • Insider Data • 13F • APIs & SDKs • Data APIs • Education • Calendar • Dividends
4
MarketWatch
A global financial-news portal from Dow Jones that combines market data, news, analysis, and investor tools. Real-time Nasdaq last-sale quotes are included, while most other intraday prices run on a standard 15-minute delay. Premium newsletters and in-depth articles are gated behind a subscription. Mobile apps extend the experience with push alerts and watchlist syncing.
Pricing: Free, SubscriptionPlatforms: Web, Mobile
Categories: News • Alerts • Calendar • Screeners • Data Visualizations • Watchlist • Paper Trading • Financials • Options • ETF Overview • ETF Holdings • Analyst Price Targets • Insider Data • Short Interest • Interest Rates • Yield Curves • IPO • Newsletters
5
Charles Schwab
One of the largest US brokerages, combining commission-free stock and ETF trading with deep functionality through the thinkorswim® platform suite (desktop, web, and mobile). Options are priced at $0.65 per contract, with 24/5 trading on over a thousand stocks and ETFs. Investors can trade futures and forex (approval required), use paperMoney® for risk-free practice, and even buy fractional shares of S&P 500 companies starting at $5 through Stock Slices®. Schwab also provides flexible alerts, advanced order types, tax integrations, and access to research and screeners—all backed by decades of brand trust.
Pricing: OtherPlatforms: Web, Mobile, Desktop
Categories: Brokerage • Portfolio • Watchlist • Options & Derivatives • Paper Trading • Advanced Order Types • Smart/Direct Routing • News • Alerts • Calendar • Order Book / Level II • Videos • Blogs • Newsletters • Screeners
6
eToro
A multi-asset broker combining traditional investing with social trading. Known for CopyTrader™, Smart Portfolios, and a $100K demo account. In the U.S., stock and ETF trading is commission-free, options trade at zero commission or contract fees, and crypto carries a 1% fee with state restrictions. CopyTrader is limited to crypto in the U.S., while Smart Portfolios require a $500 minimum investment. Copying other traders starts from $200.
Pricing: FreePlatforms: Web, Mobile
Categories: Brokerage • Copy/Social Trading • Paper Trading • Advanced Order Types • Portfolio • Watchlist • News • Alerts • Calendar • Dividends • IPO • Data Visualizations • Analyst Forecasts • Analyst Recommendations • Analyst Price Targets • Education
7
Investopedia
Free financial education site best known for its dictionary, guides, and market explainers. Includes a paper-trading Simulator with $100k virtual cash that supports stocks, ETFs, options, and select crypto on NYSE/Nasdaq (quotes delayed ~20–30 minutes). Investopedia Academy courses were discontinued in June 2024, with past purchasers given access instructions via email.
Pricing: FreePlatforms: Web
Categories: News • Paper Trading • Education • Videos • Newsletters • Stock Handbook
8
QuantConnect
QuantConnect runs on the open-source LEAN engine, giving quants and systematic traders a unified workflow from research to backtesting to live deployment. You can run everything locally or in the cloud. Historical data down to tick and second resolution is available on paid tiers, and live-trading notifications scale by plan (from a handful per hour to thousands). Some broker and data feeds—like Trading Technologies futures or premium vendors—are only unlocked at higher tiers.
Pricing: Free, SubscriptionPlatforms: Web, Desktop, API
Categories: Quant • Backtesting • Paper Trading • Auto-Trading & Bots • Options & Derivatives • APIs & SDKs
9
QuantRocket
A Docker-based research, backtesting, and live-trading platform built around Jupyter. The free tier is limited to research, while paid plans unlock live and paper trading along with bundled US minute-bar data. Broader global datasets are available via third-party providers. Its tight IBKR integration brings advanced order types, while real-time market data can be streamed from IBKR, Polygon, or Alpaca.
Pricing: Free, SubscriptionPlatforms: Web, API
Categories: Screeners • Quant • Backtesting • Auto-Trading & Bots • Advanced Order Types • Paper Trading • Data APIs • Broker Connectors
10
TC2000
A long-standing charting, screening, and trading platform with integrated brokerage. TC2000 is designed for active traders who want real-time scanning, customizable alerts, and advanced options analytics. Plans range from Basic to Premium+, with Premium+ offering up to 1,000 simultaneous alerts. Add-ons expand server-side streaming scans and provide real-time options and index data. Real-time U.S. equity data comes via Nasdaq Basic, and financial news is powered by MT Newswires.
Pricing: SubscriptionPlatforms: Web, Desktop, Mobile
Categories: Screeners • Watchlist • Portfolio • Options & Derivatives • News • Alerts • Paper Trading • Advanced Order Types • Brokerage • Options P&L • Financials

Information

About Me

Hey! Thanks for stopping by. I'm an independent investor with a soft spot for coding and the stock market - especially value investing (as you can probably tell from the tools I've collected here, haha). Hopefully you'll find something useful or interesting along the way.

Find me here:

Twitter / X: @Jera_Value
Substack: Jera Value

Got questions or suggestions? I'm all ears!

Missing a Tool?

Discovered a gem I don't have here yet? Drop the link below and I'll check it out ASAP. Tagging me on X works too! Can't wait to see what you've found!

Got ideas for new features?

Starred Tools

These are my top picks. Tools I've tested thoroughly and found to be excellent. They do their job really well, and I use them a lot. If you're not already familiar with them, I highly recommend checking them out.

Tested Tools

These are tools I've tried and found to be solid, but not standout. Think of them as passing an initial quality screen: worth exploring, though not all will be exceptional.

Curation & Accuracy

This directory blends AI‑assisted discovery with human curation. Entries are reviewed, edited, and organized with the goal of expanding coverage and sharpening quality over time. Your feedback helps steer improvements (because no single human can capture everything all at once).

Details change. Pricing, features, and availability may be incomplete or out of date. Treat listings as a starting point and verify on the provider’s site before making decisions. If you spot an error or a gap, send a quick note and I’ll adjust.