Your first five minutes

Four Buttons, and You Are Investing

The home screen keeps it to four choices, so a complete beginner knows exactly what to press first.

Start Here
Five minutes, and you build your first portfolio with the coach beside you.
Practice Buying
Place a pretend order and write the reason. See what it costs and why.
See What You Own
Your holdings, their risk, and how you compare with an index fund.
Ask for Help
Simple answers about your account, any company or any word, never advice.

My PlanPractice with your amount

Start with a sum close to what you would really invest, so the gains and losses feel real.

$1M ChallengeEveryone starts with $1,000,000

The same starting point for all, so the leaderboard compares decisions, not bank balances.

Quick answer

What Is the StockEducation Stock Market Simulator?

A free stock market simulator for beginners: you buy and sell real US stocks and ETFs with pretend money, at real prices, with no broker and no risk. It asks for your reason before every trade, shows whether you beat an index fund, lets you replay real crashes, and gives you an AI coach that explains and never advises. Practice with your own amount or take the $1M Challenge. A free account saves everything.

Reviewed by Associate Professor Charles Lo, CPA, PhD · Updated 20 October 2026

Inside the simulator

Built to Teach, Not to Gamify

Seven screens, each with one job. No streaks, no confetti, no nudges to trade more.

Trade

Buy or Sell With Practice Money

Type a company, pick buy or sell, and size the order in dollars, not shares. Before it goes through, the Reason Coach asks for one sentence: why this, and what would prove you wrong. That one habit is what separates investing from guessing.

Order size in dollars, with your share count shown
Market orders in easy mode; limit and stop orders in advanced view
A reason saved with every order

The Trade screen: company search, buy and sell, order size in dollars and the Reason Coach asking why you want to buy

Portfolio

What You Own, and How Risky It Is

Total value, cash and buying power sit at the top, with your return measured against an index fund in points. Below that, every holding shows its weight and risk, and the page warns you when one company is over 25% or you hold fewer than three things.

You versus the index, always visible
Risk flags on concentration and spread
What if and rebalancing drills

The Portfolio screen: total value, cash, points versus the index, holdings with weight and risk flags, and open orders

Research

Look Up Any Company

Search a ticker, load the chart and widgets, then ask about the company. The assistant explains filings, ratios and news in simple terms with lesson links. It never says buy or sell, names a stock to buy, or guesses the price.

Price chart and key widgets for any US ticker
Questions like What does it do? and Is it risky?
Explains, never recommends

The Research screen: a ticker search with chart and widgets, and an Ask about this company box

Journal

Why You Did It. What Happened. What You Learned.

Each trade gets a journal entry, a timeline shows how your thinking changed, and you can export it all. Reviewing your own reasons once the result is known is the fastest way to find your blind spots.

One entry per trade, pre filled with your reason
A timeline of decisions and results
Export when you want to review offline

The Journal screen: a new entry form, a timeline of past entries and an export button

Replay

Live Through a Crash in 10 Minutes

Replay the Covid crash of March 2020, the 2008 financial crisis, the 2022 rates shock or the 2000 dot com bust, one day at a time, and make a few decisions as prices fall. You learn what panic feels like without losing anything.

Real historical price paths
A handful of decisions per replay
A quiet year replay to show that doing nothing is a strategy

The Replay screen: cards for March 2020, 2008, 2022 and 2000 crash replays with Start buttons

Leaderboard

Ranked on Habits, Not Luck

The board ranks how you invest, not how lucky one month was: steady hands that beat the index without big swings over at least 60 days. Make a private league for up to 20 friends or a class, nicknames only.

Steady Hands and Good Habits boards
Private leagues by invite link
Updated daily; practice results, not real returns

The Leaderboard screen: Steady Hands board with bands, a private league box and the Good Habits tab

AI Coach

Ask Anything. It Explains, Never Advises.

Ask about your account, a company or any word on screen. The coach explains your numbers, checks your reasons and your spread, and runs a portfolio check up. It will not tell you what to buy, name a stock or guess a price.

Explains: your numbers, any company, any word
Checks: your reasons, your spread, your risk
Never: buy or sell calls, stock picks or price guesses

The AI Coach screen: Explains, Checks and Never cards, an Ask box and a portfolio check up

How the numbers work

Honest by Design

Real US prices
Updated when you load the page, not a live broker feed. Waiting orders are checked every few minutes.
Real costs
You buy at the ask and sell at the bid, with no commission and a small fee on sells, so results are not flattered.
Measured against the index
Your result is always shown next to what an index fund would have done over the same days.
No real money
Nothing is bought or sold for real, no broker account is involved, and no one can send you a bill.

Practice results do not predict real money returns. Real investing adds taxes, your own emotions and the temptation to check too often.

On your phone

The Same Simulator, One Thumb Wide

Big buttons, one column, and a sticky bar that keeps Trade and Portfolio a tap away. Add it to your home screen and it opens like an app.

Create a Free Account to Trade

The simulator home screen on a phone: pretend money versus the index fund and four large buttons

Simulator FAQ

Stock Market Simulator: Common Questions

What is a stock market simulator?

A practice account that lets you buy and sell real stocks with pretend money, so you can learn how investing works before you risk a dollar. StockEducation’s simulator uses real US prices, asks for your reason before every trade and shows whether you beat an index fund.

Is the StockEducation simulator free?

Yes. The simulator, journal, crash replays, leaderboard and AI coach are all free with a free account. There is no card, no trial and nothing to cancel.

Can I practice trading without a broker?

Yes. Nothing is bought or sold for real, so you never need a brokerage account, a deposit or any personal financial details. You practice in your browser with pretend money.

Is this the best stock market simulator for beginners?

It is built for beginners rather than for gamers: four buttons to start, order sizes in dollars instead of shares, a reason asked before every trade, results against an index fund, and an AI coach that explains without advising. Try it next to any other simulator and judge for yourself.

Do I practice with $1,000,000?

You can. The $1M Challenge gives everyone the same $1,000,000 so results compare fairly. My Plan lets you practice with an amount closer to what you would really invest, which many people find more honest.

Are the prices and costs real?

Prices are real US market prices, updated when you load the page rather than streamed tick by tick, so it is not a live broker feed. Costs are modelled too: you buy at the ask and sell at the bid, with no commission and a small fee on sells, so results are not flattered.

Why does it compare me with an index fund?

Because that is the honest benchmark. If you had bought an index fund and waited, that is what you would have. The simulator shows your pretend money, what the index fund would be worth, and the gap, so you can see whether your decisions added anything.

What is a crash replay?

A replay walks you through a real market fall, such as March 2020 or 2008, one day at a time, and asks you to make a few decisions as prices drop. It is the closest thing to feeling a crash without losing anything.

Does the AI coach tell me what to buy?

No. It explains your numbers, any company and any word you do not know, and it checks your reasons and your spread. It never says buy or sell, names a stock to buy, or guesses where a price is going.

Do I need an account, and what does it store?

You need a free account because the simulator keeps your portfolio, journal and progress between visits. It stores your practice trades and reasons, nothing financial about you. Every lesson and most tools on the site are open without an account.

Who is behind this page

Written and Checked by the StockEducation Team.

Felix La Spina

Publisher. Background in instructional design; the StockEducation team writes, checks and approves the lessons together.

Associate Professor Charles Lo, CPA, PhD

Academic Reviewer for the lessons, including valuation. Executive Dean, Wentworth Institute of Higher Education.

A named publisher and academic reviewer, with public bios.
Education only. We never tell you what to buy and give no personal advice.
No affiliate links, paid placements or broker payments. Funded by its operator, Stock Education Publishing Pty Ltd.
Corrections are logged in public, and pages are checked again on a schedule.

Editorial Standards How We Make Money Disclaimer

The Learning Path

Continue where you left off

Start Free Investing Course

What Is In The Free Course

AI Tools

Market Tools

Calculators

Investing Articles

Practice Investing With Pretend Money: and See If You Beat the Index

Four Buttons, and You Are Investing

Start Here

Practice Buying

See What You Own

Ask for Help

What Is the StockEducation Stock Market Simulator?