Explainer
Is there a free futures paper-trading simulator with historical data?
Yes: the Trade Lab paper trades NQ, ES and GC on historical 1-minute bars for free; most platform simulators fill on live data instead.
Updated
The short answer
Yes. The Trade Lab on this site is a free paper-trading simulator that runs on historical futures data: you replay NQ, ES or GC bar by bar and place market, limit and stop orders against the bars as they appear. We run it, so the list of what it lacks is below.
Most platform simulators are different. They fill paper orders against live prices, so you practise in real time rather than on the past. Facts about other products are from their own pages, read in October 2026.
- Paper trading
- Placing orders against a simulated account, not a real one.
- Replay
- Past data shown one bar at a time, with later bars hidden.
Simulators compared
Sources: tradingview.com/support (Paper Trading and Bar Replay), ninjatrader.com/pricing and info.tradovate.com/simulated-trading.
| Tool | What is free | What the paper orders fill on | Futures |
|---|---|---|---|
| CE Market Solutions Trade Lab | The whole Lab, with a verified email | Historical 1-minute bars, as the replay reveals them | NQ, ES and GC |
| TradingView Paper Trading | Available globally for all users, per its help | TradingView says orders use real-time data, including in Bar Replay | Index and commodity futures supported |
| NinjaTrader simulated trading | Its pricing page lists free simulated trading without funding; Market Replay is unlocked by funding | Live simulation; Market Replay plays recorded data | Futures |
| Tradovate demo | A 14-day demo with $50,000 in practice funds | Real-time market data, per its page | Futures |
Live-data simulators
TradingView’s help says Paper Trading is available globally for all users and supports stocks, forex, crypto and commodity and index futures. Its Bar Replay help adds that orders execute using real-time data, including in Paper Trading.
NinjaTrader’s pricing page lists free simulated trading among tools available without funding, and says Market Replay is unlocked by funding a live account. Tradovate’s simulated trading page offers a free two-week demo with $50,000 in practice funds and real-time market data.
These are useful for practising platform mechanics against the live market. They do not let you pick last Tuesday’s session and trade it bar by bar for free.
How the Trade Lab paper trades history
You set a starting balance, contract and commission per side once per run. NQ runs offer NQ or MNQ, ES runs offer ES or MES, and GC runs offer GC or MGC. Right-click the chart to place an order at that price, and drag the stop and target out of the position.
Fills are evaluated on 1-minute bars. A gap through an order fills at the open, and if a stop and a target are touched in the same bar, the stop fills. A position is closed at a contract roll.
What the Trade Lab does not have
The Lab replays history only. It has no live data, no real order is ever placed, and it covers three markets: NQ, ES and GC. Data is 1-minute bars, so there is no tick, seconds or order-flow data, and paper fills are modelled on those 1-minute bars and approximate real fills. A replay cannot be moved backward, and the Lab has no built-in indicators.
Each account can read 40 distinct 1-minute sessions and start 5 new runs per UTC day, and it needs a verified email. The Lab itself is free.
What to check in any simulator
Four questions apply to all of them.
- What data do the fills use: live prices or historical bars?
- Which markets and how far back?
- What happens at the free limit: a time limit, a session cap or a feature lock?
- How are same-bar stop and target touches handled?
A simulator on live data lets you practise the platform; a simulator on history lets you practise the decision.
Questions and answers
Is there a free futures paper-trading simulator with historical data?
Yes. The Trade Lab is free with a verified email and fills paper orders on historical NQ, ES and GC 1-minute bars as the replay reveals them.
Can I paper trade a past trading day?
In the Trade Lab, yes: pick a market and a start date, step forward and place orders. There is no live data.
Does TradingView paper trading use historical data?
TradingView’s help says orders use real-time data, including those in Paper Trading while Bar Replay runs.
How accurate are the paper fills in the Trade Lab?
They are modelled on 1-minute bars, so they approximate real fills. A stop wins a same-bar tie with a target.
Is any real money involved?
No. No real order is ever placed in the Trade Lab.