"Test it on demo first" is advice everyone gives. But most people test it wrong: they run the robot for two days, see it in profit, and move to a real account. A proper test has conditions — and limits you need to know about.
Open a demo account in a minute
- Open MetaTrader 5.
- From the menu: File → Open an Account.
- Pick your broker from the list (or type its name in the search box).
- Choose Open a demo account.
- Set an opening balance close to your real balance. This is the most important step and the one most often done wrong. If you are going to trade with $500 and you test on a demo holding $100,000, the result means nothing — the risk ratio is completely different.
- Set the same leverage you will use on the real account.
- Press Finish — the account opens immediately, no documents and no money.
What to watch during the test
The closing balance is not the most important number. These four are:
| The number | Where to find it | Why it matters |
|---|---|---|
| Largest floating loss | Watch the Equity field while trades are open | This is the number that wipes an account out. If Equity dropped 40% on demo, expect worse on a real account. |
| Longest losing streak | The History tab | It tells you whether the robot doubles down after a loss, and whether you can stomach it. |
| Number of trades | History | 10 trades is not a sample. Under 50 trades the result can easily be chance. |
| Its behaviour on a news day | Watch it on a high-impact data day | This is where you find out whether it actually has protection or not. |
How long should the test run?
The sensible minimum is two weeks, and a month is better. What matters is that the period includes:
- A high-impact economic data day (US rates, the jobs report).
- Quiet, sideways days.
- The start of a week (which sometimes opens with a price gap).
A robot that wins for two weeks in a quiet market has not been tested against a single difficult condition.
The four differences between demo and real
1. Slippage
On demo, orders usually fill at exactly the requested price. On a real account, during fast moves, the trade opens at a worse price. That difference hits scalping hardest.
2. The spread
Some demo accounts use a fixed spread that is tighter than reality. A robot that wins on a one-pip spread can lose on a three-pip one.
3. Your psychology
Losing an imaginary $300 is one thing; losing $300 of your own money is something else entirely. Most people stop the robot at the worst possible moment — exactly when it is at its largest floating loss and right before it recovers.
4. Real market liquidity
On demo your order competes with no one. On a real account, at certain times, it may simply not fill at the price you wanted.
The test is over — what now?
- Move to a real account with the smallest lot possible (0.01), even if your balance allows more.
- Keep it at that size for a full month. Compare the result with the demo — if the gap is large, the cause is usually spread or slippage.
- Do not increase the size until you have seen a consistent real result, and then increase it gradually.
A demo protects you from a technical mistake (a broken robot, a wrong setting, the wrong pair). It does not guarantee profit — markets change, and a robot that worked for 3 months can fail in the fourth.