The short answer
To place your first gold demo trade properly: open a demo with the balance and leverage you would really use, find XAUUSD and check its contract size, decide your stop and target before you click, size the trade from the stop (usually 0.01 lot on a small account), place it with both orders attached, leave it alone, then read the result in your history and write it in a journal.
The trade itself takes two minutes. The habit of doing these steps in this order is what the demo is for. One completed trade won’t teach you much, but it is where the 30-day demo practice plan starts.
Before you start: three settings that make a demo realistic
| Setting | Choose | Why it matters on gold |
|---|---|---|
| Balance | What you would really deposit, e.g. $1,000 | A $100,000 default makes a $50 loss feel like nothing |
| Leverage | The same as the live account you’d use | Margin and stop-out levels then behave as they would live |
| Account type | The same spread and commission model | Costs change results most on short trades |
Pick a provider regulated in your own country. We never name or recommend providers; our guide to checking a licence shows how to look one up on the regulator’s register.
Step 1: open the demo account
Most providers let you open a demo on their website or inside the platform. In MetaTrader 5, MetaQuotes documents the route as File → Open an Account:
- Choose the provider’s server and click Next.
- Choose the demo option.
- Enter the details the form asks for.
- Set the account type, deposit and leverage from the drop-down lists. Change the deposit to your realistic number here.
- Accept the terms and finish. The platform then shows your login and passwords. Save them somewhere safe.
If you use a different platform, the fields are similar. The MT5 gold setup guide covers the rest of the platform, including templates and a safe default volume.
Step 2: find gold and check its contract size
Gold is usually listed as XAUUSD, but some providers add a suffix or use a different name, such as GOLD. If you can’t see it in Market Watch, our guide to gold symbol names on MT4, MT5 and TradingView shows how to search for it.
Then right-click the symbol → Specification and write down:
- Contract size: usually 100 troy ounces per 1.00 lot. Then $1 of price movement is worth $100 per lot and $1 per 0.01 lot.
- Minimum volume and step: usually 0.01.
- Trading hours, so you know when the market is closed.
If the contract size is not 100, all the maths below changes. How much is 1 lot of gold explains the other common sizes.
Step 3: plan the trade before you touch the order button
Write three prices on paper or in your journal before entering:
- Entry: a level you can point to on the chart, such as yesterday’s high or a clear support area. How to read a gold chart without indicators shows how to find them.
- Stop-loss: the price that proves the idea wrong, plus a small buffer. Not a random number of dollars.
- Target: the next real level in the direction of the trade.
Check the economic calendar first. For a first trade, avoid the 30 minutes either side of a high-impact US release; the spread and the speed of the market are both different then.
Step 4: size it from the stop
Lot size = money at risk ÷ (stop distance in $ × 100)
Worked example (all numbers hypothetical). Demo balance $1,000, risk 1% = $10. You plan to buy at $4,000.40 with a stop at $3,992.40, so the stop distance is $8.
- $10 ÷ ($8 × 100) = 0.0125 lot, which rounds down to 0.01 lot.
- Real risk at 0.01 lot: $8 × 1 oz = $8, or 0.8% of the account.
- Target at $4,016.40 ($16 away): a full win pays $16 × 1 oz = $16, a reward-to-risk of 2:1.
- A $0.30 spread costs $0.30 at 0.01 lot, so the target is a little further away in practice.
Always round down, never up. If even 0.01 lot risks more than your limit with a sensible stop, the account is too small for that stop; see how much money you need to trade gold. The position size calculator does this sum in one step, and you should use it on every demo trade: sizing is one of the skills you are practising.
Step 5: place the order with the stop and target attached
In MT5 press F9 (or double-click gold in Market Watch) to open the New Order window:
- Check the symbol is the gold symbol you checked in step 2.
- Enter the volume from step 4 (0.01 in the example).
- Fill in Stop Loss and Take Profit before you click.
- For a market order, click Buy by Market or Sell by Market (on accounts with instant execution the buttons read Buy and Sell). For an entry at a level, choose a pending order type instead; order types for gold explains which one to use.
On a phone the fields are the same; setting a stop-loss and take-profit on MT5 mobile has the screens. A buy opens at the ask and is closed at the bid, so a new position starts slightly negative by the spread. That is normal.
Step 6: leave it alone
For the first ten demo trades, make one rule: no changes after entry. Don’t move the stop away, don’t close early because of a red candle. Write down any moment you wanted to interfere and why. That note is worth more than the trade’s result.
Step 7: read the result in your history
When the stop or target is hit, open Toolbox → History and find the deal. Check:
- Entry and exit prices, and whether they match the levels you set. A small difference on a stop is slippage; gold slippage explained covers why.
- Profit: (exit − entry) × ounces for a buy. In the example, a target hit is ($4,016.40 − $4,000.40) × 1 = $16, minus any commission.
- Swap, if you held it past the daily rollover.
Step 8: journal it
Record the date and time in your own zone, the setup, entry, stop, target, size, result in dollars and in R (a full-stop loss is −1R, the target here is +2R), a screenshot, and whether you followed every rule. The free gold trade journal does this in your browser, and how to keep a trading journal explains what to review each week.
What your first 20 demo trades should prove
| Skill | Pass if |
|---|---|
| Platform | You can place a trade with SL and TP in under a minute, without errors |
| Sizing | Every trade sized from the stop and checked with the calculator |
| Discipline | No stop moved away, no trade outside your planned session |
| Records | Every trade journalled with a screenshot |
Profit is not on the list. Twenty trades is far too small a sample to judge a method, but it is enough to see whether you follow your own steps. If you’d like practice without a provider account, the practice simulator replays gold charts in your browser.
Common first-demo mistakes
- Keeping the default balance. Trading 1.00 lot on $100,000 teaches you nothing about a $1,000 account, where the same habit would be fatal.
- No stop-loss. On demo it feels harmless. Gold’s average day was about $74 from high to low over the 20 sessions to 3 November 2026, according to our gold volatility tool.
- Wrong symbol. Placing the trade on a similar-looking symbol with a different contract size.
- Trading the news on day one. Spreads widen and prices jump around big releases; learn the platform in calm hours first.
- Treating a demo win as proof. One good week says nothing about the next one.
Sources
- MetaQuotes, MT5 help: Opening an account (File → Open an Account; demo option; account type, deposit and leverage fields)
- MetaQuotes, MT5 help: Opening positions and order fields (New Order window, Stop Loss and Take Profit, and the Buy by Market and Sell by Market buttons; checked 4 November 2026)
- CME Group: COMEX gold futures contract specifications (100 troy ounces per contract, the size most XAUUSD lots follow)
- XAUUSD Global: gold volatility tool (20-day average daily range, COMEX data to 3 November 2026)
- All prices, balances and trades in the examples are hypothetical
Educational content only, not financial advice. We never name or recommend providers. Trading gold with leverage carries a high risk of loss.
Frequently asked questions
How do I open a gold demo account?
Choose a provider regulated in your country and open a demo from its website or inside its platform. In MetaTrader 5, MetaQuotes documents the route as File, Open an Account: pick the provider’s server, choose the demo option, then set the account type, deposit and leverage. Save the login and password the platform shows at the end.
What balance should I use on a gold demo account?
The amount you would really deposit, for example $500 or $1,000, not the $10,000 or $100,000 default. On a 100 oz contract every $1 move is $1 per 0.01 lot, so only a realistic balance shows you what a normal gold day does to an account you could actually fund.
What lot size should I use for my first demo trade?
Work it out from the stop: lot size = money at risk ÷ (stop distance in dollars × 100). With a $1,000 demo, 1% risk is $10; with an $8 stop that is 0.0125 lot, which rounds down to 0.01 lot and risks $8. On most platforms 0.01 lot is the smallest size and moves $1 per $1.
Is demo trading the same as live trading?
No. Prices are live, but demo fills can be kinder during news, slippage may be smaller and there is no real money at stake, so emotions are weaker. A demo shows whether you can follow your rules and use the platform; it cannot show how you will trade under real pressure.
How many demo trades should I do before trading live?
Enough to judge your rule-following, not one lucky week. Our 30-day demo practice plan uses 40 or more trades under one written rule set, with at least 90% of them following every rule, before considering the smallest live size.
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