A futures contract has a tick value, a session schedule, an order-type menu, and a last-trade date. Those details are easier to learn when the first mistakes are made with simulated funds rather than with money you cannot replace. A demo will not feel like a live account. It will not reproduce a real margin call, a real gap fill, or the way you behave when the loss is real. It can still be a reasonable place to see how a one-tick move looks on one Micro contract versus one full-size contract, how a stop becomes a market order, and how a front-month symbol leaves the board.
This article describes the 28-day demo ProFuturesTrader offers and the platforms the firm features. Features, availability, and fees can change. Confirm current details on the pages linked below.
What the demo is — and what it is not
ProFuturesTrader offers a 28-day no-cost demo in a simulated environment, with charts and real-time market data, on desktop or iOS: profuturestrader.com/demo.
The 28-day demo described at /demo is for the ProFuturesTrader platform. Demo terms for other featured platforms may differ; see profuturestrader.com/platforms.
Demo accounts use simulated funds. Demo results do not reflect real trading and are not indicative of future results. Hypothetical or simulated performance has inherent limitations. It does not represent actual trading, it may under- or over-compensate for the impact of certain market factors, and no representation is being made that any account will or is likely to achieve profits or losses similar to those shown. A profitable demo is not evidence that a live account will be profitable. An unprofitable demo is not a reason, by itself, to “make it back” in a live account.
The demo is also not a test of every live operational detail. Margin parameters, available order types, data entitlements, and buying power can differ from a live account at the clearing firm. If something matters to you in live trading — a particular stop type, a mobile ticket, a roll tool — confirm that it exists on the live platform, not only in the demo.
What to practice while you have the 28 days
Use the time on specific mechanics, not on building a simulated track record.
- Tick value. Send a one-lot order in a full-size contract and in a related smaller contract (ES and MES, CL and MCL, GC and MGC or 1OZ, SI and SIL) and watch the dollar result of a few ticks. The contract guides in this Education section show the official tick sizes, reviewed November 10, 2026: E-mini S&P 500, micro metals and 1-Ounce Gold, crude oil.
- Order types. Place a limit, a stop, and a stop-limit. Cancel and replace. See Order Types and Stops. Then look at a scheduled release on the economic calendar and watch any working order through the number — remembering that a demo fill is still not a live fill.
- The calendar of the contract itself. Open a front-month listing, find the last-trade date, and practice a roll into the next month. For deliverable contracts, note first notice as well, even in a demo. See Contract Rollover, First Notice Day, and Last Trading Day.
- Hours. Identify the daily maintenance break and the Sunday evening reopen on the platform’s clock. A working GTC order can still be elected at the reopen.
Work backward from a loss you would not want to take in a live account, in dollars, as described in Margin and Leverage in Futures. If the implied size is already uncomfortable in a demo, it will not be more comfortable with real funds.
Platforms this firm features
Featured platforms include ProFuturesTrader by CQG, TradingView, and MetaTrader 5, among others. An overview is at profuturestrader.com/platforms. Mobile access is described at profuturestrader.com/mobile-apps.
For CQG Desktop, recorded educational videos remain at profuturestrader.com/platform-education. A YouTube playlist of related walk-throughs is also available: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLhHFekTG1RYSiOebgKR2R9wqa58tGYWKw.
Platforms differ in how they label orders, how they handle time-in-force, whether they offer auto-roll, and how they display maintenance margin. None of that is a reason to rush a live signup. Pick a platform you can actually operate in a quiet session before you need it in a fast one. Costs, market-data fees, and available contracts can change; read the current schedule rather than an older conversation.
The Education guides on this site are about the contracts and the mechanics. The platform pages and videos are about the buttons and the layout. You will want both. The platform will not warn you that a CL contract is deliverable, or that a 1OZ month expires earlier than the related GC month, unless you know to look.
After the demo
A live account, if you open one, uses real funds, real margin, and real fills. The soft next step is to ask questions, not to force a transition on the 28th day. If you want to walk through a platform, a contract size, or whether a simulated exercise mapped onto a live product correctly, you can call or email. There is no obligation to open an account, and there is no need to “use up” the demo by trading more often than is useful.