Free
Build your trading routine, for free.
$0/month
Free forever. No credit card needed.
Backtesting
ProTrade the past like it’s live.
Pick a market and a start date. The chart plays forward one candle at a time with the future hidden, and you trade it with spreads, slippage and commission included. Find out whether an idea holds up before you put money on it.
- 1,000+ markets
- 22 timeframes, from 1 minute to monthly
- Spread, slippage and commission included
EUR/USD15m11 Mar 2025, 07:30TokyoSample data
1.093881.091551.089221.086881.09430Future hidden
Press play, then trade what you see
1 lot · Stop 20 pips · Target 40 pips
- Balance
- $10,000.00
- Trades
- 0
- Win rate
- –
- Net P/L
- $0.00
Try it: press play, then buy or sell. Sample data, with costs turned off.
Markets
1,000+ markets to replay.
US, UK, European and Japanese shares, ETFs, forex majors, crosses and exotics, global indices, crypto, commodities, metals and bond futures. Search the full list to check yours is there.
1,021 markets, popular first
- EURUSDEUR/USDForex
- XAUUSDGoldMetals
- NAS100Nasdaq 100Indices
- BTCUSDBitcoinCrypto
- GBPUSDGBP/USDForex
- SP500S&P 500Indices
- AAPLApple Inc.Stocks
- USOUSDWTI Crude OilCommodities
- USDJPYUSD/JPYForex
- GER40Germany 40Indices
- NVDANvidia CorpStocks
- ETHUSDEthereumCrypto
- TSLATeslaStocks
- UK100UK 100Indices
- XAGUSDSilverMetals
- GBPJPYGBP/JPYForex
- AAgilent Technologies IncStocks
- AAAlcoa CorpStocks
- AALAnglo American PlcStocks
- AALBAalberts NVStocks
- AALGAmerican Airlines Group IncStocks
- AAOIApplied Optoelectronics, Inc.Stocks
- ABBVAbbvie IncStocks
- ABDNAberdeen Group PlcStocks
- ABFAssociated British Foods PlcStocks
- ABNABN AMRO Group N.V.Stocks
- ABNBAirbnb IncStocks
- ABTAbbott LaboratoriesStocks
- ACAccor SAStocks
- ACACredit AgricoleStocks
- ACNAccenture PLC Class AStocks
- ADAJPYCardano vs Japanese YenCrypto
- ADAUSDCardanoCrypto
- ADBEAdobe IncStocks
- ADIAnalog Devices IncStocks
- ADMArcher-Daniels-Midland CoStocks
- ADPAutomatic Data Processing IncStocks
- ADPRGroupe ADP (Aeroports de Paris)Stocks
- ADSadidas AGStocks
- ADSKAutodesk IncStocks
- ADYENAdyen NVStocks
- AENAAena SME SAStocks
- AEPAmerican Electric Power IncStocks
- AFGAmerican Financial Group IncStocks
- AFLAflac IncStocks
- AFXCarl Zeiss Meditec AGStocks
- AGGiShares Core U.S. Aggregate Bond ETFETFs
- AGNAegon Ltd.Stocks
History varies by market. When you set up a session, the date picker shows the range available for the market you choose.
How it works
Practise the way you trade.
A backtest session is a trading account in a replay. You make the decisions candle by candle, without knowing what comes next.
- 1Pick a market and a start date
Choose from 1,000+ markets, then set the date range, account currency, starting balance and leverage.
- 2Trade the replay
Price moves forward one candle at a time with everything after it hidden. Place market, limit and stop orders as the chart unfolds.
- 3Review the result
See net P/L, win rate, profit factor, drawdown and the full trade list, then save the session or start another.
WaveCharts™
The full chart in every replay.
Backtesting runs on WaveCharts™, the same charts you use across TraderWaves: 22 timeframes from one minute to monthly, and more than 70 drawing tools. Try the timeframes and a few indicators below.
Timeframe
Indicators
EUR/USD1hMoving Average 20Bollinger BandsSample data
RSI 14
Coming soon More indicators, and custom indicators you build yourself.
Replay controls
You control the clock.
Watch a setup form in slow motion, or get through a quiet week in seconds. The playback controller floats over the chart, so you can move it out of the way.
- From 0.1× to 256×.Slow the replay right down around your entry, or skip through quiet sessions in Quick mode.
- Step, pause and jump.Move forward or back one candle at a time, pause whenever you like and jump to any date.
- Keyboard shortcuts.Space plays and pauses, the arrow keys step through candles and + or − changes the speed.
- Sessions on the chart.London, New York, Tokyo and Sydney hours are shaded on the chart, so you always know which session you’re trading.
- Save and come back.Sessions are saved as you go. Resume where you left off, or reopen a finished session from your history.
ExecutionSample trade
Broker-style spread, normal slippage and commission per lot.
Buy 1 lot EUR/USDPrice moved 38 pips in your favour
- Before costs
- +$380.00
- Spread
- −$12.00
- Slippage
- −$5.00
- Commission
- −$7.00
- Net result
- +$356.00
You keep 94% of the move.
Execution
Costs included, like a real account.
An idea that only works when trading is free doesn’t work. Use Broker Realistic, run a harsher Stress Test, or set every cost yourself.
- Spread.Use the broker default, set a fixed spread or multiply it for stress testing.
- Slippage.None, normal, high or a custom number of points.
- Commission and swap.Broker default, a fixed amount per lot or none, with overnight swap on or off.
- Margin and stop-out.Leverage, free margin and stop-out are modelled, so an oversized position behaves as it would on a real account.
- Filled on one-minute data.Orders, stops and targets are checked against one-minute bars, whichever timeframe you’re watching.
Trading
Everything you’d see on a live account.
Place orders, manage risk and react to the news as it lands. The account moves with the replay, so every decision has a consequence.
- Market, limit and stop orders
Enter at the current price or leave pending orders for the replay to reach.
- Stop loss and take profit on the chart
Drag the lines to adjust them, with floating P/L on the trade label.
- Partial closes
Take some off and let the rest run, just as you would live.
News on the chart
The news, on the candle it happened.
Economic events sit on the exact candle they were released. Open one to see actual, forecast, previous and revised figures, and filter by low, medium or high impact.
Position panel
Your account, as the replay moves.
The position panel shows open positions, closed trades and a session log, with balance, equity, free margin and realised and floating P/L.
Results
See how the session really went.
When you finish, the session report shows whether the idea earned its place, and where it gave money back.
- Net P/L and return
- Win rate
- Profit factor
- Expectancy
- Total trades
- Average win and loss
- Reward to risk
- Balance and equity drawdown
- Ending balance
- Balance and equity curves
Good to know
What’s included, and where it stops.
- Built on WaveCharts™
Replays use the same charts as the rest of TraderWaves, so your drawing tools and indicators work the same way everywhere.
- Replay on your phone
Open saved sessions and keep replaying on mobile. Drawing tools are available on larger screens.
- Strategy BuilderComing soon
Describe or build a rules-based strategy and run it through the backtester automatically.
- A test, not a promise
A good backtest shows an idea is worth watching. Live markets can still behave differently.
- History varies by market
Each market has its own data range. The date picker shows how far back you can go.
- Candles, not ticks
Replays use one-minute data and up. There are no tick or second-level charts.
- Manual trading for now
You place the trades yourself. Automated strategy runs arrive with Strategy Builder.
Want to review the trades you take live? Explore the journal
Start free. Backtest with Pro.
The journal and analytics are free for as long as you like. Upgrade to Pro when you want to replay the markets and test your ideas.
Pro
Most PopularUnderstand Your Performance. Refine Your Edge.
$19.99/month
$239.88 Billed Yearly · Save $120
Everything in Free, Plus
Elite
Coming SoonSpot Better Setups. Trade with Precision.
$85.99/month
$1031.88 Billed Yearly · Save $516
Everything in Pro, Plus
Planned features · Pricing preview
No credit card needed for Free. Cancel or downgrade Pro at any time.
FAQs
Backtesting questions.
Need more detail? Visit the help centre.
What is the TraderWaves backtester?
It’s a market replay for testing trading ideas by hand. You choose a market and a start date, the chart plays forward one candle at a time with the future hidden, and you trade it as if it were live. When you finish, you get a full report on how the session went.
Is backtesting free?
No. Creating and trading backtest sessions is part of TraderWaves Pro. The Free plan includes the journal, analytics and charts, and if you move from Pro to Free you can still open the sessions you finished.
Can I backtest stocks, forex and crypto?
Yes. There are more than 1,000 markets: stocks, ETFs, forex pairs, indices, crypto, commodities, metals and bond futures. You can search the full list on this page. How far back you can go depends on the market, and the date picker shows the available range.
Can I backtest on lower and higher timeframes?
Yes. There are 22 timeframes: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 10, 12, 15, 20, 30 and 45 minutes; 1, 2, 3, 4, 6, 8 and 12 hours; and daily, weekly and monthly. Whatever you’re watching, trades are filled against one-minute data.
Can I use indicators and drawing tools while I replay?
Yes. More than 70 drawing tools are available during a replay, including Fibonacci tools, Gann, pitchforks, harmonic patterns and Elliott Waves, alongside indicators such as moving averages, RSI, MACD and Bollinger Bands. More indicators, including custom indicators, are coming soon.
Does the backtester include spreads and commission?
Yes. Choose Broker Realistic, a harsher Stress Test or your own custom settings for spread, slippage, commission and swap. Margin and stop-out are modelled too, so results sit closer to what a real account would see.
Can I control the replay speed?
Yes. Play from 0.1× to 256×, switch to Quick mode to move faster, step forward or back one candle at a time, or jump to a date. Space, the arrow keys and + and − work as shortcuts.
Can I save a session and continue later?
Yes. Sessions save as you go, so you can close the tab and resume later. Finished sessions stay in your history with their results.
Does it use tick data?
No. Replays are built from one-minute price data and up. There are no tick or second-level charts.
Can I run automated strategies?
No, not yet. Today you place trades by hand as the replay plays. Strategy Builder, for running rules-based strategies automatically, is coming soon.
Test the idea first. Trade it with more confidence.
Start free with the journal and analytics. Add Backtesting with Pro whenever you’re ready.