Editor’s Verdict

Pros
  • The ability to import historical data from various text formats

  • Open interface that allows you to create and test your own strategies

  • You are able to test unlimited currencies and strategies together

  • Advanced styling features, and highly customizable

  • The creator of Forex Tester is available to answer questions

Cons
  • Automated testing impossible without programming

  • You are currently unable to take partial profits when hitting your price

  • Expert Advisers not compatible with MetaTrader 4

Overview

Review

HeadquartersUnited States
Year Established2010

There are few Forex products that really, truly impact the way a trader trades and learns how to trade. In fact, most Forex products are comprised of mediocre development with an oddly uncomfortable design. Forex Tester is the exact opposite. In fact, Forex Tester is one of the very few, very valuable, important, and useful products that can make all the difference between being able to trade profitable and blowing a Forex trading account.

Forex tester is an intuitive, easy-to-use piece of software that allows traders to simulate Forex trading either manually or automatically, using 15 years of real historical data provided free as part of the service. Consider this carefully: if you are going to risk your hard-earned money trading Forex – an endeavor at which most people fail – don’t you owe it to yourself to see how you would have done trading over a period of time? You can check this easily by using Forex Tester.

Forex Tester simply allows you to load real historical data and to set up a screen that looks just like a trading monitor. You can move forwards or backwards in time, and even set the dial so that it runs in real time. You can apply any well-established common technical study to the screen that you like and enter and exit trades whenever you want, according to specific rules, to your own discretion, or a mixture of both. The program keeps track of your wins and losses so that you can review your performance, and a log of every trade is kept, so that you can review your performance trade-by-trade.

The beauty of this product is that it allows you to test your skill at trading manually, instead of just running a test on trading formulas, although Forex Tester is programmable to conduct such tests using algos written in .dll files.

What You Get

The Forex Tester Package includes:

  • Forex Tester software program
  • 10 simple manual trading strategies
  • 1 popular expert adviser
  • 1-minute historical data on the 16 most popular currency pairs, plus Gold and Silver (this is updated monthly)
  • White paper advising how to find a profitable trading strategy
  • Risk calculation & money management excel tool
  • White paper advising how to choose a broker

Forex Testing Software

Forex testing software can not only assist you in practicing your trading skills as a manual trader but also help you create and test new trading strategies. Both are highly time-consuming, but Forex Tester allows traders to expedite the process significantly. It delivers double savings starting by eliminating the time it takes to test strategies, which results in Forex trading strategies to reach live trading accounts notably faster. Therefore, the profitability factor sets in quicker. Portfolios will have a functioning and tested approach, which is also easily modified by running simulations in Forex Tester 4, the successor of the highly popular Forex Tester 3, trusted by over 50,000 traders from 184 countries.

While developing your Forex trading strategy remains essential to your long-term success, everyone who has completed this task knows the importance of back testing. It can take years to properly do so, depending on how much time you have to invest in the project. With Forex Tester 4, you will receive an excellent Forex back testing software that allows you to expedite the process and complete it in a matter of weeks or months. The cost savings, together with less human capital invested, remains a factor to consider when evaluating Forex Tester 4. While there is no Forex back testing software free offer, you may download a time-limited free trial. Forex Tester also hosts frequent discounts on its packages, including data feeds, which adds to the value of the product.

Many new retail trades and those who prefer to trade manually may dismiss the need for Forex testing software. They can benefit from Forex Tester 4, as it allows testing of manual trading strategies. The fast-forward option will accumulate detailed trading statistics for the selected approach on the applied asset, allowing manual traders to analyze how the Forex trading strategy would have performed. It is similar to a video game for dedicated traders. It will also become an invaluable tool for those interested in buying expert advisors (EAs) available on the MT4/MT5 trading platforms. With over 20,000 free and paid ones listed, many offer a limited free trial, often no more than fourteen days. With Forex Tester 4, you have plenty of opportunities to test the EA before committing to a purchase. Therefore, Forex back testing software has a place in every trader’s arsenal, and since Forex Tester 3, and now with the update to Forex Tester 4, Forex Tester became one of the best offers available in the Forex testing software market.

How It Works

You can easily download the program as a limited trial from the Forex Tester website. When you go ahead and purchase it, you will receive a registration code to enter to fully unlock the software.

The trial software arrives with 1 month of pre-loaded historical data for three currency pairs (EUR/USD, USD/JPY, and AUD/USD). You can manually manipulate the data and enter simulated trades, applying any technical studies that you want.

Forex Tester Screenshot

forex tester screenshot

Note how the bottom of the terminal screen shows the details of any open trades, while trading and account performance are tracked within the bottom right screen.

You can apply any kind of tools and drawings to the charts easily and save them. You can even save set-ups templates to be applied to other testing scenarios.

Every function you can get from a real trading station such as changing stops or take profit levels, applying a trailing stop etc. can also be applied within the Forex Tester platform.

You can export data and save your tests so you can return to them unchanged whenever you want.

Purchasing the Full Version

You can make a payment through the Forex Tester website and receive a key code to unlock the program’s full functionalities.

The program comes with 1-minute historical data going back to 2001. If you want data for a wider range of instruments and at a higher quality, even down to the granularity of a single tick, this is available for an additional subscription fee.

The full version can also run expert advisers in .dll allowing for sophisticated automated back testing. A really impressive new feature included within the latest version – Forex Tester 3 – allows back tests to be run on multiple strategies and multiple currency pairs simultaneously, speeding up back testing processes.

You can easily analyze the results of tested strategies, whether they are manually traded or automated, as the program keeps a record of every trade and fluctuation in the hypothetical account equity.

Forex Tester Trade Analysis

Finally, the Forex Tester website has full instructions and details for how to use the program in its different modes and is approachable to answer any questions you might have. The software itself is easy to use and has the same kind of functionalities as trading stations, so if you have traded it will not be hard to use. If you have not traded, it will help you in learning how to use a trading station so you will be better prepared when you eventually start trading!

Overall Forex Tester comes highly recommended as an invaluable tool that you will help you learn how to trade profitably without losing any money in the process. Going ahead without buying this software could be likely to cause you to lose much more than this purchase price – and that is not something we say lightly.

Forex Simulator

A Forex simulator differs from demo trading, as it allows you to go back in time to simulate how a strategy would have performed during past market conditions. A demo account enables traders and developers to forward-test a Forex trading strategy, but you cannot simulate it. You will have to wait for market movements to develop, monitor all aspects of your it, and invest a significant amount of time. With a Forex simulator, you can go as far back as you have Forex historical data. You can apply your trading strategy and simulate a decade worth of trading in a matter of minutes, then digest the detailed report, and identify strengths and weaknesses. It offers new traders the opportunity to play around with different settings and receive actionable data, from where they can improve. Forex Tester4 adds tremendous educational value, and in combination with practical one, this Forex simulator ticks all boxes.

With Big Data playing an ever-increasing role across all aspects of life, the quality of the data presents the most defining piece of it, as it can alter the outcome significantly. Every Forex simulator requires Forex historical data. Forex Tester 4 offers a subscription-based three-tiered service for a quality Forex historical data download directly into the software. Some may view it as an additional revenue stream for the company, while it remains a necessity to deliver reliable results. The Basic subscription is free of charge but only allows for data on the D1 and W1 timeframes, with a monthly update frequency. Long-term traders do not require more, and it presents an outstanding entry into using Forex Tester 4. More advanced users may opt for the Standard or VIP package, available as a monthly, annually, and life-time subscription, where the lifetime offers presents the best value.

Since Forex Tester 3, traders can test multiple strategies on numerous assets simultaneously, and Forex Tester 4 expands in the abilities and ways for traders to use this Forex simulator. Regrettably, Forex taster appears to lack support for third-party Forex historical data that it does not provide. Competitors in the Forex simulator market may allow users to decide any Forex historical data download of their choice. Traders must carefully consider the quality of the data source and the abilities of an alternative Forex simulator. Since Forex Tester 4 offers D1 data free of charge, and the VIP package commends a life-time purchase of $439, the maximum cost is an acceptable one-time price of $539, which includes discounts. The possibilities with this Forex simulator are endless, and the investment will more than pay for itself once the first strategy is properly back tested and ready for launch.

Forex Tester 4

Forex Tester 4 is the latest version of this popular Forex simulator. Besides improved Forex historical data, traders can also benefit from the historical news service, allowing them to simulate trading strategies through fundamental news events. It marks a tremendous upgrade over Forex Tester 3. Other notable features include the addition of broker commissions, allowing traders a more in-depth and accurate profit/loss calculation, automated one-click lot size calculations, and an improved crosshair upgrade, delivering more relevant data than before. The enhanced functionalities in Forex Tester 4 over Forex Tester 3 get simulated trading results one step closer to those achieved in live trading accounts under actual market conditions.

The upgrade additionally features new symbols, a visual strategy builder, improved statistics during and after the test, and a multi-window interface. Traders who prefer managing a portfolio via multiple MT4/MT4 expert advisors (EAs) will benefit from the ability to test several EAs in different charts at the same time. It provides an excellent opportunity to compare the performance of one versus another or make a modification and determine if it will deliver the desired results. Forex Tester supports data download to Excel, granting traders the ability to analyze simulated results thoroughly. While Forex Tester 3 established itself as a trustworthy and valuable product, Forex Tester 4 expanded the toolset and delivered a significantly improved Forex simulator.

Traders who already purchased Forex Trader 3 and learned how to utilize and trust it can upgrade to Forex Tester 4 for a one-time discounted payment of only $49. The regular price for an upgrade from Forex Tester 3 to Forex Tester 4 is $99. Those who wish to upgrade their Forex historical data subscription from Basic to Standard or VIP will not only receive a discount on the package but a free upgrade from Forex Tester 3 to Forex Tester 4. Therefore, all users who enjoy the benefits of Forex Tester 3 with the Basic data subscription can take it to the next level with a one-time cost of $399 to get life-time VIP data and the Forex Tester 4 version free of charge.

FAQs

I use the MT4 platform with a currency broker ACM Advance Currency Market(Swiss), I live in Argentina. I see that the basic service uses data from Forexite then downloading the data can be different with respect to the broker I use? Because if so you can get to be a difference in the analysis of strategies.

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Actually this depends on your strategy. If your strategy is long-term then you do not need precise data but if your strategy is short-term then I’d recommend using our Standard data source, if your strategy is scalping then I’d recommend using VIP data service.

Does the software have a wide range of indicators and oscillators?

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Yes, we have many indicators.

Can I test manual and automated strategies?

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Yes, you can test manual and automated strategies, note that automated strategies should be written in Forex Tester format.

Can I download the MT4 platform data to update the information?

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Yes, you can download data from MT4 platform but we do not recommend doing that because the quality of MT4 data is low and there are a lot of “holes” in MT4 data

Once the strategy is tested, can I import it into the MT4 platform I use?

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You mean automatic strategy? If yes then you will have to convert it into MT4 format first. I understand that this requires additional efforts, but believe us, if you decide testing your EAs in Forex Tester then you will get a lot of advantages which will cover all expenses of converting the EA into Forex Tester and MT4 formats. In Forex Tester:

About the Author

DailyForex.com Team
The DailyForex.com team is comprised of analysts and researchers from around the world who watch the market throughout the day to provide you with unique perspectives and helpful analysis that can help improve your Forex trading.