How to forward-test an Expert Advisor on a demo account

Why forward testing matters

Backtests cannot fully model real spreads, slippage, requotes and connection problems. A demo forward test shows how the EA behaves with your broker's real feed, your VPS and your settings.

Set up a fair test

Make the demo as close to the live plan as possible.

• Use the same broker and account type you intend to trade live.
• Match the starting balance and the lot size or risk percentage you plan to use.
• Load the recommended setfile and do not change inputs mid-test.
• Run it on the VPS you will use live.

How long to run it

Long enough to see more than one kind of market. For many strategies that means several weeks to a few months and a meaningful number of trades. A handful of trades says very little.

What to record

Keep a simple log of trades, maximum drawdown, average spread and any errors in the Experts tab. Compare these with the backtest. Large differences point to a cost, execution or settings problem.

Going live

If the demo behaved as expected, start live with a small size and scale up gradually. Demo fills are cleaner than live fills, so expect slightly worse results live.