Weekly & Monthly Trading Competitions - Free Entry

In the world of online trading, trading competitions have become one of the most exciting ways for traders to sharpen skills, test strategies, and possibly win prizes. These competitions, typically run weekly or monthly, allow participants to compete on leaderboards, using virtual or real accounts, and enjoy a range of rewards.

Offered by a growing number of online brokers, these contests have evolved from niche marketing gimmicks into sophisticated platforms for education, community building, and talent discovery. But where can traders participate in such competitions?

In this article, we will explore the landscape of free-entry weekly and monthly trading competitions. We will cover what they are, why they matter, how to join them, and, most importantly, which brokers currently offer such competitions.

What Are Trading Competitions?

A trading competition is essentially a game-like event where traders compete against each other over a set period of time with the goal of achieving the most profitable performance. These competitions transform trading into a performance-based challenge, combining real market conditions with a competitive framework.

Participants are usually given identical starting balances, most often on demo accounts funded with virtual money, ensuring a level playing field. The goal is to outperform other traders by generating the highest returns, maintaining consistent profitability, or meeting specific performance criteria outlined by the competition rules. Results are tracked through live leaderboards, allowing traders to monitor their ranking throughout the contest.

This is just a general overview of what trading competitions are and how they work. However, each competition may differ in rules, duration, and rewards, if any, depending on the broker. Make sure you read the full terms and conditions of each competition you intend to participate in beforehand.

With that said, let’s take a look at some of the brokers that offer weekly and monthly trading competitions with free entry.

Top Brokers with Free Weekly & Monthly Competitions

HFM

HFM is one of the most well-recognised brokers that offers traders a free entry to monthly trading competitions. The broker’s Virtual to Real Demo contest runs every month and is open to all clients of HFM. To be eligible, a trader must first have a real account with HFM. However, only demo accounts are eligible for this contest. As this is a monthly contest, it runs from the 1st day until the last day of a given month.

Each participant starts with an initial balance of $10,000, and the trading conditions are the same across the board to ensure a level playing field. For example, the maximum leverage on this Demo Contest account is 1:200. The only financial instruments that participants can trade in this contest include forex, metals, energies, bonds, EU shares, spot indices, and futures indices.

At the end of each trading month, the broker evaluates performance and awards the top three traders with trading bonuses credited directly to their live trading accounts. The top trader receives $500 in trading bonus, the second top trader $300, and the third top trader $100. Rankings are displayed on live leaderboards throughout the competition period.

Further, HFM also awards clients who achieve the most gain in a given month, dubbed the Traders Awards. In this promotion, the trader achieving the greatest gain will be awarded a $1,000 cash prize, the HFM Crystal Obelisk, and entry to the hall of fame. Importantly, traders need to join this contest before the 7th business day of a given month. They also need to have at least $500 balance in their account.

Terms and conditions apply. Your capital is at risk. Leveraged products may not be suitable for everyone.

What HFM Offers

On the live trading accounts, HFM offers access to a plethora of market products, including CFDs on forex, commodities, bonds, ETFs, metals, energies, indices, stocks, and cryptocurrencies. The trading platforms available to use include MetaTrader 4, MetaTrader 5, and the HFM Platform.

There are five different trading accounts for traders to use, with varying pricing structures. These include the Premium, Cent, Pro, Pro-plus, and Zero accounts. Premium and Cent accounts offer spreads from as low as 1.2 pips with no commission on forex. Pro accounts feature spreads from 0.5 pips, while Pro Plus accounts have spreads as low as 0.2 pips, both with no commission on forex. The Zero account offers raw spreads from as low as 0.0 pips plus a commission of $3 per side per lot.

On another note, HFM is a regulated broker in various jurisdictions. The broker’s operations are under the supervision of the DFSA in Dubai, the FSCA in South Africa, the CMA in Kenya, the FSA in Seychelles, and the FSC in Mauritius, among others.

XM

XM is another well-known global broker that actively runs free-entry trading competitions. This broker regularly hosts trading competitions, each with its own rules and durations. These events are hosted on demo accounts, eliminating monetary risk. Trading performance is judged across a specific time frame, using virtual funds while competing for actual prize money.

XM currently offers three main types of demo-based competitions. The first is the Weekly Demo Competition. This is a free-to-enter contest with an impressive total prize pool of $25,000. Each week, the top 100 traders are rewarded, with the first-place winner receiving $2,500, second-place earning $1,500, and third-place taking home $1,250. The remaining prizes are distributed among other high-ranking participants based on their final positions.

XM also runs a Paid Demo Competition, which takes place daily and requires an entry fee. Although traders use virtual funds, they compete for real, withdrawable cash prizes. Lastly, the Free Practice Competition is designed purely for learning and strategy testing. It runs every hour, is completely free to join, and does not offer cash rewards, making it ideal for skill development without financial pressure.

Terms and conditions apply. Your capital is at risk. Leveraged products may not be suitable for everyone.

What XM Offers

XM provides access to a wide range of over 1,400 financial instruments. These include CFDs on forex, equity indices, shares, cryptocurrencies, commodities, metals, stocks, and energies. The trading platforms available to use include MetaTrader 4, MetaTrader 5, and the XM Trading App.

XM offers several account types to suit different trading styles, including the Standard, XM Ultra Low, and Shares accounts. The Standard account features spreads starting from 1.6 pips on major currency pairs, with no commission fees. In contrast, the XM Ultra Low account offers spreads starting from just 0.8 pips, also without any commission. Meanwhile, the Shares account operates on a commission-based structure where the commission depends on the specific share being traded and the size of the trade.

From a regulatory standpoint, XM operates under a strong multi-regulated framework. The broker operates under the supervision of the CySEC in Cyprus, the DFSA in the DIFC, and the FSC in Belize.

IQ Option

IQ Option is a popular online trading platform that also offers free-entry trading tournaments. The platform frequently hosts trading competitions that are integral to its community engagement. At the time of writing this, there are currently four tournaments running, with one being free to enter. Specifically, the free-to-enter competition is the Deluxe VIP tournament that runs for a week.

Under this tournament, traders stand to win substantial cash prizes, with a total prize pool of $15,000. The top trader at the end of the tournament receives a prize of $4,500, the second $3,750, and the third $3,000. Other traders in the top 10 also receive cash prizes, depending on their performance.

Just to mention, the broker is also currently running three other competitions, but these require an entry fee ranging from $2 to $5. They include a 4-day tournament ($2 entry fee), another week-long tournament ($4 entry fee), and a monthly tournament ($5 entry fee). The prize pools for these tournaments are $5,000, $10,000, and $50,000, respectively.

Terms and conditions apply. Your capital is at risk. Leveraged products may not be suitable for everyone.

What IQ Option Offers

IQ Option provides access to a broad range of financial instruments. These include CFDs on forex, indices, cryptocurrencies, stocks, commodities, and ETFs. This variety allows traders to diversify their portfolios and explore different markets from a single platform.

The trading platform available to use is the broker’s proprietary IQ Option platform. On another note, IQ Option offers its traders industry-standard spreads. The spreads start from as low as 1.0 pips for major currency pairs with no commission required.

PrimeXBT

PrimeXBT is a well-known trading broker that actively runs free-entry trading competitions. The broker regularly organises weekly trading contests that are open to both new and existing users, requiring no entry fee to participate. The specific prize pool varies depending on the trading competition.

To join a PrimeXBT trading competition, traders need to register through the broker’s contest section. At the end of each competition, the top-performing traders are rewarded with cash prizes, which are usually credited directly to their PrimeXBT accounts. However, these cash prizes are not withdrawable, but the profits made from the funds are available to withdraw.

Terms and conditions apply. Your capital is at risk. Leveraged products may not be suitable for everyone.

What PrimeXBT Offers

PrimeXBT offers its clients access to a diverse range of trading instruments, including CFDs on forex, commodities, stocks, indices, and cryptocurrencies. There are three main trading platforms to suit different trading styles, including PXTrader, MetaTrader 5, and PrimeXBT App.

PrimeXBT offers a competitive fee structure designed to help traders maximise their earnings. The broker features some of the lowest spreads in the industry, starting at just 0.1 pips with no commission on forex.

From a regulatory perspective, PrimeXBT operates under the regulation of four regulatory bodies. These include the FSCA in South Africa, the FSA in Seychelles, the FSC in Mauritius, and the BCR in El Salvador.

Deriv

Deriv is a globally recognised online trading platform that also offers free-entry monthly trading competitions. These competitions are designed to encourage active participation, strategy testing, and skill development, making them suitable for traders of all experience levels. Deriv’s trading competitions are hosted on demo accounts, where all participants are provided with a $10,000 starting balance.

The prize pool for this monthly competition is an attractive $2,000. Performance is measured using profit percentage, and rankings are displayed on live leaderboards throughout the competition period. The top three traders at the end of the competition share the cash prize, with the top trader receiving $1,000, the second getting $600, and the third getting $400. As with other brokers, prize eligibility depends on the specific terms of the competition. For example, Deriv may audit the winning trades before payout.

What Deriv Offers

Deriv provides access to a wide variety of trading instruments. These include CFDs on forex, derived indices, stocks, commodities, indices, ETFs, and cryptocurrencies. This allows traders to diversify their portfolios as they see fit. There are several trading platforms available to use, including Deriv MT5, Deriv cTrader, SmartTrader, Deriv GO, Deriv Trader, and Deriv Bot.

Regarding spreads, Deriv offers competitive spreads. It features spreads from as low as 0.4 pips for major currency pairs. On regulations, Deriv operates through multiple licenses across various jurisdictions. The broker is regulated by authorities such as the MFSA in Malta, the SCA in the UAE, the Labuan FSA, the BVIFSC in the British Virgin Islands, and the VFSC in Vanuatu, among others.

Final Comments

Weekly and monthly trading competitions with free entry have become an important part of the modern online trading ecosystem. They provide structured environments where traders can refine their skills, test strategies under real market conditions, and measure their performance against a global community.

As highlighted in this article, brokers such as HFM, XM, IQ Option, PrimeXBT, and Deriv each offer unique competition formats, prize structures, and trading conditions. The variety of brokers and competitions allows traders to choose competitions that best align with their experience level, goals, and preferred markets.

That said, trading competitions should be viewed primarily as learning and development tools rather than guaranteed income opportunities. Success often depends on short-term performance and aggressive strategies that may not always translate well into long-term trading.

For this reason, it is essential to carefully review each competition’s rules, trading conditions, and prize withdrawal terms before participating. Additionally, it is important for traders to maintain sound risk-management techniques as live markets involve a lot of risk.