Forex simulator ForexSimulator v.3 is a professional tool for testing trading strategies under conditions as close to the real market as possible. It runs inside the familiar MetaTrader5 platform and lets you replay historical data as bars or ticks, control market speed, manage risk, and fine-tune trading parameters.
ℹ INFO
The simulator lets you analyze your trading strategy not only using data from your own trading terminal, but also against DukasCopy quote history. DukasCopy typically stores a much longer history of minute-by-minute charts than most brokers can offer. That said, the choice is always yours — you can stick with your broker's quote history if you prefer. Either way, it has no impact on the quality of your strategy testing.
This review covers ForexSim installation step by step, walks through the key simulator settings, explains how to configure WebRequest, and includes a hands-on simulation example.
Plan
- Registration and License Purchase
- Installing Forex Simulator v3.0
- Using ForexSim v3.0
- Quote Source Modes
- ForexSim v3.0 Settings
- Working with ForexSim v3.0
- Advantages of Using ForexSimulator v3.0
- FAQ
Registration and License Purchase
Purchasing a license on the simulator's website is a straightforward process that requires no extra explanation.- Go to fxlab.app
- Sign up using any of the standard methods and purchase a license.
- Navigate to the MyLicenses section.
Here you will see:
- Your license expiration date and the exact time it ends
- Your license number, which you'll need to enter later in the indicator settings
- A download link for the ForexSim installer
Installing Forex Simulator v3.0
Inside the archive you'll find the indicator installer, which needs to be placed in the root folder of your MetaTrader5 trading terminal.To do this:
Open the folder where your trading terminal is located. In the terminal, go to File->Open DataFolder.
This will open the terminal's data folder - copy the simulator installer into it.
You're now ready to install.
Let's go. The installation is dead simple - just hit the Install button and all the files will be placed in the right directories automatically (as long as you put the installer in the correct folder to begin with).
That's it! Installation is complete - now let's move on to setup and actual usage.
Using ForexSim v3.0
Open your MetaTrader5 terminal as usual. Under Navigator (Ctrl+N)->Expert Advisors you should now see a new expert called ForexSimulator_v3.- Since the product is built as an Expert Advisor — even though it works quite differently from a typical EA — you'll first need to attach it to a chart.
- Open a chart for the trading instrument you want and drag the ForexSimulator expert onto it, or apply it to the active chart directly from the Navigator window.
We'll go through the settings in detail a bit later - for now, let's look at the two quote source modes available for trade simulation.
Quote Source Modes
DATA BROKER
In this mode, the historical quote data used for trade simulation is pulled from your broker's archive.And here's where it gets important!
⚠ IMPORTANT
Your broker won't always be able to provide a long history for lower timeframes. For minute-by-minute charts, for example, the available history often covers just a few months.
That's why the ForexSim team made sure users can test their trading system over a longer period — which is exactly what the second quote source mode is for.
DATA DUKASCOPY LOCAL
With this mode you get access to the extensive DukasCopy quote archive. Before you can use it though, you'll need to download all that data locally to your machine.Let's walk through how to do that.
Once you've added ForexSim to a chart and selected DATA_DUKAS_LOCAL mode, you'll see the following window:
From here you can open the DATA CENTER and download historical quotes for the instrument you need. For example, if you want to test a strategy on EURUSD (as shown on the right side of the screen), just hit the "Download" button.
In the Period section, if you don't need the full dataset - which can take up quite a bit of space - you can select a specific time range.
In the example below I'm downloading one year of EURUSD data.
Once the download is complete, you're ready to start using the simulator. We'll cover the simulation control panel in detail shortly, but first let's take a closer look at the other expert settings when adding it to a chart.
ForexSim v3.0 Settings
Before we dive into the simulator settings, there are two important things to take care of during setup.
⚠ IMPORTANT
1. Allow the simulator expert to use DLL. Without this, the expert simply won't run.
⚠ IMPORTANT
2. Go to Tools->Options->Expert Advisors and add https://fxlab.app/ to the list of allowed URLs for WebRequest
Now let's go through each setting one by one:
License
- License key - your license key from your personal account on fxlab.app
Simulation Settings
- Source symbol - the trading instrument the simulation will run on. If left empty, the current chart symbol is used.
- Quote source - the quote archive source for strategy testing (covered above).
- Simulation mode - Bars or Ticks. Bars mode is faster and works great for strategy testing.
- Simulation timeframe - the timeframe used for simulation (e.g. 1 Minute).
- Chart style - chart display template (color scheme, grid, etc.).
- Simulation start date - the date and time the simulation begins.
- Simulation end date - when the simulation stops (the expert will halt at this date).
- Initial balance - starting deposit (e.g. $10,000).
- Playback speed (ms) - pause between bars in milliseconds. 300 = 0.3 seconds per bar.
- Spread in pips for bar simulation - fixed spread in pips for bar-based simulation.
Trading
- Default lot - default lot size (0.01 = micro lot).
- Default risk (%) - risk per trade as a percentage of balance (e.g. 1%).
- Default SL (pips) - default stop-loss in pips (e.g. 50).
- Default TP (pips) - default take-profit in pips (e.g. 100).
- Allow opening without SL/TP - whether trades can be opened without a stop-loss or take-profit.
Prop Firm Settings (Challenge)
- Risk calculation model - how risk is calculated: Balance-based = calculated from current balance.
- Minimum trading days to pass - minimum number of trading days required to pass the challenge.
- Profit target (% of initial deposit) - profit goal as a percentage of the starting deposit.
- Daily drawdown limit (%) - maximum allowed drawdown per day.
- Total drawdown limit (%) - maximum total drawdown across the entire challenge.
- Warning level (% of limit) - the threshold at which a warning appears (e.g. 80% of the limit).
Hotkeys
- Next - step forward (one bar/tick). Key code 39 = right arrow.
- Back - step back. Code 37 = left arrow.
- Buy - open a buy. Code 38 = up arrow.
- Sell - open a sell. Code 40 = down arrow.
- Start/Pause - start or pause playback. Code 80 = P key.
Interface
- Right margin (pixels) - distance of the control panel from the right edge of the chart.
- Panel Y position - vertical offset of the panel from the top of the chart.
- Background color - panel background color in RGB format (e.g. #25,25,35 = dark grey).
Bottom Buttons
- Load - load a previously saved settings file.
- Save - save current settings to a file.
- OK - apply changes and close the window.
- Cancel - discard changes and close the window.
- Reset - reset all settings to their default values.
Working with ForexSim v3.0
Getting Started
- In the simulator control panel, click "Start" to begin the simulation
- Use the BUY button to open long positions on the trading instrument
- And SELL to open short positions.
The Simulation Control Panel
Playback Speed Control (Speed)- Buttons 1x, 5x, 10x, 50x - speed up chart playback in real time.
- 1x - normal speed, bar by bar.
- 50x - fast forward to skip through quiet market periods.
- The "–", "0.01" and "+" buttons - set a fixed lot size before buying or selling.
- You can increase or decrease the volume in 0.01 lot increments.
- Switch to ON and the simulator will automatically apply the SL and TP values you defined in the general settings (50 and 100 pips by default).
- Leave it OFF and trades open without any protection.
These mark spots on the chart where you hypothetically could have entered the market — without actually opening a trade. Great for learning without any risk.
Essentially it emulates your trading activity, but safely and on historical data in real-time mode.
Risk Calculator (Calc lot: -- / Risk: -- / RR: --)
Shows an automatic calculation of:
- Calc lot - what lot size you need for a given risk level
- Risk - how many $ you're risking on the trade
- RR - your Risk/Reward ratio
- BUY LIM — pending buy below current price
- SELL LIM — pending sell above current price
- BUY STOP — pending buy above current price
- SELL STOP — pending sell below current price
- CLOSE ALL — close all open trades
- CLOSE PROFIT — close only profitable trades
- CLOSE LOSS — close only losing trades
- Balance — your starting deposit, not including open trades
- Equity — balance plus floating profit/loss on open positions
- [OK] LICENSE ACTIVE / Days left: 38 — shows how many days remain on your trial or subscription.
- Completely resets the simulation: closes all trades, clears the history and returns the balance to its initial value.
Advantages of Using ForexSimulator v3.0
- You can switch the chart timeframe on the fly while the simulator is running — it won't break anything.
- You can add any indicators or oscillators to the chart both before and during an active simulation session.
FAQ
1. What is a Forex tester / Forex simulator and what is it used for?
A Forex simulator (tester) is a professional tool for testing trading strategies under conditions as close to the real market as possible. It lets you replay historical data as bars or ticks, control market speed, manage risk, and adjust trading parameters. Traders use these tools to practice strategies without risking real money, analyze how a system performs on historical data, and prepare for live trading or prop firm challenges.
2. Which is better — a Forex tester or a Forex simulator?
The best choice is a simulator that runs inside your usual platform (such as MetaTrader 5) and supports multiple quote sources. ForexSim v3.0 stands out because it works directly inside MT5, gives you the choice between your broker's archive (DATA BROKER) and the much deeper DukasCopy history (DATA DUKASCOPY LOCAL), supports both bar and tick-based testing, includes prop firm settings (profit target, daily drawdown), hotkeys, and visual trade markers. If you're serious about strategy analysis, go with a simulator that lets you load long historical datasets and offers flexible risk management settings.
3. How do I install Forex Simulator v3.0 in MetaTrader 5?
Open MetaTrader 5 and go to File → Open DataFolder. Copy the installer from the ZIP archive into the folder that opens. Run the installer and click "Install" — all files will be placed in the correct directories automatically. Once done, the ForexSimulator_v3 expert will appear under Navigator → Expert Advisors.
4. What should I do if ForexSim won't run and asks for DLL permission?
For the expert to work properly you need to allow DLL imports. In MetaTrader 5, go to Tools → Options → Expert Advisors and check "Allow DLL imports". You'll also need to add [URL='https://fxlab.app/[/URL']https://fxlab.app/[/URL] to the list of allowed URLs for WebRequest in the same section. Without both of these settings the simulator won't function.
5. What is the difference between DATA BROKER and DATA DUKASCOPY LOCAL quote source modes?
DATA BROKER uses your broker's quote archive, but the available history for lower timeframes (such as the 1-minute chart) is often limited to just a few months. DATA DUKASCOPY LOCAL lets you download and use a much deeper quote history from DukasCopy, making it possible to test strategies over much longer historical periods. The quality of testing is not affected either way.
6. How do I download DukasCopy historical data for simulation?
After adding ForexSim to a chart, select DATA DUKASCOPY LOCAL mode. In the window that appears, click "Open DATA CENTER". Choose the instrument you need (for example, EURUSD) and click "Download". In the Period section you can set a specific time range — for instance, download only the last year of data. Once the download is complete, the history will be available for simulation.
7. What simulation settings are available in ForexSim v3.0 for strategy testing?
Under Simulation Settings you can configure: Source symbol (trading pair), Quote source, Simulation mode (Bars or Ticks), Simulation timeframe, start and end dates, Initial balance, Playback speed (in ms), and fixed spread. You also have access to risk management parameters, default SL/TP values, and prop firm challenge settings.
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