Free Stock Market Games: Six Contests Compared, Three of Them With Crypto (2026)

The information provided in this article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute financial advice. Investing in cryptocurrencies carries a high level of risk.

A stock market game is a contest played with virtual money: everyone starts with the same virtual capital, trades at real prices, and in the end whoever sits at the top of the leaderboard wins. The good news first: all six stock market games in this comparison are free. The more important news comes further down: a leaderboard does not necessarily reward good trading, and often rewards the biggest risk instead. Knowing that, you learn more from a stock market game than just how to place an order. Here are the stock market games of 2026 with their period, target group, starting capital and prizes, plus the answer to where crypto is allowed.

Free stock market games: the key points in brief

• All six stock market games in this comparison are free, as of September 28, 2026. Three of them allow cryptocurrencies.
• Planspiel Börse, run by the German savings banks, starts on October 1, 2026 and runs until January 25, 2027, for school and university students.
• Trader 2026 from Société Générale runs from September 7 to October 30, 2026, with two portfolios of €100,000 in virtual money each.
• Trading Masters begins its first playing round on November 9, with €25,000 per portfolio and prizes worth more than €50,000.
• With crypto: Trading Masters and the training portfolio in Planspiel Börse via BSDEX, plus the crypto stock market game from CryptoTicker with 50 coins.
• No stock market game is played with real money. The prizes, by contrast, are real; at Trader 2026 they go up to a car.

The stock market games of 2026 at a glance

All figures as of September 28, 2026, according to the organizers. Dates and prizes change from round to round.

The six stock market games in detail

Planspiel Börse from the German savings banks

The best-known stock market game in Germany is aimed at school and university students. The 2026 round starts on October 1, registration has been open since September 14 and must be completed by November 11; play ends on January 25, 2027. You can take part via the app or in a browser, which requires a registration code from the savings bank or the teacher. The competition portfolio allows trading in shares from well-known indices, funds, ETFs and fixed-income securities. The training portfolio additionally offers cryptocurrencies via the BSDEX exchange, plus certificates. Alongside the portfolio ranking there is a sustainability score.

Trader 2026 from Société Générale

Trader is aimed at adults aged 18 and over and runs for eight weeks in 2026, from September 7 to October 30. Every participant receives two portfolios with €100,000 in virtual money each. Tradable instruments are shares, certificates and warrants listed on the Stuttgart Stock Exchange or issued by Société Générale. The rules put a brake on gambling: a maximum of 20 purchases a day, no single position above 20 percent of the portfolio, leveraged products capped at 20 percent of portfolio value, and a minimum holding time of five minutes. Once a week, a portfolio can be reset. The main prize is a Range Rover Evoque, and there are weekly prizes on top.

Trading Masters

Trading Masters is organized by excellents GmbH, with UBS as the main sponsor. Adults aged 18 and over who are resident in Germany or Austria can take part. Play runs with one equity portfolio and one leverage portfolio of €25,000 each. Tradable instruments are shares via the Stuttgart Stock Exchange, warrants, knock-out products and factor certificates from UBS, as well as cryptocurrencies via BSDEX. The training camp begins on October 26, the first playing round on November 9, 2026, and the second on January 11, 2027. The prizes are worth more than €50,000 in total, and the winner of a round receives €8,000. Taking part is free.

VR-Börsenspiel

The stock market game of the German cooperative banks comes as a school game and as an apprentice game. The 2026 school game ran from February 11 to May 11, with registration opening in November 2025. The apprentice game runs at different times by region: in Weser-Ems and at Genoverband from January 20 to May 20, in Baden-Württemberg and Bavaria from June 23 to October 23, 2026. Schools start with €50,000 in virtual capital; tradable instruments are shares and ETPs, and in the speculative variant leveraged products as well. Cryptocurrencies are not included.

Tradity

Tradity is an educational initiative of WHU, the Otto Beisheim School of Management, and is aimed at school students. The game is free, play starts with 100,000 Tradity coins, and real shares are traded at real-time prices. The season runs once a year; the app announces when the next one begins. There is prize money, and crypto cannot be traded.

The crypto stock market game from CryptoTicker

This one is our own, so here it is in detail and with the caveats: the stock market game in CryptoTicker's Trading Hub is a pure crypto contest. Participation is from age 18. There is €10,000 in virtual money, real prices for 50 coins and two leagues, up to 10x and up to 100x leverage. The first three trades work without an account; after that, one click creates an anonymous account, with no email address and no payment details.

A pre-season runs until the end of 2026: free and without prize money. From January 2027, ranked seasons with a prize pool are planned, and taking part in the ranking is then intended to carry a fee. What is scored is not the highest return but the CT score, the return divided by the largest drawdown. If you only want to practise, you do not need the contest at all: the trading simulator is separate from it, with no sign-up, no credit card and no cap on the number of trades.

Which stock market games are the best?

The best stock market game is the one that fits your situation:

• For school and university students: Planspiel Börse, because it is organized through schools and universities and has a training portfolio that knows crypto. An alternative with real shares and prize money is Tradity.
• For adults who want to win something: Trader 2026 and Trading Masters, both with real prizes and clear trading rules.
• For crypto: Trading Masters or the crypto stock market game from CryptoTicker; anyone under 18 practises crypto in the training portfolio of Planspiel Börse.
• Without a deadline and without a contest: a demo account or a simulator. Which variants exist is set out in our guide to the trading demo account.

Why a leaderboard invites too much risk

A stock market game with a prize for the top places has an uncomfortable property: trade cautiously and you land safely in midfield. Put everything on one card and you usually land far back, but occasionally right at the front. With a thousand participants, what often wins is therefore the biggest lucky hit and not the best strategy. That is a property of the format, and no reproach to the organizers.

Two things work against it. First, rules like those at Trader 2026, which cap single positions and leveraged products at 20 percent of the portfolio. Second, a scoring method that prices in risk, such as the CT score, which divides the return by the largest drawdown. For you as a learner: trade in the stock market game by the rules you intend to keep later with real money, even if that costs you a place in the ranking. One percent of risk per trade means, with €100,000 in virtual money, a loss of at most €1,000 until the stop.

Is the stock market game played with real money?

No. In every stock market game in this comparison you trade with virtual money; no order reaches an exchange, and you cannot lose money of your own. Only the prizes handed out by some organizers are real. If you want to start with real money after the contest, begin small and choose a provider by fees and regulation: for crypto, our exchange comparison helps, and for shares, ETFs and derivatives the comparison of the best crypto brokers.

Stock market game, model portfolio, paper trading: the difference

• Stock market game: a contest with a deadline, a leaderboard and often prizes.
• Model portfolio: a virtual portfolio without a contest, mostly for shares and ETFs, to follow a selection over weeks.
• Paper trading and demo account: practice trading at real prices, any time and without a leaderboard, often with stops, shorts and leverage.

If you do not need the contest, you usually learn faster with a demo account, because no leaderboard invites risk. How to start without money and with real prices is set out in our guide Practise trading without money.

How to get from the game to your own rulebook, with order types, position size and a four-week practice plan, is set out in our Learn Trading pillar. If you then want to put real money to work, you will find regulated providers and their fees in the exchange comparison.

Sources

• Planspiel Börse of the German savings banks: dates for the 2026 round and FAQ, as of September 28, 2026.
• Société Générale: terms of participation and prizes for Trader 2026, as of September 28, 2026.
• excellents GmbH: Trading Masters, the stock market game at a glance, as of September 28, 2026.
• DIGITAL PROJECT: VR-Börsenspiel, dates and playing times 2026, as of September 28, 2026.
• WHU Otto Beisheim School of Management: Tradity, as of September 28, 2026.
• CryptoTicker Trading Hub, home page and terms of participation, as of September 28, 2026.