Demo results that look too good: red flags for EA builders
Posted: Tue Nov 03, 2026 7:09 am
Demo results can look better than they deserve. These are the signs worth checking before trusting them.
A worked example: if live fills average 0.15 pips worse than demo and the EA averages 0.4 pips per trade on demo, expect around 0.25 pips live, before any other differences. That's a 40% cut in edge.
Treat the demo result as an upper limit on what live trading can do.
What made you stop trusting a demo result?
- No slippage at all in the demo trade history.
- Fills at exactly the requested price during news.
- No commission on an account type that charges commission live.
- Spreads on demo tighter than on live at the same time.
- Stops never filling beyond their level.
- Very short trades all profitable, which can point to latency arbitrage against a demo feed.
A worked example: if live fills average 0.15 pips worse than demo and the EA averages 0.4 pips per trade on demo, expect around 0.25 pips live, before any other differences. That's a 40% cut in edge.
Treat the demo result as an upper limit on what live trading can do.
What made you stop trusting a demo result?