Cent accounts: what are they actually for?

A cent account measures balances in cents, so a $10 deposit behaves like a $1,000 account and 0.01 lots like a standard lot. It's a bridge between demo and live for very small budgets — with its own quirks.

Cent accounts: what are they actually for? — moving average crossover diagram
A fast moving average crossing a slower one

Have you used one?

  • the broker and how the pricing worked
  • whether it felt like demo or like real trading
  • what you'd warn a beginner about
Cent accounts: what are they actually for? — risk-reward diagram
A risk-reward ratio of 1 to 2

Cent accounts aren't offered everywhere, and the psychological realism is the point, not the profit.

Background: Lot sizes explained: standard, mini and micro lots

A lot sets how many units of currency you buy or sell. Getting it wrong is the fastest way to turn a small price move into a large loss.

How many units is 0.01 lot?

0.01 lot is a micro lot: 1,000 units of the base currency.

How much margin do I need for one lot?

It depends on the leverage available and the price. At 30:1 leverage, one standard lot of EUR/USD at 1.15 (about $115,000) needs roughly $3,833 in margin.

Read the full guide

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