What is Paper Trading and how do I play?

Ready to try your hand at the stock market without risking a single real dollar? Paper Trading is Greenlight's stock market simulation game, and it's completely free to play! Build a portfolio with pretend cash, trade real stocks, and see how you stack up against friends, family, and players everywhere on the leaderboard.

What is Paper Trading?

Paper Trading turns learning about investing into a game anyone can play, risk-free. Every player starts with $10,000 in paper money to build a portfolio using real stocks at real market prices. Watch a portfolio grow (or dip!) right along with the actual market, then climb the leaderboard, which ranks players by percentage gain, not by who has the biggest balance

Important: No real money is ever used or at risk. The $10,000 starting balance is fake money created just for the game, and it's not connected to any bank account, debit card, or investment account

What you can do in Paper Trading

Build a portfolio using $10,000 in paper money
Watch a portfolio's value update in real time as the market moves
Compare performance to the S&P 500
Climb the global leaderboard
Create private groups to compete with friends and family
Use AI-powered stock grades, charts, and company info to help decide what to trade
Join occasional prize competitions for a chance to win real prizes

Who can play Paper Trading?

Good news, almost anyone can jump in!

Greenlight kids (ages 8-17) and parents: Full access, automatically signed in through the Greenlight app, no age minimum beyond the standard Greenlight kid account
Non-Greenlight users, 13 and older: Full access after verifying a phone number
Non-Greenlight users under 13: Not eligible to play without a Greenlight account

How do I access Paper Trading?

How to get in depends on whether there's already a Greenlight account

If you're on Greenlight's Core plan

Open the Greenlight app
Tap "Paper Trading" from the home screen or the "Invest" tab
You'll be signed in automatically, no extra login needed
First time playing? A quick onboarding screen will walk through the game and the $10,000 starting balance

If you have a Greenlight account but aren't on the Core plan

Paper Trading isn't currently visible in the app outside of the Core plan, but any Greenlight family can still play. Go to https://apps.greenlight.com/paper-trading/ and log in with the existing Greenlight account, same as a Core plan customer would

If you don't have a Greenlight account at all

Signing up takes under a minute

Open the link received, or go to app.greenlight.com/paper-trading
Enter a phone number and verify with the one-time code sent over
Confirm being 13 years of age or older and agree to Greenlight's terms and conditions
Once verified, the $10,000 starting balance is ready to go on the dashboard

Just keep in mind that playing without a Greenlight account only unlocks the game itself. It doesn't include Greenlight cards, the Family Hub, or other features tied to a full account

How do I buy or sell a stock?

Here's how to make a trade

From the dashboard, tap the search bar and look up a stock by name or symbol
Tap the stock to open its detail page, where price, AI-powered grade, performance chart, and company info are all in one place
Tap "Buy" or "Sell"
Enter the number of shares or the dollar amount to trade
Review and confirm, and the portfolio updates instantly

Players can only spend what's in their available cash balance, and can't sell more shares than they own

Tip: Trades placed during market hours use real-time prices, and trades placed after hours execute at the market's closing price. Shares are traded in whole quantities only, so fractional shares aren't supported

Why did my portfolio change without me trading?

Paper Trading uses real stock prices, so a portfolio's value moves with the actual market, even on days with no new trades. If a portfolio's value drops, it just means the stocks held lost value in the real market that day. This is expected, and it's all part of the fun. No real money is ever affected

How does the leaderboard work?

The leaderboard ranks players by percentage gain from their starting $10,000, not by total dollar value. A player who grew $10,000 to $12,000 (a 20% gain) ranks higher than a player who grew $14,000 to $15,000 (a 7.1% gain), even though the second player has more money overall

This keeps things fair no matter how long someone's been playing or how big their balance has grown. Players can filter the leaderboard by daily, weekly, or monthly performance, and switch between the global leaderboard and their group's leaderboard. Each view shows up to 50 ranked players

Can I play with friends or family?

Yes! Creating a group sets up a private leaderboard just for that group, perfect for a little friendly competition

Go to the "Leaderboard" tab and find the "Groups" section, or access it from the home dashboard
Tap "Create Group" and follow the setup steps
Share the link received with friends or family through text, WhatsApp, or any messaging app
Anyone who taps the link joins the group automatically

A few things to know about groups:

Only the person who creates a group can delete it, and they'll see a confirmation before it's final
Group admins can't remove individual members, only delete the whole group
Non-admin members can leave a group at any time
Players can be part of multiple groups at once

How do I turn off notifications?

Tap the profile icon in the top right corner of the game, and toggle off notifications there. This controls updates about leaderboard changes, top movers, and other game activity

Is there a cost to play?

Nope, Paper Trading is completely free for everyone, with no subscription fees, in-app purchases, or hidden costs

Can I win a prize?

Greenlight occasionally runs time-limited prize competitions. When one is active, the prize and end date appear right on the home screen, along with the actions that earn entries, like trading or inviting friends. After the competition ends, it takes up to 10 days to select a winner, and portfolios stay exactly as they are, nothing gets reset

Important: Players who haven't verified their phone number yet can still play, but must complete verification to be eligible to win

Still need help? We're here for you.

Text us at 404-974-3024 | Call us at 888-483-2645