Backtest, demo, and live account: what each one shows

What a live account means

In MetaTrader 5, a live account places trades using real money and is opened through a brokerage company. This makes its history closer to actual operating experience than a simulation or an account funded with virtual money.

However, “live” does not mean “universal”. The history belongs to one account with its own balance, leverage, server, symbol, costs, latency, and configuration. Deposits or withdrawals can also affect some metrics.

A responsible presentation therefore identifies at least the account or source, the observation period, the cutoff date, the metric, and its methodology. Without that context, the word “live” says less than it appears to.

What it can answer

• How one configuration behaved during a defined period.
• Which trades and variations were recorded by that platform.
• Which risks materialised in that account, when the source makes them observable.

What it cannot answer by itself

• How the system will behave in the future.
• What another person will obtain under different conditions.
• Whether the system is suitable for a particular financial situation.

What a demo account means

Official MetaTrader 5 documentation describes demo accounts as a training mode without real money. They allow users to test a strategy and use platform functions with virtual funds. They are especially useful for checking that an EA installs, starts, and records activity without exposing capital.

A demo remains evidence, but it is evidence from a test environment. The server, simulated liquidity, execution speed, and other conditions may differ from a live account. Even when the visible functions are the same, the capital and purpose are not.

What a backtest means

MetaTrader 5 Strategy Tester runs an Expert Advisor with defined inputs over historical data. It is a simulation and analysis tool that helps study how programmed rules would have responded inside the selected model and conditions.

The result depends on technical choices that should remain attached to the report: period, symbol, timeframe, tick-generation mode, starting deposit, leverage, spread, commissions, and EA inputs. MetaTrader 5 supports generated ticks and real ticks accumulated by a broker. More detailed data can improve the model, but it still does not turn a simulation into live trading.

A backtest is useful for finding errors, studying stability, comparing configurations, and observing adverse periods. It should not be used as a prediction or cropped to show only the most favourable segment.

Evidence for the main InfinityGoldFx simulation

The home page summarises a complete MetaTrader 5 Strategy Tester report retained by InfinityGold. The following record fixes the evidence type, period, observation date, metrics, and cryptographic fingerprint of the source report so that any future update leaves an auditable trail.

The fingerprint can reveal whether the retained report changes, but it does not replace access to the complete report or make the simulation independently reproducible. InfinityGold retains the complete report for audit and publishes the images used on the home page separately.

Open the JSON record with metrics, calculation, hashes, and limitations.

Why the three results can differ

Two runs of the same algorithm can diverge for reasons that are not visible in a final percentage. Review at least these factors before comparing:

• Data and modelling: real ticks, generated ticks, history gaps, and available precision.
• Costs: spread, commissions, swaps, and conversion into the deposit currency.
• Execution: latency, slippage, rejections, connectivity, and server availability.
• Symbol: specifications, suffixes, contract size, minimum stops, and trading hours.
• Account: balance, leverage, currency, and broker rules.
• Configuration: EA build, inputs, risk, and changes made during the period.
• Retrospective selection: optimisation or period selection after seeing the result.

Five questions before accepting a figure

1. Which market and platform does it use?
   The asset, symbol, timeframe, and platform are part of the context.
2. Is the evidence live, demo, or backtest?
   The category should be visible, not inferred from a cropped screenshot.
3. Which risk and drawdown accompany the result?
   An isolated performance figure does not describe the path or observed loss.
4. What can change execution?
   Check the broker, spread, latency, symbol, costs, and configuration.
5. Are support and documentation available?
   Installation, supervision, updates, and limits should be understandable before trading.

How InfinityGold applies this criterion

InfinityGold separates monitored accounts from backtests and does not transfer metrics between platforms as if they used identical methodologies. When a figure about InfinityGoldFx is published, it should include its source, period, observation date, and whether it is live or simulated.

InfinityGoldFx is automation software for XAUUSD in MetaTrader 5. It can be evaluated as an EA through MQL5 Market or through the separate CopyTrading route offered by RoboForex. These are different services with different terminal control, provider conditions, costs, execution, and account requirements.

Frequently asked questions

Is a backtest a live result?

No. A backtest runs a strategy over historical data inside Strategy Tester. It is a simulation that depends on the data, settings, costs, and modelling mode used.

Is a demo account equivalent to a live account?

No. A demo account uses virtual funds. It supports learning and functional checks, but it does not by itself show how execution with real capital would have behaved.

Does a live account guarantee that other users will obtain the same result?

No. A live account documents one account, configuration, period, and set of conditions. Balance, broker, latency, costs, symbol, and settings can all produce differences.

Sources and review

• MetaTrader 5 Help: demo and live accounts.
• MetaTrader 5 Help: strategy testing.
• MetaTrader 5 Help: tester preparation and historical data.
• MQL5 Reference: tick generation and testing modes.