An Alinda Season is a monthly stock trading competition where every player starts with the same fixed amount of virtual cash, trades real US stocks and crypto at delayed market prices, and gets ranked on a public leaderboard by percentage return. At the end of the month the season freezes, a new one begins, and the scoreboard resets to zero for everyone. No real money is ever involved.
If a plain practice portfolio has ever felt like it lacks a point, Seasons add the missing piece: a clear start, a clear finish, and a fair way to see who actually did best. Below is a concrete walkthrough of the format, the rules that make it fair, and how to jump into one.
What a season actually is
A season is a time-boxed contest bounded to a single calendar month. Three things define it:
- A fixed, equal starting balance. Everyone who joins gets an identical amount of simulated cash — nobody can "buy in" with more. This is the single most important rule, because it means the leaderboard measures skill and decisions, not who started with the biggest bankroll.
- A live market to trade in. You buy and sell the same real stocks and cryptocurrencies you'd see in any brokerage app, priced at real (delayed) market data. Your holdings rise and fall with the actual market.
- A shared, public leaderboard. Every entrant's return is visible and ranked, so standings are transparent from day one to the last trading day of the month.
Because the balance is fixed and equal, a season is a true apples-to-apples comparison. A 12% gain on a small account and a 12% gain on a huge one would normally be hard to compare — here they can't diverge, because the accounts are identical at the start.
The fixed equal starting balance, and why it matters
In an ordinary portfolio you might deposit whatever you like, top it up later, and quietly reset a bad run. Seasons remove all of that. The starting cash is set by the season, it's the same for you and every rival, and you can't add more mid-month.
That constraint is what makes the competition fair and, honestly, more fun. It forces the same interesting question on everyone at the same time: given exactly this much to work with, what would you do? Two people can pursue completely different strategies — one concentrated on a few convictions, another spread across a dozen names — and the leaderboard settles the argument objectively.
If you're brand new to the underlying mechanics, our guide on what paper trading is explains the fake-money model that Seasons are built on.
The leaderboard: how ranking works
Seasons rank players by percentage return, not by dollar value. Since everyone begins with the same balance, ranking by percent and ranking by ending value amount to the same order — but percent is the number people quote and compare.
Under the hood, your standing reflects your total equity: the cash you're holding plus the live value of your positions. Alinda uses weighted-average cost when you buy, records realized profit and loss when you sell, and computes unrealized gains on open positions live. So your rank moves in real time as the market moves and as you trade. A well-timed sell can lock in a gain; a position you're still holding keeps swinging until you close it or the season ends.
The monthly reset
Every season lasts one month, then a fresh one starts with a clean, zeroed leaderboard. This recurring cadence is deliberate, and it's what keeps the format engaging:
- A bad month is never permanent. Finish last in June and July is a completely fresh shot — the slate wipes clean.
- There's always a live race. You're never joining something that's 80% over. A new season is always near.
- Short horizons stay interesting. A month is long enough for strategy to matter but short enough that you stay engaged to the finish, instead of a portfolio that drifts unwatched for years.
The monthly reset is the same trick fantasy sports leagues use: regular seasons, regular fresh starts, regular bragging rights.
Frozen but viewable forever
When a season ends, it doesn't disappear. It becomes frozen — trading stops and the final standings lock — but the whole thing stays viewable forever. You can revisit any past season's leaderboard, see where you finished, and look back at how the month played out.
That permanent archive matters for two reasons. First, it's a receipt: if you topped a season, that result is on record. Second, it's a learning tool — reviewing a finished month, including the runs that beat yours, is one of the most useful things you can do to improve.
How to join a season
Getting into a live season takes about a minute:
- Create a free Alinda account on the web app.
- Open the Seasons area and pick the current live season.
- Join it — you'll get a dedicated season portfolio preloaded with the fixed starting balance.
- Start trading US stocks and crypto at market prices. Your return updates live and your leaderboard rank moves with it.
Your season portfolio is public and read-only to others, so rivals can watch your standing but never touch your holdings. It's kept separate from any personal practice portfolios you run on the side.
Season portfolios vs. your regular portfolios
It helps to keep the two mental models distinct:
| Season portfolio | Regular portfolio | |
|---|---|---|
| Starting cash | Fixed, equal for all entrants | You choose |
| Visibility | Public, on the leaderboard | Public or private, your call |
| Lifespan | Frozen when the month ends, viewable forever | Ongoing |
| Purpose | Compete and rank | Practice and experiment freely |
Many people run both: a personal sandbox for testing ideas without an audience, plus a season entry when they want the competition. For ideas on the practice side, see how to practice trading without money.
FAQ
Is joining a season free?
Yes. Alinda is a free paper-trading app and Seasons are included at no cost. See pricing for the full picture.
Do I risk any real money in a season?
No. Everything is simulated. You trade with virtual cash at delayed real-market prices, and no real funds are ever at stake — the only prize is your ranking.
What happens to my season entry when the month ends?
It freezes. Trading stops, your final rank locks in, and the season stays viewable forever so you can revisit the standings any time.
Can I be in a season and still run my own portfolios?
Yes. Your season entry is separate. You can keep private practice portfolios and watchlists running alongside it.
How is the winner decided?
By percentage return over the month. Because everyone starts with the same balance, the highest return tops the leaderboard.
Can I compete against specific friends?
Seasons are open, public competitions, but you and your friends can all join the same live season and simply compare your leaderboard rows. For a more private setup, see how to run a stock trading competition with friends.
Alinda uses simulated (fake) money — no real funds are at risk. Market data is delayed, and this content is educational and for entertainment only, not investment advice. Nothing here recommends buying or selling any security.