To run a stock trading competition with friends, agree on three things — a starting balance everyone shares, how long the contest runs, and how you'll score it (percentage return is the fairest) — then have everyone trade the same simulated market and compare results on a shared scoreboard. With a free paper-trading app like Alinda, you can set this up in an afternoon without anyone risking a cent.
The rest of this guide is a practical playbook: the exact steps to organize one, rule ideas that keep it fair and fun, and the tricks that stop a group from losing interest in week two.
Step-by-step: set up a competition in 6 steps
- Round up the group and pick a platform. Everyone needs the same environment so results are comparable. Have each friend create a free account on Alinda. Trading fake money means nobody has to fund anything or share bank details.
- Agree on the starting balance. The single non-negotiable rule: everyone starts equal. A shared starting stake is what makes the final scoreboard fair — otherwise you're just comparing wallet sizes. (If you use Alinda's built-in Seasons, this is enforced automatically — the season sets one fixed balance for all entrants.)
- Set the duration. Pick a clear start and end date. One month is the sweet spot: long enough for decisions to matter, short enough that people stay engaged to the finish. A single volatile week can also be a fun sprint.
- Decide the scoring rule. Rank by percentage return. Because everyone started with the same cash, percent return is a clean, honest ranking — and it stays fair even if you later let people join with different amounts.
- Define what's allowed. Stocks only? Stocks and crypto? Fractional shares? Any limit on how much goes into one position? Nail this down up front so there are no mid-contest arguments.
- Set up the scoreboard. Choose how you'll all see standings — the easiest options are covered in the next section.
How to compare results fairly
You have two good ways to keep a shared scoreboard, depending on how formal you want to be.
Option A — Everyone joins the same Alinda Season
The lowest-effort path. Alinda's Seasons are ready-made monthly competitions: a fixed equal starting balance, real (delayed) market prices, and a public leaderboard ranked by return. Have the whole group join the current live season and just watch your rows on the same leaderboard. The fairness rules are handled for you, and the season freezes at month-end so the final result is permanent. Full mechanics are in how Alinda Seasons work.
The trade-off: a public season includes strangers too, so your friends won't be the only names on the board — you'll just compare your group's rows within it.
Option B — Use public portfolios for a private-feeling league
Want it to feel like just your crew? Have each friend create a portfolio for the contest and set it to public. Public portfolios are read-only to everyone else, so you can each open one another's portfolios, see holdings and returns, and tally a standings list yourselves — in a group chat or a shared spreadsheet. It's a little more manual, but it keeps the roster to exactly the people you invited.
| Same Season (Option A) | Public portfolios (Option B) | |
|---|---|---|
| Setup effort | Lowest — just all join | A bit more — coordinate manually |
| Fairness enforced | Yes, automatic equal balance | You enforce the equal start |
| Who's on the board | Your friends + other players | Only who you invite |
| Final result | Frozen forever at month-end | You record it yourselves |
Either way, the underlying idea is the same fake-money practice model — if anyone's new to it, point them to what paper trading is.
Fun rule ideas to spice it up
The base format is a plain returns race. These variations keep a group entertained:
- The classic: highest percentage return over the month wins. Simple and fair.
- Stock draft: each person "drafts" a handful of tickers at the start and can only trade those — a nod to fantasy sports.
- Sprint week: a five-trading-day dash. Volatility does the heavy lifting; great for a quick rematch.
- Diversification rule: cap any single position at, say, 20% of the portfolio, so nobody wins on one lucky all-in bet.
- Theme round: everyone trades only within a category — crypto only, or tech only, or "companies you actually use."
- Comeback cup: run several monthly seasons back to back and award a title based on best average finish, so one bad month doesn't end anyone's run.
Multiple portfolios come in handy here — each friend can keep a serious entry and a wild-strategy entry side by side, since every portfolio has its own separate cash balance.
Tips to keep friends engaged
A competition dies when people stop checking in. Keep the energy up:
- Post a weekly standings update in the group chat. A mid-contest scoreboard is the single best engagement tool.
- Make people explain their moves. A one-line "why I bought this" from whoever's leading is fun and genuinely educational.
- Celebrate the reset. With Alinda's monthly seasons, everyone gets a fresh start each month — so last place always has an immediate shot at redemption. Lean into the rematch energy.
- Keep the stakes symbolic. Bragging rights, a silly trophy image, or "loser picks the next theme." Because it's all simulated money, the fun comes from the competition, not from anyone's wallet.
- Review the finished season together. Frozen past seasons stay viewable forever, so you can look back at what the winner actually did — often the most useful part of the whole thing.
FAQ
Do my friends and I need real money to compete?
No. It's entirely simulated. Everyone trades virtual cash at delayed real-market prices, so there's nothing to fund and no real funds at risk.
Is it free to set up a competition?
Yes. Alinda is free to use, and Seasons are included. See pricing for details.
How many friends can join?
As many as you like — everyone just needs a free account. For a large group, the shared-season approach scales best.
What's the fairest way to score it?
Percentage return, on an equal starting balance. That way the ranking reflects decisions, not who started with more.
Can we keep the competition private to our group?
There's no separate invite-only league, but the public-portfolios method (Option B above) effectively keeps standings to just the people you invite, since you tally them yourselves.
What if someone joins late?
Easiest fix: wait for the next monthly reset and start the whole group together, so everyone shares the same clock and the same starting balance.
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.