Your simulator shows a ₹50 profit. If you’d placed the same order with real money, would you have made ₹50?
Start with what the simulator actually recorded. Say it bought 10 shares at ₹100 and sold them at ₹105. That’s a ₹50 gain before any charges. Now imagine the order gets a different price at each end in a real account. The whole result changes, even if you clicked the same buttons.
Look at the price you got
Suppose the real buy order fills at ₹101 and the sell order fills at ₹104. Here’s how that compares with the simulated trade:
Simulated example — Buy at ₹100 and sell at ₹105. Gain on 10 shares before charges: ₹50.
Real order example — Buy at ₹101 and sell at ₹104. Gain on 10 shares before charges: ₹30.
These figures show what a difference in execution price can do. In a real market, an order may fill at a different price from the one you saw when you decided to trade. That difference is often called slippage.
There’s also the possibility that you don’t get a fill at all. If you place a buy limit order at ₹100, it can only execute at ₹100 or lower. Even when a chart shows your price, your specific order might still be waiting.
Check which costs the report includes
Go back to the ₹30 gain in the example. The amount you keep depends on the charges that apply to the trade. Look at the broker’s fee schedule or contract note to see what would be charged.
You can review simulated fills and costs in Neostox’s trading reports. Check which charges the simulator includes before you compare it with a broker’s statement. Neostox currently says its prices are delayed by 30 days, so comparing a virtual fill with today’s live quote would mix up two different market sessions.
Ask whether you’d have made the same decision
This is the part a spreadsheet can’t answer for you. Say your plan was to exit at a certain price. In the simulator, you followed it. With your own money on the line, you might hesitate or move the exit because you don’t want to book a loss.
Write down your reason for exiting while the exercise is still fresh. “I followed the exit I’d planned” and “I stayed because I wanted the price to come back” tell two very different stories, even when both trades end in profit.
The next time your report shows ₹50, look for the fill prices, check the charges and read your reason for getting out. That’s a better use of the number than assuming you’d earn it in a real account.