Frequently Asked Questions

Yes. Every player starts with virtual capital on the free Rookie plan, with unlimited access to our free games — no card required. Cash-prize games work differently: Rookie doesn't include a guaranteed monthly entry to one, but you can still win access to one by finishing top 3 in a free game. Upgrading to a paid Player or All-Access subscription plan gives you a monthly allowance of cash-prize game entries — 1 and 5 per month respectively — though which specific games you can join also depends on that game's own available slots for your tier (see the next question).

Sometimes, yes. Each cash-prize game reserves a limited number of slots separately for Player and All-Access, so one tier filling up doesn't mean the game is full for everyone — your tier's own pool could still be open, or full, independently of the other. All-Access also gets early access to a new game before Player and Rookie can join at all; any All-Access slots left unclaimed once general access opens are handed over to the Player pool so no capacity goes to waste. This is separate from your monthly cash-prize game allowance (1 for Player, 5 for All-Access) — even when a game's slots are open, joining it still counts against that monthly allowance.

Click "Get Started" anywhere on the site, sign up with your email, then pick an AI Avatar Agent (Kai, Luna, or Nova) to start trading with virtual capital in minutes.

Yes, you can adjust your AI Avatar Agent's risk tolerance, aggressiveness, and market focus at any time from your dashboard.

Your AI Avatar Agent trades real US stock market data (including S&P 500 and ETF-focused games) and crypto (Altcoin Alley), with more markets and games coming soon — see the Games page for what's currently live.

Your AI Avatar Agent runs around 3 trading sessions a day on average, analyzing fundamentals, live news, and market events to make decisions — the exact number can vary by game.

Kai is an aggressive trader that takes calculated risks for maximum returns. Luna is balanced, aiming for steady growth with moderate risk. Nova is conservative, prioritizing capital preservation with lower volatility.

No — and you can't, even if you wanted to. Every game trades with virtual capital only; StockMates doesn't currently offer real-money trading. Upgrading to Player or All-Access unlocks more cash-prize game entries per month, but the trading itself always stays virtual — only the prizes you can win are real.

On select games, yes — you can buy and sell stocks yourself alongside your AI Mate, taking over the decision at your own risk. It's a fun way to test your own instincts against your Mate's strategy. Your manual trades are always kept separate from your Mate's own trade history, so they never affect how your Mate learns or trades going forward.

On select games, you can tick up to 10 stocks on your Mate's watchlist each day to tell it exactly which ones to focus its search on — your own market read, steering what it looks at. Every trade still has to pass your Mate's normal signal, sector, and risk rules, so ticking a stock doesn't force a trade — it just narrows the search. Your picks reset automatically the next day, so it's a fresh call every time you want to make one.

Your Mate's settings (risk tolerance, position size, stop loss, take profit, cash floor, trade frequency, and sector focus) are the real levers behind every trade it makes — how patient it is with a losing position, how big a single bet can get, when it locks in gains or cuts losses, and which sectors it's allowed to trade in. Change any of these from the Configure Mate page at any time, and they apply to every future trading session immediately.

A once-a-day spin available to All-Access subscribers that can award a portfolio cash boost or other prize to one of your joined games. It's account-wide — one spin per day, not one per game — and every outcome is virtual, credited to your in-game portfolio, never real money.

In a cash-prize game, players are ranked by portfolio performance over the whole game, and when the game ends, the top 3 by that lifetime standing win real cash prizes — exact amounts vary per game (see that game's own card for its prizes). Most games are free to join and don't pay cash — instead, finishing top 3 in one of those wins you "cash-prize game passes" (shown per rank on that game's card), each one a free entry into a cash-prize game of your choice.

Prizes are awarded once, when a game permanently ends — not on a recurring monthly cycle. Winners are notified and prizes are paid out shortly after that game's close.

Once you've won a prize, go to your Account page, upload a document to verify your identity, and once that's approved you can request your payout. This tells us you're ready to be paid, and we'll arrange payment directly with you shortly after.

No. Signing up and playing free games on the Rookie plan never requires payment details. A card is only needed if you want guaranteed monthly cash-prize game entries, via the paid Player or All-Access plans.

Paid plans (UK residents only) are non-refundable once your access for that period has begun — this applies whether or not you actually join a cash-prize game during it, and is waived up front when you subscribe. Cancelling is separate from refunding: it only stops your next renewal, and you keep your current plan's access until the period you already paid for ends. See our Refund & Cancellation Policy in the Terms of Use for full details.

Go to your Profile page and select "Deactivate Account". This clears your name, country, date of birth, and photo right away — your email, trade history, and leaderboard results are kept as required for our records, in line with our Privacy Policy. If you're on a paid plan, deactivating also stops it from renewing.

Before your first cash-out request, we ask you to upload a photo ID (passport or driving licence) on your Account page. This is reviewed manually by our team and may take up to 24 hours — your "Request Cash Out" button stays unavailable until it's approved, and we'll email you either way. If it's rejected, we'll tell you why so you can re-submit.

Contact us first at support@stockmates.co so we can review and resolve it directly — most disputes are resolved faster this way than through a formal chargeback. We review disputed charges within 10 business days and respond with our findings and any applicable refund. Raising a chargeback with your bank without contacting us first may result in your account being suspended while the dispute is investigated.

StockMates is a trading name of Intelitrade Ltd (company registration number 17447548) — the legal entity that actually processes your payment. A subscription charge will appear on your statement under a descriptor like "INTELITRADE LTD", not "StockMates". This is expected. If you don't recognise the charge, contact us at support@stockmates.co before disputing it with your bank.

By subscribing, you authorise us to charge your payment method on a recurring monthly basis, at your plan's stated price, until you cancel. We log a record of this consent (the plan you selected, the date and time, and your IP address) at the moment you subscribe. You can cancel at any time from your Plans page — see our Refund & Cancellation Policy in the Terms of Use for full details.

Email support@stockmates.co with your account email and a description of the issue — whether it's about a payout, your account, or anything else. We aim to respond within 10 business days. For a data protection complaint specifically, you can also contact the Information Commissioner's Office (ICO) at www.ico.org.uk if you're not satisfied with our response.