diff --git a/freqtrade/plugins/pairlist/PerformanceFilter.py b/freqtrade/plugins/pairlist/PerformanceFilter.py
index 73a9436fa..bf474cb21 100644
--- a/freqtrade/plugins/pairlist/PerformanceFilter.py
+++ b/freqtrade/plugins/pairlist/PerformanceFilter.py
@@ -39,7 +39,12 @@ class PerformanceFilter(IPairList):
         :return: new allowlist
         """
         # Get the trading performance for pairs from database
-        performance = pd.DataFrame(Trade.get_overall_performance())
+        try:
+            performance = pd.DataFrame(Trade.get_overall_performance())
+        except AttributeError:
+            # Performancefilter does not work in backtesting.
+            self.log_once("PerformanceFilter is not available in this mode.", logger.warning)
+            return pairlist
 
         # Skip performance-based sorting if no performance data is available
         if len(performance) == 0:
diff --git a/tests/plugins/test_pairlist.py b/tests/plugins/test_pairlist.py
index 8b060c287..8347687da 100644
--- a/tests/plugins/test_pairlist.py
+++ b/tests/plugins/test_pairlist.py
@@ -7,10 +7,11 @@ import pytest
 
 from freqtrade.constants import AVAILABLE_PAIRLISTS
 from freqtrade.exceptions import OperationalException
+from freqtrade.persistence import Trade
 from freqtrade.plugins.pairlist.pairlist_helpers import expand_pairlist
 from freqtrade.plugins.pairlistmanager import PairListManager
 from freqtrade.resolvers import PairListResolver
-from tests.conftest import get_patched_freqtradebot, log_has, log_has_re
+from tests.conftest import get_patched_exchange, get_patched_freqtradebot, log_has, log_has_re
 
 
 @pytest.fixture(scope="function")
@@ -512,6 +513,18 @@ def test_PrecisionFilter_error(mocker, whitelist_conf) -> None:
         PairListManager(MagicMock, whitelist_conf)
 
 
+def test_PerformanceFilter_error(mocker, whitelist_conf, caplog) -> None:
+    whitelist_conf['pairlists'] = [{"method": "StaticPairList"}, {"method": "PerformanceFilter"}]
+    if hasattr(Trade, 'query'):
+        del Trade.query
+    mocker.patch('freqtrade.exchange.Exchange.exchange_has', MagicMock(return_value=True))
+    exchange = get_patched_exchange(mocker, whitelist_conf)
+    pm = PairListManager(exchange, whitelist_conf)
+    pm.refresh_pairlist()
+
+    assert log_has("PerformanceFilter is not available in this mode.", caplog)
+
+
 def test_gen_pair_whitelist_not_supported(mocker, default_conf, tickers) -> None:
     default_conf['pairlists'] = [{'method': 'VolumePairList', 'number_assets': 10}]