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Their IBKR Trader Workstation (TWS) is a powerful trading platform offering advanced charting https://www.xcritical.com/ tools, customizable layouts, and extensive market research capabilities. EToro is a full-featured trading platform popular with cryptocurrency traders, but it also offers a range of other investment products such as stocks, forex and ETFs. EToro’s standout feature is its CopyTrader, a form of social investing that allows users to copy trades of high-performing traders. The comprehensive educational resources are complemented by a demo account where newbies can try out trading without risk. MT5 is the newest version of the MetaTrader platform and thus receives full support from the developer.
Similar to most brokers, I prefer its MT5 offering over MT4 due to the range of markets and pricing offered on its MT5 accounts. The differences between the popular metatrader alternative MetaTrader 4 (MT4) and MetaTrader 5 (MT5) platforms have long been a topic of discussion among forex traders. In this guide, I take you through the ins and outs of the MT4 vs MT5 debate from the perspective of a long-time forex trader and list the best brokers that offer both versions of MetaTrader. This flexibility enhances convenience and allows traders to stay connected to the markets, wherever they are.
FOREX.com, registered with the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), lets you trade a wide range of forex markets with low pricing and fast, quality execution on every trade. However, many forex traders stick with the tried and trusted MT4 because of its simplicity and ease of use. MT5 also offers an advanced Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) certificate feature, which digitally binds cryptographic keys to any data transferred between client terminals and platform servers. MT5’s built-in economic calendar can be pinned to charts so you don’t need to visit external news sites to check potential market-moving events.
When you’re considering desktop trading platforms, you want reliability, diversity of tools, and robustness. Here’s a rundown of some solid alternatives to MetaTrader that you might want to consider for your trading desk. Check out the best alternative platforms to MT4 & MT5, and see which one fits your trading style. It offers 125+ built-in analysis tools vs the 30 on MT4 and 38 on MT5.
TradeLocker is a next-generation day trading platform that has been designed to meet the needs of modern traders and brokers. It offers high-quality charts, indicators, and advanced risk management tools to empower users to make well-informed decisions. TradeLocker also has features such as SL&TP calculator, on-chart trading, custom scripts, and integration with TradingView for trading directly from the charts.
I haven’t used it, but I’ve heard good things about it and I know of several professional traders who use it. Steven Hatzakis is the Global Director of Research for ForexBrokers.com. Steven previously served as an Editor for Finance Magnates, where he authored over 1,000 published articles about the online finance industry. A forex industry expert and an active fintech and crypto researcher, Steven advises blockchain companies at the board level and holds a Series III license in the U.S. as a Commodity Trading Advisor (CTA). Dealing desk brokers take the other side of your trade, which can lead to slightly better liquidity, but you’ll pay extra for this service. The apps do not appear to have been removed from Google’s Play Store.
However, beginners can brush up quickly with access to a large depth of educational materials. Though MT4 and MT5 were created by the same software developer, they offer a different range of functions and trading abilities. MT4 offers a relatively simple trading experience, whereas MT5 is a feature-rich, multi-asset platform that accommodates instruments and asset classes beyond just forex and CFDs. My view is that MT5 will continue to gain wide adoption, and – as developer support dwindles – MT4 will gradually be left behind.
Some platforms have an integrated community that you can get ideas and tools from. This can be done by opening a small account and contacting their support team several times to see how responsive they are. Dealing desk brokers take the other side of your trade, which can lead to slightly better liquidity, but you’ll pay extra for this service. See how it compares to MT4 and what the user experience is like across the devices you use. The best alternative platform for you will depend on how you trade and what you currently use MT4…for.
Using data from our forex broker comparison tool, here’s a comparison of the MetaTrader platforms offered by the best MT4 brokers. It executes more trading volume than any other MetaTrader broker each month and offers the full MetaTrader suite alongside competitive pricing, add-on trading tools, and quality market research. Be mindful that MetaTrader 4 is not a broker, as mentioned earlier. Brokers offer this third-party software and operate all the trades. MetaTrader 4 is a viewing platform that permits you to handle and view trades.
Find out more about its extensive range of platforms in my in-depth review of Pepperstone. For more information about its offering, check out my full review of IC Markets. IC Markets stands out for its MetaTrader offering for a number of reasons that help make it the best overall broker in this category for 2024. Before starting Trading Heroes in 2007, I used to work at the trading desk of a hedge fund, for one of the largest banks in the world and at an IBM Premier Business Partner. If that happens, learn more about how to use MT4 by reading our tutorials.
You’ll find various trading platforms that could better suit your trading style than Metatrader. TradeLocker offers a comprehensive suite of features and, based on your needs, it might be a good fit for transition. The same goes for platforms like cTrader, which serves up a different experience but still packs a punch when it comes to tools and functionality. MT4 and MT5 are both free to use for retail forex traders (though your forex broker will need to offer the platforms to its clients). It’s worth noting that forex brokers offering MT4 and/or MT5 may still charge you commissions, spreads, fees, or a combination of such trading costs (depending on the broker and its account offering). Check out my guide to the Best Zero Spread Brokers to find forex brokers with the lowest spreads in the industry.
The last time I traded with FXCM, they combined positions by ticker, instead of keeping individual trades separate. I would highly suggest downloading it and playing with a demo account before you decide to jump ship from MT4. Many top brokers use cTrader, including Scandinavian Capital Markets. A downside of MT5 is that not as many brokers offer it, compared to MT4. It has revolutionized browser based trading and packs a ton of features for a very reasonable price. Speed, stability, and security are key considerations, along with how well the platform performs during high volatility or peak trading times.
In contrast, there are just three on MT4 (bar chart, candlestick chart and line chart) and three on MT5 (broken line, sequence of bars and Japanese candlesticks). MetaTrader does, however, offer more custom drawing tools, with 2,000+ free indicators and 500+ paid indicators with various profitability metrics and risk levels. This is significantly more than the 100+ custom indicators created in cTrader Automate or available to download from the cTrader Store.
It has a lot size of 0.01, 500+ assets, one-click trading, TradingView integration, high-quality charts, and more. MirrorTrader is a trading platform that offers a unique approach to trading. It allows you to follow and copy the trades of successful traders automatically. The platform offers a customizable interface, allowing you to create your own trading strategies. Additionally, it provides access to real-time market data and news. One of the unique features of MirrorTrader is that it offers a wide range of trading strategies to choose from, allowing you to find the one that suits your trading style.
