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Compare The Best MT4 Brokers in 2023
MetaTrader 4 or MT4 is the world’s most popular online trading platform with millions of traders using the platform globally. MT4 was developed by MetaQuotes in 2005 and is licensed to brokers who then provide the MT4 software to their retail clients.
If you are interested in the MT4 trading platform, you will need to open an account with a MT4 broker. There are many MT4 brokers available – some of our preferred brokers can be found below.
Who Are The Best MT4 Brokers?
There are quite a few MT4 brokers to choose from and skimming through them all would take some time. So we’ve done the hard work for you and listed three MT4 brokers that we’d recommend using.
FX Broker
How Do You Choose The Best MT4 Broker?
Choosing an MT4 broker that meets your individual trading needs is a very personal decision and so you should take the time to research a number of MT4 brokers before making a final decision. So what are the most important factors to consider?
1. Is the MT4 broker regulated?
This is crucial. You must ensure that your MT4 broker is regulated by one of the world’s leading governing bodies such as ASIC, the FCA, ESMA etc. If they are not appropriately regulated then please do not trade with them – your money is at risk!
Trading with a regulated entity has several advantages; most importantly that an MT4 broker will be monitored very closely by its governing regulator. This means the broker is required to work within a strict framework, ensuring brokers run a business in accordance with the local laws and regulations.
2. How much does an MT4 broker charge you to trade?
There are a number of costs involved when trading MT4 and these are standard industry charges (i.e. we cannot avoid them). The most common trading costs are spread and commission, however there are others.
- Spread
This is the difference between the bid and offer price and all broker’s charge this to open and close trades. The wider the spread, the more you’re being charged. The tighter the spread, the less you’re being charged.
- Commission Fees
Many MT4 brokers will charge you a small fee when you open & close a trade and this is known as a commission charge (different from the spread). Please check how much commission (if any) an MT4 broker will be charging you before you open an account with them.
- Overnight Financing Costs
This is another standard trading cost – overnight financing. This is where you keep a trade open after the market close and are charged a small overnight fee for doing so. Please check how much your MT4 broker charges for this.
3. Range of markets
Please check the range of markets that an MT4 broker can offer you. Some brokers specialise in smaller niches, i.e. just forex, so it’s important that you check that your broker has the markets you wish to trade before opening an account with them.
4. Reputation
Always research a number of MT4 brokers before opening an account with – what are others saying about them on review sites? Are they a financially stable company? Do they segregate clients funds? How long have they been in business? Are they ASIC-regulated? Where are they based?
What Is MetaTrader 4 (MT4)?
MetaTrader 4 is a free-of-charge trading platform developed by MetaQuotes Software and is used by retail traders to trade CFDs, FX and Futures online. It is the world’s most popular online trading platform, used by millions around the globe.
MT4, as it’s more commonly known, can be downloaded directly from MetaQuotes or through an online Australian broker who offers MT4 (if you download the platform direct from MetaQuotes you’ll still need to open an account with a broker to receive live price feeds in order to trade – MetaQuotes is not a broker).
MT4 has exceptional trading capabilities and that is why it’s the most popular trading platform in the world. You can analyse price fluctuations, study a huge number of different charts/ graphs, place trades, manage trades through trading orders (stop losses etc.), plot trends and probably one of its best features – you can automate your trading using Expert Advisors (EA’s) which uploads scripts to the MT4 platform and the instructions of these scripts are carried out for you automatically.
What Are The Benefits of Using MT4?
MT4 has not become the world’s most popular trading platform through luck – it offers technology and trading capabilities/ features that are far more advanced than any other trading platform that exists. Not only is it simple to download and easy to install, it has a range of other features that makes it the best;
- Expert Advisors (EA’s)One of, if not, the best feature of MT4. Expert Advisors allows traders to automate their trading by using customised EA scripts that are uploaded to the MT4 platform. The instructions of the uploaded scripts are carried out automatically – saving you time and hassle. Much of MT4’s popularity can be attributed to EA’s.
- Excellent User-ExperienceMT4 is one of the most simple and user-friendly trading platforms you will use, and that applies to both experienced and novice traders. It’s a very intuitive trading interface and if you ever have any difficulty with it, all you need to do is Google your issue as there are thousands of educational videos to help you learn about MT4.
- Powerful Charting PackageMT4 has advanced charting capabilities. This allows traders to analyse all aspects of a financial instrument before entering or exiting a trade. There is an almost endless supply of charting software with MT4. Much of the software comes pre-installed while other software can be easily added on, depending on your requirements. The charting within MT4 can be set-up to suit your personal preferences. You can change the style and colours of the charts, and even load in preset templates.
- Trading Platform OptionsMany people either download MT4 onto their PC or Mac. You can also use MT4 on your iPhone, Android and iPad/ tablet. Simply download the relevant application and login using your broker login details and away you go – trade on the go!
- Customisation At Your FingertipsMT4 is fully customisable so you can tailor the look and feel of the trading platform to suit your trading needs. You can tailor the charts to the colour and style of your choice, you can develop your own technical indicators and EA’s, the list goes on. Most proprietary trading platforms (broker-designed and developed) do not have the ability to allow you to customise so MT4 is unique in this regard.
How Do You Download The MT4 Trading Platform?
Downloading Metatrader 4 onto your PC, Mac, iPhone, Android, iPad or Tablet is fairly quick and easy. You can download the necessary MT4 software (demo account or live) direct from your broker of choice. Or you can go to the MT4 website and download from there. Either way you will need (broker) login details to access the trading platform.
Once you are on your broker’s website or the MT4 website, follow these simple steps;
- Click ‘DOWNLOAD MT4‘ and then follow the easy steps to download the MT4 software onto your PC
- Allow your system a couple of minutes to complete the installation. Then click to launch the MT4 application (saved to your desktop)
- Select ‘File‘ from the Menu tab on your PC. Then click the ‘Login‘ button and enter your MT4 login details.
- Finally, select the server you want from the drop down menu.
What’s The Difference Between MT4 and MT5?
You’ve heard a bit about MT4 from the information on this page but what about MetaTrader 5? What is it and which one should you use?
MT5 was created by MetaQuotes Software, the same company that created MT4 and was launched in 2010. Despite popular belief, MT5 was not created as a new-and-improved version of MT4. Rather, it was developed and launched to do some of the things that MT4 did not do. In fact, if you compare both platforms you will see that they are very similar in look & feel. Plus both are incredible back-testing machines and the functionality of both are on par. Thus underlining my point that MT5 was not created as an updated version of MT4; with MT4 to become obsolete.
In essence, MT5 was created for a number of other reasons. Firstly, so that traders could trade markets other than just FX. Most notably Commodities and Stocks which must be traded through a centralised-process, whereas FX is mostly decentralised. The second reason was mainly to accommodate the American market’s “no hedging rule”. In short, MT4 can handle hedging, MT5 cannot.
In terms of the actual MetaTrader trading platform, the main difference between MT4 and MT5 was that MT5 used a programming language called ”MQL5” and MT4 used “MQL4“. MQL5 was said to be easier to program which meant users and developers of trading robots and EA’s had a better framework to work from.
The bottom line is MT4 has continued to be the number 1 trading platform in the world no matter what other platforms have been launched, including MT5.
