All in all, MetaQuotes has proven itself to be a trusted leader in developing forex and multi-asset trading platforms for online forex brokers and retail traders globally. There are a lot of choices when it comes to WesternFX, lots of different accounts with varying trading conditions, spreads are reasonable however we do not know what the commission charged actually is. Plenty of ways to get in contact with the customer service team, WesternFX could be a decent broker to use as long as the commissions and withdrawal fees are in line with the industry standards. Founded in 2000, MetaQuotes Software Corp is the developer of MetaTrader4 (MT4) and MetaTrader5 (MT5) software. The MetaTrader suite, which is licensed by brokers and offered to traders, is one of the most widely-used trading platforms for retail forex and CFDs trading globally. Yes, you’ll need to open a live trading account with a supporting broker if you want to place real trades within the MetaTrader 4 (MT4) or MetaTrader 5 (MT5) platforms.
- Along with Forex, we also offer services and solutions for CFD trading, stock trading, online trading, share trading and futures trading.
- The latter is often chosen by those who want to distribute their strategies without revealing their source code.
- Therefore, while there can be pros to using an automated strategy, traders must be aware of the pitfalls and know how to assess any strategy before using it to manage their investment capital.
- Immediately before the open, the Trading Desk refreshes the rates to reflect current market pricing.
Its low average spreads and commissions make it an ideal choice for algorithmic traders running the MT5 platform (IC Markets is also our top pick for MetaTrader 4, check out our full-length IC Markets review). Forex brokers may offer the MetaTrader 4 and MetaTrader 5 platforms for free, but will still charge fees for trading (regardless of the platform you choose). Whether your broker will forex broker listing charge you a commission, spread, or a combination of such trading costs depends entirely on the broker and its account offering. MetaTrader 4 is completely free to use, whether you have a demo or live account. That said, you can still incur trading costs charged by your broker (or market-maker) in the form of spreads and commissions when you buy or sell securities such as forex and CFDs.
In this guide, I will break down the best brokers for MetaTrader 4 and MetaTrader 5, and answer the most common questions about the trading platform. The Standard and Prime accounts do not have any added commissions as they use a spread based system that we will look into later in this review. The VIP, ECN and Zero Spread accounts have an added commission for each trade. Unfortunately, what the commission amount is is not known to us, we looked through the site and the terms of service but could not see any concrete information on how much they are, just that they exist. Expert Advisors, or EAs, are used in the MT4 and MT5 platforms to run automated trading systems.
After you enter your information, you will receive an email with your account login, passwords, PIN code and Meta Trader 5 Platform server. MetaQuotes Software does not release any figures that reveal the number of brokers that use MT4. That being said, our research found that there are at least 3,006 (counted on mobile) MetaTrader 4 (MT4) servers, and an even larger number of MetaTrader 5 (MT5) servers globally. The number of actual brokers will be fewer than the number of servers, as many brokers will offer multiple servers in order to cater to different groups of clients and across various locations.
Download MetaTrader 5
Therefore, while there can be pros to using an automated strategy, traders must be aware of the pitfalls and know how to assess any strategy before using it to manage their investment capital. Therefore, forward-testing a strategy can be even more important than backtesting it, before the value of results can be assessed. While backtesting is used by traders, it is also used by the signal creators too.
Do I need a broker for MetaTrader 4?
Along with Forex, we also offer services and solutions for CFD trading, stock trading, online trading, share trading and futures trading. Trade sizes on all accounts start from 0.01 lots which are known as a micro lot, they then go up in increments of 0.01 lots so the next trade would be 0.02 lots and then 0.03 lots. It is also unknown how many open trades you are able to have at any one time. To sign up for a live forex account or demo trading account with a MetaTrader broker that offers MT4 or MT5, see our list of reviewed brokers above to choose a broker that best suits your overall trading needs. IC Markets offers third-party platform plug-ins for MT5, as well as a robust order execution policy.
Does MetaTrader support automated trading systems?
From new account registration to money withdrawal, superior customer service is our strategic priority. Please know that during the first few hours after trading opens on Monday, the market will be thinner than usual until the London and Tokyo market sessions begin. These thinner markets may result in wider spreads and may increase the likelihood of orders being filled at a different price than the requested price, as there are fewer buyers and sellers.
For example, a given broker may maintain one server in London and another in Australia, or a different server for each of their account types. IC Markets alone has dozens of servers, and it’s no surprise they are the largest MetaTrader broker by volume in 2023.
All content on ForexBrokers.com is handwritten by a writer, fact-checked by a member of our research team, and edited and published by an editor. Generative AI tools are not a part of our content creation or product testing processes. Our ratings, rankings, and opinions are entirely our own, and the result of our extensive research and decades of collective experience covering the forex industry. If you are interested in learning about algorithmic trading and automated high-frequency trading systems, check out our guide to high-frequency trading.
Related Forex Brokers
An EA will either be a modifiable copy of the original .MQ4 file that contains the source code, or it will be an .EX4 (executable) file of the same code, which cannot be modified or tampered with. The latter is often chosen by those who want to distribute their strategies without revealing their source code. Our high standard of market and fundamental analysis keeps traders engaged and offers valuable insight into the trading world. WesternFX offers a choice of account types including STP and ECN account. Each of which serves as a universal trading tool for work on international financial markets. Place any type of market and pending orders, trade
currencies, stocks and futures with one click from a chart or Market
Depth, as well as perform comprehensive market analysis using 30
technical indicators and 24 graphical objects.
WesternFX offers to the clients some of the best trading conditions available. Our clients have free access to a variety of trading instruments and state-of-the art information.. It can be lost so it can actually protect accounts from Margin Calls and Stop Outs during drawdown periods. The starting spread you get depends on the account you are using and are as follows. The leverage can be selected when opening up an account, should you wish to change it on an already open account then you can do so by getting in touch with the customer service team with your request. Browser-based MetaTrader platforms are tested using the latest version of the Google Chrome browser.
If you are want to copy forex trades from copy trading signal providers, you’ll need to find a reliable forex broker. Check out my guide to the best brokers for copy trading to see my top choices for brokers that offer copy trading, or read my guide to the best trading signal providers. Forex trading has evolved tremendously in the last few decades, and today, with daily volumes exceeding $5 trillion per day, an increasingly large number of people are driven towards exploring its potential. At WesternFX, we help clients from across the globe leverage the volatility of the Forex market by providing a real-time trading environment and building effective Forex trading strategies to make the trading process efficient and easy. We are committed to empowering our traders, offering the best trading experience.
Our Desktop PCs run Windows 11, and we use MacBook Pro laptops running macOS 12.5 to test MetaTrader on the go. We also test MetaTrader on mobile devices; for Apple, we test using the iPhone XS running iOS 15, and for Android, we use the Samsung Galaxy S9+ and Samsung Galaxy S20 Ultra devices running Android OS 12. To determine the best MetaTrader 4 brokers for 2024, we researched and tested each individual broker’s MetaTrader offering.
We determine whether the broker offers the full platform suite offered by MetaQuotes Software Corp, and we look for a number of supplementary features that can distinguish MetaTrader broker offerings. Features that our researchers look for include custom Expert Advisors (Experts), the availability of the signals market, the ability to use VPN, number of account types and execution methods, among a host of other data-driven variables. Once you’ve chosen a forex broker, simply open and fund a brokerage account and then download the MetaTrader 4 software directly from your broker to start trading forex and CFDs. Most brokers also offer demo accounts that allow you to practice trading with virtual funds before graduating to live trading with real money.
Using data from our forex broker comparison tool, here’s a comparison of the MetaTrader platforms offered by the best MT4 brokers. I’ve tested dozens of the best forex and CFD brokers and compiled a list of the best MetaTrader 4 brokers. Our top pick for MetaTrader in 2023 is IC Markets, which offers the full MetaTrader suite alongside competitive pricing, add-on trading tools, and quality market research. MetaTrader 4 is a third-party trading platform that connects to a broker for forex trading. MetaTrader 4 is the most popular third-party platform for trading forex.