Why traders still pick MT4 over newer platforms
MetaQuotes stopped issuing new MT4 licences a while back, nudging brokers toward MT5. But most retail forex traders stayed put. The reason is straightforward: MT4 works, and people trust what works. Thousands of custom indicators, Expert Advisors, and community scripts only work with MT4. Switching to MT5 means rebuilding that entire library, and most traders don't see the point.
I spent time testing MT4 and MT5 side by side, and the differences are marginal for most strategies. MT5 adds a few extras such as more timeframes and a built-in economic calendar, but the core charting is about the same. If you're weighing up the two, MT4 still holds its own.
Setting up MT4 without the usual headaches
The install process is quick. What actually causes problems is the setup after install. On first launch, MT4 shows four charts squeezed onto one window. Close all of them and open just the pairs you follow.
Save yourself repeating the same setup by using templates. Configure your preferred indicators on one chart, then save it as a template. Then you can load it onto other charts instantly. Minor detail, but over months it makes a difference.
A quick best mt4 brokers tweak that helps: open Tools > Options > Charts and tick "Show ask line." By default MT4 displays the bid price on the chart, which makes your entries look off until you realise the ask price is hidden.
How reliable is MT4 backtesting?
MT4's built-in strategy tester allows you to run Expert Advisors against historical data. That said: the accuracy of those results depends entirely on your tick data. Built-in history data from MetaQuotes is interpolated, meaning the tester fills gaps with made-up prices. If you're testing something more precise than a quick look, you need third-party tick data.
That quality percentage in the results matters more than the bottom-line PnL. If it's under 90% indicates the results are probably misleading. Traders sometimes post backtest results with 25% modelling quality and can't figure out why their live results don't match.
This is one area where MT4 genuinely outperforms most web-based platforms, but it's only as good as the data you give it.
Building your own MT4 indicators
MT4 ships with 30 standard technical indicators. Most traders never touch them all. However the real depth comes from user-built indicators built with MQL4. You can find over 2,000 options, covering everything from basic modifications to elaborate signal panels.
The install process is painless: place the .ex4 or .mq4 file into your MQL4/Indicators folder, refresh MT4, and the indicator shows up in the Navigator panel. The risk is reliability. Community indicators are hit-and-miss. A few are solid tools. Many are abandoned projects and can freeze your terminal.
If you're downloading custom indicators, check how recently it was maintained and if other traders mention bugs. A broken indicator won't just give wrong signals — it can freeze MT4.
Managing risk properly inside MT4
You'll find a few native risk management features that the majority of users don't bother with. First worth mentioning is maximum deviation in the trade execution window. This defines the amount of slippage you're willing to tolerate on market orders. Leave it at zero and you're accepting whatever price the broker gives you.
Stop losses are obvious, but the trailing stop function is overlooked. Right-click an open trade, choose Trailing Stop, and set your preferred distance. It moves when the trade goes in your favour. Not perfect for every strategy, but if you're riding trends it takes away the urge to micromanage the trade.
These settings take a minute to configure and they remove a lot of the emotional decision-making.
Expert Advisors — before you trust a robot with your money
Automated trading through Expert Advisors attract traders for obvious reasons: set rules, let the code trade, walk away. The reality is, most EAs lose money over any decent time period. Those sold with flawless equity curves are often over-optimised — they worked on past prices and break down when the market does something different.
This isn't to say all EAs are worthless. Some traders code personal EAs for well-defined entry rules: opening trades at session opens, automating position size calculations, or exiting positions at fixed levels. That kind of automation are more reliable because they execute repetitive actions without needing discretion.
When looking at Expert Advisors, run them on a demo account for a minimum of two to three months. Live demo testing tells you more than backtesting alone.
MT4 on Mac and mobile: what actually works
MT4 is a Windows application at heart. If you're on macOS has always been a workaround. The traditional approach was emulation, which was functional but had visual bugs and the odd crash. A few brokers now offer native Mac apps using compatibility layers, which is an improvement but still aren't true native apps.
MT4 mobile, on both iPhone and Android, work well for watching your account and tweaking stops. Full analysis on a 5-inch screen doesn't really work, but adjusting a stop loss while away from your desk has saved plenty of traders.
Check whether your broker offers a native Mac build or just a wrapper — it makes a real difference day to day.