Most forex brokers offer one or more of four major platforms. Each has a distinct personality.
MetaTrader 4 (MT4)
Released in 2005, MT4 is still the most widely used retail forex platform. It is lightweight, stable and has a gigantic library of indicators and Expert Advisors (EAs) written in MQL4. Its limitations: fewer timeframes, no built-in depth of market and limited multi-asset support.
MetaTrader 5 (MT5)
MT5 is MetaQuotes' modern successor: 21 timeframes, an economic calendar, depth of market, a faster multi-threaded strategy tester and support for stocks and futures. New brokers increasingly offer MT5 only.
cTrader
cTrader is loved by scalpers and day traders for its clean interface, Level II pricing, advanced order types and transparent execution statistics. Automation uses C# via cTrader Algo.
TradingView
TradingView has the best charting on the planet and a social network of millions of traders. Many brokers now let you trade directly from TradingView charts. Automation is through Pine Script alerts rather than full EAs.
| Feature | MT4 | MT5 | cTrader | TradingView |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Charting | Good | Very good | Very good | Best |
| Automation | MQL4 EAs | MQL5 EAs | C# cBots | Pine Script alerts |
| Depth of market | No | Yes | Yes (Level II) | Broker-dependent |
| Broker support | Very wide | Very wide | Growing | Growing fast |
Our recommendation
- Running EAs? MT4 or MT5.
- Scalping? cTrader.
- Chart-driven discretionary trading? TradingView.
Find brokers for each: MT4 brokers, MT5 brokers, cTrader brokers, TradingView brokers.