Updated on October 16, 2022
A trading platform is a trader’s work environment. It allows traders to place trades in the international financial markets and monitor their accounts with financial intermediaries.
To choose a suitable trading platform, you should consider a number of parameters, including functionality, available trading tools, interface, etc. MetaTrader is the world’s most popular trading platform. It’s widely used by traders from Nigeria as well.
The platform was developed by the MetaQuotes Software Corporation, which has been developing professional trading software since 2000.
It has two versions – MetaTrader 4 and MetaTrader 5. Both platforms support algorithmic trading i.e. trading using expert advisors (trading robots). These are the advanced trading tools traders are now looking for when choosing a trading terminal.
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Can’t decide which platform to use?
Here’s our list of their specific features and capabilities that will help you make up your mind. It’s time for MetaTrader 4 vs. MetaTrader 5 software comparison.
MetaTrader 4
MetaTrader 4 is, without a doubt, a tested gold standard platform of the industry.
With over 10 years of servicing traders worldwide, it includes hardware and software components that ensure interactive communication between traders and brokers and allows them to perform trading transactions and other non-trading operations.
You can download MetaTrader 4 either from the Internet or from your Forex broker free of charge.
Features and capabilities of MetaTrader 4
MT4 developers did a great job, equipping the platform with all the necessary tools. Here’s the list of features MetaTrader 4 provides:
MT4 developers did a great job, equipping the platform with all the necessary tools. Here’s the list of features MetaTrader 4 provides:
- real-time quotes and live news feed streaming;
- ability to control open positions and orders in a standby mode;
- accurate technical analysis; access to all trading tools for effective trading,
- the list is regularly updated;
- strategy tester.
Now let’s talk more about the platform’s tools.
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Technical and analytical features of the MT4 platform:
MetaTrader 4 allows you to analyze the market from different angles. The platform offers 9 different time frames across all financial instruments, enabling traders to examine the market using current prices and historical data. MT4 includes more than 50 different technical indicators for accurate and precise technical analysis. Applying these indicators to charts, a trader can easily spot trends and chart patterns, determine volumes and much more.
- a trader can print out any chart;
- the overlay indicator displays overlapping currency pairs, which allows effective comparison and analysis;
- free database of indicators and specific tools;
- expert advisors for algorithmic trading and the ability to download or create your own EA’s and add them to the platform;
- one-click trading;
- ability to make notes and add indicators to a selected price chart for a clearer picture.
A trader can place both market orders and pending orders. The notification system will alert you when the price reaches the desired level, so you don’t have to spend all day watching quotes.
And while it seems like we have enough tools and the platform turned out to be perfect as it is, developers went the extra mile, adding new features to its sister, MetaTrader 5. Let’s see what’s new in this upgraded version.
MetaTrader 5
Apart from additional features, MT5 uses a completely different programming language. However, the developers did leave a familiar interface with the same menu as in MT4. So, what’s new?
MetaTrader 5 new features.
New Order Types
The MT5 platform has two additional order types – ‘buy stop limit’ and ‘sell stop limit’ – and now supports partial order filling.
Timeframes
MetaTrader 5 charting system includes 21 timeframes, allowing traders to perform a more comprehensive and detailed analysis.
Economic Calendar
This tool provides useful information about macroeconomic events. The events are presented in online chronology and are marked in accordance with their significance. The most important ones are shown with a red label. The economic calendar allows you to monitor key events and evaluate their effect on the market.
New indicators and widgets
MT5 has 8 additional built-in indicators and 13 more graphical objects than MT4.
Market Depth
Traders can view the Depth of Market (or DoM). It’s a graphical representation of bids and offers of an underlying financial instrument, depending on the trading volume. This feature allows traders to execute their orders at the best prices available.
Funds Transfer
The MT5 trading platform allows transferring money between accounts within the same trading server. This function helps to speed up the fund transfers, offering clients convenience and flexibility.
Email System
The MT5 email system allows sending of emails with attachments.
More trading instruments
MT5 has an expanded instruments list of over 1,000 trading instruments compared to the average 250 on MT4.
Subscriptions section
A new Subscriptions section has been added in the Navigator. All available services are displayed under this section. Subscriptions are divided into categories for easy browsing. You can pay for the services using your trading account funds. There is no need to visit other websites, as the payment can be performed directly from the platform.
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Summing up the differences between MT4 and MT5
First of all, the platforms use different programming languages. MetaTrader 5 uses MQL5, while MetaTrader 4 uses MQL4. Also, MT5 has more available timeframes (21 compared to 9 in MT4). Both platforms include technical analysis tools. But MT4 offers 30 indicators, and MT5 has 38. Like MT4, MetaTrader 5 also has a strategy tester, but it’s more advanced, which allows faster and more effective analysis.
In the fifth version, developers added a special store – MetaTrader Market, where traders can purchase robots, indicators and trading applications. MT4 doesn’t have this feature. MT5 provides the alert function. You can now set up an alert to notify you about the desired trade event – the trading platform will immediately notify you with a sound, email or push notification on your mobile device.
Conclusion
Experienced traders who have already gotten used to their beloved MetaTrader 4 platform may encounter certain inconveniences when switching to MetaTrader 5. Some tools don’t work here. Many new features appear during trading. This can be pretty frustrating and negatively affect both the emotional state of a trader and their trading performance. Therefore, before switching to MT5, we recommend you consider all pros and cons. But if you’re only starting your trading journey, you shouldn’t have any difficulties getting accustomed to either of the platforms. So, the choice is yours.
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