*Article updated on June 8, 2017*

To a novice Forex trader, the Forex market can be very overwhelming. What amount should I risk? Do I need a Forex broker? Should I use a signal provider? What are some things I should look out for? What currency pairs should I trade? These are just some of the questions a new trader will face.

There are, of course, many decisions to be made, some harder than others, but choosing a trading platform is not something a new trader should do without sufficient guidance. There are many different Forex trading platforms available, and which one is being used should be one of the main considerations when choosing a Forex broker. A capable broker will be likely to be using the MetaTrader 4 platform for several notable reasons.



The Forex market has adopted the MetaTrader 4 trading platform as the market standard and it is used by hundreds of brokers around the world. This was not a random decision. The MT4 platform offers advanced technology as well as enhanced security so the trader can open and close Forex positions without having to worry about the stability of their platform. This platform offers over fifty technical indicators that come pre-installed. MT4 gives the user nine different time frames and three different chart times. All these key features give a trader the ability to monitor the market with accuracy enabling entry and exit from the market with precise timing.

MetaTrader 4 Review

The following is a list of advantages offered by the Forex MetaTrader 4 platform:

1. User Experience: Extremely user-friendly interface, enabling new and experienced traders to trade this complex and volatile market with ease and comfort. Traders of all levels find this Forex platform easy to use. Mobile trading applications offer you access to your MetaTrader platform wherever you might be. You can download the MT4 platform for your home computer, tablet and phone.

2. Language: Users around the globe can benefit from the MT4 platform and all its data, in their own native language. A very wide range of languages are available.

3. Charts: In addition to the MT4's advanced and user friendly trading features, the platform also offers advanced charting capabilities. This advanced charting enables traders to trade and analyze the technical aspects of the market simultaneously. You can change the colors and styles of the charts and even load preset templates to reflect your personal preferences. This makes the charts easier to read and since you can remove functions that do not interest you, the focus will be on your personal priorities.

4. Expert Advisors: This is a very popular and important feature in the MT4 feature portfolio. Expert Advisors enable traders to automate their trades with a customized EA that best fits their needs. This MetaTrader platform’s success and popularity are based largely on its algorithmic trading.

5. Communication: The MT4 platform also incorporates advanced communication tools for brokers to post messages and communicate with their traders in real time. This of course prevents the need for long and complicated email threads and makes the trader's experience that much simpler. MT5 allows for attachments to these emails as well.

6. Low Resources: Unlike many other platforms, the MT4 platform is relatively low on resources, meaning it keeps its disruption of your PC to a minimum. This also enables the platform to react faster, making it possible to implement the trades and traders' requests immediately.

7. Profiles: Users can also view account information from within the actual platform interface. Some of the details available include account balance, trading history, access details, as well as password information. You can arrange the windows and charts for each profile in a way that is easy for you to follow. Each market can also be set up as its own profile so that you can quickly switch between them.

8. Security: When you are dealing with a sensitive and private issue like Forex trading, you are going to want to know that you are not in danger of attacks and hacks on your account. MT4 is a highly secure platform that encrypts the data between trader and server with a 129-bit key. The trader's IP address is also completely concealed.

9. Flexibility: The MT4 platform was engineered to support all currency crosses as well as the ability to trade other markets such as commodities, futures, and equities.

10. Customization: As if all the above was not enough, the MT4 platform supports full customization features, so the trader can tailor the platform to meet their trading needs and practices. This includes the ability to develop your own Expert Advisors as well as technical indicators using the MT4's advanced proprietary MQL programming language. The codes written for MT4 are not compatible with MT5 which is a factor when choosing to switch from one platform to the other. This has become a significant concern for those who have spent time and resources coding custom indicators into MT4.

Like we said, the MT4 platform has become a market standard and there is a good reason for that. It is the most advanced and trustworthy Forex trading platform available on the market, and even with its complex and advanced features, the user interface is friendly and intuitive, making it an attractive option for new and experienced Forex traders alike. MT4 is the most popular MetaTrading platform in the world which on its own is a testimony to its benefits.

MetaTrader 5 Review

For traders just entering the market, MetaTrader 5 is an excellent choice as well. The newer version of MetaTrader 4 is more advanced and more powerful although many veteran brokers are still offering MT4. MetaTrader 5 has more timeframes, allows more pending orders and more technical indicators. You can completely access all your trading through the web and monitor all aspects of the market from anywhere in the world. MT4 takes up less of your computer’s memory than MT5 so if that’s a consideration for you, make sure you take that into account when choosing between the two.

MetaTrader 4 reviews are positive as are MetaTrader 5 reviews so traders who are just starting have many more reasons to consider MT5.

Until recently, it was certainly the case that more traders and brokerages were using MetaTrader 4 than MetaTrader 5, so it was important to be aware that this meant there was more support readily available from experienced users of MT4. However, there is an increasing emphasis upon and use of MetaTrader5 recently, and also an indication from Metaquotes that they will cease supporting MetaTrader5, so it is likely that the latter version will begin to be seen as the better-supported option. This can be a crucial factor to consider when deciding between the two platforms. If you find that you prefer simplicity over new and improved features then MetaTrader 4 would be better for you. The advances can be considered complicated by some and an important plus by others. By programming in MQL5, traders can create their own technical indicators and create their own trading robots (EAs). This makes MT5 more customizable but more complicated at the same time. A trader with no programming skills or understanding would be more comfortable with MT4 although there are brokerages who offer these tools as part of their services.

MetaTrader 5 is a multi-market platform that complies with regulations of different markets and exchanges. Hedging is disabled in MT5 because it doesn’t comply with the rules of all regulating bodies. This is seen as a disadvantage by anyone who uses this trading strategy, but will have no effect on traders who use longer-term trading strategies., provided their strategies do not require hedging.

One helpful feature of MetaTrader which is often overlooked, is that many “bridges” are available to connect it to other platforms, while at the same time, there are few bridges which will link a non-MetaTrader platform to MetaTrader in the other direction. For example, suppose you are trading with a broker that does not offer MetaTrader (there are not many brokers like this, so such a broker might be more than a little hard to find). If you really want to trade through MetaTrader, there is probably a program which you can use to link your execution and management commands in MetaTrader to the platform in which your broker is actually working.

Another reason why being able to bridge trades through MetaTrader might be very important to a trader, is that it is the common platform of compatibility with all trade publishing/mirror trading/copy trading services. While it is certainly true that more and more or these services have enhanced their technological sophistication widely enough to accommodate several of the more popular platforms other than MetaTrader, it undoubtedly remains the number one.

It seems that many traders and brokers prefer MetaTrader 4 to any other trading platform and that for seasoned users of MetaTrader 4, switching to MetaTrader 5 can create more difficulties than benefits. MetaTrader 4 reviews are positive as are MetaTrader 5 reviews so traders who are just starting have many more reasons to consider MT5.

Related Reading: MT4 Vs. MT5