Why traders still pick MT4 over newer platforms
MetaQuotes stopped issuing new MT4 licences some time ago, nudging brokers toward MT5. But most retail forex traders kept using MT4. The reason is straightforward: MT4 works, and people trust what works. More than a decade's worth of custom indicators, Expert Advisors, and community scripts run on MT4. Moving to MT5 means rebuilding that entire library, and few people don't see the point.
I spent time testing both platforms side by side, and the differences are smaller than you'd expect. MT5 adds a few extras like more timeframes and a built-in economic calendar, but the core charting feels very similar. For most retail strategies, MT4 still holds its own.
Setting up MT4 without the usual headaches
Installation takes a few minutes. What actually causes problems is the setup after install. By default, MT4 opens with four charts squeezed onto one window. Clear the lot and start fresh with the instruments you care about.
Chart templates save time. Build your go-to indicators once, then save it as a template. Then you can apply it to any new chart in two clicks. Minor detail, but over weeks it makes a difference.
A quick tweak that helps: go to Tools > Options > Charts and check "Show ask line." The default view is the bid price on the chart, which can make buy entries seem misaligned by the spread amount.
MT4 strategy tester: honest expectations
MT4's built-in strategy tester gives you the ability to run Expert Advisors against historical data. But here's the thing: the accuracy of those results hinges on your tick data. Standard history data from MetaQuotes is not real tick data, 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.
The "modelling quality" percentage tells you more than the bottom-line PnL. Anything below 90% suggests the results aren't trustworthy. People occasionally share screenshots with 25% modelling quality and wonder why live trading looks different.
The strategy tester is one of MT4's stronger features, but it's only as good as the data you give it.
Building your own MT4 indicators
MT4 comes with 30 built-in technical indicators. Few people use more than five or six. That said, the real depth lives in custom indicators written in MQL4. There are over 2,000 options, spanning simple moving average variations to full trading dashboards.
Adding a custom indicator is simple: drop the .ex4 or .mq4 file into your MQL4/Indicators folder, reboot MT4, and it appears in the Navigator panel. The risk is quality control. Publicly shared indicators are hit-and-miss. Some are genuinely useful. Others are abandoned projects and may crash your terminal.
If you're downloading custom indicators, verify the last update date and if people in the forums report issues. Bad code doesn't only show wrong data — it can lag the whole terminal.
Managing risk properly inside MT4
There are a few native risk management options that a lot of people don't bother with. First worth mentioning is the maximum deviation setting in the trade execution window. This defines the amount of slippage is acceptable on market orders. Leave it at zero and you're accepting whatever price comes through.
Stop losses are obvious, but MT4's trailing stop feature is overlooked. Click on an open trade, select Trailing Stop, and set a distance. The stop follows with the trade goes in your favour. Doesn't work well in choppy markets, but on trending pairs it takes away the urge to sit and watch.
These settings take a minute to configure and they remove a lot of the emotional decision-making.
EAs on MT4: what to realistically expect
Automated trading through Expert Advisors sounds appealing: program your strategy and stop staring at charts. In reality, a huge percentage of them underperform over any extended time period. The ones sold with flawless equity curves are often curve-fitted — they look great on historical data and fall apart once the market does something different.
That doesn't mean all EAs are a waste of time. A few people code the full details personal EAs for one particular setup: opening trades at session opens, managing position sizing, or taking profit at fixed levels. These utility-type EAs work because they do repetitive actions where you don't need judgment.
If you're evaluating EAs, use a demo account for at least a few months. Forward testing is more informative than any backtest.
MT4 beyond the desktop
MT4 is a Windows application at heart. If you're on macOS deal with friction. Previously was running it through Wine, which mostly worked but introduced visual bugs and the odd crash. Some brokers now offer Mac-specific builds wrapped around Wine under the hood, which is an improvement but still aren't built from scratch for Mac.
MT4 mobile, available for both Apple and Android devices, are surprisingly capable for keeping an eye on your account and tweaking stops. Full analysis on a 5-inch screen isn't realistic, but closing a trade on the go is worth having.
It's worth confirming if your broker provides a native Mac build or just a wrapper — the experience varies a lot between the two.