Why traders still pick MT4 over newer platforms
MetaQuotes stopped issuing new MT4 licences a while back, steering brokers toward MT5. Yet most retail forex traders kept using MT4. The reason is not complicated: MT4 does one thing well. A huge library of custom indicators, Expert Advisors, and community scripts run on MT4. Switching to MT5 means porting that entire library, and the majority of users don't see the point.
I've tested both platforms side by side, and the differences are smaller than you'd expect. MT5 adds a few extras such as more timeframes and a built-in economic calendar, but the core charting is very similar. For most retail strategies, there's no compelling reason to switch.
MT4 setup: what the manual doesn't tell you
The install process is quick. Where people waste time is the setup after install. Out of the box, MT4 opens with four charts squeezed onto a single workspace. Clear the lot and start fresh with the pairs you actually trade.
Chart templates save time. Set up your go-to indicators on one chart, then right-click and save as template. After that you can apply it to any new chart without redoing the work. Sounds trivial, but over time it adds up.
One setting worth changing: go to Tools > Options > Charts and tick "Show ask line." By default MT4 displays the bid price by default, which makes buy entries seem misaligned until you realise the ask price is hidden.
How reliable is MT4 backtesting?
MT4's built-in strategy tester gives you the ability to run Expert Advisors against historical data. That said: the accuracy of those results depends entirely on your tick data. Standard history data is modelled, meaning gaps between real data points are estimated mathematically. If you're testing something that needs accuracy, grab proper historical data.
That quality percentage in the results tells you more than the headline profit number. Below 90% indicates the results aren't trustworthy. Traders sometimes share screenshots 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 only if you feed it decent data.
Building your own MT4 indicators
MT4 comes with 30 built-in technical indicators. The average trader uses maybe a handful. However the platform's actual strength is in custom indicators built with MQL4. The MQL5 marketplace alone has a massive library, ranging from basic modifications to elaborate signal panels.
Installing them is straightforward: place the .ex4 or .mq4 file into your MQL4/Indicators folder, reboot MT4, and it appears in the Navigator panel. The risk is quality control. Free indicators are hit-and-miss. A few are genuinely useful. Others haven't been updated since 2015 and may crash your terminal.
Before installing anything, look at when it was last updated and if people in the forums have flagged problems. A poorly written indicator doesn't only show wrong data — it can freeze the whole terminal.
The MT4 risk controls you're probably not using
MT4 has a few native risk management features that most traders don't bother with. The most useful is the maximum deviation setting in the new order panel. It sets the amount of slippage you're willing to tolerate on market orders. Without this configured and you're accepting whatever price the broker gives you.
Everyone knows about stop losses, but MT4's trailing stop feature is worth exploring. Click on an open trade, choose Trailing Stop, and enter the pip amount. It follows with the trade goes in your favour. Not perfect for every strategy, but for trend-following it takes away the temptation to micromanage the trade.
You can configure all of this in under five minutes and they take some of the guesswork out of trade management.
Running Expert Advisors: practical expectations
Automated trading through Expert Advisors attract traders for obvious reasons: define your rules and let the machine execute. The reality is, the majority of Expert Advisors underperform over any decent time period. EAs advertised with incredible historical results tend to be over-optimised — they worked on the specific data they were tested on and break down the moment conditions shift.
This isn't to say all EAs are useless. Some traders build their own EAs to handle one particular setup: time-based entries, automating position size calculations, or closing trades at set levels. That kind of automation tend to work because they execute defined operations without needing judgment.
If you're evaluating EAs, use a demo account for a minimum of two to three months. Running it forward in real time reveals more than historical results ever will.
MT4 on Mac and mobile: what actually works
The platform was designed for Windows. If you're on macOS has always been compromises. The traditional approach was emulation, which mostly worked but had rendering issues and occasional crashes. Certain brokers now offer native site Mac apps built on compatibility layers, which work more smoothly but still aren't built from scratch for Mac.
On mobile, on both Apple and Android devices, are genuinely useful for monitoring your account and making quick adjustments. Serious charting work on a mobile device doesn't really work, but managing exits on the go has saved plenty of traders.
It's worth confirming if your broker provides a native Mac build or just a wrapper — the difference in stability is noticeable.