Why traders still pick MT4 over newer platforms
MetaQuotes stopped issuing new MT4 licences a while back, pushing brokers toward MT5. But most retail forex traders haven't moved. The reason is not complicated: MT4 has twenty years of muscle memory behind it. Thousands of custom indicators, Expert Advisors, and community scripts run on MT4. Moving to MT5 means rebuilding 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 less dramatic than the marketing suggests. MT5 has a few extras such as more timeframes and a built-in economic calendar, but chart functionality is very similar. Unless you need MT5-specific features, MT4 still holds its own.
Getting MT4 configured properly the first time
Downloading and installing MT4 is the easy part. The part that trips people up is the setup after install. On first launch, MT4 opens with four charts crammed into the screen. Close all of them and start fresh with the markets you follow.
Chart templates save time. Build your go-to indicators once, then save it as a template. After that you can apply it to any new chart in two clicks. Minor detail, but over weeks it makes a difference.
Something most people miss: go to Tools > Options > Charts and check "Show ask line." By default MT4 displays the bid price by default, which can make entries appear wrong until you realise the ask price is hidden.
How reliable is MT4 backtesting?
MT4's built-in strategy tester allows you to run Expert Advisors against historical data. That said: the reliability of those results hinges on your tick data. Built-in history data is not real tick data, meaning gaps between real data points are estimated using algorithms. If you're testing something that needs accuracy, download real tick data from a provider like Dukascopy.
Modelling quality tells you more than the bottom-line PnL. Anything below 90% indicates the results aren't trustworthy. People occasionally show off backtests with 25% modelling quality and can't figure out why the EA fails in real conditions.
This is one area where MT4 genuinely outperforms most web-based platforms, but it's only as good as the data you give it.
Custom indicators on MT4: worth the effort?
MT4 comes with 30 standard technical indicators. Few people use more than five or six. However where MT4 gets interesting is in custom indicators written in MQL4. There are over 2,000 options, covering everything from tweaked versions of standard tools to full trading dashboards.
Installing them is straightforward: place the .ex4 or .mq4 file into your MQL4/Indicators folder, reboot MT4, and it appears in the Navigator panel. One thing to watch is quality control. Publicly shared indicators range from excellent to broken. Some are solid tools. Others stopped working years ago and can freeze your terminal.
If you're downloading custom indicators, check how recently it was maintained and whether users report issues. Bad code won't just give wrong signals — it can freeze your entire platform.
Risk management settings most MT4 traders ignore
There are a few native risk management options that the majority of users skip over. Probably the most practical one is the maximum deviation setting in the new order panel. It sets how much slippage you'll accept on market orders. Leave it at zero and you're accepting whatever price the broker gives you.
Everyone knows about stop losses, but MT4's trailing stop feature are overlooked. Right-click an open trade, pick Trailing Stop, and enter the pip amount. The stop follows when the trade goes into profit. It won't suit every approach, but on trending pairs it removes the temptation to sit and watch.
None of this is complicated to set up and the difference in discipline is noticeable over time.
Expert Advisors — before you trust a robot with your money
Automated trading through Expert Advisors have obvious appeal: program your strategy and stop staring at charts. In practice, a huge percentage of them underperform over any meaningful time period. EAs advertised with perfect backtest curves are usually curve-fitted — they worked on past prices and fall apart when market conditions change.
That doesn't mean all EAs are a waste of time. Certain traders code personal EAs to handle one particular setup: opening trades at session opens, calculating lot sizes, or exiting positions at predetermined levels. That kind of automation tend to work because they execute repetitive actions that don't more articles require discretion.
If you're evaluating EAs, use a demo account for no less than two to three months. Forward testing tells you more than historical results ever will.
MT4 on Mac and mobile: what actually works
The platform was designed for Windows. Running it on Mac deal with friction. The old method was emulation, which did the job but had display glitches and stability problems. Some brokers now offer native Mac apps using compatibility layers, which is an improvement but remain wrappers at the end of the day.
On mobile, available for both iOS and Android, are genuinely useful for monitoring positions and making quick adjustments. Serious charting work on a phone screen isn't realistic, but adjusting a stop loss on the go is genuinely handy.
Look into whether your broker has a native Mac build or just a wrapper — the experience varies a lot between the two.