Why traders still pick MT4 over newer platforms
MetaQuotes stopped issuing new MT4 licences a while back, nudging brokers toward MT5. Still, most retail forex traders haven't moved. The reason is simple: MT4 has twenty years of muscle memory behind it. Thousands of custom indicators, Expert Advisors, and community scripts only work with MT4. Migrating to MT5 means porting that entire library, and the majority of users can't justify the effort.
After testing MT4 and MT5 side by side, and the gap is smaller than you'd expect. MT5 has a few extras including more timeframes and a built-in economic calendar, but the core charting feels nearly identical. For most retail strategies, 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 configuration. On first launch, MT4 shows four charts squeezed onto recommended reading the screen. Close all of them and start fresh with the markets you care about.
Chart templates save time. Set up your preferred indicators once, then right-click and save as template. From there you can load it onto other charts without redoing the work. Small thing, but over months it saves hours.
Something most people miss: open Tools > Options > Charts and check "Show ask line." By default MT4 displays the bid price on the chart, which makes your entries look off until you realise the ask price is hidden.
How reliable is MT4 backtesting?
MT4's built-in strategy tester lets you run Expert Advisors against historical data. But here's the thing: the accuracy of those results hinges on your tick data. Built-in history data from MetaQuotes is interpolated, meaning it fills in missing ticks with made-up prices. If you're testing something that needs accuracy, grab proper historical data.
Modelling quality is more important than the bottom-line PnL. Anything below 90% means the results shouldn't be taken seriously. People occasionally share screenshots with 25% modelling quality and wonder why the EA fails in real conditions.
Backtesting is where MT4 earns its reputation, but only if you feed it decent data.
Custom indicators on MT4: worth the effort?
MT4 ships with 30 default technical indicators. The average trader uses maybe a handful. However the platform's actual strength lives in custom indicators coded in MQL4. You can find thousands available, covering everything from simple moving average variations to complex multi-timeframe dashboards.
Installing them is straightforward: drop the .ex4 or .mq4 file into the MQL4/Indicators folder, refresh MT4, and the indicator shows up in the Navigator panel. The catch is reliability. Community indicators vary wildly. Some are well coded and maintained. Some haven't been updated since 2015 and can freeze your terminal.
When adding third-party indicators, look at the last update date and if other traders mention bugs. A broken indicator won't just give wrong signals — it can lag your entire platform.
The MT4 risk controls you're probably not using
You'll find some risk management options that most traders skip over. The most useful is the maximum deviation setting in the order window. This controls the amount of slippage is acceptable on market orders. Leave it at zero and you'll get whatever price the broker gives you.
Stop losses are obvious, but trailing stops is worth exploring. Right-click an open trade, choose Trailing Stop, and define a distance. The stop follows with the trade goes your way. Doesn't work well in choppy markets, but on trending pairs it reduces the temptation to sit and watch.
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
EAs sounds appealing: define your rules and let the machine execute. In practice, most EAs fail to deliver over any meaningful time period. EAs sold with incredible historical results tend to be curve-fitted — they worked on past prices and break down the moment market conditions change.
That doesn't mean all EAs are a waste of time. Some traders develop personal EAs to handle specific, narrow tasks: opening trades at session opens, managing position sizing, or taking profit at predetermined levels. That kind of automation are more reliable because they do repetitive actions without needing interpretation.
If you're evaluating EAs, use a demo account for a minimum of two to three months. Live demo testing is more informative than historical results ever will.
MT4 beyond the desktop
MT4 was built for Windows. If you're on macOS deal with a workaround. Previously was emulation, which mostly worked but had display glitches and the odd crash. Some brokers now offer macOS versions using compatibility layers, which is an improvement but still aren't built from scratch for Mac.
The mobile apps, available for both iOS and Android, are surprisingly capable for keeping an eye on your account and tweaking stops. Doing proper analysis on a phone screen isn't realistic, but managing exits while away from your desk is worth having.
It's worth confirming if your broker provides a native Mac build or just a wrapper — the difference in stability is noticeable.