Why traders still pick MT4 over newer platforms
MetaQuotes stopped issuing new MT4 licences years ago, steering brokers toward MT5. Still, most retail forex traders haven't moved. The reason is simple: MT4 has twenty years of muscle memory behind it. A huge library of custom indicators, Expert Advisors, and community scripts run on MT4. Migrating to MT5 means porting that entire library, and most traders can't justify the effort.
I've tested both platforms side by side, and the gap is marginal for most strategies. MT5 adds a few extras like more timeframes and a built-in economic calendar, but the charting feels very similar. If you're weighing up the two, MT4 still holds its own.
Getting MT4 configured properly the first time
Installation takes a few minutes. What actually causes problems is configuration. By default, MT4 shows four charts squeezed onto a single workspace. Shut them all and start fresh with the markets you care about.
Templates are worth setting up early. Build your usual indicators on one chart, then save it as a template. From there you can apply it to any new chart in two clicks. Minor detail, but over months it makes a difference.
One setting worth changing: open Tools > Options > Charts and enable "Show ask line." By default MT4 displays the bid price on the chart, which can make 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 depends entirely on your tick data. Standard history data from MetaQuotes is modelled, meaning the tester fills gaps using algorithms. For anything more precise than a quick look, you need proper historical data.
That quality percentage in the results tells you more than the profit figure. Anything 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.
The strategy tester is one of MT4's stronger features, but the output is only useful with quality tick data.
Building your own MT4 indicators
MT4 comes with 30 built-in technical indicators. Most traders never touch them all. That said, the platform's actual strength is in custom indicators written in MQL4. The MQL5 marketplace alone has over 2,000 options, spanning simple moving average variations to complex multi-timeframe dashboards.
The install process is painless: copy the .ex4 or .mq4 file into the MQL4/Indicators folder, restart MT4, and the indicator shows up in the Navigator panel. The catch is reliability. Community indicators vary wildly. Some are genuinely useful. Others stopped working years ago and can freeze your terminal.
If you're downloading custom indicators, verify the last update date and whether users have flagged problems. A broken indicator doesn't only show wrong data — it can slow down your entire platform.
The MT4 risk controls you're probably not using
MT4 has a few native risk management options that a lot of people never configure. First worth mentioning is maximum deviation in the new order panel. This controls the amount of slippage you'll accept on market orders. Without this configured and you're accepting whatever price is available.
Stop losses are obvious, but MT4's trailing stop feature are worth exploring. Right-click an open trade, select Trailing Stop, and define your preferred distance. It moves automatically as price moves in your favour. Not perfect for every strategy, but on trending pairs it reduces the urge to stare at the screen.
These settings take a minute to configure and they remove a lot of the emotional decision-making.
Running Expert Advisors: practical expectations
Automated trading through Expert Advisors sounds appealing: define your rules and let the machine execute. In reality, a huge percentage of them fail to deliver over any extended time period. The ones advertised with flawless equity curves tend to be curve-fitted — they worked on the specific data they were tested on and fall apart when market conditions change.
None of this means all EAs are useless. A few people develop custom EAs to handle one particular setup: time-based entries, automating position size calculations, or taking profit at set levels. That kind of automation work because they do repetitive actions without needing interpretation.
When looking at Expert Advisors, use a demo account for no less than several weeks in different conditions. Running it forward in real time reveals more than historical results ever will.
MT4 on Mac and mobile: what actually works
MT4 is a Windows application at heart. If you're on macOS deal with compromises. The traditional approach was Wine or PlayOnMac, which was functional but introduced visual bugs and occasional crashes. Some brokers now offer macOS versions using Crossover or similar wrappers, which are better but still aren't true native apps.
The mobile apps, on both iOS and Android, work well for watching positions and making quick adjustments. Full analysis on a 5-inch screen is pushing it, but adjusting a stop loss while away from your desk is worth having.
Look into whether your broker mt4 broker has a proper macOS version or just Wine under the hood — the experience varies a lot between the two.