What forex platform to choose? Which trading platform is on top of the list of the best forex software today? In the modern forex trading reality, vast majority of forex traders deem that the best platform for forex trading is MetaTrader (MT).
MT is a forex trading platform that has been introduced in 2005 by Russia’s MetaQuotes Software Corp, a company developing software for the financial markets. Initially Metatrader platform was designed for individual traders who form the retail forex industry. During years of operation MT has become equally popular among both beginners and expert traders. MetaTrader is a system that allows customers create expert advisors and signal indicators for personal use. It is also possible to distribute expert advisors and indicators to others.
MetaTrader software allows traders to speculate and profit from the price movements and fluctuations of the world’s major currencies. MT5 platform has been introduced in 2009 and is the direct successor of MT4 Forex platform. Still the vast majority of forex traders, especially beginners, decide in favor of the older version. In fact, two MetaTrader versions are significantly different and have their own strong and weak points.
The MT5 has a number of new features that were non-relevant for the MT4 version.
The novelties are analytical tools and more advanced graphs as well as more timeframes including 2 minutes and 8 hours. What is more, MT5 provides new ways of trading in terms of trading methodology and investment instruments.
Big Difference
While many traders report that Metatrader 5 is much easier to navigate because of its more comprehensible interface, it still has its downsides. Unlike the MT 4, the newer version has a smaller charting area and the Fibonacci retracement tools fail to work precisely.
Moreover, MT5 doesn’t allow hedging and multi hedging, and these are essential features that most traders keep in mind when choosing a trading platform. To activate hedging in MT5 experts suggest using plug-ins.
MT5 also takes three times more RAM space than its predecessor MT4. Depending on the computer model, this may possibly result in much longer download and installation process than with MT4. Along with this, MT4 to MT5 conversion is not possible because the MT5 code is not backward compatible, which means that MT4’s expert advisors and indicators are not applicable on the MT5 platform.
MT4 has a huge amount of indicators written for it. Generally, due to its user-friendly interface it is backed by a huge community of brokers and traders. In its turn, MT5 features a brand new language and better scripting tools for writing custom indicators and expert advisors. Besides, MT5 can trade more than just forex, which makes it specifically attractive for brokers interested in introducing various kinds of trading: MT5 can deal with CFDs, stocks or any commodity once the broker supports it. As for MT4, it has been designed primarily for currency trading and some CFDs.
Before deciding in favor of MT4 or MT5, compare two platforms and decide which of them meets your trading demands best.