You would likely be informed of the MetaTrader platform, whether you are fresh to financial trading or have dabbled in the past equity and forex markets. It is considered one of the most extensive trading networks in the market, allowing retail traders to conduct electronic trading strategies at the click of a button.
Interestingly, both MetaTrader 5 or MT5 and the long-standing MetaTrader 4 or MT4 help most of the leading trading brokers. You may wonder whether MetaTrader 5 is an upgrade to the framework that has been around since July 2005. It is, in some cases, and in others, it is not. Simply, these are horses for courses as to which forum you are choosing. We will detail this article, which traders will most gain from utilizing MetaTrader 4 and MetaTrader 5, respectively.
MetaTrader 4
First of all, it is necessary to acknowledge that MetaTrader 4 was initially developed for retail forex trading. Suppose you have never dabbled in foreign exchange before. In that case, it’s a good idea to familiarise yourself with some of these famous forex trading books, provided that information is one of the best resources for trading performance.
This implies that MetaTrader 4 is not a piece of software you will rely on to trade the markets for stocks and futures. However, whether you are a forex trader or are looking to start trading forex pairs, you can find that there are more than 750 online brokers available that license the platform directly to retail traders such as you. You can also see that even though you are dealing risk-free with demo currency, several brokers are selling demo accounts to new customers who support the usage of MT4. It’s a perfect way to familiarize yourself with a desktop and smartphone interface that is entirely compliant with Windows, macOS, Linux, and Android.
It is also readily accessible for free use, though promoting over 30 international languages for a worldwide consumer community. The elegant GUI of MetaTrader 4 makes it easier for retail traders to spot patterns on the run. However, the number of map timeframes accessible is one of the critical challenges keeping MetaTrader 4 relative to MetaTrader 5. MetaTrader 4 contains nine separate timeframes for the map, but its successor offers an unprecedented 21, which helps you examine price trends in granular detail.
MetaTrader 4 only manages to hedge when it comes to the execution of transactions in the forex markets. Its successor, meanwhile, enables hedging as well as netting by order.
MetaTrader 5
It must be said that MetaTrader 5 has not yet earned its predecessor’s prestige, which is to be anticipated in consideration of its relatively recent arrival in the financial trading industry. However, provided that it is planned not only to conduct forex trades but stocks and services as well, it is sure to create waves eventually.
A modern, multi-asset trading network is known to be MetaTrader 5. That’s because it is built to allow you to use multiple accounts through multiple brokers to position trades. This swift and robust platform, programmed by the modern MQL5 language, offers users the ability to concurrently check up to 100 charts on stocks, goods, or forex pairs. Combine it with a selection of technical indicators-80 to be precise-and 44 empirical items, and tracking the most modest industry patterns is simpler than ever.
Traders may create their own algorithmic trading systems using MQL5, but it’s necessary to remember that any algorithms previously developed using MQL4 for MetaTrader 4 are incompatible with the MQL5 framework. Nevertheless, in many aspects, the MetaTrader 5 platform is simpler and more powerful than its predecessor. Compared with the legacy 32-bit mono-threaded scheme of MetaTrader 4, it is a 64-bit multi-threaded device.
Why would we recommend that MetaTrader 4 could be your first port of call while trading the financial markets for the first time, with such positivity and functionality surrounding MetaTrader 5? But, to get your mind around the needs, its simplicity is much required. When they have the experience to utilize the specialized software available in MT5 thoroughly, several financial traders recommend winning their stripes with MetaTrader 4 before moving to the MetaTrader 5 platform. MetaTrader 4 is just as functional as its successor with mobile and tablet applications, making it simple to track stocks and open positions 24/7, with a total complement of trading requests, indications, and signals under the bonnet.