Forex trading platforms and their characteristics

Forex markets attract many beginner investors as the markets are open 24 hours a day, 5 days a week from Monday to Friday. The FX market is the most liquid and barriers for entry are much smaller compared to trading physical stocks. What’s more, there’s a large pool of Forex brokers to choose from. Beginners have a lot to learn and a lot to plan. They need to decide how much leverage they will use, what will be the account currency, which instruments to trade and how to trade.

In addition, brokers offer various trading platforms to their clients. The wide variety of choices that are available for beginner traders add up to confusion. In this article we’ll guide through how forex trading platforms work and how to choose the platforms for forex trading.

The best forex trading platforms

There are various trading platforms available for Forex traders. In our guide, we will focus on MetaTrader 4, MetaTrader 5 and cTrader that we believe are the best options for currency traders. What’s more, we’ll discuss how professional traders use TradingView for technical analysis in accordance with other trading platforms. All of these platforms have their strengths and weaknesses. Let’s find out what they are in more detail below.

MetaTrader 4

MetaTrader 4 is one of the oldest trading platforms that is still very much in use today. The platform was released in 2005. The software was built by a Russian software company called MetaQuotes. Since its release, the platform has not changed much. For many traders MetaTrader platforms look outdated. However, despite their looks, both MetaTrader 4 and 5 remain one of the most popular forex trading platforms. The reason is simple, MetaTrader platforms are very reliable and strong.

MetaTrader 4 is mainly used by traders to trade currency pairs, whereas MT5 is usually used for trading various asset classes. The MT4 is usually a favorite choice of novice traders as the platform is simple to use and is offered by vast majority of Forex brokers.

MT4 offers various order types and tools for analyzing the market:

• 3 execution modes
• 2 market orders
• 4 pending orders
• 2 stop orders and a trailing stop
• Interactive charts
• 9 timeframes
• 23 analytical objects
• 30 technical indicators

In addition, traders are able to automate their trading using algorithms. MetaTrader 4 algorithms are created using a coding language called MQL4. If you are planning to trade using trading robots, you can learn coding, hire someone to create the algorithms for or just buy them in the MetaTrader market. The fact that MT4 is the oldest and still widely used today, makes its algorithms widely available. The number of algorithms that you can acquire for free or in exchange of money is huge. However, not all of them are working properly. It’s recommended that you do research prior to buying an algorithm in order to avoid getting scammed.

Moreover, in case you don’t have time to trade Forex, you can copy trade. You can choose a signal provider from the trading community and the MetaTrader 4 will automatically copy that person. Keep in mind that there are paid and free subscription services available for copy traders. And it’s important to take drawdowns into an account when choosing a trader to copy. In addition, instead of copying from others, you can show a good performance in trading and become a signal provider yourself. Being a signal provider enables traders to get additional income.

MetaTrader 5

MetaTrader 5 is a younger brother of MT4. Both platforms are created by MetaQuotes. The MT5 was released in 2010 and has quickly gained popularity. Nowadays, most forex brokers offer the platform to their clients along with the MT4. MetaTrader 5 is a multi-asset trading platform. When choosing a forex trading platform, it’s important to be clear what type of assets you are going to trade. MT5 enables traders to trade stocks, commodities, cryptos, currencies, etc. The platform has been awarded as the best Multi-Asset Trading Platform at the Forex Expo in 2020-2021. And the best Multi-Asset Trading Platform at the Global Forex Awards.

MT5 uses the MQL5 language for creating trading algorithms. And similarly, there are a lot of pre-made robots available for free and for sale. MetaTrader algorithms or trading robots are known as Expert Advisors (EAs).

Compared to the MT4, MT5 has more timeframes and more indicators.d In particular, there’s 21 timeframes and over 80 technical indicators and analytical tools available for traders to conduct technical analysis.

cTrader

cTrader was developed by Spotware in 2010. The platform offers modern design, great charting tools and good execution. The platform is very popular among traders and is offered by many brokers. However, cTrader is not as widely consumed as the MetaTrader platforms. The offers easy to understand and highly user friendly interface, which is a great choice for beginner traders.

cTrader uses the more common cAlgo language to automate trading. Similarly to MetaTrader platforms, you can copy trade or become a signal provider using algorithmic trading. However, the marketplace for acquiring the algorithms is not as large as in the MetaTrader market. cTrader is the best platform to trade forex for traders that care about visuals, good performance and friendly interface. The only limitation is that the platform is not offered by many Forex brokers.

Web trading and Mobile trading

All of the trading platforms above have their own versions of mobile apps and Web trading terminals. Mobile apps can be found in both: Google Play and App Store. Web terminals can be a great way to trade from various places where there is internet connection and computer, however, it is recommended to use trading software that you can download and install on your computer. Web terminals are less reliable and more lagging than trading softwares. As for the mobile apps, they are a great way to monitor your trades. However, mobile phones should not be used to make your day to day trades, as small screens can limit your ability to conduct a precise market analysis. Mobile apps are great in emergency situations. Let’s say you went to work and forgot to place a Stop Loss order on your trade. Using the mobile apps, you can place all kinds of orders. What’s more, they come handy in power outages, loss of internet connection, breakdown of your PC and other emergency situations. All of the three trading platforms have very good mobile trading apps.

Forex trading platforms and TradingView

TradingView is not a trading platform. But it deserves to be mentioned in this guide, as many traders use the TradingView for planning their trades and other trading platforms for execution. The reason is simple, TradingView is created to aid traders with conducting a technical analysis. The platform can be downloaded and installed on your PC. TradingView is modern looking, offers all kinds of trading instruments for analyzing and there’s a wide range of indicators and tools that you can use. Choosing a forex trading platform is not easy. And often, you may like the fees and offerings of your broker, but dislike the trading software. For instance, we’ve mentioned that the MT4 is very strong and reliable, however, for most traders, it looks outdated. To counter this, many traders use TradingView to analyze the markets and then place orders on the MT4.

TradingView has a free version but in order to unlock the charting software’s full potential, you can go Pro, Pro+ or Premium.

TradingView offers access to various trading instruments. Which enables trades to better analyze markets especially when they are correlated. Some currency pair prices are correlated with other currencies while some are correlated with certain commodities. For instance, Canada is known to be one of the largest exporters of oil. Consequently, oil prices greatly affect the valuation of the Canadian Dollar. In case you are trading Canadian Dollar, it’s best to have oil charts available on your screen.

The main takeaways

To sum everything up, choosing a forex trading platform is hard. The best platform to trade forex is the one that best suits your needs. MetaTrade 4 and MetaTrader 5 are the most popular forex trading platforms that were developed years ago but are still very much in use. Most brokers offer MetaTrader software to their clients.

For many traders, MT4 and MT5 look outdated. But they both are very reliable and mighty platforms to use. MT4 is mainly used for trading Forex, while MT5 is a multi-asset platform. Many traders that don’t like the MetaTrader interface, conduct technical analysis using TradingView and use MT4 and MT5 for execution. cTrader is another great trading platform. The platform is reliable, modern looking and has great analytical tools. However, cTrader is not offered by many brokers.

In addition to trading platforms, you can use their mobile versions and web terminals. Keep in mind that it’s recommended to use trading softwares from your PC as it’s easier to conduct analysis on a big screen and installed platforms are lagging less.

FAQs on Forex trading platforms

What is the best platform to trade forex?

The best trading platform is the one that best suits your needs. Every trader has different trading methods, trading instruments and style. What works for one trader may never work for the other. For instance, beginner Forex traders may choose MT4 over MT5 due to the fact that MT4 is simpler when it comes to trading FX pairs. But those who want a multi asset class trading, will pick MT5, as the platform offers access to stock CFDs, crypto CFDs, FX pairs, etc. Traders that are attracted to modern design and ECN trading, will pick cTrader. What’s more, traders can use multiple platforms at the same time.

Which forex platform is best for beginners?

Most beginner Forex traders pick MetaTrader 4. The platform was released in 2005 and hasn’t changed since in terms of visuals. The platform may seem outdated for some, but it is highly reliable and easy to use. MetaTrader 4 is solely created for Forex traders which makes it a perfect fit for beginners. Most brokers offer MetaTrader platforms to their customers. In addition, cTrader trading platforms are also very attractive for beginners as it has a modern design and very user friendly interface.

Can I trade Forex without a trading platform?

Yes. Most brokers offer web terminals for traders to place orders from any computer where there’s internet connection available. However, it is not recommended to use web terminals instead of trading softwares as web terminals are more lagging and less reliable.