MT4 vs. MT5 – What are they?

Both MetaTrader 4 and 5 (MT4 and MT5 from now on) are the fruits of Metaquotes, a software company focussed on the financial industry. Both platforms are designed for individual traders wishing to speculate on the Forex market. Using a programming language called MQL, they are very robust programmes allowing for a galaxy of different custom-made Expert Advisors and Indicators (although each platform has distinct versions as they are mutually incompatible).

As you have probably already deduced, MT5 is the successor to MT4. However, MT4 still remains the most popular trading platform today as traders experience trepidation when migrating away from the tried-and-tested warhorse (for want of a better word) of MT4.

But if you’ve landed on this page, you probably have some questions of your own and want to arm yourself with the facts before deciding which platform to use. Here we’ll aim to give you those facts.

MT4 vs. MT5 – What are the differences?

One of the first things a user will notice is that MT5 has been given a roomier dashboard, making the buttons clearer and easier to use. However, this curtails the charting area, which means that the Fibonacci retracement tools work less precisely on MT5, so if you’re a fan of Fibonacci, maybe MT4 is for you. However, if you prefer to have a well laid out and easy-to-use interface, maybe its successor is more up your street.

We would also like to point out here that MT5 is substantially greedier for disk space, demanding more than three times its predecessor’s footprint on your PC or VPS, significantly affecting download/installation times and VPS allowance. MT4 is lighter and provides many of the same functions as MT5, so might be more desirable to those looking for a more nimble platform.

With that being said, MT5 does offer some noticeably better features, including more sophisticated analytical tools and graphs, more timeframes and generally more trading instruments and methodologies.

We leave the decision to you, but should you have any questions, get in touch with our Live Chat for some expert advice on platform selection.