Why traders still pick MT4 over newer platforms
MetaQuotes stopped issuing new MT4 licences some time ago, pushing brokers toward MT5. Still, most retail forex traders stayed put. The reason is straightforward: MT4 does one thing well. More than a decade's worth of custom indicators, Expert Advisors, and community scripts were built for MT4. Moving to MT5 means rebuilding that entire library, and the majority of users would rather keep trading than recoding.
I spent time testing MT4 and MT5 side by side, and the gap is smaller than you'd expect. MT5 adds a few extras such as more timeframes and a built-in economic calendar, but the core charting is nearly identical. Unless you need MT5-specific features, there's no compelling reason to switch.
Setting up MT4 without the usual headaches
The install process is quick. What actually causes problems is configuration. Out of the box, MT4 shows four charts crammed into a single workspace. Clear the lot and start fresh with the instruments you follow.
Templates are worth setting up early. Build your go-to indicators once, then save it as a template. Then you can apply it to any new chart without redoing the work. Sounds trivial, but over weeks it adds up.
One setting worth changing: open Tools > Options > Charts and tick "Show ask line." By default MT4 displays the bid price on the chart, which can make your entries look off by the spread amount.
Backtesting on MT4: what the results actually mean
The strategy tester in MT4 allows you to run Expert Advisors against historical data. Worth noting though: the accuracy of those results comes down to your tick data. Standard history data is not real tick data, meaning the tester fills gaps using algorithms. If you're testing something beyond a rough sanity check, you need proper historical data.
The "modelling quality" percentage is more important than the headline profit number. Anything below 90% indicates the results are probably misleading. People occasionally post backtest results with 25% modelling quality and wonder why live trading looks different.
Backtesting is where MT4 earns its reputation, but only if you feed it decent data.
Custom indicators on MT4: worth the effort?
MT4 ships with 30 built-in technical indicators. Most traders never touch them all. But the platform's actual strength lives in custom indicators written in MQL4. The MQL5 marketplace alone has a massive library, spanning simple moving average variations to elaborate signal panels.
The install process is painless: copy the .ex4 or .mq4 file into your MQL4/Indicators folder, restart MT4, and it appears in the Navigator panel. One thing to watch is quality control. Community indicators are hit-and-miss. Some are solid tools. Others are abandoned projects and may crash your terminal.
If you're downloading custom indicators, check when it was last updated and whether users report issues. Bad code won't just give wrong signals — it can freeze MT4.
Risk management settings most MT4 traders ignore
You'll find a few native risk management tools that most traders don't bother with. The most useful is the maximum deviation setting in the trade execution window. It sets how much slippage you're willing to tolerate on market orders. Without this configured and you'll get whatever price is available.
Stop losses go without saying, but the trailing stop function are underused. Right-click an open trade, choose Trailing Stop, and set your preferred distance. The stop moves with price moves in your favour. Not perfect for every strategy, but for trend-following it reduces the urge to micromanage the trade.
None of this is complicated to set up and they remove a lot of the emotional decision-making.
EAs on MT4: what to realistically expect
EAs sounds appealing: define your rules and let the machine execute. The reality is, learn more here most EAs lose money over any extended time period. EAs marketed using incredible historical results tend to be fitted to past data — they look great on the specific data they were tested on and stop working when conditions shift.
This isn't to say all EAs are worthless. A few people build personal EAs to handle specific, narrow tasks: opening trades at session opens, calculating lot sizes, or closing trades at set levels. These utility-type EAs tend to work because they handle repetitive actions without needing discretion.
When looking at Expert Advisors, use a demo account for no less than two to three months. Live demo testing is more informative than backtesting alone.
MT4 on Mac and mobile: what actually works
MT4 was built for Windows. Mac users deal with compromises. Previously was Wine or PlayOnMac, which was functional but had rendering issues and the odd crash. Some brokers now offer macOS versions wrapped around Crossover or similar wrappers, which is an improvement but still aren't built from scratch for Mac.
On mobile, available for both Apple and Android devices, are genuinely useful for keeping an eye on positions and making quick adjustments. Full analysis on a 5-inch screen is pushing it, but adjusting a stop loss on the go is genuinely handy.
Look into whether your broker has a native Mac build or just a wrapper — it makes a real difference day to day.