What is the MT4 Forex Trading Platform?
The Forex MT4 Trading Platform, MetaTrader 4, is a Forex compatible software to execute trades and was developed back in 2005 by MetaQuotes. The MT4 Forex trading platform is one of the most popular options amongst traders because it allows for a higher degree of customisation than other options and allows you to trade in other markets aside from currency exchanges.
Having a forex trading platform that allows for a more significant amount of individualisation has a great appeal for many traders because it makes it, so they can input any trading preference they have and is compatible with most bought software to allow for an algorithm to automate trading.
The Forex MT4 platform also has a great benefit in that there are thousands of options in terms of indicators you can choose and set to your dashboard and other types of add-ons.
As a warning, the MetaTrader 4 application is not compatible with Mac devices.
Photo Credit: Leap Rate
As a warning, the MetaTrader 4 application is not compatible with Mac devices.
A Quick Forex MT4 Tutorial
Using MetaTrader 4 for Forex trading is relatively simple, after all, to be one of the most popular, it also is likely that it is user friendly. The Pearl Lemon Invest team has gone ahead and compiled a quick list as a Forex MT4 tutorial for you. So whether you already have the platform or are just looking, we can hopefully help you get a better feel for what you will need to do.
Step 1:
Your first step in using the Forex MT4 platform is that once you find your brokerage to go through, you will want to be sure that you have paired it with your brokerage account.
Step 2:
Part two of the Forex MT4 tutorial is after linking an MT4 profile to your brokerage dashboard, you can then download the linked account to your device.
Step 3:
MT4 Forex trading then begins with opening positions. Opening a position through the order window will allow you to place moves by instant execution or place a pending order to go through at a different time.
Step 4:
Next up in using the MT4 platform is that you will need to monitor all of your open positions and pending orders to be able to know when to possibly close moves.
Step 5:
Using the MT4 platform is to then begin modifying any of your chosen positions and stops based on what charts are depicting and how the market is moving.
Step 6:
Step six of this quick Forex MT4 tutorial is after any needed modification, you then are able to pull up your charts and set any indicators and make edits to the way they display so you are able to read them easier and be able to spot certain movements based on your trading strategy.
You are then able to further edit your charts by setting time frames you would like items to display.
Step 7:
Now that your charts are all set, you can set alerts within the MetaTrader 4 platform. These alerts will go off at certain price intervals if you need to enter or exit a trade before it approaches or passes a certain indicator.
Step 8:
Now, this next step is not an immediate need in the tutorial, but after your account has been running and gathering data, you will then be able to look at your account history. This will show you historical trades and see your overall performance in terms of gains and losses.
Step 9:
Once you are able to access your historical trades, you then have the option to download them to keep as a pdf for viewing if you so need to.
Should You Use MetaTrader 4 for Forex Trading?
As long as you have a compatible device and the platform will pair with your chosen broker there is no reason why you should not use MetaTrader 4 for Forex trading. There are some great advantages to using the platform as either a beginner trader or an experienced Forex trader. It is also worth noting a few drawbacks to the platform as well.
Pros to MetaTrader 4
- MetaTrader 4 for Forex trading is considered one of the most user-friendly platforms out there to execute trades. The ease of trading means that it is highly attractive for anyone on the spectrum from beginner to novice to expert.
- The Forex MT4 software also is available globally so you are able to change and customise the language settings as needed.
- MetaTrader 4 also has some of the most advanced charting options as far as software tools are concerned.
- Another advantage to using this platform as a part of your Forex trading toolkit is that should you need any help with the platform there are plenty of industry experts available to help you.
- The platform also has advanced communication features being that brokers can communicate directly with their clients through announcements within the platform itself.
- It is very friendly for whatever device you opt to attach it to; this means that it takes up relatively low space and resources for its capabilities.
- If you trade more than just Forex, you also have the option to set up numerous profiles and have a dedicated profile for each market you trade and and easily toggle between them for management and viewing within MT4.
- MetaTrader 4 also keeps you and your information well secured. The platform keeps your IP address hidden and has its own additional protection methods to prevent any data breaches.
- We all love flexibility and MetaTrader 4 strives to be that. The platform allows for currency crosses so you are able to trade commodities, equities and futures as well.
- Full customisation options are one of the biggest positive points to MetaTrader 4 as each trader is able to make the platform and dashboard be set up to suit their exact needs.
Cons to MetaTrader 4
No platform is perfect and in stating so, there are a few drawbacks to using MT4 for Forex trading.
- There is a newer version available, MetaTrader 5, so there are some better or newer feature updates in MT5 vs MT4, but there is no current plan to phase out MetaTrader 4 due to how popular the platform is amongst Forex traders.
- MetaTrader 4 does allow you to look at historical data, but a pitfall here is that you cannot execute any backtesting with the data. This feature is favored amongst some traders, so if you opt for MT4 be sure this is not something you will want to be able to do.
- Although it allows for instant execution of trades, there can be slight delays, so it may not be well suited for those that want to do high-volume trading as it can gum down overall speed of execution.
- You must also purchase additional softwares with algorithms to run automations, there is no way to do this in the web platform without adding it on.
A Quick Wrap-Up
There is plenty more to learn if you dive deep into research on Forex trading platforms, so hopefully this quick guide can help enlighten you on the benefits and drawbacks of opting to use MetaTrader 4 as a Forex trading platform.