Why traders still pick MT4 over newer platforms
MetaQuotes stopped issuing new MT4 licences a while back, steering brokers toward MT5. Still, most retail forex traders stayed put. The reason is simple: MT4 has twenty years of muscle memory behind it. Thousands of custom indicators, Expert Advisors, and community scripts were built for MT4. Migrating to MT5 means rebuilding that entire library, and most traders don't see the point.
I spent time testing MT4 and MT5 side by side, and the differences are smaller than you'd expect. MT5 has a few extras including more timeframes and a built-in economic calendar, but the core charting feels nearly identical. Unless you need MT5-specific features, there's no compelling reason to switch.
Setting up MT4 without the usual headaches
Installation takes a few minutes. What actually causes problems is the setup after install. Out of the box, MT4 shows four charts tiled across the screen. Clear the lot and start fresh with the instruments you follow.
Templates are worth setting up early. Configure your preferred indicators once, then right-click and save as template. Then you can load it onto other charts in two clicks. Minor detail, but over months it adds up.
Something most people miss: open Tools > Options > Charts and check "Show ask line." By default MT4 displays the bid price by default, which can make your entries look off until you realise the ask price is hidden.
Backtesting on MT4: what the results actually mean
MT4 comes with a backtester that lets you run Expert Advisors against see this historical data. But here's the thing: the quality of those results comes down to your tick data. The default history data is not real tick data, meaning it fills in missing ticks mathematically. If you're testing something that needs accuracy, you need real tick data from a provider like Dukascopy.
Modelling quality tells you more than the headline profit number. Below 90% means the results aren't trustworthy. People occasionally post backtest results with 25% modelling quality and can't figure out why their live results don't match.
Backtesting is where MT4 earns its reputation, but only if you feed it decent data.
MT4 indicators beyond the defaults
MT4 ships with 30 built-in technical indicators. Few people use more than five or six. However where MT4 gets interesting comes from user-built indicators built with MQL4. There are over 2,000 options, covering everything from tweaked versions of standard tools to complex multi-timeframe dashboards.
The install process is painless: copy the .ex4 or .mq4 file into your MQL4/Indicators folder, refresh MT4, and the indicator shows up in the Navigator panel. The catch is reliability. Community indicators are hit-and-miss. A few are well coded and maintained. Others are abandoned projects and will crash your terminal.
If you're downloading custom indicators, check how recently it was maintained and whether people in the forums report issues. Bad code doesn't only show wrong data — it can slow down your entire platform.
Managing risk properly inside MT4
MT4 has some risk management tools that most traders skip over. Probably the most practical one is maximum deviation in the trade execution window. This defines how much slippage you're willing to tolerate on market orders. Leave it at zero and you're accepting whatever price comes through.
Stop losses are obvious, but MT4's trailing stop feature is worth exploring. Click on an open trade, select Trailing Stop, and enter your preferred distance. It adjusts when the trade goes in your favour. Not perfect for every strategy, but for trend-following it reduces the temptation to stare at the screen.
These settings take a minute to configure and they remove a lot of the emotional decision-making.
Expert Advisors — before you trust a robot with your money
Automated trading through Expert Advisors have obvious appeal: set rules, let the code trade, walk away. In reality, most EAs lose money over any decent time period. Those advertised with perfect backtest curves tend to be curve-fitted — they performed well on past prices and break down once market conditions change.
That doesn't mean all EAs are useless. Certain traders code personal EAs for specific, narrow tasks: opening trades at session opens, managing position sizing, or exiting positions at set levels. That kind of automation are more reliable because they do repetitive actions that don't require judgment.
If you're evaluating EAs, use a demo account for no less than two to three months. Forward testing is more informative than any backtest.
MT4 on Mac and mobile: what actually works
MT4 is a Windows application at heart. If you're on macOS face a workaround. Previously was running it through Wine, which did the job but had rendering issues and occasional crashes. Some brokers now offer Mac-specific builds using Crossover or similar wrappers, which are better but remain wrappers at the end of the day.
MT4 mobile, available for both iPhone and Android, are genuinely useful for watching open trades and managing trades on the move. Full analysis on a phone screen isn't realistic, but managing exits on the go has saved plenty of traders.
It's worth confirming if your broker provides real Mac support or a compatibility layer — the experience varies a lot between the two.