MT4 vs MT5 — The Quick Answer
Use MT4 if: You trade forex only, run EAs built for MT4, or your broker doesn't offer MT5.
Use MT5 if: You want to trade stocks, futures, or options alongside forex, need more timeframes, or want the built-in economic calendar.
MetaTrader 4 — Why It Still Dominates
Released in 2005, MT4 is still offered by most retail forex brokers: 11 of the 15 on our own file support it, and several support nothing else alongside MT5. Published estimates of its market share vary far too widely to quote — from under a third to over nine-tenths, depending on whether the counter is measuring volume, users or broker offerings — so we are not putting a percentage on it. The durable point does not need one: this isn't nostalgia, it's network effects.
The MT4 ecosystem is enormous: thousands of free and paid EAs (robots), indicators, and scripts in the MetaTrader Market. The MQL4 programming language has 20 years of forum posts, tutorials, and libraries.
MT4 strengths:
- Largest EA/indicator ecosystem
- Stable, battle-tested since 2005
- Available at virtually every broker
- Lighter on system resources
MT4 weaknesses:
- Forex and CFDs only (no stocks, futures)
- 9 timeframes (M1 to MN)
- No built-in economic calendar
- MetaQuotes announced end of new MT4 licenses in 2022
MetaTrader 5 — The Future
MT5 was designed to trade everything — forex, stocks, futures, options. It's also technically superior.
MT5 advantages:
- 21 timeframes vs MT4's 9
- Built-in economic calendar
- More order types (including market depth)
- Stocks and futures (where broker supports them)
- Faster backtesting with multi-currency support
The catch: MT4 EAs do not work on MT5. MQL4 and MQL5 are different languages. You cannot simply migrate your existing robots.
Our Verdict
Stick with MT4 if your strategy is working and your EAs are profitable. Switch to MT5 if you want to add stocks/futures to your portfolio or are starting fresh without legacy EAs.
IC Markets and Admirals offer both — you can run separate accounts on each platform and test the difference yourself.
For informational purposes only. Not financial advice.
