Best MT4 Forex Brokers 2020
For online traders, one of the key tools of the trade is undoubtedly the trading platform. Among the most commonly used trading platforms is the MetaTrader 4 (MT4), developed by MetaQuotes Software and initially released in 2005. Today, the MT4 is the most widely adopted trading platform by brokers in the forex industry.
The popularity of the MT4 trading platform can be attributed to a few causes. First of all, it is the first mainstream trading platform to come with an in-built scripting language, called the MQL4. With this traders can create their own expert advisors (EAs), which are used for algorithmic trading or automated trading.
Secondly, the MT4 trading platform also comes with an advanced charting package. The charts can support multiple timeframes and there is a large library of technical indicators which traders can access to overlay over their trading charts, for a more accurate reading of the markets. Furthermore, the MT4 is well known for its iron-clad security. The platform uses 128 bit encryption to offer its users a safe and secure trading environment. It also highly customizable and allows users to change the language of the user interface and look of the trading screen.
If you are a trader that insists on using the MetaTrader4 to trade with, then you will need to choose a broker that offers this generic platform. To help you narrow down the choice of brokers that support this powerful trading platform, we have collated the best MT4 brokers below.
The brokers below represent the best MT4 platforms features
| Broker | Rating | Official Site | Regulations | Min Deposit | Max Leverage | Trading Platforms | Foundation Year | Publicly Traded | Trading Desk Type | Currencies | Commodities | Indices | Stocks | Crypto | Commission on trades | Fixed spreads | offers promotions | Official Site |
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Visit Broker> Your capital is at risk | ASIC, CySEC | $100 | 1:500 | IRESS, MT4, MT5 | 2005 | DMA, ECN | Visit Broker> Your capital is at risk | |||||||||||
Visit Broker> 75% of retail investor accounts lose money | BaFin, CNMV in Spain, CySEC, FCA, IFSC | $0 | 1:500 | MT4, xStation 5 | 2002 | STP | Visit Broker> 75% of retail investor accounts lose money | |||||||||||
Visit Broker> Your capital is at risk | CySEC | $5 | 1:500 | cTrader, MT4, MT5 | 2011 | ECN, STP | Visit Broker> Your capital is at risk | |||||||||||
Visit Broker> Your capital is at risk | DFSA, FINMA, SFC | $1000 | 1:100 | Advanced Trader, MT4, MT5 | 1996 | Bank, Dealing Desk, Market Maker, No dealing desk, STP | Visit Broker> Your capital is at risk | |||||||||||
Visit Broker> Your capital is at risk | ASIC, FCA | $1 | 1:500 | MT4, MT5, Zulutrade | 2005 | Market Maker, STP | Visit Broker> Your capital is at risk | |||||||||||
Visit Broker> Your Capital is at Risk | ASIC | $200 | 1:500 | MT4, MT5 | 2006 | ECN, Market Maker, No dealing desk, STP | Visit Broker> Your Capital is at Risk | |||||||||||
Visit Broker> Trading FX, precious metals and CFD on margin (i.e. using leverage) is not suitable for everyone. Investing in such instruments involves a high degree of risk of loss. Before trading on margin you should be aware of the risks involved due to the fluctuation in the value of such instruments' prices, which can cause fluctuations in the value of your investment. Any type of market or trade speculation that can yield an unusually high return on investment is subject to unusually high risks. Large losses may be suffered within a relatively short period of time due to adverse market movements or to position build-up. Before deciding to enter into FX, precious metals or CFD trading on margin, you should carefully consider your investment objectives, level of experience, and risk appetite. You should only trade the portion of your own assets you are disposed and cannot afford to lose entirely: only your surplus funds should be placed at risk and if you do not have such surplus funds you should imperatively avoid engaging in margin trading. In case of doubts on the risks related to FX, precious metals and CFD trading on margin you should consult any independent financial advisor and request any necessary information. | FCMC, FINMA, FSA(JP) | $100 | 1:200 | Jforex | 1998 | ECN | Visit Broker> Trading FX, precious metals and CFD on margin (i.e. using leverage) is not suitable for everyone. Investing in such instruments involves a high degree of risk of loss. Before trading on margin you should be aware of the risks involved due to the fluctuation in the value of such instruments' prices, which can cause fluctuations in the value of your investment. Any type of market or trade speculation that can yield an unusually high return on investment is subject to unusually high risks. Large losses may be suffered within a relatively short period of time due to adverse market movements or to position build-up. Before deciding to enter into FX, precious metals or CFD trading on margin, you should carefully consider your investment objectives, level of experience, and risk appetite. You should only trade the portion of your own assets you are disposed and cannot afford to lose entirely: only your surplus funds should be placed at risk and if you do not have such surplus funds you should imperatively avoid engaging in margin trading. In case of doubts on the risks related to FX, precious metals and CFD trading on margin you should consult any independent financial advisor and request any necessary information. | |||||||||||
Visit Broker> Your capital is at risk | FCA, SCB | $500 | 1:30 | ActivTrader, MT4, MT5 | 2001 | No dealing desk | Visit Broker> Your capital is at risk | |||||||||||
Visit Broker> 90% of retail CFD accounts lose money | CySEC, FCA, FSC | $10 | 1:30 | MT4, MT5 | 2011 | ECN, STP | Visit Broker> 90% of retail CFD accounts lose money | |||||||||||
Visit Broker> Your capital is at risk. | BaFin, CySEC, FCA, FSA | $100 | 1:500 | MT4 | 2014 | No dealing desk | Visit Broker> Your capital is at risk. |
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Pro Tip: Most of these brokers offer free demo accounts so you can test the brokers and their platforms with virtual money. Give it a try with some play money before using your own cash.
Here’s a summary of The Best MT4 brokers:
Note: Not all Forex brokers accept US clients. For your convenience we specified those that accept US Forex traders as clients.
FP Markets
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Regulated By:ASIC, CySEC
Foundation Year:2005
Headquarters:Level 5, Exchange House 10 Bridge St Sydney NSW 2000, Australia
Min Deposit:$100
Your capital is at risk
FP Markets is the brokerage arm of First Prudential Markets Pty Ltd, an Australian firm which was established in 2005. In over 14 years of brokerage operations, FP Markets has grown to become a foremost online forex and CFD broker.
The Head Office is located in Sydney, Australia. The brand has won multiple industry awards in areas like; customer service, trader education and trade execution. Here are some advantages of trading with FP Markets:
- Over 10,000 trading instruments to choose from.
- Modern trading platforms.
- Low spreads on forex currency pairs.
- Regulated brokerage conditions.
- Multilingual and efficient customer support
XTB
Regulated By:BaFin, CNMV in Spain, CySEC, FCA, IFSC
Foundation Year:2002
Headquarters:Level 34, One Canada Square, Canary Wharf, E14 5AA, London, United Kingdom
Min Deposit:$0
75% of retail investor accounts lose money
XTB is an online brokerage company dealing in FX and CFD, more specifically they offer Forex, Indices, Commodities, Stock CFD’s, ETF CFD’s and even crypto trading. The company was established in 2002, though initially it was referred to as X-Trade.
XTB has two trading platforms, the popular MetaTrader4 (MT4) and their own tailor-made trading platform dubbed xStation 5. MT4 has 80+ indicators, nine timeframes, 3 chart layouts, 37 language options and allows for expert advisors which is preset or programmable automated trading strategies.
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OctaFX
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Regulated By:CySEC
Foundation Year:2011
Headquarters:Suite 305, Griffith Corporate Centre, Beachmont, Kingstown, St. Vincent and the Grenadines
Min Deposit:$5
Your capital is at risk
OctaFX was founded in 2011 and offers Forex ECN trading, as well as CFD trading on Indices, Metals and Cryptocurrencies, across the MetaTrader and cTrader suite of trading platforms for Windows Desktop, Web (Windows and Mac) and Mobile (Android and iOS), as well as their own OctaFX Trading App.
The tradable products available from OctaFX vary depending on the type of account opened (MT4 Micro, MT4 Pro, cTrader ECN) but covers Forex, Indices, Metals and Cryptocurrencies.
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Swissquote
Regulated By:DFSA, FINMA, SFC
Foundation Year:1996
Headquarters:Chemin de la Créteaux 33, 1196 Gland, Switzerland
Min Deposit:$1000
Your capital is at risk
Swissquote Bank Ltd. is an online forex, CFD and derivatives trading broker that offers what may be called a total trading package that goes beyond forex or CFDs. Swissquote Bank is part of the Swissquote Group Holdings Ltd, and represents the Swiss-based trading division of the company. Swissquote Bank operates from Gland, Switzerland and commenced operations in 1996.
The Swissquote website is a multi-lingual portal which offers 10 languages, giving it a wide linguistic spread that can accommodate traders from various countries. Swissquote is a sponsoring partner of Manchester United Football Club, the most successful domestic club in the UK.
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USGFX
Regulated By:ASIC, FCA
Foundation Year:2005
Headquarters:G03 135 Macquarie Street Sydney NSW Australia 2000
Min Deposit:$1
Your capital is at risk
The broker offers to trade on 62 tradable assets across Forex, Metals, Energies and Indices. Clients can choose from four different account types called Mini Account, Standard Account, VIP Account and Pro-ECN Account. Clients can also trade on the globally recognised MetaTrader 4 and 5 trading platforms for Windows, Mac, Web, Android and iOS operating systems as well as through social trading platforms ZuluTrade and myFXbook.
Clients of USGFX can also benefit from free access to Trading Central’s technical analysis service and Featured Ideas, as well as access the USGFX TradersClub Program which offers education, market research and commentary, premium trading tools and personalised coaching from their Senior Analyst, Rob Clayton.
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GO Markets
Regulated By:ASIC
Foundation Year:2006
Headquarters:Level 22, 600 Bourke Street, Melbourne, VIC 3000, Australia
Min Deposit:$200
Your Capital is at Risk
GO Markets Pty Ltd an ASIC regulated broker has been in operation since 2006. The head office is located in Melbourne, Australia. With over a decade of experience, GO Markets has grown to become a leading broker with a huge client base from over 150 countries. GO Markets offers forex, share CFDs, indices, metals and commodities for trading on the MT4 and MT5 trading platforms.
It provides the MT4 as WebTrader, downloadable desktop applications for Windows and Mac operating systems. MT4 is excellent for all levels of trader. It contains a variety of indicators to overlay on the charts.
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Dukascopy
Regulated By:FCMC, FINMA, FSA(JP)
Foundation Year:1998
Headquarters:Dukascopy Bank SA Route de Pré-Bois 20 ICC, Entrance H 1215 Geneva 15, Switzerland
Min Deposit:$100
Trading FX, precious metals and CFD on margin (i.e. using leverage) is not suitable for everyone. Investing in such instruments involves a high degree of risk of loss. Before trading on margin you should be aware of the risks involved due to the fluctuation in the value of such instruments' prices, which can cause fluctuations in the value of your investment. Any type of market or trade speculation that can yield an unusually high return on investment is subject to unusually high risks. Large losses may be suffered within a relatively short period of time due to adverse market movements or to position build-up. Before deciding to enter into FX, precious metals or CFD trading on margin, you should carefully consider your investment objectives, level of experience, and risk appetite. You should only trade the portion of your own assets you are disposed and cannot afford to lose entirely: only your surplus funds should be placed at risk and if you do not have such surplus funds you should imperatively avoid engaging in margin trading. In case of doubts on the risks related to FX, precious metals and CFD trading on margin you should consult any independent financial advisor and request any necessary information.
The broker offers a wide variety of services and features that are designed for both beginner and professional traders. This includes access to Forex ECN trading through the Swiss FX Marketplace (SWFX), CFD trading on Stocks, Indices, Commodities and Cryptocurrencies, as well as access to Binaries trading.
Clients of Dukascopy have access to the broker’s advanced, proprietary trading platform JForex and MetaTrader on Web, iOS and Android operating systems. The broker also provides an impressive range research trading tools including their own Dukascopy TV, a wide variety of trading contests and bonuses and – by request – access to 1:200 leverage.
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*Dukascopy Japan K. K., Dukascopy Bank’s subsidiary.
ActivTrades
Regulated By:FCA, SCB
Foundation Year:2001
Headquarters:1 Thomas More Square London E1W 1YN United Kingdom
Min Deposit:$500
Your capital is at risk
ActivTrades was founded in 2001 and was recognised by the Sunday Times Fast Track 100 as the 90th fastest growing company in the UK for 2017. The company is regulated by the UK Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), as well as the Securities Commission of the Bahamas and offers CFD and Spread Betting trading accounts with direct execution (non-dealing desk).
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FXTM
Regulated By:CySEC, FCA, FSC
Foundation Year:2011
Headquarters:FXTM Tower, 35 Lamprou Konstantara, Kato Polemidia, 4156, Limassol, Cyprus
Min Deposit:$10
90% of retail CFD accounts lose money
FXTM is an ECN/STP broker that was established in 2011 to offer Forex and CFDs and is highly regulated in the UK by the FCA among other regions. They offer the trading of over 250 assets through the MT4 and MT5 platforms.
MT4 is available through WebTrader, download client or mobile. The ECN Zero and ECN accounts on FXTM are operated with MT4 bridge software. Therefore, the same MT4 features are available to traders with these accounts as well as the regular accounts. Fxtm standard accounts are all traded exclusively on the MT4
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Tickmill
Regulated By:BaFin, CySEC, FCA, FSA
Foundation Year:2014
Headquarters:1 Fore Street, EC2Y 9DT, London, United Kingdom
Min Deposit:$100
Your capital is at risk.
Tickmill offers various deposit options, all of which are based on fiat currency. Cryptocurrency-based deposits are not supported.
Tickmill’s business model is that of an NDD broker – that means a Non-Dealing Desk broker. Rather than taking on the other side of the trades themselves they pass them on to third party liquidity providers, who provide the liquidity and take the exposure. This means that Tickmill never has a conflict of interest with their clients.
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What is MetaTrader 4 (MT4)?
To trade forex online, you will need a trading platform. While there may be dozens of different types of trading platforms to choose from, the MetaTrader 4 or MT4 trading platform is the most well known platform in the industry. Developed by MetaQuotes Software in 2005, the MT4 trading platform is often regarded as the industry standard and is widely adopted by the majority of the brokers in the forex trading industry. The MT4 software comprises of two main components, a client and a server. What many traders download and install onto their desktop computer is the client component. The server component on the other hand is managed and operated by the broker.
MetaTrader 4, also known as MT4, is an electronic trading platform widely used by online retail foreign exchange traders. It was developed by MetaQuotes Software and released in 2005. The software is licensed to foreign exchange brokers who provide the software to their clients. The software consists of both a client and server component. The server component is run by the broker and the client software is provided to the broker’s customers, who use it to see live streaming prices and charts, to place orders, and to manage their accounts.
The MT4 trading platform is able to support both pending orders and market orders. When a trader sets a trade with a pending order, this means that the trade will only be executed when the price of the instrument reaches a specific level.
For market orders, they can be in the form of market execution, instant execution, exchange execution or request execution:
- With market execution, trades are executed based on the market price rather than what is displayed on the trading platform.
- This is in direct contrast to instant execution where trades are executed at the price which is displayed on the trading platform.
- For exchange execution, trading orders are processed by the exchange instead based on the current depth of the market.
- Finally with a request execution order, traders are able to carry out a market order with a 2 step process. First of all, a quote is requested by the trader, upon the system receiving the quote gives the trader a few seconds to decide if he wants to proceed to the second stage which is to execute the trade. Although decisively slower than other types of market orders, request order offers traders certainty in the price that they will get. However, the trade-off will be a slower execution pace.
Although most brokers will offer their traders at least one version of their MT4 platform, the MT4 actually comes in several versions which are:
- Client Terminal
- Mobile apps
- MetaTrader 4 Manager
Why is MT4 so popular?
For a beginner trader, the forex market can prove to be extremely intimidating especially with all the decisions that he has to make. Nevertheless, the task of choosing the trading platform is not something a beginner trader can do without receiving proper guidance and hence the purpose of this guide on what the MT4 trading platform is all about. Adopted by hundreds of brokers around the world, the MT4 platform is able to offer traders a safe and secure trading environment. However, its popularity can largely be attributed to the following reasons:
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User Friendly Interface
The interface of the trading platform is well designed and enables traders to trade the dynamic forex market with a minimum of fuss. Regardless of one’s trading experience, it is a platform that is able to satisfy both the needs of experienced traders as well as beginner traders.
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Support Multiple Languages
Because the MT4 trading platform is able to support dozens of languages, traders from all over the world will have no difficulties in operating the MT4 platform in their own native languages.
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Advanced Charting Package
For forex traders, one of the tools that they rely on extensively to help them analyze the forex market is the price chart. With the MT4 trading platform advanced charting package, traders are able to analyze and trade the market almost simultaneously. The charting package also comes with a wide array of technical indicators which traders can overlay onto their price chart.
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Expert Advisors (EAs)
The most defining feature of the MT4 trading platform is its ability to support automated trading through the use of expert advisors. EAs are basically software scripts which are written using the MQL 4 language that are integrated with the MT4 platform to execute trades automatically , based on the parameter established by the trader. It is mainly because of this feature that the MT4 became extremely popular among forex traders.
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Built in Communication Tool
The MT4 also comes integrated with an advanced communication tool that let forex brokers post messages to traders in real time hence eliminating long email threads.
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Low Resources platform
Unlike flash driven trading platforms, the MT4 trading platform is not heavy on computer resources hence causing minimum disruptions to one’s computer. Because the MT4 platform doesn’t hog all the computer resources, traders can respond better to changes in the market.
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Highly Secured
Due to the nature of forex trading, security is paramount to ensure the safety of traders’ personal information and data. With its 128 bit security key, the MT4 is able to offer traders a highly secured trading environment this is not susceptible to attacks from hackers.
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Highly Customizable
The MT4 is also highly customizable and traders may change the look of the trading screens to suit their individual preferences.
Why should I choose a MetaTrader forex broker?
With the MT4 trading platform being the industry standard, it is a strong reason for you to stick to a trading platform that is already proven and widely accepted. Although the trading platform can seem complicated, there are plenty of websites on the internet which can provide support and knowledge on tapping the full potential of the MT4 trading platform. In fact, the popularity of the MT4 trading platform is a real life testimony of the benefits that traders can derive from this platform.
How to choose a MetaTrader broker?
As mentioned earlier, most top forex brokers in the industry offer the MT4 trading platform to their traders. So the key to selecting the best MT4 broker to trade with then should be based on other factors such as customer support, the spreads that are available as well as other value added services which the broker is able to provide. For example if the internet services in your area is unstable or unreliable and you wish to run EAs, you might want to consider forex brokers that offer VPS services as part of the products and service offerings. This helps you to minimize the chance of downtime due to your unstable internet connection.
Pros and Cons of MetaTrader
No trading software in the world is perfect and each is bound to have its own strengths and weakness. The same goes for the MT4 trading platform. While MT4 have numerous advantages, it also comes with its own weakness.
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Conclusion
Surprisingly despite the fact that the MT4 trading platform has been around for more than a decade, it is still the most popular trading platform around in the online forex trading industry, even with all of the latest technological innovations. This trading platform has proven that it is unequalled in the entire industry. The various tools and features that can be found on the platform certainly go a long way towards enhancing the trader’s trading ability which in turn increases his chance of success in the forex market. Here we have pinpointed the ultimate brokers offering the MT4 platform.