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 not complicated: MT4 does one thing well. More than a decade's worth of custom indicators, Expert Advisors, and community scripts only work with MT4. Moving to MT5 means porting that entire library, and few people would rather keep trading than recoding.
I spent time testing MT4 and MT5 side by side, and the differences are smaller than you'd expect. MT5 adds a few extras like more timeframes and a built-in economic calendar, but the core charting is very similar. Unless you need MT5-specific features, MT4 is more than enough.
Getting MT4 configured properly the first time
The install process is quick. What actually causes problems is configuration. Out of the box, MT4 shows four charts squeezed onto a single workspace. Close all of them and start fresh with the pairs you care about.
Save yourself repeating the same setup by using templates. Configure your preferred indicators once, then save it as a template. After that you can load it onto other charts in two clicks. Minor detail, but over weeks it adds up.
A quick tweak that helps: go to Tools > Options > Charts and tick "Show ask line." The default view is the bid price on the chart, which makes buy entries seem misaligned by the spread amount.
MT4 strategy tester: honest expectations
The strategy tester in MT4 gives you the ability to run Expert Advisors against historical data. Worth noting though: the accuracy of those results comes down to your tick data. Standard history data from MetaQuotes is not real tick data, meaning gaps between real data points are estimated using algorithms. If you're testing something that needs accuracy, you read this need proper historical data.
The "modelling quality" percentage tells you more than the bottom-line PnL. If it's under 90% suggests the results shouldn't be taken seriously. People occasionally post backtest results with 25% modelling quality and ask why the EA fails in real conditions.
Backtesting is where MT4 earns its reputation, but it's only as good as the data you give it.
Custom indicators on MT4: worth the effort?
MT4 ships with 30 default technical indicators. Most traders never touch them all. That said, the platform's actual strength is in user-built indicators coded in MQL4. There are over 2,000 options, covering everything from simple moving average variations to elaborate signal panels.
Adding a custom indicator is simple: copy the .ex4 or .mq4 file into your MQL4/Indicators folder, reboot MT4, and it appears in the Navigator panel. The risk is quality control. Community indicators range from excellent to broken. A few are genuinely useful. Some are abandoned projects and may crash your terminal.
Before installing anything, check how recently it was maintained and whether people in the forums report issues. A poorly written indicator won't just give wrong signals — it can lag the whole terminal.
Risk management settings most MT4 traders ignore
There are some risk management tools that a lot of people never configure. First worth mentioning is the maximum deviation setting in the order window. This controls how much slippage you're willing to tolerate on market orders. If you don't set it and you'll get whatever price is available.
Stop losses are obvious, but the trailing stop function is underused. Click on an open trade, select Trailing Stop, and enter your preferred distance. The stop adjusts with price moves in your favour. Not perfect for every strategy, but for trend-following it reduces the urge to sit and watch.
None of this is complicated to set up and the difference in discipline is noticeable over time.
EAs on MT4: what to realistically expect
EAs sounds appealing: program your strategy and stop staring at charts. In reality, most EAs fail to deliver over any decent time period. EAs sold with perfect backtest curves tend to be over-optimised — they performed well on the specific data they were tested on and stop working the moment the market does something different.
This isn't to say all EAs are worthless. A few people develop personal EAs for one particular setup: time-based entries, automating position size calculations, or taking profit at predetermined levels. That kind of automation are more reliable because they execute defined operations that don't require discretion.
Before running any EA with real money, use a demo account for a minimum of several weeks in different conditions. Live demo testing is more informative than any backtest.
MT4 beyond the desktop
MT4 was built for Windows. Mac users deal with friction. Previously was Wine or PlayOnMac, which did the job but came with rendering issues and stability problems. Some brokers now offer native Mac apps using Crossover or similar wrappers, which are better but still aren't true native apps.
On mobile, available for both iOS and Android, work well for keeping an eye on open trades and tweaking stops. Serious charting work on a mobile device isn't realistic, but closing a trade on the go is worth having.
Look into whether your broker has a proper macOS version or just Wine under the hood — the difference in stability is noticeable.