Compare the best MT4 forex brokers in 2023.
MT4 is one of the most popular forex trading platforms around and many brokers operate on its underlying software. This page compares the best forex brokers offering the MT4 platform.
Prash is a financial writer for Invezz covering FX, the stock market and investing. For over a decade he… read more.
Updated: Jan 6, 2023.
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68% of retail CFD accounts lose money.
This guide helps you choose the best MT4 forex broker. We explain what the MT4 platform is, what to look out for when choosing what’s best for you, and how to compare the top forex brokers available.
What are the best MT4 forex brokers?
Below, we’ve ranked and rated some of the best MT4 trading platforms available. However, if you’re not ready to choose just yet, skip past this and keep reading to learn more before making your choice.
Min. Deposit.
User Score.
Take a position on major global indices, including US Wall St 30 and France 40.
Low spreads and accurate pricing reflecting the underlying market.
Comprehensive analysis and new for better decision making.
Payment Methods:
Bank Wire, Check, Credit Card.
Full Regulations:
CFTC, FCA, IIROC, MAS, NFA.
Leveraged trading in foreign currency contracts or other off-exchange products on margin carries a high level of risk and may not be suitable for everyone. We advise you to carefully consider whether trading is appropriate for you in light of your personal circumstances. You may lose more than you invest.
Min. Deposit.
User Score.
World-class customer support in 18 languages.
Account opening is fast and fully digital.
Ultimate transparency with a trusted brand.
Payment Methods:
Bank Wire, Mastercard, PayPal, Visa, neteller, skrill.
Full Regulations:
CySEC, FCA, FSC.
CFDs are complex instruments and come with a high risk of losing money rapidly due to leverage. 77% of retail investor accounts lose money when trading CFDs with this provider. You should consider whether you understand how CFDs work and whether you can afford to take the high risk of losing your money.
Min. Deposit.
User Score.
55+ currency pairs available.
Trade on a trusted platform.
24/7 support via live chats, email or phone call.
Payment Methods:
Bitcoin, Credit Card, Debit Card, Visa.
Full Regulations:
LonghornFX offers high-leverage trading on a wide variety of assets. Trading with leverage carries a degree of risk which may result in losing more than your investments. Clients should practise risk management to protect themselves from losing more than they can afford when trading with leverage.
Top 6 MetaTrader 4 forex brokers, reviewed.
1. eToro. Best for beginners, copy-trading & demo-account.
Popular ‘Copytrader’ function so users can follow top traders Mobile platform has great functionality Minimum first time deposit of $200 Expedient customer service, with live chat support provided Over 2,000 CFDs available to trade.
Does not provide the MetaTrader platform High spreads on some assets Comparatively high fees for withdrawals and account inactivity.
We love eToro because it’s an easy place to trade the currency markets. Forex can be intimidating, but eToro strips back the complexity to give you a platform where you can trade 50+ currencies at competitive prices and with up to 30x leverage.
As well as being a broker that offers lots of investor protection, eToro offers a very social trading experience. You can easily see how all the major and minor forex pairs are performing every day, track how investors feel about every one of those currencies, and copy other people’s trade suggestions from your desktop or the eToro app.
The fees: eToro charges a fee on currency CFD trades through the spread. Spreads are variable depending on the currency and start from 1 pip for EUR/USD trades, 1.5 pips for EUR/GBP, and 2 pips for GBP/USD. Overnight and weekend fees apply.
Disclaimer.
Leveraged trading in foreign currency contracts or other off-exchange products on margin carries a high level of risk and may not be suitable for everyone. We advise you to carefully consider whether trading is appropriate for you in light of your personal circumstances. You may lose more than you invest.
2. FXTM. Best for trading tutorials & webinars.
Low trading spreads on major pairs Low minimum deposit Free demo account.
No cryptocurrencies available to trade Relatively low leverage compared to other FX brokers.
We love FXTM because it’s a trusted platform with lots of educational tools and customer support. There are 200+ financial instruments available to trade, including 20 major and minor forex pairs.
When you sign up you get access to your own dedicated account manager and a free demo account where you can practice trading without risking money. There are hours of webinars and tutorials to teach you how to trade before you dive in for real.
The fees : Commissions depend on the account you sign up for. The basic micro account charges no commission and you pay through the spread, which is a minimum of 1.5 pips. Advantage account traders pay a commission of $0.4 to $2 on each trade, depending on the asset, and can access spreads as low as 0.0 pips.
Disclaimer.
CFDs are complex instruments and come with a high risk of losing money rapidly due to leverage. 77% of retail investor accounts lose money when trading CFDs with this provider. You should consider whether you understand how CFDs work and whether you can afford to take the high risk of losing your money.
3. Admirals. Best for real time news and price data.
Advanced trading and charting tools Commission-free accounts with no hidden fees Lots of educational resources, including webinars and seminars Access to various different tradable assets.
Not available to US traders No fixed spreads.
We love Admirals because you can invest in more than 8,000 assets with as little as €1. 50 currency pairs are available, including 20+ exotic pairs, enough to make Admirals a great investment platform where you can create a diversified portfolio.
There’s a demo account available so you can try out the Admirals platform and a vast amount of information can be accessed for free. That includes a host of real time news and research, as well as the latest price charts.
The fees : All currency trades are commission free but you pay through the spreads instead. Spreads start from 0 pips on the major pairs but may be significantly higher for some exotics.
Disclaimer.
CFDs are complex instruments and come with a high risk of losing money rapidly due to leverage. 75% of retail investor accounts lose money when trading CFDs with this provider. You should consider whether you understand how CFDs work and whether you can afford to take the high risk of losing your money.
4. FP Markets. Best for low spread & 0-pip trading.
Trade 10,000+ CFDs across multiple asset classes Highly regulated and reliable platform Copy and social trading features.
Not available in the US, Japan & New Zealand IRESS platform is expensive.
We love FP Markets because it uses cutting-edge technology to ensure all forex trades are executed at lightning fast speed. It’s an award-winning broker and offers over 60 currency markets with spreads starting from zero pips and leverage up to 500:1.
FP Markets has zero restrictions and allows all trading styles, including scalping and running expert advisors. It integrates with the popular MetaTrader 4 platform and has its own technology-driven charting package. For beginners, FP Markets offers a free copy trading service where you can mirror profitable users’ trades directly in your own account.
The fees: FP Markets has two account types with different fees for forex trades. Its standard account has zero commission but has spreads starting from 0.9 pips. Its Raw account gives access to its ECN trading platform and charges $3 per side (per lot) for every forex trade.
Disclaimer.
CFDs are derivatives and can be risky; losses can exceed your initial payment and you must be able to meet all margin calls as soon as they are made. When trading CFDs you do not own or have any rights to the CFDs underlying assets.
5. Capitality. Best for trading like a pro.
Trade 2000+ CFDs in six markets Access institutional quality web trading platform Comprehensive market knowledge and education section.
Unregulated offshore broker registered in St. Vincent and the Grenadines Relatively high initial deposit required.
We love Capitality because it gives regular investors the means to trade with pro data and tools. Capitality offers 2100+ financial instruments, including 80 currency pairs.
The Capitality web trading terminal gives you access to live market data, real time quotes, and super-fast trade execution, all without needing to download anything. There’s also a free economic calendar that lets you know when the big financial events happen so you can plan your trades accordingly.
The fees : Capitality charges its fees through the spread. Spreads start from 0.1 pips for major forex pairs but can be significantly higher for minor and exotic pairs.
What is an MT4 platform?
An MT4 platform is essentially a normal forex broker that operates on the popular MetaTrader 4 software system. MetaTrader has been around for decades and provide white-label solutions to brokers wishing to launch their brands on top of its framework.
Brokers using MT4 often have excellent extra features to help you trade successfully. These can include customised technical indicators, multiple currency pair options, expert advisory services, copy trading social options, and other tools commonly used.
What is MT4?
Also known as MetaTrader 4, it is the underlying technology that powers some of best forex brokers on the market. A predecessor to the newer MetaTrader 5 platform, it’s one of the most versatile and popular forex trading platforms available. In fact, most forex trading platforms that exist operate using the MT4 software.
MetaTrader 4 offers a broad range of options which has made it one of the most popular trading platforms among retail forex traders. It is highly customisable to individual traders requirements while also offering automated and algorithmic trading features.
How do MT4 FX brokers work?
Most brokers act as a ‘middleman’ between a trader and the exchange. Although, typically there are two ways in which they work; dealing desk trading and no dealing desk trading. Both types allow traders the ability to participate in the forex market, although differ slightly in their models. Below, we’ve briefly explained each.
Dealing desk trading . This is when a broker acts as a dealer and takes the opposing side of a trade. Brokers working in this way usually have bigger spreads and are able to control prices. No dealing-desk trading . Using this type of broker gives traders direct access to the interbank market (where banks trade currencies with each other). This is the preferred method for most brokers and traders. Forex brokers using this model act as a ‘middleman’ to facilitate trades.
What should I look for in a MetaTrader 4 forex broker.
Ultimately, choosing a broker is all about the amount of useful features you have at your disposal. If you’re a beginner, you probably don’t need all of these and should just look for basic trading tools like a demo account. Once an expert though, you’ll be trading forex using an array of features. The most important ones are listed below:
Intuitive analytics.
In-depth analytics allow you observe and assess in detail, which is vital to forex trading. Assess charts properly with 9 period (0.000000009) price quotes, allowing you to act quicker than those with less period points. Top MT4 brokers will offer 30 in-built technical indicators, as well as the ability to design and create you own; allowing for thousands of potential indicators, connected directly to the market.
Forex trading signals.
Forex signals are vital to beginner traders especially. Trading signals are ideas and suggestions that are provided by experts, usually based on their own technical analysis, which save you time and effort. You literally have the ability to set your risk profile, and then set up your account for automated trading based on those signals. Alternatively, you can be alerted to a trade which a pro-trader has signalled, allowing you to copy it immediately.
Copy trading.
An advanced version of forex signals, copy trading features have become hugely popular in the last few years. If your chosen forex trading platform allows the feature, you can assess pro-trading accounts performance, and hit a button which copies their trades. Depending on the broker, this will also be fully flexible allowing you, for example, to ‘allocate 10% of my portfolio to copy 100% of their trades’.
Access to markets.
An in-built market allows you to buy and trade all kinds of useful things with users. You can buy robot traders, custom technical indicators, alert systems, and much more from other pro traders. Many of these assets are also free to use become some traders give them out for free to gain exposure to their skillset.
Alerts & news.
Setting a custom alert is a welcome and necessary feature for MT4 forex traders. You may wish to get by the second news on a particular currency’s economy, or have an alert for when a president makes announcements. Events & news feature heavily because that’s what moves currencies in the forex market, so watch one for a good notification system that suits you, maybe that’s email or push-notifications.
Low fees.
Some brokers charge fees or commissions for every trade placed and for traders using MT4 frequently, these can soon add up to a substantial amount. That’s why it’s key to find a broker who not only charges low fees, but also has low commission rates. Different account types offer different rates and often you’ll find lower commissions the higher your trading volume.
However, for day traders and scalpers, a broker with low spreads will be a better option.
Choice of currencies.
The majority of forex brokers will offer major and minor currency pairs and if you want to trade the exotics, it’s a good idea to check before registering. Brokers who offer the MT4 platform, sometimes also offer other financial instruments to trade, such as bonds, indices, and cryptocurrencies.
Learning materials.
Not a deal breaker as educational materials can be found elsewhere. Regardless, its nice to have a choice of educational and instructional material can be helpful, especially for newer traders. Although MetaTrader4 is a straightforward platform to use, having instructional content to help you get started can make learning easier. Some brokers also offer free educational documents and videos including trading strategies and content.
Quick answers to key questions.
Do I have to download any software in order to trade?
Yes, if you want the full capabilities of MetaTrader 4, then you’ll have to download it from your broker’s website. Once downloaded, you’ll gain access to all of the platform’s functionality. If you decide you don’t want to download it, there is a web browser option available too, although it’s limited in what it offers.
Can I trade from my mobile device?
Yes, most brokers offer a MT4 app that you can download to your mobile phone or tablet. For day traders and scalpers, the MT4 app is especially helpful as you can keep track of your open trades conveniently. All the brokers we have listed on this page offer a MT4 mobile app. Although, you should be aware that apps often do not come with the full suite of options; desktop is best if you need access to it all.
Can I trade other markets with a MetaTrader 4 platform?
Usually you can. The top rated brokers often offer other markets like indices, commodities, and crypto making it easy to spread your money around different assets.
Is MT4 a free platform?
Yes, you do not need to pay to use a MetaTrader 4 trading platform. Most brokers usually offer the option to open a demo or simulation account for a short period of time so that you can get used to the MetaTrader 4 platform before committing funds. When you open a live account, MT4 will still be available for free.
Should I use an MT4 broker to trade forex?
Yes, but you don’t have to. Using a broker that offers MetaTrader 4 could be a good idea because it’s one of the most popular platforms around. Due to its popularity and easily customisable functions, there are a lot of indicators and other tools freely available making it a great choice to trade forex. It also means that other users are familiar with it and can help you out.
Still undecided?
If you’re still undecided on whether to use a MT4 platform, consider the pros and cons below.
Pros.
MT4 forex brokers offer simple to use technical tools making analysis easier. Brokers who offer MT4 for forex, usually provide a range of other financial instruments to trade. Most brokers offer leverage which means traders can profit from very small moves in the market. It is possible to trade forex from a mobile device so you can always keep an eye on your open positions. Using a MT4 broker also gives traders access to forex signals which they can copy while learning.
Cons.
MetaTrader 5 is newer and has a slightly updated interface. Forex trading is hard and there is no guarantee that you will make money. It can take a lot of time to learn how to trade successfully. Before trading you will require some technical knowledge and understanding of forex.
Should I trade forex now?
This is entirely up to you. If you feel that you are ready to trade, then yes, it could be a good idea to start now by signing up to one of our highly rated brokers. The first thing you’ll need to do is open an account, maybe starting with the demo version until you’re comfortable.
Where can I learn more about forex trading?
There are two key ways to learn more; the first being to follow forex news and be aware of the currencies you’re aiming to trade.
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FAQs.
Will I receive a bonus for joining a MT4 platform?
Its possible to receive a bonus when registering with a new broker but it’s important to check their terms and conditions. Most bonuses will have certain requirements, like rolling over your funds a certain number of times before you can withdraw. So make sure you check before depositing.
What is the best time to trade forex?
It depends on the type of trading strategy you use. For a day trader or scalper, its usually best to trade when the market is most liquid, that’s during the London and New York sessions. For longer term traders, time of day may not be so important.
Is it better to have low fees or low spread?
Either can work but it will depend on the type of trades you make. Intraday traders who open and close many positions throughout the day may prefer lower spreads, while longer term traders would be suited to lower fees.
Can I change my broker?
Yes, there is nothing to stop you changing to a new broker and you can have accounts at multiple brokers. Before you do change, you’ll need to withdraw any funds you have in the account first, and then register with your new broker, before depositing your funds.