To choose a broker offering MetaTrader 4 a trader should review the best MT4 broker spreads and commissions, execution speeds and range of markets offered by the forex broker.
View the top MT4 forex brokers by each category below.
The table below shows the average 2020 spreads, execution speeds and MT4 broker features.
The Pepperstone Razor Account offers the lowest fees based on:
Below compares the reported average spreads of Pepperstone to the other brokers with no dealing desk execution and no markup on spreads. Pepperstone has the lowest spreads for four out of the five major currency pairs.
| Spreads | AUD/USD | EUR/USD | EUR/JPY | AUD/JPY | USD/CAD |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pepperstone | 0.14 | 0.13 | 0.22 | 0.33 | 0.26 |
| IC Markets | 0.2 | 0.1 | 0.3 | 0.4 | 0.5 |
| Global Prime | 0.2 | 0.1 | 0.7 | 0.5 | 0.8 |
| GO Markets | 0.2 | 0.2 | 0.5 | 0.5 | 0.3 |
| FP Markets | 0.3 | 0.1 | 0.44 | 0.78 | 0.58 |
| AxiTrader | 0.42 | 0.44 | 0.3 | 0.5 | 0.83 |
| FXTM | 0.7 | 0.4 | 0.8 | 1.1 | 0.8 |
Pepperstone achieves the low spreads by partnering with Equinix which has the leading worldwide servers located next to Wall Street and major liquidity providers. The MT4 broker ensures traders can view and trade with more liquidity partners than other forex and CFD providers, from banks to dark pools. This allows the resulting low spread to be as tight as possible, with ECN-like pricing.
Pepperstone has the lowest average spreads across five major forex pairs.
The Raw account type offered by Pepperstone charges a flat rate commission fee. Rather than including brokerage fees in the spread, the online broker charges a round-turn commission charge per 100k traded. The commission is set to the base currencies a trader selects which include HKD, SGD, JPY, CHF, GBP, EUR, CAD, USD, NZD and AUD. The commission charged is based per lot traded (100,000 units) as shown below:
| Commissions Per Lot | British Pound | US Dollar | Australian Dollar | Euro | Swiss Franc | Canadian Dollar | Singapore Dollar | New Zealand Dollar | Hong Kong Dollar | Japanese Yen |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| MetaTrader 4 | GBP 2.29 | USD 3.76 | AUD 3.50 | EUR 2.61 | CHF 3.30 | CAD 3.50 | SGD 4.55 | NZD 4.75 | HKD 28.17 | 303 |
| MetaTrader 5 | GBP 2.29 | USD 3.50 | AUD 3.50 | EUR 2.61 | CHF 3.30 | CAD 3.50 | SGD 4.55 | NZD 4.75 | HKD 28.17 | 303 |
These commissions are similar to the other brokers analysed in our low spread table. For example, a trader who opens an account with an AUD base currency will page $3.50 AUD with Pepperstone, Global Prime, FP Markets and AxiTrader. What makes Pepperstone unique is their active trader’s program allowing regular higher volume traders to receive a discount on commissions. This active trader discount starts at 10% as shown below.
There are no withdrawal or deposit fees charged by Pepperstone with a minimum deposit requirement $200. Positions held overnight are charged a ‘rollover rate’ also known as a swap rate, determined by the financial institutions Pepperstone works with. These Swaps are dynamic and show within the MetaTrader 4 platform based on 100,000 base units. Like commissions, swap rates are generally similar across the MT4 forex broker analysed. An Islamic Account type without swap fees is available via Pepperstone. Swap-free accounts are charged a flat rate for positions held for extended periods, rather than a percentage-based swap fee.
Spreads are the biggest fee incurred when forex trading so to keep brokerage down it’s important to know a brokers ‘average spread’ rather than their ‘minimum spread’. The calculator below combines commissions and spreads to illustrate just why Pepperstone is considered so competitive when it comes to forex brokerage.
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With Pepperstone charging no deposit or withdrawal fees and low trading commission trades, the MT4 broker is recommended for any trader looking to minimise their forex trading brokerage costs. The broker is regulated in Australia (ASIC), the United Kingdom (FCA) and in Dubai (DFCA).
Open a demo account >>Visit Pepperstone >>
MetaTrader 4 Execution Speed can be measured across two classes of orders:
Offbeatforex published test results comparing execution speeds between top online brokers.
When testing order processing efficiency, Pepperstone had the fastest execution speeds when a position was instantly opened or a set market price was made. The result of 85ms average execution speeds across 25 tests was the lowest of any broker.
Pepperstone state that once they receive orders in their bridge they are executed in:
Pepperstone’s Raw spreads and ultra-fast execution provide excellent trading conditions for scalpers and Expert Advisors. The ECN broker style features allow those trading under a retail investor account to trade in a professional, No Dealing Desk (NDD) environment, minimising slippage and maximising possible capital gains. The Equinix servers are a key factor in the fast execution speeds suitable for scalping.
FP Markets had fast execution speeds when positions were opened using a buy stop, buy limit, sell stop and sell limit. The results of 80ms average across 25 trades was the fastest of any broker tested by offbeatforex.
FP Markets fast execution minimises slippage on forex trading as well as FP Markets other instruments, allowing MT4 users’ to trade in an ECN-type environment. This is ideal for scalping. The high-quality execution is supplemented with competitive institutional-grade pricing facilitated by FP Markets’ top tier liquidity providers that include financial and private corporations.
Most traders, including those using Expert Advisor (EA) automation, are likely to use both market order and limit order trades on a daily basis. When both scores were aggregated both brokers were tied.
Both Pepperstone and FP Markets superior technology and no dealing desk is why they achieved the fastest execution speeds.
We are waiting for FP Markets to post their average execution speeds to help determine which CFD broker is superior in this field.
AxiTrader has the most instruments tradable with:
When trading forex with AxiTrader, customers’ can place orders on over 80 currency pairs. As well as major fx pairs, minor and exotic currencies are available such as the Russian Ruble and Israeli New Shekel. Spreads are variable and with a Pro MT4 Account clients’ can trade EUR/USD with 0.0 pip spreads, while a Standard MT4 Account is 1.1 pips on average.
Standard Margin Rates vary between 1-10% depending on the currency pair being traded. MetaTrader 4 users’ can utilise risk management tools to ensure margin requirements are fulfilled. The trading platform measures investors’ current exposure and calculates margin requirements when opening new leveraged positions.
Swap rates for fx trading with AxiTrader vary depending on the currency pair, the spread, the size of the position open and current interbank swap rates. The interbank swap rate is determined by the difference in interest rates between the two currencies being traded, as well as economic factors that affect financial markets.
AxiTader offer trading across 31 Indices, 11 Commodities, 17 Metals.
Major global Indices are available to trade as Cash or Future CFDs. Index Cash CFDs include the Singapore Free, China 50, Japan 225, Swiss 20, US 500 among others. While Futures CFDs range from the Nikkei 225 to S&P 500 E-mini, Nasdaq 100 E-mini, US Dollar Index, and Volatility. In terms of margin requirements, Index Cash CFDs are 4% except for China 50 which is 12%, while Index Future CFDs range from 0.5% to 5%.
Commodity CFDs that AxiTrader clients’ gain access to can be traded as Cash or Future CFDs. Commodity cash products consist of US Crude Oil and UK Crude Oil contracts. In regards to Future CFDs, market access is wider than Cash CFDs with 9 different Commodity Future CFDs.
Precious Metal CFDs offered by AxiTrader are derived from either Gold, Silver or Platinum against the world’s major currencies. Silver (XAG) vs AUD, CHF, EUR, GBP, JPY, NZD, SGD and USD all have Standard Margin Rates of 3% and contract sizes of 500 ounces per lot. While Gold (XAU) products against the same currencies, have Standard Margin Rates of 1% and are 100 oz lot sizes, excluding Singapore which is 2%. AxiTrader offers only one platinum CFD, being XPTUSD, that also has a Standard Margin Rates of 1% and a lot size of 100 oz per lot.
MetaTrader 4 allows trading of forex pairs, CFDs and cryptocurrency with the exception of crypto AxiTrader offer the most instruments.
With 80 forex pairs, 59 CFDs and 6 tradable cryptocurrencies, AxiTrader offers the best range of markets.
Traders looking to diversify their trading across a range of markets should consider AxiTrader.
IC Markets was found to be the best cryptocurrency CFD broker based on:
IC Markets provides traders’ access to an extensive range of Cryptocurrency CFDs, making the broker the best option for those wanting to explore multiple Crypto markets. While most top brokers like Pepperstone and FXPro provide access to 5 crypto products, IC Markets clients’ can trade 10 popular and emerging crypto CFDs.
As well as popular Cryptos such as Bitcoin, Bitcoin Cash, Litecoin, Dash, and Ethereum, IC Markets clients’ trade less commonly offered crypto CFDs such as Emercoin, NameCoin, PeerCoin and EOS.
The table below shows IC Markets Cryptocurrency CFD spreads compared to other top brokers. Most notably, spreads on Bitcoin are significantly tighter when trading with IC Markets. Online brokers such as IG Markets and AxiTrader offer spreads from 50 points, while IC Markets spreads are as low as 5 points. Although spreads are lower with other brokers for certain crypto CFDs such as Ethereum and Litecoin, high overnight financing fees charged by other brokers may result in IC Markets offering more competitive spreads.
| Minimum Spreads | IC Markets | Pepperstone | AxiTrader | CMC Markets | IG Markets | City Index |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bitcoin | 5 | 10 | 50 | 37 | 50 | 35 |
| Bitcoin Cash | 5 | 4 | 12 | 1.8 | 2.4 | 2 |
| Ethereum | 4 | 4 | 5 | 1.4 | 2 | 1.2 |
| LiteCoin | 3 | 3 | 1.5 | 45 | 0.6 | 0.5 |
| Dash | 4 | 3 | 6 | 5 | NA | NA |
When it comes to cryptocurrency trading the spreads (trading costs) and the range of markets is critical.
IC Markets offer the most crypto (10 coins) and the lowest spreads.
IC Markets is an ecn account (RAW account) has low spreads and commissions. They offer Zulutrade in conjunction with MetaTrader 4. With easy funding methods and advanced charting tools within the MetaTrader platform, IC Markets is the best broker in this crypto category.
The two lowest deposit requires are:
Both AxiTrader and OANDA require no initial minimum deposit to start trading on MetaTrader 4. While some top CFD and forex brokers’ require up to $3000 to open a standard account, both AxiTrader and OANDA let traders decide how much they wish to initially deposit. Generally, the industry average for an initial minimum deposit is between $200 and $500, making AxiTrader and OANDA very competitive in regards to minimum deposit requirements.
| AxiTrader | OANDA | Plus500 | FP Markets | Pepperstone | IC Markets | eToro | FXTM | FxPro | Saxo Markets | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Minimum Deposit | $0 | $0 | $100 | $100 | $200 | $200 | $200 | $500 | $500 | $3,000 |
In addition to no initial minimum deposit requirements, OANDA charges no deposit fees. Yet, withdrawal fees vary depending on where the OANDA client is based. In Australia, traders can make one withdrawal per calendar month for free, with any additional withdrawals carrying an AUD $20 fee. While Canadian OANDA customers’ are charged higher fees of CAD $20 for the first withdrawal of the month, doubling to CAD $40 for any additional withdrawals during the same month.
AxiTrader, on the other hand, charges no deposit or withdrawal fees, regardless of the traders’ country of residence. With no deposit and withdrawal fees, AxiTrader has some of the lowest non-trading fees amongst all top online brokers.
OANDA allows clients to establish an account with one of nine base currencies. Although traders’ are initially required to set up an account with one base currency, subaccounts can be opened in different currencies to avoid currency conversion fees. AxiTrader on the other hand offer 11 base currencies, with customers able to deposit and withdraw funds in EUR, JPY, USD, PLN, GBP, AUD, CAD, HKD, SGD, NZD or CHF.
Clients’ who want to start trading with OANDA can deposit funds through various payment methods. Although OANDA offers limited funding methods, both credit card and e-wallets carry no fees (PayPal, MasterCard and Visa).
AxiTrader offers a far greater selection of funding methods for traders’ to choose from. In addition to Visa and Mastercard, options include Maestro, JCB, Bank Transfer, POLi and Broker to Broker Transfer, while E-wallet methods consist of Neteller and Moneybookers/Skrill. Australian clients’ also have the option to deposit funds via Global Collect and BPAY, while Chinese clients’ can fund their accounts through China Union Pay.
OANDA and AxiTrader both offer $0 minimum deposits for traders looking to low volume trading. What sets the two apart in this category is that OANDA charges withdrawal fees.
Unlike OANDA, AxiTrader charges no deposit/withdrawal fees.
With 11 base currencies and easy payment methods, AxiTrader is the best low minimum deposit MT4 broker.
Pepperstone overall is the best MetaTrader 4 forex broker with their razor account offering:
When choosing the Razor trading account, Pepperstone clients’ gain access to ECN-like spreads, ultra-fast execution and access to various foreign exchange markets. Additionally, Pepperstone offers excellent customer support and is regulated by ASIC (Australian Securities and Investments Commission), as well as the FCA (Financial Conduct Authority, UK, formally the FSA).
Pepperstone is ideal for beginner to expert MT4 traders looking for low fees and fast execution speeds.
Traders looking for a low brokerage, fast execution broker with a range of CFD, crypto and currency markets should choose Pepperstone.
Open a demo account >>Visit Pepperstone >>
MetaTrader 4 is the original and most popular forex platform worldwide for trading forex and CFDs. The company is one of the suited of the MetaQuotes software. Although MT4 is the gold standard of trading platforms and trade execution speeds, a restriction is the inability to trade Share CFDs, hence why MetaQuotes developed MetaTrader 5. With our MT4 review finding five key forex platform strengths:
The MetaTrader 4 (MT4) trading software focuses on providing sophisticated currency management tools combined with enhanced charting functionality and trading signals. Combined, these allow for forex trading that is quick and efficient helping to control an individual’s positions and develop trading strategies.
The user interface of MetaTrader 4 software is all about maximising ease of use and efficiency for a user-friendly trading experience. This starts with the interface, then through to the charting and indicator options, as well as the MQL language. This final area allows automated trading system – Expert Advisors (EAs).
MetaTrader 4 is available on a PC through their Web Trader and by downloading the software. There is also an MT4 for software available for individuals using Mac devices.
1)
The iOS MT4 online platform allows trading across screens within the phone, with real-time custom views of real-time data. The trading app is user-friendly with an intuitive layout.
Forex brokers like Pepperstone offer one-tap mobile trading where users’ can execute forex orders without multiple buttons needing to be pressed to maximise execution speeds.
Through swiping the screen, the mobile apps historical data can be accessed. This is great for those on the move who need to be informed prior to making a trade.
2)
The Android MT4 forex platform provides full trading capabilities regardless of account type. This includes executing trades as well as attaining currency-related news and events through sources such as Dow Jones.
Like the iPhone app, it allows one-tap order execution so there isn’t the need for multiple pressing of elements to process a trade.
There is an offline mode including charts and symbol prices which is handy when travelling and wanting to view market movements 24 hours a day.
3)
The iPad MT4 Forex Trading Platform app is very similar to the full web-based version of MT4 except all the dimensions are suited for the device.
There is support for all trade execution modes, trading history, interactive charts and thirty technical indicators.
MT4 forex trading has a built-in compiler & editor with access to articles, customer service, and a free software library. This software uses MQL4 & MQL5 which is MetaTrader’s propriety language designed for automated trading that enables Expert Advisors, which explained further below.
MetaTrader offers two order types with pending orders which similar to what share traders will be used to with the order executed when a predefined price level is reached. The other option is markets orders which include
i) Instant Execution: where the price displayed leads to the execution of the order.
+ The order is executed at the known price.
– Trading opportunities in high volatility periods can be missed when the requested price of the financial instrument can’t be filled.
ii) Request execution: allows experienced traders to execute an order after a price quote request is made and then the trader makes the decision to buy/sell based on that bid/ask quote.
+ Several seconds to decide based on the quote received and price certainty
– Reduced execution speed
iii) Market execution is when a trade is based on the price offered by a forex broker which may differ from the platform.
+ No risk of requotes when trading
– During volatile trading periods, deviations and therefore risk can be high.
iv) Exchange execution sees an order executed based on market depth through the exchange.
MetaTrader 4 design is focused on a stand-alone configuration. A forex broker can manually manage their positions as a market-maker or integrate the forex trading platform to other liquidity pools for automated trading (ECN forex broker trading) with STP.
The MetaTrader 4 forex trading platform has soared in popularity over the past decade, in part is due to the ability for experienced traders to easily write scripts and create robots with MT4’s automated trading system. These trading tools allow algorithmic trading meaning a forex trader doesn’t need to be online to execute trades. A forex broker may offer backdated market information through the software to allow for backtesting different scripts and bots to test trading strategies.
Over 12,000 members on Yahoo! focus on the development of MetaTrader as open-source software. Expert Advisor (EA) programmers offer a range of trading strategies that can be downloaded and backtested.
Expert Advisors (EAs) are all coded using the MQL4 language. Files are attached to the ‘experts’ folder, unlike indicators.
1. Create The EA Or Download It
2. Install The EA On MT4
3. Adjust the MT4 setting
The MetaTrader 4 Forex Trading Platform is a margin trading product. With the rise of financial products outside of currency such as CFDs, some forex brokers use MT4 for more than forex trading. While MT4 forex trading was not created to make exchange-traded futures and stock market trading (accessible via MetaTrader 5 instead), this functionality does exist and is offered by forex brokers like Pepperstone. Additionally, many social trading features are available with different brokers on MT4, allowing users’ to copy strategies to save time and build confidence.
You can view the best forex trading platform brokers on our comparison table.
There is a plethora of MetaTrader 4 charting software available. Many come pre-installed with MetaTrader 4 while others can be downloaded as add-ons, with some forex brokers offer their own premium charting additions. Charting tools can help minimise high-risk trading by demonstrating patterns in forex pairing behaviour across time frames. This can be in real-time or historical financial instrument data. The three main charting categories are tick-based charts (the number of trades), price range based charts, as well as volume-based charts (the number of contracts). There are explained in more depth below:
Tick charts show the number of trades that are impacting the market. Trades (know as ticks for this chart) can change dramatically within forex markets, with Expert Advisor (EA) trades using this data to make develop trading strategies and make decisions. Charts can range from 33 to 233 tick options and will remain flat unless a high under of trades are made over a minute.
To activate a tick chart in MT4 you need to:
The Candle Clock indicator helps identify the time before the last candle is closed. As the timeframe gets closer to closing the indicator acts like a countdown clock. As an example, when trading from a one minute chart, the indicator shows the seconds and minutes left.
This indicator is useful for traders who need to open a position when new candle scalpers review individual bar ticks.
The divergence indicator is a great technical analysis tool to measure price action with an oscillator indication. This can help traders buy near the bottom and sell close to the ceiling of the market. This can improve profits and manage risks. The two types of divergence are:
Regulator divergence indicators can help trigger trend reversals. Price actions that make lows lower but the oscillator produces higher lowers leads to regular divergence. Higher highs and an oscillator of lower highs is also regular divergence. The signal for both of these is a trend reversal.
This can help trigger trend continuation. Higher lows but the oscillation of lower lows produces hidden divergence. This signals a bullish trend continuation. A bearish trend continuation is when the price action makes lower highs but the oscillation is higher highs leading to a hidden divergence. In such conditions, the indicator may signal the trader not to enter a trade.
MetaTrader 4 is an online trading platform praised as the gold standard of trading platforms for investors using a retail investor account. Developed by MetaQuotes, MT4 software is the original release occurring over a decade ago in 2005. While competing for trading platforms such as cTrader and MetaTrader 5 are popular, MT4 is still to date the most popular. MetaTrader 4 licences are primarily provided to foreign exchange brokers, who in most cases then provide market access to retail investors’ who sign up with good forex brokers.
MetaTrader 4 has a client and server component, with the latter run by the forex broker. The client software is then provided to the forex broker’s customers to observe financial instruments in various currency markets and execute orders as needed. MT4 software is Windows-based (Microsoft) and allows robots and trading scripts to be created at ease. A newer MT5 version was released in 2013 but most forex brokers still only offer the MT4 based on the original platform’s ease of use. Benefits of MT5 though is the programming language offered which is MQL5, while MQL4 which can be combined using Meta Editor.
Before viewing the best forex brokers above you need to check the regulator for your local region. This can include the Commodity Futures Trading Commission CFTC, Australian Securities And Investment Commission (ASIC), Cyprus Securities and Exchange Commission (CYSEC) and Financial Conduct Authority (FCA). In addition to the regulated brokers listed above, foreign exchange markets can be accessed through other platforms from traders such as Plus500, HYCM, FXTM, City Index, XTB, Forex.com and AvaTrade. It’s advised to look at broker reviews prior to finalising your decision of the right foreign exchange broker.
| MT4 | MOE Speed | LOE Speeds | Account Type | AUD/USD Spread | EUR/USD Spread | EUR/GBP Spread | Auto Chartist | Forex Pairs | Tradable CFDs | Crypto | Social Trading | Minimum Deposit |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pepperstone | 85 | 100 | ECN Account | 0.14 | 0.13 | 0.41 | Yes | 61 | 29 | 5 | Zulu Trade | $200 |
| FP Markets | 95 | 80 | ECN Account | 0.3 | 0.1 | 0.61 | Yes | 45 | 17 | 5 | MyFxBook | $100 |
| FXPro | 110 | 110 | Spread Only | 1.5* | 1.4* | 1.3* | Yes | 70 | 52 | 5 | Zulu Trade | $100 |
| OANDA | 120 | 120 | Spread Only | 1.2* | 1.1* | 1.4* | Yes | 70 | 53 | 2 | - | $0 |
| AxiTrader | 130 | 100 | ECN Account | 0.42 | 0.44 | 0.4 | Yes | 80 | 59 | 6 | DupliTrade | $0 |
| IC Markets | 130 | 130 | ECN Account | 0.2 | 0.1 | 0.4 | Yes | 60 | 46 | 10 | Zulu Trade | $200 |
| Global Prime | 140 | 115 | ECN Account | 0.2 | 0.1 | 0.9 | No | 44 | 12 | 5 | MyFxBook | $200 |
| GO Markets | 140 | 130 | ECN Account | 0.2 | 0.2 | 0.4 | Yes | 50 | 20 | 5 | MyFxBook | $200 |
| Hot Forex | 145 | 150 | Spread Only | 2.3* | 1.2* | 1.5* | Yes | 50 | 39 | 7 | HFCopy | $200 |
| FXCM | 150 | 125 | Spread Only | 1.2* | 0.9* | 1.5* | Yes | 39 | 22 | 6 | Zulu Trade | $50 |
| FXTM | 170 | 140 | ECN Account | 0.7 | 0.4 | 0.6 | No | 59 | 4 | 4 | FXTM Invest | $500 |
Note, MOE = Market Order Execution Speed. LOE = Limit Order Execution Speed.
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Regular Divergence: