Many forex brokers offer the MetaTrader 4 (MT4) forex trading platform in the UK. When choosing an MT4 broker, look for an FX broker that offers fast execution, a range of CFDs and currency pairs and low spreads.
Our forex comparisons and broker reviews are reader supported and we may receive payment when you click on a link to a partner site.
The UK best brokers for MetaTrader 4 list is,
| Broker | Our Rating | Regulation | Standard EUR/USD Spread |
Standard GBP/USD Spread |
Standard AUD/USD Spread |
Raw EUR/USD Spread |
Raw GBP/USD Spread |
Raw AUD/USD Spread |
Commissions (USD Base) |
MetaTrader 4 | MetaTrader 5 | cTrader | Execution Speed | Minimum Deposit | Currency Pairs | Crypto CFDs | Retail Leverage | Prof. Leverage | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
9.33 |
FCA, ASIC CySEC, DFSA |
1.12 | 1.69 | 1.22 | 0.1 | 0.6 | 0.3 | $3.50 |
|
|
|
77ms | $0 | 62+ | 12+ | 30:1 | 500:1 |
|
|
5.42 |
FCA, DFSA, CySEC BaFin, CMNV, KNF |
0.9 | 1.4 | 1.3 | 0.9 | 0.14 | 0.13 | - |
|
|
|
160ms | $250 | 49+ | 16+ | 30:1 | 500:1 |
|
|
7.67 |
FCA, FSCA ASIC, FSA-S, CySEC |
1.1 | 1.3 | 1.1 | 0.1 | 0.3 | 0.2 | $3.50 |
|
|
|
161ms | $0 | 46+ | 21+ | 30:1 | 500:1 |
|
|
7.93 |
ASIC, FSCA FCA, CIRO AMF, ISA, CySEC |
1.3 | 1.4 | 1.7 | 0.30 | 0.90 | 0.40 | $3.00 |
|
|
|
150ms | $300 | 42+ | 7+ | 30:1 | 500:1 |
|
|
7.46 |
FCA, FSCA CySEC, SCB, FSCM |
1.32 | 1.7 | 1.95 | 0.32 | 0.37 | 0.51 | $3.50 |
|
|
|
151ms | $0 | 69+ | 30+ | 30:1 | 200:1 |
|
|
6.83 | ASIC, MAS, FCA | 0.70 | 1.1 | 2.2 | 0.07 | 0.011 | 0.8 | $2.50 |
|
|
|
95ms | $150 | 84+ | 25+ | 30:1 | 500:1 |
|
|
7.28 |
FCA, CySEC, CIMA NFA/CFTC, CIRO, JFSA |
1.2 | 1.6 | 1.4 | - | - | - | $6.00 |
|
|
|
30 ms (May 2023) | $100 | 80+ | 8+ | 30:1 | 400:1 |
|
|
8.33 |
ASIC, FSCA CBI, KNF, CIRO ADGM, FSC-BVI |
- | - | - | - | - | - | - |
|
|
|
160ms | $100 | 55+ | 15+ | 30:1 | 400:1 |
|
When the team made the UK brokers forex list, we factored in all trading platforms, but most traders just wanted MT4 based on its interface, functionality, and popularity. Based on this, we focused on each broker’s MetaTrader 4 offering, from spreads and execution speeds to advanced trading tools.
Pepperstone Uses MT4’s Trading Tools And Features To Avail Of Low Spreads On The Wide Array Of Financial Products
Pepperstone is a MetaTrader 4 (MT4) broker that is regulated by top-tier financial authorities including the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) in the United Kingdom, the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC), the Dubai Financial Services Authority (DFSA), the Cyprus Securities and Exchange Commission (CySEC) as well as in Kenya (CMA), Germany (BaFin), and the Bahamas (SCB).
The broker also offers MetaTrader 5 (MT5) as a trading platform option along with cTrader – you can learn more about the difference between MT4 vs MT5 and MT4 vs cTrader, but MetaTrader 4 (MT4) is generally the most popular choice due to its large forex community, professional-grade trading environment and sophisticated range of tools and features. Overall, Pepperstone is the best MT4 broker due to three key strengths:
1. Tight ECN-Like Spreads
When trading with Pepperstone, customers can choose from two main trading accounts. The Standard Account is commission-free and has spreads from 1.0 pips, and the Razor Account, with tighter spreads starting from 0.0 pips, requires you to pay a flat rate commission fee of £4.59 round turn for each standard lot. Pepperstone recommends an initial minimum deposit of $200 for both account types.
Additional features available to both Standard and Razor trading accounts using MetaTrader 4 include:
Pepperstone’s Razor Account
The broker’s ECN-style account is suited to those executing scalping, day trading and Expert Advisor trading strategies or those wanting Pepperstone’s lowest trading costs. As spreads are ultra-tight, Razor account holders pay commission fees on top of the spread as compensation to Pepperstone for facilitating trading. Commission costs are £4.59 round turn per 100,000 traded.
Pepperstone offers the lowest spreads across all five major currency pairs compared to the best forex brokers. For instance, Pepperstone customers can trade average spreads of 0.13 pips for the USD/JPY FX pair, while those trading with the London Capital Group is offered at 0.40 pips.
With tight spreads and competitive commission fees, Razor account holders pay low trading costs. Overall, Pepperstone’s Razor Account is great for UK traders wanting access to an institutional-grade trading environment with ECN pricing.
|
Pepperstone Razor: Average Spreads
|
|||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
0.22 | 0.43 | 0.47 | 0.50 | 0.55 |
|
0.17 | 0.30 | 0.14 | 0.25 | 0.50 |
|
0.20 | 0.50 | 0.20 | 0.30 | 0.50 |
|
0.20 | N/A | 0.20 | 0.30 | 0.50 |
|
0.42 | 0.30 | 0.20 | 0.83 | 0.50 |
|
0.30 | 0.68 | 0.24 | N/A | N/A |
|
0.40 | 0.70 | 0.30 | 0.70 | 0.60 |
|
0.50 | 0.80 | 0.30 | 1.10 | 1.10 |
|
0.50 | 0.40 | n/a | 0.30 | 0.70 |
|
1.23 | 1.23 | 0.77 | 1.41 | 1.17 |
Avg. spreads are taken from each broker's website and updated monthly. Last update on 01/09/2023
Calculate Your Trading Costs Below
Total Fees
Commission
Spread Costs
Total
Total Fees
Commission
Spread Costs
Total
Total Fees
Commission
Spread Costs
Total
Total Fees
Commission
Spread Costs
Total
Pepperstone’s Standard Account
Standard Account types are excellent for those new to trading who want easy entry into forex and CFD markets. With no commission fees, Standard account holders can avoid complex fee calculations and easily forecast trading costs. As Pepperstone’s compensation is included in the spread, Standard accounts trade with wider spreads than commission-based Razor accounts.
As shown below, Pepperstone’s commission-free spreads are significantly tighter than competing forex brokers. For the EUR/USD currency pair, brokers such as FXTM offer 2.00 pips, while Pepperstone clients can trade average spreads of 1.13 pips. Likewise, Pepperstone averages 1.33 pips for the USD/JPY FX pair, while XM offers 3.30 pips – nearly 2 full pips wider.
|
Pepperstone Standard: Average Spreads
|
|||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
|
1.12 | 1.22 | 1.47 | 1.70 | 2.10 |
|
|
1.90 | 2.00 | 2.20 | 3.10 | 2.30 |
|
2.00 | 1.40 | 1.46 | 1.54 | 2.13 |
|
1.20 | 1.30 | 1.20 | 2.70 | 1.70 |
|
1.32 | 1.95 | 1.40 | 3.19 | 1.87 |
|
|
1.10 | 1.30 | 1.30 | 1.60 | 1.50 |
|
1.20 | 1.80 | 1.60 | 2.80 | 2.30 |
Avg. spreads are taken from each broker's website and updated monthly. Last update on 01/09/2023
Swap Rates And Swap-Free Accounts
As with most forex brokers, Pepperstone charges overnight financing fees (swap rates) on positions held open for longer than one day. Swap rates are interest-based fees and credits calculated using the interest rate differentials of each currency involved in the trade.
For those following Islamic finance practises and unable to pay or receive interest-based payments, Pepperstone offers a Swap-free Account (similar to an Islamic trading account). Swap-free accounts follow the broker’s standard account structure, with minimum spreads of 1.0 pip and no commission fees. Although account holders do not incur interest-based swap charges, positions held longer than ten days will have an admin charge between 1-50 USD, depending on the currency pair held.
2. Trading Conditions And Execution
Pepperstone is a no dealing desk (NDD) broker that executes orders with straight-through-processing (STP). As an NDD and STP broker, Pepperstone fills clients’ orders using external liquidity providers such as top-tier banks and financial institutions. Using quality and external sources of liquidity enables the broker to offer institutional-grade pricing to retail investor accounts.
As well as ECN-style spreads, Pepperstone partnered with the Equinix Data Centre to ensure ultra-fast order execution on the MT4 platform. Equinix hosts Pepperstone’s servers in New York’s financial district, with low latency reducing slippage and increasing execution speeds.
Pepperstone execution infrastructure uses the best fibre optic cable to achieve average execution speeds of 30ms. Fast execution reduces the likelihood of slippage, which means you will likely get the buy and sell price quoted by the provider.
3. MetaTrader 4 Trading Tools And Features
One feature that makes MetaTrader 4 (MT4) so popular is the automated trading features and advanced analysis tools. Depending on your preferred trading device, MT4 is available as a desktop platform, mobile app, or WebTrader platform online.
As a Pepperstone client using MT4, you gain access to most financial products the broker offers. Apart from Share CFDs, Pepperstone’s entire product range includes forex, indices, and commodity CFDs. Due to recent changes to FCA forex trading rules, retail traders can no longer trade cryptocurrencies in the UK. Crypto trading with products such as Bitcoin or Bitcoin Cash is restricted to professional traders only.
Automated Trading Strategies
MT4 users can develop and run Expert Advisors (trading robots/algorithms) or use MT4 or third-party social-copy trading services to automate trading. Both algorithmic and social-copy trading can significantly reduce the time spent conducting technical analysis and researching financial markets. As well as saving time, automated trading removes the emotion from trading, which may benefit beginner traders about to start.
Expert Advisors
To execute algorithmic trading strategies using Expert Advisors (EAs), Pepperstone’s MT4 customers can write and develop their own using the MQL4 programming language or download free or paid EAs from MetaTrader’s Marketplace online.
To optimise Expert Advisors, the MT4 platform offers backtesting features where traders can test EAs against historical data. MT4’s backtesting is single-threaded, and only one currency pair can be tested simultaneously.
Social-Copy Trading
Social-copy trading is an excellent option for novice traders wanting to learn more about forex trading from experienced investors. MetaQuotes proprietary account mirroring service, MetaTrader Signals, is available to all Pepperstone UK customers using MT4. You can copy seasoned traders’ trades, strategies and signals, eliminating the constant need to monitor financial markets while learning from the best.
Charting Tools
The wide range of trading tools (such as charting, technical analysis, and risk management tools) allow users to develop complex strategies on the MT4 platform. Inbuilt technical analysis, charting, and risk management tools include:
As well as the pre-installed trading tools, Pepperstone offers MT4 add-ons such as additional indicators and the broker’s Smart Trader Tools package. To supplement MT4’s pre-installed charting tools, users can download 2,000 free and 700 paid technical indicators from the MetaTrader Marketplace online.
Pepperstone’s MT4 Smart Trader Tools
The broker’s Smart Trader Tools is a free add-on package for Pepperstone MT4 users. Comprising 28 additional technical indicators and Expert Advisors, Smart Trader Tools enhance your trading environment with different order and risk management tools and market data and analysis features. To learn how to use the broker’s various add-ons, you can explore Pepperstone’s educational resources, which range from tutorials to webinars.
Pepperstone’s Demo Account
A demo account is available to explore the MT4 platform and unique trading tools offered by Pepperstone. MT4 users can access demo accounts for 30 days, with the broker providing $50,000 in virtual funds. The virtual account balance allows beginner and experienced traders to practise different trading CFDs and forex within a risk-free environment before signing up for a live account.
View Pepperstone ReviewVisit Pepperstone
XTB Allows Trading Of Various CFD Products With MT4
When trading CFDs with XTB, you can choose three asset classes – forex, indices, and commodities. Although the broker also offers shares and ETFs, these asset classes are only available on the broker’s proprietary trading platform (xStation 5), not MetaTrader 4 (MT4).
The broker offers two account types depending on your desired commission fee structure. If you want to trade forex with simple pricing, XTB’s Standard Account is commission-free. The broker’s Pro account is charged flat-rate commission fees, yet you can access tighter spreads.
Forex
XTB provides access to over 57 different forex markets when using MT4. As discussed above, the broker’s two account types offer different average spreads:
Due to the high-risk nature of forex trading, the FCA allows higher leverage for frequently traded major currency pairs and enforces lower leverage caps for less commonly traded forex pairs. When trading major forex pairs with XTB, such as the GBP/JPY, EUR/USD, and GBP/CAD, maximum leverage is capped at 30:1, while minor and exotic currency pairs, such as the NZD/CHF or USD/PLN, the maximum leverage offered by XTB is limited to 20:1.
Indices
Like forex trading, XTB’s Pro account holders trading commodities and indices are charged a round-turn commission fee of £6. Standard accounts can trade commodities and index CFDs commission-free.
Over 37 index CFDs derived from major financial exchanges around the globe are offered by the broker. Although the FCA allows maximum leverage of 20:1 when trading indices, limits vary between financial products. For example:
Commodities
XTB offers access to 22 different commodity CFDs. Apart from a few specific asset classes (gold, emissions, and government-issued financial securities), MT4 users are not charged overnight financing fees when trading commodities. Maximum leverage of 20:1 available.
Commodity CFDs derived from Gold permit leverage up to 20:1, while those trading emission contracts, T-Notes, or Bonds can use maximum leverage of 5:1. XTB’s full range of commodity CFDs is shown in the table below:
| Gold | Silver | Platinum | Palladium | Aluminium |
| Zinc | Copper | Cocoa | Coffee | Corn |
| Cotton | Soybean | Sugar | Wheat | TNOTE (Treasury Note, US Govt) |
| BUND10Y (10 Yr Bond, German Govt) | SCHATZ2Y (2 Yr Bond, German Govt) | NICKEL | Oil | OIL.WTI (Crude Oil) |
| EMISS (C02 Emissions) | NATGAS (Natural Gas) |
MT4 Demo Account
To practise trading forex, commodities, and indices on MT4, XTB offers an excellent demo account with a £100,000 virtual trading balance.
ThinkMarkets Allows Tax-Exempt Gains From Spread Betting On MT4
ThinkMarkets FCA regulated branch offers spread betting to the United Kingdom and Northern Ireland residents. Similarly to CFD trading, spread betting allows investors to speculate on the price movements of a financial instrument without buying or selling the physical asset.
Benefits Of Spread Betting
The key difference between spread betting and trading CFDs is that spread betting is more tax efficient. While any profit from trading CFDs is exempt from stamp duty, the gains are subject to Capital Gains Tax (CGT). On the other hand, profits from spread betting are exempt from both stamp duty and CGT. You can learn more on the best MT4 spread betting broker page.
MT4 Spread Betting Product Range
When spread betting with ThinkMarkets, the pricing structure is similar to the broker’s standard account type, where traders pay no additional commission fees on top of the spread. Spread betting is offered for four asset classes, with the following financial instruments available:
MT4 And Spread Betting
When spread betting on MT4 with ThinkMarkets, which is included in our list of best spread betting platforms in the UK, traders gain access to the same technical analysis and trading tools as those using the platform for CFD trading. To establish whether CFD trading or spread betting is your best trading style, ThinkMarkets offers a demo account for MetaTrader 4.
ThinkMarkets ReviewVisit ThinkMarkets
FXCM Clients Copy Trade Using MT4’s Account Mirroring Services
Social-copy trading is becoming increasingly popular as it reduces the time one needs to develop and execute trading strategies. As an FXCM client using MetaTrader 4 (MT4), there are two ways to automate trading via account mirroring services – ZuluTrade and Trading Signals.
ZuluTrade is a third-party social-copy trading network that can be directly integrated into the MT4 platform, while Trading Signals is MetaTrader’s proprietary account mirroring service. Regardless of your copy trading provider, FXCM offers two main pricing structures.
ZuluTrade
ZuluTrade, one of the most popular account mirroring providers, enables FXCM customers to implement copy trading strategies directly within the MT4 platform.
ZuluTrade’s established social network allows you to follow and copy the strategies of successful traders, eliminating the need for lengthy technical analysis and constant monitoring of financial markets. FXCM clients can automate trading by either:
Beginners and seasoned traders can enjoy the benefits of copy trading with ZuluTrade on MT4. Newbie traders can learn from the best while building confidence, and experienced investors gain the opportunity to earn additional profits by developing strategies for others to copy.
Trading Signals
Alternatively, FXCM MT4 customers can use MetaQuotes’ proprietary social-copy trading network to automate trading. As the social-copy trading features are inbuilt into the MT4 trading platform, you can easily find strategies to follow based on signal providers’ past trades, risk profiles, and success rates.
FXCM allows you to explore the benefits of Trading Signals via a demo or live account through the ‘Signals’ tab on the MT4 platform.
*Your capital is at risk ‘67% of retail CFD accounts lose money’
City Index’s MT4 Users Have Order Types To Manage High Trading Risk
When trading with City Index MetaTrader 4 clients gain access to over 80 foreign exchange markets. There is no choice of account types or ECN-style pricing, with all spreads commission-free, averaging 1.8 pips for the GBP/USD FX pair.
The broker offers two key risk management features – order types and a demo account to minimise losses and maximise gains. As forex and CFDs are complex instruments, it is crucial to utilise risk management tools while acknowledging the broker’s various risk warnings.
MT4 Order Types
As a City Index MT4 user, four order types can be used to manage the high trading risk. The three basic order types that City Index freely offers are stop-loss, limit, and trailing stop orders. A premium order type (guaranteed stop loss) is available, yet traders must pay a fee.
Stop-Loss Order
Stop losses can be used to minimise losses when markets move in unfavourable directions. To eliminate the risk of enormous losses, you can specify a price (worse than the market price) where the trade will be automatically closed.
Limit Order
To lock in profits, limit orders automatically close trades when a preset price that is better than the current price is met.
Trailing Stop Loss Order
Similar to a standard stop loss, those using trailing stops specify a particular number of pips away from the current price, allowing the stop to move with the current market price. By trailing the current price by a certain amount, profits are protected while gains are not limited.
Guaranteed Stop Loss (Premium Order)
Premium order types for a small fee guarantee that an order will be executed at your specified price. While basic order types may be performed at a different price from what you desire because of gapping, guaranteed stop-loss orders ensure an order will be filled at a price specified regardless of price gapping.
MT4 Demo Account
Whether you are a beginner starting with no forex trading background or a seasoned trader with years of experience, demo accounts are an excellent risk management tool for all experience levels.
With 12 weeks’ access and a £10,000 virtual trading balance, MT4 demo account users can explore different financial markets, practise trading strategies, and learn to use the wide range of technical analysis tools available on MT4. Before signing up for a live account with a high risk of losing money, demo accounts allow you to learn in a risk-free environment in real-time.
*Your capital is at risk ‘71% of retail CFD accounts lose money’
FxPro Saves You Time And Effort With Its Free Access To Trading Analysis Tools
As conducting research and technical analysis can be time-consuming, choosing a broker with strong technical analysis tools can help you easily stay up to date with forex and CFD markets.
While MetaTrader 4 offers advanced inbuilt technical analysis tools, FxPro provides online and third-party resources that can save you time and effort when trading. The four essential analysis tools FxPro offers are:
Trading Central
The third-party technical analysis provider uses multiple sources of information to monitor and analyse a range of financial instruments, saving you time and effort in conducting research. Trading Central provides these technical analysis features:
Trading Central is fully compatible with MetaTrader 4. Although the third-party service usually costs a subscription, FxPro MT4 users gain free access to the technical analysis features.
FxPro’s economic calendar, market news, and holidays can be viewed on the broker’s website, while MT4’s features and tools can be trailed via a demo account.
*Your capital is at risk ‘78.87% of retail CFD accounts lose money’
FOREX.com Provides Market Access to A Wide Forex Range On MT4
With over 90 FX pairs available on MT4, FOREX.com provides excellent market access compared to other United Kingdom forex brokers. Competitors such as IC Markets and Plus500 offer less than 60 currency pairs, with fewer minor and exotic FX pairs available to trade than FOREX.com.
With a wide range of currency pairs yet limited CFDs, FOREX.com is best-suited to those wanting to focus on forex trading as products such as Share CFDs are not accessible.
Forex Spreads And Account Types
FOREX.com’s standard account and pricing structure are commission-free, with no additional fees charged on top of the spread. Examples of minimum and typical spreads for commonly traded FX pairs are:
If you prefer an ECN-style account over commission-free pricing, you can sign up for a DMA Account. Direct market access (DMA) allows commission account holders to access tighter spreads and view multiple pricing levels from top-tier liquidity sources (market depth).
As well as the depth of market pricing, DMA Accounts are rewarded with reduced commission fees for trading high volumes. Unfortunately, though you can trade lower spreads with potentially discounted commission charges, DMA Accounts cannot trade FOREX.com’s full forex range, with only 58 currency pairs available.
To practice trading currencies on MT4, FOREX.com offers a demo account with a $10,000 virtual balance and access granted for 30 days.
View FOREX.com ReviewVisit FOREX.com
*Your capital is at risk ‘71% of retail CFD accounts lose money’
AvaTrade Allows Trading CFDs On The MT4 Mobile App
AvaTrade is an MT4 broker that offers the software as a desktop trading platform, WebTrader, or mobile trading app. An excellent option for those trading on the go, AvaTrade requires a low minimum deposit of $100 to start trading CFDs on the MT4 mobile apps. Likewise to MT4’s WebTrader and desktop platforms, advanced technical and fundamental analysis tools can be used to identify trading opportunities. In contrast, order types can be used to manage the high risk of CFDs.
As well as trading CFDs derived from a range of asset classes, AvaTrade’s MT4 users based in the UK and Ireland can execute tax-efficient spread betting strategies that are not liable to Capital Gains Taxes (CGT). Regardless of whether you are trading CFDs or spread betting, you can access over 60 financial markets, including shares, which many brokers do not offer on MT4:
Mobile trading apps are available on iOS and Android devices and can be downloaded via Apple’s app store or Google Play. Desktop, WebTrader, and mobile apps can all be used to access the broker’s demo accounts that are funded with a $100,000 virtual trading balance.
With fast order execution on MetaTrader 4 (MT4), tight spreads, and a wide range of trading tools, Pepperstone is a top choice for those wanting a UK broker regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA).
When using MT4, Pepperstone clients signed up to a Razor Account can access ECN-style spreads starting from 0.0 pips, thanks to the broker’s top-tier liquidity sources and NDD execution. As well as low spreads, Pepperstone customers can automate trading with Expert Advisors or social-copy tools, perform advanced technical analysis, and access add-on features to enhance your MT4 trading environment.
You can use a demo account to try Pepperstone’s sophisticated MT4 features. For a more in-depth analysis of Pepperstone’s pricing, trading platforms, and services, you can read our full review by clicking the link below.
View Pepperstone ReviewVisit Pepperstone
Disclaimer: The Importance Of Trading With An FCA Regulated Broker
Trading with a forex and CFD broker that the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA, formally the FSA) regulates provides UK traders various investor protection policies such as negative balance protection, close-out margins, and access to the Financial Services Compensation Scheme (FSCS) if needed.
Although online trading platforms provide risk management tools like order types, forex and CFDs are complex derivative instruments with a high risk of losing money. Regulators such as the FCA (UK), ESMA (Europe), and CySEC (Cyprus) enforce strict forex trading rules to ensure retail traders are protected from significant losses. If you trade forex and CFDs with an offshore broker, you will not receive strong protections as in the UK.
To check if the FCA licences a particular broker, you can check the broker’s registration number against the regulator’s register.
Ask an Expert