What keeps MT4 relevant after two decades
MetaQuotes stopped issuing new MT4 licences some time ago, steering brokers toward MT5. Still, most retail forex traders stayed put. The reason is straightforward: MT4 does one thing well. A huge library of custom indicators, Expert Advisors, and community scripts were built for MT4. Switching to MT5 means porting that entire library, and most traders would rather keep trading than recoding.
After testing MT4 and MT5 side by side, and the differences are less dramatic than the marketing suggests. MT5 adds a few extras such as more timeframes and a built-in economic calendar, but the core charting is very similar. If you're weighing up the two, MT4 is more than enough.
Setting up MT4 without the usual headaches
Installation takes a few minutes. The part that trips people up is the setup after install. Out of the get more information box, MT4 loads with four charts squeezed onto the screen. Clear the lot and open just the markets you actually trade.
Save yourself repeating the same setup by using templates. Configure your usual indicators on one chart, then right-click and save as template. From there you can apply it to any new chart without redoing the work. Minor detail, but over months it saves hours.
Something most people miss: go to Tools > Options > Charts and enable "Show ask line." The default view is the bid price by default, which makes buy entries seem misaligned until you realise the ask price is hidden.
How reliable is MT4 backtesting?
The strategy tester in MT4 allows you to run Expert Advisors against historical data. Worth noting though: the reliability of those results hinges on your tick data. Standard history data is modelled, meaning the tester fills gaps using algorithms. For anything more precise than a quick look, grab real tick data from a provider like Dukascopy.
Modelling quality matters more than the profit figure. If it's under 90% indicates the results shouldn't be taken seriously. People occasionally post backtest results with 25% modelling quality and can't figure out why live trading looks different.
Backtesting is where MT4 earns its reputation, but the output is only useful with quality tick data.
Building your own MT4 indicators
MT4 comes with 30 built-in technical indicators. The average trader uses maybe a handful. But the platform's actual strength comes from user-built indicators written in MQL4. There are over 2,000 options, spanning simple moving average variations to complex multi-timeframe dashboards.
Adding a custom indicator is simple: drop the .ex4 or .mq4 file into your MQL4/Indicators folder, reboot MT4, and the indicator shows up in the Navigator panel. The catch is reliability. Publicly shared indicators range from excellent to broken. A few are genuinely useful. Some stopped working years ago and will crash your terminal.
When adding third-party indicators, look at when it was last updated and whether people in the forums report issues. Bad code won't just give wrong signals — it can slow down MT4.
Risk management settings most MT4 traders ignore
There are a few native risk management tools that most traders skip over. First worth mentioning is maximum deviation in the trade execution window. This controls how much slippage you'll accept on market orders. Without this configured and you're accepting whatever price is available.
Stop losses are obvious, but trailing stops are overlooked. Right-click an open trade, pick Trailing Stop, and define your preferred distance. It follows automatically as the trade goes into profit. It won't suit every approach, but if you're riding trends it removes the urge to sit and watch.
These settings take a minute to configure and the difference in discipline is noticeable over time.
EAs on MT4: what to realistically expect
Expert Advisors on MT4 sounds appealing: set rules, let the code trade, walk away. In practice, the majority of Expert Advisors fail to deliver over any extended time period. Those sold with incredible historical results are usually over-optimised — they worked on historical data and stop working once market conditions change.
None of this means all EAs are worthless. Some traders develop custom EAs to handle one particular setup: opening trades at session opens, managing position sizing, or exiting positions at set levels. These smaller, focused scripts work because they handle defined operations where you don't need interpretation.
Before running any EA with real money, run them on a demo account for no less than a few months. Running it forward in real time is more informative than historical results ever will.
MT4 beyond the desktop
MT4 is a Windows application at heart. Mac users face a workaround. The old method was running it through Wine, which mostly worked but introduced rendering issues and the odd crash. Certain brokers now offer macOS versions using Crossover or similar wrappers, which work more smoothly but remain wrappers at the end of the day.
MT4 mobile, on both Apple and Android devices, work well for monitoring positions and tweaking stops. Serious charting work on a phone screen doesn't really work, but closing a trade while away from your desk has saved plenty of traders.
It's worth confirming if your broker provides real Mac support or a compatibility layer — the experience varies a lot between the two.