MT4 after twenty years: an honest take on the platform
What keeps MT4 relevant after two decades
MetaQuotes stopped issuing new MT4 licences years ago, steering brokers toward MT5. Still, most retail forex traders haven't moved. The reason is not complicated: MT4 works, and people trust what works. Thousands of custom indicators, Expert Advisors, and community scripts run on MT4. Moving to MT5 means porting that entire library, and most traders don't see the point.
After testing both platforms side by side, and the differences are marginal for most strategies. MT5 adds a few extras like more timeframes and a built-in economic calendar, but chart functionality feels about the same. 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 getting everything configured correctly. On first launch, MT4 loads with four charts crammed into a single workspace. Shut them all and open just the markets you actually trade.
Chart templates save time. Set up your go-to indicators once, then right-click and save as template. After that you can load it onto other charts instantly. Sounds trivial, but over months it saves hours.
Something most people miss: open Tools > Options > Charts and check "Show ask line." The default view is the bid price on the chart, which can make entries appear wrong by the spread amount.
Backtesting on MT4: what the results actually mean
MT4's built-in strategy tester gives you the ability to run Expert Advisors against historical data. That said: the accuracy of those results depends entirely on your tick data. Built-in history data is not real tick data, meaning the tester fills gaps with made-up prices. If you're testing something that needs accuracy, grab real tick data from a provider like Dukascopy.
That quality percentage in the results is more important than the profit figure. Anything below 90% suggests the results aren't trustworthy. Traders sometimes post backtest results with 25% modelling quality and wonder why the EA fails in real conditions.
This is one area where MT4 genuinely outperforms most web-based platforms, but the output is only useful with quality tick data.
Custom indicators on MT4: worth the effort?
MT4 ships with 30 built-in technical indicators. Most traders never touch them all. That said, where MT4 gets interesting is in user-built indicators built with MQL4. You can find over 2,000 options, ranging from tweaked versions of standard tools to full trading dashboards.
Adding a custom indicator is simple: drop the .ex4 or .mq4 file into the MQL4/Indicators folder, reboot MT4, and it appears in the Navigator panel. The catch is quality control. Publicly shared indicators vary wildly. Some are well coded and maintained. Others are abandoned projects and will crash your terminal.
Before installing anything, look at when it was last updated and whether users mention bugs. Bad code doesn't only show wrong data — it can freeze your entire platform.
The MT4 risk controls you're probably not using
There are some risk management tools that the majority of users never configure. Probably the most practical one is the maximum deviation setting in the order window. This controls how much slippage is acceptable on market orders. Leave it at zero and you're accepting whatever price the broker gives you.
Stop losses are obvious, but MT4's trailing stop feature are underused. Right-click an open trade, choose Trailing Stop, and enter your preferred distance. It moves automatically as price moves your way. Doesn't work well in choppy markets, but on trending pairs it removes the temptation to stare at the screen.
You can configure all of this in under five minutes and the difference in discipline is noticeable over time.
Running Expert Advisors: practical expectations
Automated trading through Expert Advisors have obvious appeal: define your rules and let the machine execute. The reality is, the majority of Expert Advisors underperform over any meaningful time period. Those sold with perfect backtest curves tend to be curve-fitted — they worked on the specific data they were tested on and stop working when the market does something different.
That doesn't mean all EAs are a waste of time. Certain traders develop personal EAs for specific, narrow tasks: time-based entries, managing position sizing, or closing trades at predetermined levels. That kind of automation are more reliable because they execute repetitive actions without needing judgment.
If you're evaluating EAs, run them on a demo account for at least a few months. Live demo resource testing reveals more than any backtest.
Using MT4 outside Windows
MT4 was built for Windows. Running it on Mac deal with friction. Previously was emulation, which mostly worked but introduced display glitches and occasional crashes. A few brokers now offer Mac-specific builds wrapped around Crossover or similar wrappers, which are better but remain wrappers at the end of the day.
On mobile, on both iPhone and Android, work well for keeping an eye on open trades and making quick adjustments. Doing proper analysis on a phone screen doesn't really work, but closing a trade while away from your desk is genuinely handy.
Check whether your broker offers a proper macOS version or just Wine under the hood — it makes a real difference day to day.