Trading platforms: MT4, MT5, cTrader and TradingView

A trading platform is the software that connects you to your broker. It shows prices, charts and your account, and every order you place goes through it. You will spend hundreds of hours on it, so you may as well pick a tool you understand and that suits the way you work.

The choice is often tied to the broker, since each one only offers certain platforms. So it pays to know what you are looking for before opening an account.

MetaTrader 4 and MetaTrader 5

Developed by MetaQuotes, MetaTrader 4 (released in 2005) and MetaTrader 5 (released in 2010) are the platforms most used by forex and CFD brokers worldwide. They are free for the trader and available on desktop, in the browser and on mobile.

MT4 was designed for forex. Simple and stable, it offers 9 timeframes, around thirty built-in indicators and thousands of community-made tools. It lets you automate strategies with Expert Advisors, programs written in the MQL4 language. Its developer is now pushing brokers towards the newer version.

MT5 follows the same principles but goes further. It offers 21 timeframes, more indicators and order types, a built-in economic calendar, market depth display and a faster strategy tester. It was built for multiple asset classes: forex, indices, stocks, commodities and futures.

cTrader and TradingView

cTrader, developed by Spotware, is popular for its modern, readable interface. It displays market depth with the volume available at each price, offers advanced orders and lets you build robots in C#. You will mostly find it at ECN-model brokers, with raw spreads and a commission.

TradingView is first and foremost a charting platform, available in the browser or as an app. Its charts are among the nicest on the market, with hundreds of indicators, precise drawing tools, alerts and a scripting language, Pine Script. You can place orders through some partner brokers, but many traders only use it for analysis and execute elsewhere.

The broker's own platform

Many brokers develop their own platform, on web and mobile. It is often easier to get to grips with and well integrated with the client area, with deposits, withdrawals and documents all in one place. Some are very good, especially on mobile.

Their weakness is portability. If you change broker, you lose your habits, your chart templates and your custom indicators. Automation and advanced analysis tools are also often more limited than on MetaTrader or cTrader.

Mobile or desktop?

Mobile apps now let you do everything: open, modify and close a position, set alerts, check charts. They are ideal for monitoring and adjusting a position, for example trailing a stop loss as price moves in your favour.

For preparing a trade, a computer is still far better. A big screen lets you display several timeframes side by side, draw precise levels and take a step back. Many costly mistakes come from a decision made on a small screen, on the bus, in the heat of the moment.

• On desktop: analysis, trade plan, position size calculation, placing orders.
• On mobile: monitoring positions, receiving alerts, adjusting or closing if something unexpected happens.
• Security: turn on two-factor authentication for your client area and protect your phone with a passcode.

A good habit is to set up your orders in advance on desktop: a limit order at your entry price, with stop loss and target already filled in. Your phone is then only there to check that everything is going to plan. You no longer have to make important decisions in a rush.

Think about your connection too. A position managed from an area with poor coverage can be left unwatched at the worst moment. All the more reason for every position to have a stop loss registered with the broker, not just in your head.

Choosing well and proving your results

1. Start with the broker: its regulation and costs matter more than the interface.
2. Test the platform on a demo account for a few weeks before depositing any money.
3. Check execution quality: speed, slippage, behaviour around news releases.
4. Stick with the same tool long enough to master it, rather than switching every time you get frustrated.

The platform also records the full history of your trades. That is valuable data: it lets you analyse your results and show them reliably. A screenshot is easy to edit; a history read directly from the broker account is not.

On Analyse-Trading, you can connect your trading account to display a verified track record, calculated from your real trades: performance, drawdown, number of trades. It is also a great way to follow your own progress over the months.