What forex traders should actually know about MetaTrader 4
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 has twenty years of muscle memory behind it. Thousands of custom indicators, Expert Advisors, and community scripts run on MT4. Moving to MT5 means rebuilding that entire library, and few people would rather keep trading than recoding.
I spent time testing both platforms side by side, and the differences are less dramatic than the marketing suggests. MT5 has a few extras such as more timeframes and a built-in economic calendar, but the charting feels nearly identical. Unless you need MT5-specific features, there's no compelling reason to switch.
MT4 setup: what the manual doesn't tell more articles you
Installation takes a few minutes. What actually causes problems is getting everything configured correctly. On first launch, MT4 shows four charts tiled across a single workspace. Shut them all and open just the pairs you follow.
Save yourself repeating the same setup by using templates. Configure your usual indicators on one chart, then save it as a template. From there you can load it onto other charts without redoing the work. Small thing, but over time it adds up.
Something most people miss: open Tools > Options > Charts and enable "Show ask line." MT4 only shows the bid price by default, which makes your entries look off by the spread amount.
MT4 strategy tester: honest expectations
MT4's built-in strategy tester gives you the ability to run Expert Advisors against historical data. But here's the thing: the accuracy of those results hinges on your tick data. The default history data is modelled, meaning the tester fills gaps with made-up prices. For anything that needs accuracy, download proper historical data.
The "modelling quality" percentage is more important than the profit figure. Anything below 90% means the results are probably misleading. I've seen people show off backtests with 25% modelling quality and ask why their live results don't match.
Backtesting is where MT4 earns its reputation, but the output is only useful with quality tick data.
Custom indicators on MT4: worth the effort?
MT4 ships with 30 default technical indicators. The average trader uses maybe a handful. That said, the real depth comes from user-built indicators built with MQL4. The MQL5 marketplace alone has a massive library, covering everything from basic modifications to elaborate signal panels.
Adding a custom indicator is simple: copy the .ex4 or .mq4 file into your MQL4/Indicators folder, reboot MT4, and the indicator shows up in the Navigator panel. The risk is quality control. Free indicators vary wildly. Some are genuinely useful. Many stopped working years ago and can freeze your terminal.
Before installing anything, check when it was last updated and whether users have flagged problems. Bad code won't just give wrong signals — it can freeze the whole terminal.
Managing risk properly inside MT4
You'll find several built-in risk management features that a lot of people skip over. The most useful is maximum deviation in the trade execution window. This defines the amount of slippage you're willing to tolerate on market orders. If you don't set it and you'll get whatever price the broker gives you.
Everyone knows about stop losses, but MT4's trailing stop feature are underused. Click on an open trade, choose Trailing Stop, and enter the pip amount. It adjusts when the trade goes into profit. It won't suit every approach, but on trending pairs it removes the temptation to stare at the screen.
None of this is complicated to set up and the difference in discipline is noticeable over time.
Running Expert Advisors: practical expectations
Expert Advisors on MT4 sounds appealing: set rules, let the code trade, walk away. In practice, most EAs fail to deliver over any decent time period. EAs marketed using incredible historical results tend to be over-optimised — they performed well on past prices and stop working when market conditions change.
That doesn't mean all EAs are a waste of time. A few people code their own EAs for one particular setup: time-based entries, managing position sizing, or closing trades at predetermined levels. These utility-type EAs work because they execute 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 tells you more than backtesting alone.
Using MT4 outside Windows
MT4 is a Windows application at heart. If you're on macOS deal with friction. The old method was running it through Wine, which did the job but came with rendering issues and occasional crashes. Some brokers now offer native Mac apps built on Crossover or similar wrappers, which are better but remain wrappers at the end of the day.
The mobile apps, on both iOS and Android, are genuinely useful for keeping an eye on your account and tweaking stops. Full analysis on a mobile device is pushing it, but closing a trade on the go is worth having.
Check whether your broker offers a proper macOS version or just Wine under the hood — the difference in stability is noticeable.