Metatrader 4 (MT4) is the most popular Forex trading software and is supported by 98% of Forex brokers. While there is now a newer version (called MetaTrader 5, or MT5), MT4 is still widely recognised for its trade execution speeds, charting tools, customisability and overall brilliance.
Accepts South African Clients. Average spread EUR/USD 0.6 pips on trading account with lowest minimum deposit. Max leverage 400:1. Islamic account available. MT4 and CloudTrade platforms supported. Blackstone Futures is regulated by the FSCA - FSP:49846
Founded in 2009, BlackStone Futures is an established FSCA-regulated broker based in Johannesburg. It offers both ZAR and USD accounts on MT4 and the proprietary CloudTrade platforms, and STP execution ensures no conflict of interest. Beginner traders are well-catered for with excellent educational support, really emphasising the duty of care BlackStone Futures feels for their clients. Spreads are tight and leverage is kept sensibly low until traders can prove their ability, thereby limiting the chance of account wipe out for beginners.
Accepts South African Clients. Average spread EUR/USD 1.90 pips on trading account with lowest minimum deposit. Max leverage Flexible. Islamic account available. MT4 & MT5 platforms supported. Leverage offered can vary depending on country of residence, and your trading knowledge and experience. FXTM is regulated by CySEC, FCA, FSCA, and the FSC.
FXTM is a multi-regulated FSCA registered CFD broker offering clients trading on Forex, cryptocurrencies, indices, metals and stocks. With a complete education and market analysis section, and the unique FXTM Invest copy trading platform, FXTM is plagued by unfavourable trading conditions and platform choice limits on their entry-level accounts and charging withdrawal fees.
Beginners at FXTM will find a good overview of how Forex trading works and the basics of a beginners course in their guides and tutorials, webinars, ebooks, trading glossary and videos that cover beginner and intermediate topics. Daily market analysis will help beginners understand the real-world implications of news events on the Forex market and where the opportunities lie. However, Serious beginners should consider the ECN Account (minimum deposit 500 USD) or the ECN Zero Account (minimum deposit 200 USD) as trading conditions dramatically improve to fall in line with industry averages.
Accepts South African Clients. Average spread EUR/USD 1.60 pips on trading account with lowest minimum deposit. Max leverage 400:1. Islamic account available. MT4 & MT5 platforms supported. BDSwiss is regulated by CySEC, FSC, and the FSA-Seychelles.
BDSwiss is a European CFD broker regulated by CySEC, the FSC (Mauritius) and the FSA (Seychelles). BDSwiss offers trading on Forex, commodities, shares, indices, and cryptocurrencies. While trading costs on the entry-level Classic account are slightly above the industry average, the trading platform choice and the industry-leading education and market analysis material make up for it. A professional 5000 USD Raw account is also available with industry-competitive trading costs of 8 USD per EURUSD lot traded.
BDSwiss offers MT4, MT5 and a bespoke BDSwiss Web Trader application – the star attraction for new traders – with an intuitive and modern interface, an extended set of technical analysis tools, and advanced charting. The BDSwiss trading academy and market analysis are some of the best in the industry, with structured courses for all levels, frequent strategy webinars, and insightful market analysis headlined by a detailed daily market preview.
Accepts South African Clients. Average spread EUR/USD 1.5 pips on trading account with lowest minimum deposit. Max leverage 200:1. Islamic account available. MT4 & Sirix platforms supported. CM Trading is regulated by the FSCA.
CM Trading is a major South African CFD broker offering trading on Forex, indices and commodities. South African traders will be pleased that CM Trading is fully licenced by the FSCA, but should be aware that trading and withdrawal costs are high.
The minimum deposit is 250 USD and CM Trading offers both MetaTrader4 and Sirix trading platforms on desktop computers and mobile devices. A variety of promotions and bonuses are available for new accounts.
The local customer service is generally excellent, but wide spreads and only basic market analysis might discourage traders.
Accepts South African Clients. Average spread EUR/USD 1.20 pips on trading account with lowest minimum deposit. Max leverage 1000:1. Islamic account available. MT4 & MT5 platforms supported. HF Markets Group regulated by the FSCA, FCA, FSC, CySEC and the DFSA.
HotForex is a global CFD broker with FSCA regulation offering a variety of trading products including Forex, commodities, indices, shares and crypto. Trading conditions are unusually good on the 70 ZAR (5 USD) introductory account, with fast market execution and competitive spreads. Experienced traders will be interested in HotForex’s professional account with EUR/USD spreads starting at 0 pips pips and a 6 USD commission.
HotForex supports both the MT4 and MT5 platforms and provides 18 trading tools to further assist traders. Unfortunately, access to better trading tools like Autochartist, which other brokers offer as a free service, requires an account balance of 6500 ZAR – well above the required minimum deposit.
HotForex offers a structured beginner course and webinars to help newcomers get started, but customer support is closed on the weekend, leaving novices stranded when they may need help the most.
Accepts South African Clients. Average spread EUR/USD 1.60 pips on trading account with lowest minimum deposit. Max leverage 500:1. Islamic account available. MT4 & MT5 platforms supported. XM Group regulated by CySEC, ASIC, and the IFSC.
XM is a reliable multi-regulated CFD broker offering trading in Forex, stocks, commodities, indices, metals, and energies. XM leads the Forex industry in terms of education and market analysis, but with customer service closed on the weekend, beginner traders with technical issues could face difficultly.
With support for MT4 and MT5, trading costs below the industry average on both introductory and professional accounts, and a low minimum deposit of 5 USD (70 ZAR), XM Group stands out from a crowded field of market maker brokers.
Accepts South African Clients. Average spread EUR/USD 0.70 pips on trading account with lowest minimum deposit. Max leverage 2000:1. Islamic account available. MT4 & MT5 platforms supported. Exness is regulated by CySEC, FCA, and the FSC.
Exness is an FSCA and internationally regulated CFD broker offering trading in Forex, cryptocurrencies and metals. Exness has some of the tightest spreads in the industry and a relatively low minimum deposit, but its selection of financial instruments is limited compared to similar brokers.
Exness has market and instant execution accounts and full support for MT4 and MT5 on both standard accounts. An optional ZAR account is available to South African traders, deposits and withdrawals are free of charge, and customer service is 24/7.
While Exness’ trading costs are well below the industry average, its education and market analysis are poor compared to other major brokers.
Accepts South African Clients. Average spread EUR/USD 1.20 pips on trading account with lowest minimum deposit. Max leverage 500:1. Islamic account available. MT4 & MT5 platforms supported. Axi Group is regulated by the FCA, ASIC and the DFSA.
Axi (formerly Axitrader) is an Australian CFD broker regulated by ASIC, the FCA and the DFSA, and an FSCA application pending approval. Axi offers clients trading on Forex, metals, cryptocurrency, commodities, and indices. Axi accounts seem to offer clients industry competitive trading costs – the Standard Account (from 0.4 pip EURUSD) and the Pro Account (0.0 pips EURUSD + 7 USD commission) – but unnecessarily dodges transparent practices by not publishing their average spreads.
Although Axi limits its platform choice to MT4, it offers traders free use of various powerful platform-integrated technical analysis tools, including Autochartist, MyFxBook, PsyQuation, to help professional or serious newcomer traders make better trading choices. Beginners to Axi have structured learning material and frequent market analysis, making them a front-runner in the education space only empowered by their powerful trading tools.
Accepts South African Clients. Average spread EUR/USD 0.6 pips on trading account with lowest minimum deposit. Max leverage 200:1. Islamic account available. MT4, ProRealTime and L2 Dealer platforms supported. IG Markets Group is regulated by FCA, ASIC, and the FSCA.
IG Markets is an extremely well-regulated CFD broker with world-class trading conditions and a massive variety of trading assets: Traders have access to Forex, indices, shares, commodities, cryptocurrencies, ETFs, digital 100s, interest rates and bonds. While IG Markets is well suited to professionals with its advanced custom trading platform and powerful charting tools, it also offers industry-leading educational support to beginners through the IG Academy.
IG Markets supports MT4 and its own superior L2Dealer platform, which offers direct market access, improved liquidity, faster trade execution and advanced order management. Experienced traders can activate L2Dealer’s ProRealTime extension for advanced charting, trading automation, and detailed technical analysis to enhance the trading experience.
Accepts South African Clients. Average spread EUR/USD 1.80 pips on trading account with lowest minimum deposit. Max leverage 200:1. Only MT4 platform supported. Khewzi Trade is regulated by the FSCA - FSP:44816
Khwezi Trade is a South African FSCA regulated broker headquartered in Cape Town. As is common with other STP brokers, Khwezi Trade uses MetaTrader 4 as their single choice of platform, as it provides fast and reliable market execution.
Khwezi Trade offers four account types depending on minimum deposit but all accounts come with a personal account manager. Leverage is less than is offered by other international brokerages, and currency pairs are more limited, but the clear appeal with Khwezi Trade is their competitive trading conditions that rival other local players.
For beginner traders with higher deposits above R15,000, Khwezi Trade awards clients five trading sessions led by a professional trader as well as more profitable trading conditions. For deposits over R50,000 unlimited training is provided.
For a South African trader looking for a genuinely local broker, Khwezi Trade has local regulation, local offices, local staff and uses local banks.
🏆BlackStone Futures – Best MT4 Broker in South Africa
BlackStone Futures a South African STP broker with regulation from the FSCA and very tight spreads. While BlackStone Futures provides its own CloudTrader platform it is primarily an MT4 broker – with the trading conditions to make it the best provider of the MT4 platform in South Africa.
✔️Full MT4 Support and ZAR Accounts
As well as offering full support for all native features of MT4, such as 9 timeframes, EA functionality and 30 built-in indicators, BlackStone Futures also offers ZAR Accounts. With a minimum deposit of R1000, South African traders get access to spreads as low as 0.6 pips on the EUR/USD and full mobile support.
✔️Tight spreads, Low Minimum Deposits
BlackStone Futures MT4 offers low spreads across Forex, commodities, shares and indices. Leverage is set at 1:400 for experience traders and traders can choose between a USD account or a ZAR account, with USD accounts requiring a minimum deposit of 100 USD.
Accepts South African Clients. Average spread EUR/USD 0.6 pips on trading account with lowest minimum deposit. Max leverage 400:1. Islamic account available. MT4 and CloudTrade platforms supported. Blackstone Futures is regulated by the FSCA - FSP:49846
🏆FXTM – Best MT4 Broker for Beginners in SA
FXTM is the best MT4 broker for beginners in South Africa. Regulated by the FSCA since 2016, FXTM provides both Standard and ECN accounts on MT4. Beginner traders will appreciate the tight spreads on the MT4 Cent Account, weekend customer support, Copytrading with FXTM Invest and the comprehensive education section.
✔️Great Value Cent Account + Weekend Customer Support
FXTM’s offers a Cent Account on MT4 with a minimum deposit of only 10 USD and spreads starting at 1.5 pips. This is the perfect entry into live market conditions on MT4, as new traders can learn how to use MT4’s advanced automation features (scripts, EA’s, and indicators) with little risk. FXTM also offer weekend support, ideal for non-professional traders who want to get their MT4 platform set up over the weekend.
✔️FXTM Invest + Education
FXTM Invest Copytrading scheme is one of the best in the business and is also available on the MT4 platform. Traders unfamiliar with the MT4 can find more experienced Strategy Managers whose risk profile matches their own and copy their trades. Beginners frequently find that Copytrading is more profitable than making their own trades. FXTM also has a great deal of training material to help new traders get started. Materials include articles, videos, webinars, and a searchable glossary of new vocabulary.
Accepts South African Clients. Average spread EUR/USD 1.90 pips on trading account with lowest minimum deposit. Max leverage Flexible. Islamic account available. MT4 & MT5 platforms supported. Leverage offered can vary depending on country of residence, and your trading knowledge and experience. FXTM is regulated by CySEC, FCA, FSCA, and the FSC.
🏆BDSwiss – Best MT4 Tools and Analysis
Winner of the award for the Best Market Research Provider of 2020, BDSwiss is world famous for its financial commentary and MT4 traders will benefit greatly from BDSwiss’ collection of MT4 trading tools and market-leading research and analysis.
✔️Optimised MT4 Experience
BDSwiss has taken the MT4 platform and optimised it with BDSwiss’ advanced technology to create a user-friendly trading interface designed to support traders of all levels. The BDSwiss MT4 platform has features a regularly updated news feed, multiple charting and analysis options, overlaid analytical studies and compatibility with the BDSwiss WebTrader and mobile app.
✔️Industry-leading Market Research and Analysis
In addition to MT4 analysis, the BDSwiss market research team produces high-quality and detailed market analysis for traders of all experience levels. More accurate and better presented than its peers in the industry, the financial commentary at BDSwiss gives traders a unique insight into how to make better trading decisions.
✔️Tight Spreads, Fast Execution and Wide Platform Support
BDSwiss offers account types suitable for both beginners and more experienced traders, including a Raw Account with spreads down to 0 pips. All accounts benefit from fast execution speeds, with 97.5% of all trades executed in less than 0.2 seconds.
Accepts South African Clients. Average spread EUR/USD 1.60 pips on trading account with lowest minimum deposit. Max leverage 400:1. Islamic account available. MT4 & MT5 platforms supported. BDSwiss is regulated by CySEC, FSC, and the FSA-Seychelles.
🏆 CM Trading – Largest African MT4 Broker
Founded in 2009, CM Trading is the largest and most successful South African MT4 broker. Regulated by the FSCA and based in Sandton, CM Trading offers full MT4 support and has developed its own CopyKat copy-trading system, allowing beginners to copy the moves of more experienced traders.
✔️Largest South African MT4 Broker
With over 1 million clients worldwide, CM Trading is by far the largest South African MT4 broker. CM Trading’s clients can rely on full support for MT4 (including hedging, scalping, and Expert Advisors), negative balance protection and simple account types coupled with optional ECN execution.
✔️Guardian Angel + CopyKat
CM Trading offers a range of tools for traders, but the most popular are the Guardian Angel and CopyKat systems. Guardian Angel shows market trends and provides feedback on trading behaviour, helping traders optimise their strategies and prevent errors. The CopyKat system is a social trading system that allows new traders to mirror the strategies of professional traders, always useful for new traders.
Accepts South African Clients. Average spread EUR/USD 1.5 pips on trading account with lowest minimum deposit. Max leverage 200:1. Islamic account available. MT4 & Sirix platforms supported. CM Trading is regulated by the FSCA.
🏆HotForex – Best STP Broker on MT4
HotForex is a well-regulated STP broker with awards for client protection and its product line. HotForex offers lightning-fast STP execution and no dealing desk, thereby guaranteeing no conflict of interest and tight spreads. Both MT4 and MT5 are supported, but for MT4 traders who wants fast STP execution, it is difficult to recommend another broker.
✔️MT4 on 6 Account Types
HotForex offers 6 different accounts, all with a ZAR base currency option and all on the MT4 platform. The minimum deposit on the Micro Account is exceptionally low, at 70 ZAR and spreads start at 1.2 pips on the EUR/USD. For beginners, HotForex offers free and unlimited demo versions of all its MT4 account types. For those that prefer ECN trading on MT4, the HotForex Zero Spread Account offers spreads down to 0 pips for a 200 USD minimum deposit.
✔️MT4 for MultiTerminal and Mobile
HotForex supports MT4 via every method, including the MT4 MultiTerminal which allows traders to manage multiple MT4 accounts from a single platform. MT4 is also available via web, desktop, and Android and iOS apps. Trading tools available include free Autochartist, VPS services and the HFCopy copy trading service.
Accepts South African Clients. Average spread EUR/USD 1.20 pips on trading account with lowest minimum deposit. Max leverage 1000:1. Islamic account available. MT4 & MT5 platforms supported. HF Markets Group regulated by the FSCA, FCA, FSC, CySEC and the DFSA.
🏆XM – Best MT4 Education
A well-regulated market-maker with tight spreads over three simple account types, XM stands out from a crowded field of MT4 brokers for its educational support and customer service. Leverage is offered up to 1:888 on all accounts and all clients will benefit from negative balance protection. Minimum deposits start as low as 5 USD, and all accounts can use ZAR as a base currency.
✔️MT4 Video Tutorials
XM is well known for its Forex education and has amassed 1.5 million users through detailed instruction and support for beginners. XM’s MT4 video tutorials slowly and carefully guide new traders through all the important features of XM’s MT4 platform. Tutorials cover everything from opening a trading account to understanding pending orders and backtesting Expert Advisors.
✔️Low Spreads, No Requotes + 4 Asset Classes
XM offers spreads as low as 0.6 pips on the MT4 platform and 99.35% of all trades are executed in less than 1 second. XM also has a strict no-requotes/rejection policy, this means that all trades are always filled at the price expected. MT4 users will be able to trade Forex, stock indices, precious metals, and energies.
Accepts South African Clients. Average spread EUR/USD 1.60 pips on trading account with lowest minimum deposit. Max leverage 500:1. Islamic account available. MT4 & MT5 platforms supported. XM Group regulated by CySEC, ASIC, and the IFSC.
🏆Exness – Best MT4 Trading Conditions
Founded in 2008, Exness offers the best trading conditions to be found on the MT4 platform. Exness has four account types and all trades are executed on the market with no intervention, with one exception. With a low-cost Standard Account for new traders, unlimited leverage on some of the professional accounts and a wide range of assets to trade, Exness has something for every MT4 trader.
✔️Unbeatable Trading Conditions
Exness’ Standard Account on MT4 requires a minimum deposit of 1 USD and has average spreads on the EUR/USD of 1 pip. This account is a fantastic low-risk opportunity for new traders to get experience in the live markets. The Pro Account on MT4 has similarly great trading conditions, offering commission-free trading with spreads averaging 0.6 pips EUR/USD – though the minimum deposit here is 200 USD. Exness also offers two commission-based accounts, with spreads down to 0 pips and a commission of 3.5 USD per lot traded.
✔️Manage Multiple MT4 Accounts + Free Trading Central
All Exness clients on MT4 are provided with financial news from the world’s leading providers and the TC.Technical Analysis indicator from the international analytical agency Trading Central. Exness also supports for the MT4 MultiTerminal platform, allowing clients to run multiple accounts from a single app. Exness offers full MT4 support, with custom built EAs allowing for automated trading on all account types.
Accepts South African Clients. Average spread EUR/USD 0.70 pips on trading account with lowest minimum deposit. Max leverage 2000:1. Islamic account available. MT4 & MT5 platforms supported. Exness is regulated by CySEC, FCA, and the FSC.
🏆 Axi – Best ECN broker on MT4
Built by traders, for traders, Axi is an ASIC and FCA regulated ECN broker with full MT4 support, great trading tools, and simple account options.
✔️MT4 Perfection with ECN Execution
Axi likes to keep things simple, and only offers support for the MT4 platform. This focus has allowed Axi to offer the best ECN MT4 experience in the world. Axi offers a range of tools for MT4, but one of the highlights is its MT4 NexGen plugin. MT4 NexGen offers a sentiment indicator, a correlation trader, a more intuitive terminal window, and an automated trade journal.
In addition, Axi’s pricing model connects to over 20 liquidity sources, so traders experience fewer slippages and requotes. Spreads on the Pro Account start at 0 pips (with a 7 USD commission) and leverage maximum is 1:500.
✔️Powerful Tools and Simple Account Options
Apart from MT4 NexGen, traders at Axi have access to a range of tools. These include AutoChartist, the powerful automated technical analysis tool, and PsyQuation, an AI diagnostic that tracks your trading style and coaches you into more profitable trades. VPS hosting is also available, along with all the trading algos you wish to install to your MT4.
Accepts South African Clients. Average spread EUR/USD 1.20 pips on trading account with lowest minimum deposit. Max leverage 500:1. Islamic account available. MT4 & MT5 platforms supported. Axi Group is regulated by the FCA, ASIC and the DFSA.
🏆IG Markets – Best Regulated MT4 Broker
IG Markets is possibly the best regulated and most trusted MT4 broker in the world. Regulated by 10 national authorities including the FSCA, FCA, ASIC, MAS, and FINMA, IG Markets is also publicly traded on the London Stock Exchange and has a full banking license. IG Markets offers tight spreads, full MT4 Support, and excellent education and market analysis.
✔️IG Market’s MT4
IG Market’s version of MT4 takes MT4 to another level with its package of free add-ons and indicators. Highlights include a Trade Terminal, Stealth Orders, a Correlation Matrix as well as a dozen indicators. In addition, all IG clients get access to Autochartist for free. This powerful automated technical analysis tool scans the markets for opportunities that you may have missed. All these features are available with tight spreads, with the EUR/USD averaging 0.86 pips but sometimes as low as 0.6 pips, and commission-free trading.
✔️Top Tier Education and Analysis
Millions of traders have started their trading careers at IG Markets, and it is easy to see why from the excellent material available at the IG Academy and the constantly updated News and Trade Ideas page. IG Markets also offers a free Trade Analytics tool that evaluates trading performance over time and offers diagnosis and suggestions to improve your trading.
Accepts South African Clients. Average spread EUR/USD 0.6 pips on trading account with lowest minimum deposit. Max leverage 200:1. Islamic account available. MT4, ProRealTime and L2 Dealer platforms supported. IG Markets Group is regulated by FCA, ASIC, and the FSCA.
🏆 Khwezi Trade – Best Local Customer Support
An FSCA-regulated, STP broker based in Cape Town, Khwezi Trade supports MetaTrader 4 and provides fast and reliable market execution. For South African traders looking for a genuinely local broker, Khwezi Trade provides excellent local customer support, ZAR Accounts, and tight spreads.
✔️Personal and Local Customer Support + No Fees
At Khwezi Trade, all accounts come with a personal account manager. Support is offered via live chat, email, and phone from 7 am to 6 pm, but clients can call after-hours for emergency assistance. Help is available in English, Afrikaans, Zulu, Sotho, and Xhosa. Khwezi Trade offers local offices, local staff, and local banks (all trader funds are kept in segregated accounts at Standard Bank). In addition, there are no deposit or withdrawal fees, and withdrawals are processed daily.
✔️4 Rand Accounts + Full MT4 Support
Kwhezi Trade offers 4 account types, with a 2000 ZAR minimum deposit on the cheapest account. All accounts have a ZAR base currency option and MT4 is fully supported, with hedging, scalping, and EAs all permitted. STP execution ensures all trades are posted to market without intervention and spreads are competitive, averaging 1.6 pips on the EUR/USD for the Basic Account.
Accepts South African Clients. Average spread EUR/USD 1.80 pips on trading account with lowest minimum deposit. Max leverage 200:1. Only MT4 platform supported. Khewzi Trade is regulated by the FSCA - FSP:44816
What is MetaTrader 4 (MT4)?
MT4 is the most popular Forex trading platform in the world and has been for the last fifteen years.
98% of Forex brokers offer MT4 trading accounts
The launch of MT4 in 2005 changed the retail Forex industry almost overnight. It offered retail Forex traders an institutional-grade tool: Anyone with an internet connection was now on equal footing with professional Forex traders. 15 years later, MT4 is still the industry standard for several reasons:
MT4 is the lowest-latency and a highly customisable trading platform, complete with a cutting-edge charting suite offering market charts overlaid with indicators from MT4’s library.
MT4 allows users to build or buy expert advisors (EAs), indicators, and other algorithmic trading tools using MQL4.
MT4’s algorithms and customisable charts allow retail traders to analyse market movements with precision and speed. Trades can then be made in an instant due to the platform’s execution speed.
MT4 is available on mobile, tablet, in a web browser and as a downloadable application.
This versatility makes MT4 the world’s leading trading platform.
MT4 Pros and Cons
Before you decide on whether to use an MT4 broker we need to look at the advantages and disadvantages of the MT4 platform.
Pros
Customisable layout provides a stable and personalised trading experience.
Advanced charting allows traders to combine technical analysis and trade management from within the chart view.
One-click trading. In fast-moving markets, traders can execute trading decisions quickly.
The lowest-latency platform available. Trade execution speeds will also depend on internet connection speed.
Built-in scripting tools allow users to build or buy expert advisors (EAs), indicators and other algorithmic trading tools.
Over 2000 free indicators available in the MetaTrader Code Hub.
Traders can move between brokers without losing any customised changes to the platform. MT4 can also support multiple brokers and multiple accounts from the same broker.
Social trading integration, available with a free subscription. Trading signals let you to automatically copy the trades of other traders.
High secure. all information between client and server is 128-bit encrypted, and it also supports RSA Digital Signatures.
Widespread Use. Most brokers will offer it, and it is well supported. If you have a question, someone will have answered it – if you have a problem, someone will have solved it.
MT4 runs smoothly on all modern computers and is happy even on old systems.
MT4 runs smoothly on all PCs, even old ones
Cons
It is old. It looks like a program from 2005. If you want a trading platform that looks nice this is not your platform
It lacks native integration of news and economic data, though this can be added via plugins.
While MT4 can run on Macs with a few tweaks, it will only run on Mac OS versions prior to Catalina (version 10.15, released in 2019).
MT4 is not compatible with MAC OS Catalina
MAC OS Catalina only supports 64bit applications and as MT4 is a 32bit application, it is not compatible. For earlier versions of Mac OS, the safest way of getting MT4 to run is to install a Windows emulator called Wine (a tool for Unix-based systems to run an application developed for Windows) along with fonts and the graphical interface. Wine is a great tool, but not necessarily the most stable and your experience can suffer as a result.
Should I use MT4?
If you are just starting your trading career you should consider moving straight to MT5 or cTrader instead. But, if you have been using MT4 and you are happy with it then keep on using it.
MT4 is old, and MetaQuotes is actively trying to get Forex brokers to switch to MT5. MT4 is still the industry standard, but it will eventually be replaced. MT5 and cTrader also have more built-in functionality and have a more modern, cleaner layout.
But if you have been using MT4 for some time, then your version is probably heavily customised. Algos built for MT4 will not function in MT5 or cTrader, so any customisations you have made will be lost.
Algos built for MT4 will not function in MT5
MT4 will eventually be replaced, but its popularity means that is not going to happen anytime soon. But if you want to move to a more modern platform, or you are just starting out then you should check out MT5 or cTrader.
What is the difference between MT4 and MT5?
The significant change is that MT5 has native support for shares, futures, and commodity trading, whereas MT4 does not. MT5 also has a new scripting language, MQL5, which allows for more rigorous backtesting of algorithms and more advanced trading robots. It is important to note that trading algorithms built for MT4 will not run in MT5 (and vice versa) due to the incompatibility of their scripting languages.
The MQL5 scripting language allows for more advanced trading robots and more accurate backtesting
MT5 also boasts a cleaner interface and comes with an integrated news feed and more charting capabilities. Additionally, MT5 is finally seeing serious support from the industry, with some brokers ditching MT4 entirely in favour of the newer version.
Which MT4 broker is best?
AvaTrade is the best MT4 broker. With excellent MT4 technical support for beginners, both FSCA and ASIC regulation and competitive trading conditions, they have the product offering to come top of a long list of MT4 brokers.
MetaTrader 4 is central for so many traders in their development towards becoming professional traders. It will be here for many years to come and will continue to help new traders launch a trading career. If you’re trying to get the most out of your charts and focus without the distraction of fancy tools, then it remains a candidate to satisfy 90% of all your trading needs.
If you’re interested in learning all trading features that this platform has to offer, please check out our complete guide to MetaTrader 4.
Forex Risk Disclaimer
Trading Forex and CFDs is not suitable for all investors as it carries a high degree of risk to your capital: 75-90% of retail investors lose money trading these products.
Forex and CFD transactions involve high risk due to the following factors: Over-leveraging, unpredictable market volatility, slippage arising from a lack of liquidity, inadequate trading knowledge or experience, and a lack of regulatory protection for clients.
Traders should not deposit any money that is not disposable. Regardless of how much research you have done, or how confident you are in your trade, there is always a substantial risk of loss. (Learn more from the FCA or from ASIC)
Our Methodology
Our State of the Market Report and Broker Directory are the result of extensive research on over 100 Forex brokers. The explicit goal of these resources is to help traders find the best Forex brokers – and steer them away from the worst ones – with the benefit of accurate and up-to-date information.
With over 150 data points on each broker and over 3000 hours of research and review writing, we believe we have succeeded in our goal.
In a world where trading conditions and customer support can vary based on where you live, our broker reviews focus on the local trader and give you information about these brokers from your perspective.
All research has been conducted by our in-house team of researchers and writers, gathering information from various company representatives, websites and by sifting through the fine print. Learn more about how we rank brokers.
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Trading Forex and CFDs is not suitable for all investors and comes with a high risk of losing money rapidly due to leverage. 75-90% of retail investors lose money trading these products. You should consider whether you understand how CFDs work and whether you can afford to take the high risk of losing your money.
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Accepts South African Clients. Average spread EUR/USD 0.6 pips on trading account with lowest minimum deposit. Max leverage 400:1. Islamic account available. MT4 and CloudTrade platforms supported. Blackstone Futures is regulated by the FSCA - FSP:49846
