This post was most recently updated on May 15th, 2019
The Best Forex Trading Platform
The best Forex trading platform in nearly 15 years of Forex trading is still Metatrader, particularly Metatrader 4 It’s the Microsoft Windows of FX trading that’s been the gold standard and what all other trading software in Forex has been compared to.
When I began my Forex journey, Metatrader 3 was just coming onto the scene. Metatrader 4 in short time took over and here we are nearly 15 years later and Metatrader 4 has held up and has easily done a lot of the heavy work and heavy lifting for traders around the world. This really is unprecedented with any type of computer software. Software versions like Microsoft 3.1, Win 98 come and go. There’s that one version though that stands out. With Microsoft Windows, it’s Windows XP. With Metatrader, it’s Metatrader 4.
For the past few years Metatrader 5 has already been introduced both on a desktop and on many mobile devices, however, you’ll find with many Forex brokers, whether in the US or abroad. Metatrader 4 is still the standard. I believe it’s because like Windows XP, it’s very robust, very stable, fast, and it just does everything you need it to do.
Other Reasons Why Metatrader is the Best Forex Trading Platform
whether it be version 4 or 5
- Metatrader is available with almost every Forex broker you intend to trade with. With the exception of a few brokers like ThinkorSwim and Merrill Forex EA’s will be functional with very little modification across Forex brokers that use Metatrader for Forex trading. ThinkorSwim by TD Ameritrade is also a fantastic full featured trading application, however, it’s way more than what you need for Forex trading and better suited for futures and options trading.
- Metatrader works on almost every computer or device. Microsoft Windows, Mac, Mac mini, newer and older Ipads, Linux desktops, Android tablets, and phones.
- There’s no learning curve if you have one Forex broker, two, or more. Metatrader will be familiar, along with all its features and functions
- It’s very fast and streamline. You will not notice the lag flipping through various charts, even if the charts are cluttered with forex trading indicators, even during very busy trading and volatile trading hours.
Metatrader and Its Weak Points
Best doesn’t always mean it’s perfect or that it doesn’t have some weak aspects about it. Lets start with the obvious.
Not Really Mac-friendly or Native
I was going to install Metatrader on my Mac, and unlike the Windows version, it isn’t just a typical download and install. The process is a lot more like Linux Metatrader, where you have to install a wine window emulator named playonmac that runs Windows applications on your Mac Even compared to its Linux counterpart, Playonmac and running Metatrader really is terrible IMO. If all I had was a Mac machine, then yes I’d go through with all the aggravation with the install, but since I use Linux about 85% of the time and Metatrader on Wine is rock solid, I wouldn’t even bother with using it on Mac. If anything I’d just use the Web version of Metatrader when using my Mac , or just connect to my Virtual Private Network with my Mac and just us Metatrader live on the VPN.
Lack of Automation on Mobile Devices
The other not so great thing about Metatrader is with regards to automated trading. With mobile devices like iPhones, Androids, and tablets, you wouldn’t really be able to use an EA robot, unless the EA was running on a VPS(Virtual Private Server), which is basically a dedicated server that’s always on running Metatrader and your Expert Adviser in a remote location. I suppose it’s always best to run Mt EA’s on virtual private servers anyways, but some people prefer running simple day trading EA’s on their local PC desktops. If automated trading is your primary strategy, Metatrader on mobile devices would be a supplement and not your primary tool.
Charts and charting are also a big factor in Forex trading since technical analysis is all about analyzing charts. Charting is where I believe desktop trading platforms will always shine. I love the convenience of mobile trading apps when I’m on the go, but when I want to see the big market picture, the best charts are on my desktop computer. I can add more indicators, save and configure charts on a desktop far better and faster.
Regardless of the of some of these features that aren’t readily available on the mobile trading platforms, mobile technology in Forex trading has come a long long way in a short time. It’s difficult to say where the trend is going as far as the next significant innovation. In my own trading, its certainly been more towards automated Forex trading systems. I think as recent as 5-10 years ago, there was still a dominant skepticism as to how expert advisers could perform. However, as the technology has improved, I suppose it’s natural for some of that skepticism to recede. Just as automated, driver-less cars are going to make it into the mainstream, automated trading has already arrived. For newer traders, it still pays to start manually trading. I would certainly focus on the money management of manual trading where you can look at metatrader reports and understand all the metrics in it to evaluate where the strengths and weaknesses are in the manually trading system you are implementing. What’s a drawdown mean? What is the profit factor and why does that matter? Are these metrics heavily affected by a trending market? How about a flat ranging market, what do these stats tell you about what may be the outcome of your trades?
So you see, if you just start trading with robots right away and bypass all these things, how will you be able to objectively determine whether the robot is profitable over the long term, or that it just had a string of few short term losses?
When I first started trading Forex there were trading platforms that basically just gave you the profit and loss. There was no real back testing, you couldn’t just run a test of your trading system with old data. Now I’m not saying the Metatraders backtest are absolutely accurate, but what Metatrader did was introduce the backtest into the conversation. It made the trading community think about testing something first before just blindly implementing the system. Backtesting is rarely something professional gamblers can do and maybe that’s another difference between trading and gambling. Gambling and trading both involve risk, but unlike gambling, trading involves calculated risk.
The Best Forex trading platform (Web Based)
So versatile a trading platform, Metatrader 5 will run on most web browsers today. Though at this point it’s a scaled down version of the desktop Metatrader. The web based version will at least give traders another way to access their Forex trades. This may be handy if say you’re on the road, don’t have your laptop or can’t get a good connection with your other mobile devices. You’d be able to use someone elses computer to monitor your trades.
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