Platforms & AutomationMT4
MetaTrader 4 (MT4)
The 2005 MetaQuotes retail terminal built around MQL4 expert advisors, hedging accounts and a single-threaded strategy tester.
What MetaTrader 4 (MT4) means
MetaTrader 4 is a desktop trading terminal released by MetaQuotes in 2005 that became the default retail forex platform for a generation of brokers. It is designed around a single asset class, currencies and CFDs quoted as symbols, and exposes four pending order types plus a stop loss and take profit attached to each individual position. Accounts are hedging only, so a trader can hold a long and a short position in the same symbol at the same time. Charting covers nine timeframes, and every chart can carry indicators, scripts and automated programs.
Automation is the reason MT4 outlived its own obsolescence. Programs written in MQL4 run inside the terminal as expert advisors, custom indicators or one-shot scripts, and the built-in strategy tester replays historical bars to estimate how a rule set would have behaved. That tester is single threaded and models ticks from bar data unless higher quality tick history is imported, so it tends to flatter strategies that depend on precise intrabar fills. The public library of free and paid expert advisors is enormous and almost entirely unvetted by anyone.
MetaQuotes stopped meaningful development of MT4 years ago and steers new brokers toward MetaTrader 5, yet MT4 is still widely offered because clients keep asking for it. Anyone choosing it should understand what is absent: no exchange depth of market, no netting mode, a short list of order types and no support for shares, futures or other multi-asset instruments. Code does not travel forward either, because MQL5 is a different language and MT5 will not run an MT4 expert advisor without a rewrite of the source.
Worked example
A trader running a breakout expert advisor on MT4 buys 0.10 lots of EUR/USD at 1.0850 with a 30 pip stop; because the account is hedging, a second strategy can hold a 0.10 lot short in the same symbol instead of closing the first position.
Related terms
- MetaTrader 5 (MT5)MetaQuotes' multi-asset successor to MT4, using MQL5, netting or hedging accounts, more timeframes and a multi-threaded tester.
- MQL (MetaQuotes Language)The proprietary C-like programming language used to build expert advisors, custom indicators and scripts inside MetaTrader.
- Expert Advisor (EA)An automated trading program written in MQL that runs inside MetaTrader and can place, modify and close orders without human input.
- BacktestingReplaying a strategy's rules over historical price data to estimate how it would have performed before risking real money.
- Hedging AccountAn account model allowing simultaneous long and short positions in the same instrument as separate tickets.
Frequently asked questions
What does MetaTrader 4 (MT4) mean in forex trading?
The 2005 MetaQuotes retail terminal built around MQL4 expert advisors, hedging accounts and a single-threaded strategy tester.
How does MetaTrader 4 (MT4) work in practice?
Automation is the reason MT4 outlived its own obsolescence. Programs written in MQL4 run inside the terminal as expert advisors, custom indicators or one-shot scripts, and the built-in strategy tester replays historical bars to estimate how a rule set would have behaved. That tester is single threaded and models ticks from bar data unless higher quality tick history is imported, so it tends to flatter strategies that depend on precise intrabar fills. The public library of free and paid expert advisors is enormous and almost entirely unvetted by anyone.
What is an example of MetaTrader 4 (MT4)?
A trader running a breakout expert advisor on MT4 buys 0.10 lots of EUR/USD at 1.0850 with a 30 pip stop; because the account is hedging, a second strategy can hold a 0.10 lot short in the same symbol instead of closing the first position.
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