What keeps MT4 relevant after two decades
MetaQuotes stopped issuing new MT4 licences some time ago, pushing brokers toward MT5. Yet most retail forex traders stayed put. The reason is not complicated: MT4 does one thing well. A huge library of custom indicators, Expert Advisors, and community scripts only work with MT4. Moving to MT5 means rebuilding that entire library, and most traders 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 adds a few extras such as more timeframes and a built-in economic calendar, but the charting feels about the same. For most retail strategies, MT4 still holds its own.
MT4 setup: what the manual doesn't tell you
The install process is quick. The part that trips people up is getting everything configured correctly. Out of the box, MT4 loads with four charts squeezed onto a single workspace. Clear the lot and open just the pairs you care about.
Templates are worth setting up early. Build your go-to indicators on one chart, then right-click and save as template. From there you can apply it to any new chart without redoing the work. Small thing, but over time it saves hours.
A quick tweak that helps: go to Tools > Options > Charts and check "Show ask line." MT4 only shows the bid price on the chart, which can make entries appear wrong until you realise the ask price is hidden.
Backtesting on MT4: what the here are the findings results actually mean
MT4 comes with a backtester that gives you the ability to run Expert Advisors against historical data. That said: the reliability of those results depends entirely on your tick data. The default history data from MetaQuotes is interpolated, meaning the tester fills gaps using algorithms. For anything that needs accuracy, download proper historical data.
That quality percentage in the results tells you more than the bottom-line PnL. Anything below 90% indicates the results are probably misleading. People occasionally post backtest results with 25% modelling quality and can't figure out why their live results don't match.
Backtesting is where MT4 earns its reputation, but the output is only useful with quality tick data.
Building your own MT4 indicators
MT4 comes with 30 built-in technical indicators. Few people use more than five or six. But where MT4 gets interesting lives in user-built indicators coded in MQL4. The MQL5 marketplace alone has a massive library, ranging from tweaked versions of standard tools to full trading dashboards.
Installing them is straightforward: drop the .ex4 or .mq4 file into the MQL4/Indicators folder, restart MT4, and the indicator shows up in the Navigator panel. One thing to watch is quality. Free indicators range from excellent to broken. A few are genuinely useful. Some stopped working years ago and can freeze your terminal.
Before installing anything, verify the last update date and if people in the forums mention bugs. A poorly written indicator won't just give wrong signals — it can lag MT4.
The MT4 risk controls you're probably not using
There are some risk management features that a lot of people skip over. Probably the most practical one is the maximum deviation setting in the trade execution window. This defines how much slippage you'll accept on market orders. If you don't set it and you'll get whatever price is available.
Everyone knows about stop losses, but trailing stops are overlooked. Right-click an open trade, choose Trailing Stop, and set a distance. Your stop loss moves automatically as price moves your way. It won't suit every approach, but on trending pairs it removes the temptation to micromanage the trade.
You can configure all of this in under five minutes and they take some of the guesswork out of trade management.
Running Expert Advisors: practical expectations
Automated trading through Expert Advisors have obvious appeal: set rules, let the code trade, walk away. In reality, the majority of Expert Advisors underperform over any extended time period. Those sold with flawless equity curves tend to be over-optimised — they worked on historical data and break down the moment conditions shift.
This isn't to say all EAs are useless. A few people develop their own EAs to handle one particular setup: time-based entries, managing position sizing, or exiting positions at set levels. These smaller, focused scripts are more reliable because they handle mechanical tasks that don't require interpretation.
Before running any EA with real money, use a demo account for no less than a few months. Forward testing reveals more than backtesting alone.
Using MT4 outside Windows
MT4 is a Windows application at heart. If you're on macOS has always been compromises. Previously was emulation, which was functional but introduced rendering issues and the odd crash. A few brokers now offer macOS versions using Wine under the hood, which are better but still aren't true native apps.
MT4 mobile, available for both iPhone and Android, are surprisingly capable for watching open trades and managing trades on the move. Full analysis on a 5-inch screen isn't realistic, but managing exits while away from your desk is genuinely handy.
Look into whether your broker has a proper macOS version or just Wine under the hood — it makes a real difference day to day.