Short answer: if you're starting fresh, go with MT5. If you already have MT4 EAs that make money, stay on MT4 until you have a reason to switch.
That's the practical answer. The rest of this article is the reasoning behind it.
The quick version
| MT4 | MT5 | |
|---|---|---|
| Released | 2005 | 2010 |
| Language | MQL4 (C-style) | MQL5 (C++-style, OOP) |
| Timeframes | 9 | 21 |
| Indicators | 30 built-in | 38 built-in |
| Pending orders | 4 types | 6 types |
| Market depth | No | Yes |
| Position mode | Hedging only | Hedging + Netting |
| Backtester | Single-threaded | Multi-threaded, multi-pair |
| Economic calendar | No | Built-in (900+ events) |
| Asset classes | Forex mainly | Forex, stocks, futures, crypto |
| Architecture | 32-bit | 64-bit |
If that table is enough for you, great. If you want to know what those differences actually mean in practice, keep reading.
Where things stand in 2025–2026
MT5 overtook MT4 in trading volume for the first time in early 2025, hitting 54.2% of combined volume per Finance Magnates. About 68% of brokers now offer MT5, while 40% still support MT4. Around 23% offer both.
The bigger signal: MetaQuotes stopped issuing new MT4 licenses. If a broker launches today, it can only offer MT5. MT4 isn't going away tomorrow — too many traders and EAs depend on it — but it's no longer getting new features or new broker adoption.
Why MT4 is still around
It's 20 years old and still used by millions. That doesn't happen by accident.
The EA library is massive. The MQL4 community has over 500,000 EAs and indicators. If you want an automated trading strategy for almost any approach — trend following, grid, scalping, news trading — someone has built it for MT4. Roughly 99% of retail forex EAs were originally written in MQL4.
It's simple. MT4 loads fast, uses minimal resources, and the interface is straightforward. If you only trade forex and you don't need 21 timeframes or market depth, MT4 does everything you need without the extra complexity.
Hedging is native. MT4 has always supported hedging — holding opposite positions on the same pair. MT5 added hedging mode later, but some traders still prefer MT4's implementation because it's what they've used for years.
Community support is deep. Twenty years of forums, tutorials, and strategy discussions. If you hit a problem on MT4, someone has already solved it and posted the answer.
We still build and maintain MT4 versions of our tools because a significant chunk of our users are on MT4 and aren't planning to switch.
Where MT5 actually matters
The feature list sounds nice, but here's what makes a practical difference:
The backtester is dramatically better. MT5's strategy tester is multi-threaded — it can use all your CPU cores, and even distribute work across multiple machines. More importantly, it supports "every tick based on real ticks," which means it uses actual recorded price data from the broker instead of simulating ticks from candle data. The difference in backtest accuracy is significant. We've seen EA results vary by 15–30% between MT4's simulated ticks and MT5's real tick data.
Multi-pair backtesting. If your EA trades a basket of pairs or uses cross-pair correlation (like hedging EURUSD against GBPUSD), you can only properly backtest that on MT5. MT4 can only test one pair at a time.
MQL5 is a better language. MQL4 is fine for simple strategies. But if you're building anything with multiple classes, inheritance, or complex state management, MQL5's object-oriented architecture is genuinely easier to work with. The expanded indicator buffer (512 vs MT4's 8) also matters for complex multi-indicator systems.
Economic calendar built in. 900+ events, auto-synced to your timezone, filterable by impact level. No more tabbing out to ForexFactory. If you're using a news filter in your EA, MT5 makes it easier to integrate.
Market depth. If you're a scalper or you trade large positions, seeing the order book matters. MT4 doesn't have this.
More asset classes. Stocks, futures, indices, crypto — all on the same platform. If you trade more than forex, MT5 eliminates the need to switch between platforms.
The MQL4 → MQL5 migration headache
Can you run an MT4 EA on MT5? No.
MQL4 and MQL5 are different languages. The .ex4 file won't load on MT5, and .ex5 won't load on MT4. If you want to move an EA from MT4 to MT5, you need to rewrite or convert the code.
This is the single biggest reason MT4 is still popular. Traders and developers have years of investment in MQL4 strategies. Rewriting a complex EA takes real time and effort. There are compatibility libraries (like mq4.mqh) that help, but they don't handle everything — manual adjustment is always needed.
We develop for both platforms, and honestly, the conversion isn't as painful as people fear for most strategies. Simple trend-following or grid EAs usually convert in a day or two. Complex multi-symbol portfolio EAs can take a week.
How to decide
Use MT4 if:
- You already have MQL4 EAs that work and you don't want to rewrite them
- You only trade forex
- You prefer simplicity and low resource usage
- Your broker only offers MT4 (increasingly rare)
Use MT5 if:
- You're starting fresh with no existing EA investment
- You want accurate backtesting with real tick data
- You trade multiple asset classes
- You're developing complex strategies in MQL5
- Your broker only offers MT5 (increasingly common)
Use both if:
- You have legacy MT4 EAs running live but want MT5 for new development and backtesting. This is what a lot of our users do.
The bottom line
MT4 is the Nokia 3310 of trading platforms — old, reliable, does the basics, and refuses to die. MT5 is where everything is heading: better backtesting, better programming language, more markets, more features.
If someone puts a gun to your head and says "pick one," pick MT5. But if your MT4 setup is making money, there's no rush to change. The best platform is the one your profitable strategy runs on.
Check out the FXTool marketplace for tools that work on both platforms, or read our complete EA backtesting guide to get the most out of whichever platform you choose.
About the author: The FXTool team builds and tests MetaTrader trading tools daily. We run every EA we sell on live accounts and publish the results. This guide reflects what we've learned from building 50+ EAs and working with thousands of retail traders.
Forex trading involves significant risk and may result in total loss of capital. This article is for educational purposes only and is not investment advice. Understand the risks and consider your financial situation before trading.