For automated FX trading, which should you choose, MT4 or MT5?
When you try to start automatic trading for FX, the question that always comes up is "Which should I use, MT4 or MT5?"
Both are trading platforms developed by MetaQuotes and can run EA (FX automated trading programs).
However, each has its own strengths and characteristics, and the choice depends on your goals.
■ There are still overwhelmingly more EAs for MT4
In the Japanese market, MT4-compatible EAs are still far more prevalent.
EAs developed in MQL4 have circulated for a long time, and there are countless products both domestically and internationally.
Even on Gogocan, MT4 versions are mainstream, with many sellers and users.
In other words, there are many cases where the EA you want only supports MT4.
In this case, choosing MT4 without hesitation is realistic.
■ No major difference for scalping or day-trading levels
In terms of actual operation level, for short-term trading like scalping or day trading, there is almost no performance difference between MT4 and MT5.
There are differences in backtesting accuracy and order execution speed, but it's rare for real account results to differ significantly.
Note that MT5 supports ultra-fast trading at even faster speeds, measured in milliseconds. If you are doing professional-grade ultra-fast trading, MT5 is essential, but at the individual investor level, these features are usually not required.
MT5 supports multi-threaded processing, allowing efficient use of a computer's CPU for fast processing.
On the other hand, MT4 is single-threaded, but simpler and lighter to run, and remains stable on older PCs or VPSs.
In conclusion, for daily EA operations, either is fine.
■ For free accurate backtests, MT5 has an advantage
If you value backtesting accuracy, MT5 is superior.
The reason is that MT5 uses high-precision data close to tick data by default, allowing accurate validation without additional tools.
It also supports testing multi-currency EAs that handle multiple currency pairs simultaneously.
However, with MT4, you can also perform high-quality tick-data backtests using a tool called Tick Data Suite (TDS).
TDS is paid software, but there is a two-week free trial, during which you can conduct sufficient validation.
Additionally, if you build a virtual environment using Windows Hyper-V, there is talk that you can reuse the TDS trial.
However, this method is outside official support, so use it at your own risk.
If free backtests with data for 1-minute charts or longer on MT4 are sufficient, you can use data from the developer MetaQuotes or use OORORI's MT4, for example. It requires a bit of import effort, but there is still strong demand for manually importing data from Dukascopy.
■ Brokerage support status: MT4 remains dominant, MT5 gaining ground
Even among domestic FX brokers, MT4-compatible brokers are still the mainstream.
Many brokers, such as GMO Click Securities and Gaitame Finest, have provided MT4 for a long time, offering a stable environment.
Recently, however, MT5-compatible accounts are expanding with brokers like OANDA Japan and Gaitame Finest.
In the future, MT5 is expected to become the mainstream.
Therefore, if you plan to use EA over the long term, it’s a good strategy to get accustomed to MT5 as well.
■ Conclusion: prioritize EA support, but it’s okay to go with what you’re used to
The final conclusion is simply to choose based on which platform your desired EA supports.
There are both MT4-only and MT5-only EAs on the market, and some developers release versions that support both.
In fact, I (Trader Hiro) sometimes develop EAs first on MT5, run backtests on OANDA MT5 to adjust, and then port to MT4.
So, if you have environments that run both EAs, you can use whichever you’re comfortable with.
Start with a demo account to run backtests and demo forwards to get accustomed to EA trading.
That’s it for today. See you again!
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