A beginner's MT4 EA — Compare MT4 accounts by spread, swap, and execution quality

Actually, even though it’s called MT4, each company is a little different.
The differences are“Spread”and“Swap”, and“Execution quality”.
A “spread” is the difference between the buy and sell prices at order entry—like a fee—and lower spreads make profits easier.

“Swap” is the interest rate. It is the interest credited the next day’s open time (winter 7:10, summer 6:10) for positions held across the NY close time (winter 6:55, summer 5:55). If you hold over the weekend, three days are credited on the following Wednesday, so you can earn a little from swaps, but it’s a bit complicated, so I won’t go into detail now.
Also, swaps can be positive or negative depending on whether the position is long or short, so be careful.

Additionally, brokers have their own services and campaigns, so it’s good to look around!

……
There is a page on GogoJungle called “FX Spread Comparison,” so it’s worth taking a look.
They measure spreads in real time.

As for swaps, there isn’t a comparison tool, so I’ll compare that another time.

On Mondays around the opening gaps and around daily rollover times (6:00–7:00 in the morning), and during major news releases, spreads can widen.
In such times, it’s important to see whether spreads widen too much, and whether orders actually fill properly.
Some EAs include a “Spread Filter” function that prevents entries when the spread is wider than a certain number of pips.

Also, did you know that spreads vary by currency pair?
For USDJPY, Golden Way Japan (FXTF) has the narrowest at 0.1 pips, but for CHFJPY or AUDUSD, spreads are especially tight with Forex Finest.
OANDA Japan generally has lower overall spreads and a solid impression.
Using different accounts for different currency pairs is also a smart move.

Actually, you don’t know execution quality until you try it… (sweat)
High execution quality means there is no time lag in entering or closing positions.
That means it fills at the price you intended.

So what does low execution quality mean? When the chart moves violently (during indicator releases or news events) or when spreads widen, pressing the entry button may take time to fill (slippage)
Leading to entering at an unfavorable price or even order rejection.

How does this affect EA operation? It can mean entering on one account but not on another, or the timing of closures may differ between accounts.

High execution quality is said to be related to the strength of the server, and in that sense there are differences between demo and real accounts; even within the same FX company, real vs demo may differ.

Oh, if you open a real account, there are campaigns where you can get an EA for free, so
if you’re going to open an account, what about choosing one of those?
Account Opening Campaignpage has details.