MT4 in 2026: why it refuses to die
MetaQuotes stopped issuing new MT4 licences some time ago, nudging brokers toward MT5. But most retail forex traders haven't moved. The reason is straightforward: MT4 has twenty years of muscle memory behind it. A huge library of custom indicators, Expert Advisors, and community scripts only work with MT4. Switching to MT5 means porting that entire library, and the majority of users can't justify the effort.
After testing both platforms side by side, and the differences are marginal for most strategies. MT5 adds a few extras like more timeframes and a built-in economic calendar, but the core charting is nearly identical. For most retail strategies, there's no compelling reason to switch.
MT4 setup: what the manual doesn't tell you
Installation takes a few minutes. What actually causes problems is getting everything configured correctly. By default, MT4 shows four charts squeezed onto one window. Clear the lot and open just the instruments you actually trade.
Chart templates save time. Build your preferred indicators on one chart, then right-click and save as template. After that you can apply it to any new chart without redoing the work. Sounds trivial, but over time it saves hours.
Something most people miss: go to Tools > Options > Charts and enable "Show ask line." By default MT4 displays the bid price by default, which can make buy entries seem misaligned until you realise the ask price is hidden.
MT4 strategy tester: honest expectations
MT4 comes with a backtester that gives you the ability to run Expert Advisors against historical data. But here's the thing: the accuracy of those results comes down to your tick data. Built-in history data is not real tick data, meaning gaps between real data points are estimated using algorithms. For anything beyond a rough sanity check, grab real tick data from a provider like Dukascopy.
That quality percentage in the results matters more than the profit figure. Anything below 90% indicates the results shouldn't be taken seriously. I've seen people post backtest results with 25% modelling quality and ask why live trading looks different.
The strategy tester is one of MT4's stronger features, but it's only as good as the data you give it.
Building your own MT4 indicators
MT4 comes with 30 default technical indicators. Few people use more than five or six. But where MT4 gets interesting lives in community-made metatrader 4 brokers indicators built with MQL4. There are over 2,000 options, ranging from tweaked versions of standard tools to full trading dashboards.
The install process is painless: copy the .ex4 or .mq4 file into your MQL4/Indicators folder, refresh MT4, and the indicator shows up in the Navigator panel. One thing to watch is quality. Free indicators range from excellent to broken. Some are solid tools. Some are abandoned projects and may crash your terminal.
Before installing anything, look at when it was last updated and if other traders report issues. A poorly written indicator doesn't only show wrong data — it can lag your entire platform.
Managing risk properly inside MT4
You'll find some risk management tools that a lot of people don't bother with. First worth mentioning is the maximum deviation setting in the new order panel. This defines how much slippage you'll accept on market orders. Without this configured and you're accepting whatever price the broker gives you.
Everyone knows about stop losses, but MT4's trailing stop feature are worth exploring. Click on an open trade, pick Trailing Stop, and enter the pip amount. It adjusts with price moves in your favour. Not perfect for every strategy, but if you're riding trends it takes away the temptation to sit and watch.
None of this is complicated to set up and the difference in discipline is noticeable over time.
Running Expert Advisors: practical expectations
EAs attract traders for obvious reasons: program your strategy and stop staring at charts. In reality, the majority of Expert Advisors fail to deliver over any extended time period. EAs sold with flawless equity curves are often over-optimised — they performed well on past prices and stop working the moment conditions shift.
This isn't to say all EAs are useless. Some traders build custom EAs for specific, narrow tasks: time-based entries, managing position sizing, or exiting positions at set levels. That kind of automation work because they do defined operations that don't require judgment.
When looking at Expert Advisors, use a demo account for no less than several weeks in different conditions. Running it forward in real time tells you more than backtesting alone.
Using MT4 outside Windows
MT4 was built for Windows. Mac users face a workaround. Previously was running it through Wine, which was functional but introduced display glitches and occasional crashes. Some brokers now offer macOS versions using Crossover or similar wrappers, which are better but still aren't true native apps.
The mobile apps, available for both Apple and Android devices, are genuinely useful for monitoring positions and managing trades on the move. Full analysis on a mobile device isn't realistic, but adjusting a stop loss on the go is worth having.
Look into whether your broker has a proper macOS version or just Wine under the hood — it makes a real difference day to day.