MT4 in 2026: why it refuses to die
MetaQuotes stopped issuing new MT4 licences a while back, pushing brokers toward MT5. Still, most retail forex traders stayed put. The reason is straightforward: MT4 does one thing well. Thousands of custom indicators, Expert Advisors, and community scripts run on MT4. Moving to MT5 means rebuilding that entire library, and the majority of users don't see the point.
I spent time testing MT4 and MT5 side by side, and the differences are less dramatic than the marketing suggests. MT5 adds a few extras including more timeframes and a built-in economic calendar, but chart functionality feels about the same. Unless you need MT5-specific features, MT4 is more than enough.
Setting up MT4 without the usual headaches
Installation takes a few minutes. The part that trips people up is getting everything configured correctly. By default, MT4 loads with four charts crammed into the screen. Shut them all and start fresh with the pairs you care about.
Templates are worth setting up early. Build your preferred indicators on one chart, then save it as a template. Then you can load it onto other charts in two clicks. Small thing, but over time it saves hours.
A quick tweak that helps: open Tools > Options > Charts and check "Show ask line." MT4 only shows the bid price by default, which can make buy entries seem misaligned until you realise the ask price is hidden.
Backtesting on MT4: what the results actually mean
The strategy tester in MT4 lets you run Expert Advisors against historical data. But here's the thing: the quality of those results hinges on your tick data. Standard history data is interpolated, meaning it fills in missing ticks mathematically. If you're testing something that needs accuracy, you need third-party tick data.
The "modelling quality" percentage is more important than the bottom-line PnL. Anything below 90% means the results shouldn't be taken seriously. Traders sometimes show off backtests with 25% modelling quality and can't figure out why live trading looks different.
Backtesting is where MT4 earns its reputation, but it's only as good as the data you give it.
Building your own MT4 indicators
MT4 comes with 30 built-in technical indicators. Few people use more than five or six. However the real depth is in user-built indicators built with MQL4. There are over 2,000 options, ranging from basic modifications to elaborate signal panels.
Adding a custom indicator is simple: copy the .ex4 or .mq4 file into your MQL4/Indicators folder, restart MT4, and the indicator shows up in the Navigator panel. The catch is quality control. Community indicators are hit-and-miss. A few are genuinely useful. Many are abandoned projects and may crash your terminal.
When adding third-party indicators, look at how recently it was maintained and whether people in the forums have flagged problems. A broken indicator doesn't only show wrong data — it can lag your entire platform.
The MT4 risk controls you're probably not using
MT4 has several built-in risk management features that the majority of users don't bother with. First worth mentioning is the maximum deviation setting in the trade execution window. It sets how much slippage is acceptable on market orders. If you don't set it and you're accepting whatever price comes through.
Stop losses go without saying, but MT4's trailing stop feature is worth exploring. Click on an open trade, select Trailing Stop, and set your preferred distance. Your stop loss follows with price moves in your favour. Doesn't work well in choppy markets, but on trending pairs it reduces the urge to stare at the screen.
None of this is complicated to set up and they take some of the guesswork out of trade management.
Running Expert Advisors: practical expectations
Expert Advisors on MT4 have obvious appeal: set rules, let the code trade, walk away. In practice, the majority of Expert Advisors fail to more help deliver over any decent time period. Those sold with incredible historical results are usually fitted to past data — they look great on historical data and break down once conditions shift.
That doesn't mean all EAs are useless. Certain traders develop custom EAs for well-defined entry rules: entering at a specific time, calculating lot sizes, or exiting positions at set levels. That kind of automation tend to work because they handle mechanical tasks that don't require discretion.
Before running any EA with real money, test on demo first for at least two to three months. Forward testing reveals more than backtesting alone.
Using MT4 outside Windows
The platform was designed for Windows. If you're on macOS face friction. The traditional approach was running it through Wine, which did the job but came with visual bugs and the odd crash. Some brokers now offer macOS versions using compatibility layers, which are better but remain wrappers at the end of the day.
The mobile apps, available for both iOS and Android, are surprisingly capable for watching open trades and making quick adjustments. Serious charting work on a 5-inch screen is pushing it, but adjusting a stop loss from your phone has saved plenty of traders.
It's worth confirming if your broker provides a native Mac build or just a wrapper — the difference in stability is noticeable.