Best Forex Trading Platforms
Trading Platforms
Best Forex Trading Platforms
Gain insight and make the most informative decision.
Choose the best Platform Is There One Platform That Towers Over Others?
Is There One Platform That Towers Over Others?
How To Pick the Best One for You?
Forex trading means making a lot of choices. Some of those you make on the spot, but others you’ll need to think on. The question of the day is, what are the best Forex trading platforms, and how can we even make a choice?
TRADING PLATFORMS
One Platform to Rule Them All?
Is there even such a thing as THE best Forex trading platform? In short, the answer is no. Trading platforms are interfaces that your currency brokers provide to you, allowing you to become a trader on the Forex market.
There are different versions out there. Some are app-based, others are web portals, and you’ll even find downloadable programs out there. If you pick a good platform, you might even get some trading tools that will help you with active trading and finding your way on the Forex market.
However, no matter the format, all Forex trading platforms have one thing in common — they provide you with a trading space.
As with many other things in life, picking a Forex trading platform comes with a catch-22. You don’t actually choose the platform. Top Forex brokers already operate with one or several platform providers. Therefore, your choice of platform actually depends on your choice of broker.
Brokers can also operate on their own (without the use of a specific platform) with trading or financial companies such as Plus500, IQ Options, eToro, etc.
For your convenience and to finally answer the question of which is the best Forex trading platform out there, here’s the list of our top picks.
MetaQuotes Platforms
When it comes to the popular vote, MetaQuotes wins it by a landslide. If you ask an average trader which platform they are using, most of the time, you’ll hear the words MetaQuotes somewhere in their answer.
They’ve been on the market for over 20 years, so they know their stuff regarding trading platforms. If you opt for one of their platforms, you can take your pick between MetaTrader 4 and MetaTrader 5.
Platform
MetaTrader 4
MetaTrader 4 has been on the market since 2005, and it’s still one of the most popular platforms out there. That’s probably due to the fact that it’s an ideal fit both for Forex beginners and veterans. With millions of active traders, MetaTrader 4 is a platform offering a level of stability and reliance few others can.
MetaTrader 4
Advantages
- A variety of features — because it was designed specifically for FX trading, this platform has a wide variety of specific features that will help you trade better. With expert advisors on hand and a 1-click trading option, MetaTrader 4 is a strong contender on the market. It also offers more than 50 indicators and nine different time frames. Multicharting and pending and limit orders are also viable options.
- Stability — given that it was the first FX platform ever that to this day has millions of users, it’s no surprise that it’s a stable, reliable platform.
- Stellar customer service and customer support
MetaTrader 4
Disadvantages
- You can’t trade share CFDs since MT 4 focuses solely on currency trading
- There’s only a basic charting package (advanced charting isn’t something that MetaTrader 4 can pride itself in).
- It’s a bit slow (compared to some other platforms)
- It has limited technical indicators as well as instruments
MetaTrader 4
MetaTrader 4 Supreme Edition Add-On
With the latest add-on, you can boost your trading experience. Thanks to the Supreme Edition add-on, MetaTrader 4 also offers more than 50 additional tools. Most traders will find all of them more than helpful, especially the:
- advanced technical analysis indicators
- global opinion widgets
- mini terminals and trade terminals
- tick chart traders
Platform
MetaTrader 5
Although they say that you shouldn’t fix it if it’s not broken, MetaQuotes disagrees. That’s why they made the MetaTrader 5 just three years after the MetaTrader 4 release. The reasoning behind this decision was to allow traders to tackle share CFD trading.
MetaTrader 5
Advantages
- Since one of the disadvantages of MT4 was how slow it was, MetaQuotes decided to fix that. MT5 is significantly faster.
- The features of MT5 are what puts this platform head and shoulders above others. It offers 21 timeframes that you as a trader can view. There are eleven types of minute charts, seven types of hourly charts, and six different pending orders. All of this is an improvement compared to the MT4. Aside from that, traders have netting and hedging options as well as a DoM function. This function allows them to see all activity at different price points.
MetaTrader 5
Disadvantages
- MetaQuotes changed their programming language when they made MT5 which is why MT4 users are reluctant to switch to MT5.
MetaTrader 5
MetaTrader 5 Supreme Edition Add-On
Although Mt5 is already an improvement upon the older MT4, with the Supreme Edition add-on, it gets even better. The add-on offers the same advantages as the one for MT4 does.
Trading Platforms
Other Trading Platforms to Consider
Of course, there’s more to the world of Forex trading platforms than just MetaQuotes.
Trading
cTrader
This Spotware platform offers advanced trading and charting features, and, unlike MT4 and MT5, it’s available in a web browser. It’s the third most popular platform on the market and it has significant advantages compared to all others (including the MetaQuotes crowd).
cTrader
Advantages
- It has a more niche online community, but it’s tight-nit (which means they don’t mind sharing educational resources).
- It offers several different options when it comes to DoM (Depth of Market)
cTrader
Disadvantages
- Support isn’t as easy to come by as it is for Mt4 and Mt5 platforms.
- You can’t customize indicators.
- Available only on Android and iOS devices.
- UK-based servers might cause issues with trading speeds and accessing liquidity.
Trading
NinjaTrader
Battling their way onto the forex market since 2004, NinjaTrader is an active stock, Forex, and futures trading platform. Although it’s a popular platform, it does have significant drawbacks to it that are worth considering.
NinjaTrader
Advantages
- Advanced charting system
- Automated strategy development feature
- Trade stimulation
NinjaTrader
Disadvantages
- It is not available for free; you have to buy a lifetime license to trade via NinjaTrader or lease it for a specific period.
- They don’t offer market data.
Trading
ESignals
Another veteran on the market, ESignals is an excellent option for everyone who’s looking to take full advantage of technical analysis. All of its features are fully customizable, making it a bit of a miss for novice traders. Advanced traders will enjoy it, though.
ESignals
Advantages
- The coding language makes everything customizable so users can create their own market screeners, trading strategies, etc.
- The charting tools are highly advanced and superior.
- Price feeds are incredibly detailed, authentic, and accurate.
- You can view more than 500 symbols as well as hundreds of indicators at the same time.
ESignals
Disadvantages
- There’s a monthly (or annual) fee. If you opt not to pay for it, you can’t access the real-time data feeds.
- Aside from the monthly fee, you also have to pay extra for each add-onn.
Trading
ProReal Time
A web-based trading platform with no download requirements? Tell us more! ProReal Time is a technical analysis software for automated trading.
ProReal Time
Advantages
- Technical analysis features that include over 100 indicators, advanced filtering options, and an interface with lots of charts and no limit on timeframes are ProReal Time’s most significant assets.
- It’s a good fit for both micro and macro traders.
ProReal Time
Disadvantages
- The software license is expensive. Furthermore, there are additional costs for those that want to access real-time market data.
- Mobile trading isn’t an option.
- It’s not available worldwide. US and Australia-based traders either have no access or can only access the demo version.
Trading
MarketsX
MarketsX offers an individual approach to trading. However, at the same time, it takes a broad approach to trading, as it has multi-trading capabilities. That, of course, is a double-edged sword, but MarketsX still has a lot to offer.
MarketsX
Advantages
- The platform offers a perfected set of trading tools
- It has sentiment analysis tools as well as risk management tools
- Assessing the market trends is made easier with technical and fundamental analysis tools
MarketsX
Disadvantages
- It’s only available to Markets.com users
- It doesn’t really focus on the needs of Forex traders
Trading
ThinkOrSwim
A platform of many faces, ThinkOrSwim is available on both mobile and desktop, and it also has a web-compatible version. It takes charting features and research tools to the next level, which is what makes it a strong contender in the race for the best Forex platform.
ThinkOrSwim
Advantages
- Available on Mac (this is a great advantage, as there aren’t many platforms that can say the same)
- Offers research and news sources to its traders to help educate them
- More than 300 chart studies
- Social trading is available
ThinkOrSwim
Disadvantages
- Having too many tools means the traders need to be knowledgeable or willing to invest a lot of time into learning how to use them (otherwise, they are useless)
- It’s only available in the US
Step 3
So, How Do You Choose?
If there were one platform to rule them all, it would be the MT4. The stability, along with the numerous features that have been enhanced with the new add-on, make this platform a winner in anyone’s book.
Still, as mentioned, by picking a broker, you’re also picking the platform. So, if you opt for a broker that isn’t integrated with the MT4, don’t worry. As you can see, there are plenty of amazing, reliable Forex platforms out there. Alternatively, you can browse through brokers’ offers based on the platforms they are using.
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