It’s hard to deny the familiarity of MT4 within the forex industry. Nine out of ten brokers will have the platform as part of its options or offer it exclusively to their clients. While more advanced charting packages have come since MT4, it’s still one of the simplest to use with great compatibility across other platforms.
Because of the software’s popularity, traders are spoilt for choice with the number of MetaTrader brokers they could trade with.
With such a huge selection, it can become tricky to distinguish between average and excellent, even though most of the best MetaTrader 4 brokers continually maintain supreme standards.
Therefore, this article will be a comprehensive guide into the best MetaTrader 4 brokers to use and why, the advantages and disadvantages of the MT4 platform, and much more.
Top 10 MT4 Brokers 2022
Broker | Founded | HQ | Regulations | Platforms | Markets | Deposit from | Leverage up to | Website |
2015 | DE, AU, UAE | Depends on the chosen broker | TechBerry, MT4, MT5 | All trading instruments available with MetaTrader | $5000 | Varies | visit | |
2009 | Cyprus | CySEC, FCA, ASIC | MT4, MT5 | Forex, Indices, Commodities, Stocks, Metals | $5 | 1:888 | visit | |
2011 | Cyprus | CySEC, FCA | MT4, MT5, FXTM | Forex, Indices, Commodities, Stocks, Metals | $50 | 1:2000 | visit | |
1974 | UK | CFTC, NFA, FCA, FINMA | MT4, IG | Forex, Indices, Commodities, Stocks, Options, Bonds, ETFs | $0 | 1:50 | visit | |
2007 | Australia | ASIC, FCA, CySEC | MT4, MT5, cTrader | Forex, Indices, Commodities, Stocks, Bonds, Futures, Crypto | $250 | 1:500 | visit | |
2001 | USA | NFA, CFTC, FCA, ASIC, CySEC | MT4, MT5, NinjaTrader | Forex, Indices, Commodities, Stocks, ETFs, Options, Bonds, Crypto | $100 | 1:500 | visit | |
2010 | Cyprus | FCA, CySEC, DFSA, FSCA | MT4, MT5 | Forex, Indices, Commodities, Stocks, Bonds, Crypto | $5 | 1:1000 | visit | |
2003 | Australia | FCA, ASIC | MT4, MT5 | Forex, Indices, Commodities, Stocks, Crypto | $300 | 1:30 | visit | |
2006 | Ireland | CBI, ASIC, BVIFSC, FSA | MT4, MT5, AvaTrade Go | Forex, Indices, Commodities, Options, Bonds, ETFs | $100 | 1:400 | visit | |
2014 | UK | FCA, CySEC, FSCA, FSA | MT4, WebTrader | Forex, Stock Indices, Bonds, Metals | $100 | 1:500 | visit | |
2006 | UK | FCA, CySEC, FSCA, SCB | MT4, MT5, cTrader, FxPro | Forex, Indices, Futures, Options, Stocks, Metals, Energies | $100 | 1:200 | visit |
10 Best Forex Brokers with MT4 platform
The list below is the ten best MT4 brokers, including their advantages and disadvantages
1. TechBerry
No social trading platform can match TechBerry in terms of experience, innovation, and durability. Founded in 2015, it is one of the most dominating players in the online social trading market, with significant gains and a reimbursement policy. Traders can track their trades in real-time, and top financial institutions can receive a customized offer with additional perks.
The platform works with over 50 regulated brokers that are governed by top reputable authorities such as CySec in Cyprus, the FCA, the FSA, and others. Traders from all over the world can participate in the social trading platform. Funds are insured by FIDC banks, making them more secure and reliable.
TechBerry offers a variety of packages, including a free trial with a minimum investment of $5000. Other options vary in terms of loss reimbursements, service fees, and access to personal manager. (TechBerry Review)
Commissions of TechBerry
TechBerry can be accessed with as low as 15% in the service fee. The costs only incur when the platform generates a profit on your funds.
Advantages
- Various membership plans.
- A free trial is available.
- 11.2% monthly profits.
- A loss reimbursement policy that pays up to 100% of your losses.
Disadvantages
- High minimum deposit.
2. XM: Low-cost MT4 Forex BrokerÂ
XM prides itself in providing a modern, simple-to-understand, hassle-free trading experience for hundreds of thousands worldwide. Started in 2009, XM has been an influential force in derivatives market trading backed by competitive execution, reasonable pricing, multi-lingual customer, and fast deposits and withdrawals.
New clients can have peace of mind XM is one of the few respectable brokers offering zero fees on deposits and withdrawals with reasonable conditions, plus free VPS services.
Traders from across the globe can access much of what XM offers with a low deposit of only $5. (XM Review)
Commissions of XM for MT4
Aside from spreads, swaps, XM only applies an inactivity fee of $5 per month for any ‘dormant’ funded accounts with no activity after three months.
Advantages
- Multi-regulated
- Huge range of base account funding currencies
- New clients can receive a $30 no deposit bonus
- Fee-free funding
- Offers numerous accounts including zero-spread accounts
Disadvantages
- Applies inactivity fees
- Average amount of currency pairs
3. FXTM: One Of The Leading Social Trading MT4 BrokersÂ
Founded in 2011, FXTM is a well-known global Mauritius-based CFD broker with additional regulatory licenses from Cyprus and the United Kingdom. Over 2 million clients in most parts of the world can access a range of trading services focusing on cost-efficiency, speedy execution, and accessible customer service.
Not one to shy away from trends, FXTM also has its own social trading service for non-active users to copy over 5000 trading strategies with a minimum of $100.
Since the broker understands the needs of traders, they offer other varied accounts like ECN, cent, and zero spread, making them a favored client-conscious and innovative brokerage. (FXTM Review)
Commissions of FXTM for MT4
Aside from the expected spreads, swaps, commission on the zero spread account varies according to monthly traded volume. FXTM also has inactivity fees at $5 per month after six months.
Most of the brokerage’s deposits and withdrawals are free. However, traders should be mindful of the potential charges from external transfer providers.
Advantages
- Offers different types of accounts
- Multi-regulatory standing
- Many funding and depositing options
- Provides copy trading service
- $10 minimum deposit for most accounts
Disadvantages
- High minimum deposit for zero spread account
- Inactivity fee applies after six months
- A few payment options incur fees
4. IG: MT4 Forex Broker With Close To 50 Years Of Experience
When it comes to experience, innovation, and longevity, few can match IG. Established in 1974 initially as Investors Gold Index, IG is one of the most dominant players in the industry for spot CFD and spread betting trading.
They are one of the prestigious few to hold the status of being a publicly listed brand, namely on the London Stock Exchange and part of the FTSE 250 constituent. This distinction means the broker is highly capitalized and regulated for hundreds of traders worldwide.
Clients have access to all they need with IG regarding platforms, cost-effective execution, account variety, payment choices, customer support, and advantageous trading conditions. (IG Review)
Commissions of IG for MT4
As we should expect from an MT4 broker, IG has spreads and swaps. In addition, inactivity fees apply for no trading activity after two years, along with guaranteed stop loss charges. Deposits and withdrawals are fee-free, though the payment processors can have their own.
Advantages
- Has been operating for 47 years
- Accepts US traders
- Extensive choice of forex pairs available
- Regulated by many regulators
- Thorough education provided by DailyFX
Disadvantages
- Limited funding options
- Restricts offering services to many countries
- No cent account provided
5. IC Markets: MT4 Broker Which Processes The Highest Trading Volume Globally
According to a recent 2021 study by The Tokenist, IC Markets processes the largest trading volume in forex with at least $19 billion daily. IC Markets has been one of Australia’s leading derivatives providers since 2007.
Close to 200 000 clients have the global market at their fingertips with a portfolio of 61 forex pairs, 22 commodities, 13 cryptocurrencies, 11 bonds, 1659 stocks, and 25 indices.
These are provided through institutional-grade pricing and low-latency, fast execution. For traders looking for lower trading costs, IC Markets has a ‘raw’ or zero spread account with a reasonable fixed commission per order.
Overall, IC Markets is highly regarded in all the necessary facets of trading services. (IC Markets Review)
Commissions of IC Markets for MT4
Besides spreads and swaps, IC Markets does charge a decent commission of $3.50 per round turn lot for the zero spread account. Fortunately, the broker provides several currencies for funding, meaning conversion costs should be unlikely.
They also do not charge anything for deposit and withdrawal, though external payment providers could apply their own levies. There are no inactivity fees.
Advantages
- Regulated in several jurisdictions
- Many base currency denominations available
- Provides zero spread account
- Huge choice of markets available
- Offers a few different trading platforms
Disadvantages
- Does not offer negative balance protection
- No cent account provided
FxPro: Supreme No Dealing Desk MT4 Broker
FXPro proudly claims to be the ‘world’s #1 FX broker,’ priding itself on no dealing desk interference, lightning-quick execution, and substantial liquidity to maintain the best possible pricing.
The MT4 broker has been in the industry since 2006, bagging over 80 awards and several global sponsorships. They now boast various regulatory licenses around the world, serving close to 2 million clients in most countries of the globe.
FXPro provides superior trading conditions in CFDs across six prominent asset classes, making them a trustworthy and reliable broker known and used by millions of traders. (FxPro Review)
Commissions of FXPro for MT4
Aside from the usual spreads and swaps, FXPro levies no fees for deposits and withdrawals. However, they do state traders might be subject to charges from banks or other payment processors depending on the payment method used.
FXPro applies an inactivity fee of $5 per month after no trading activity for six months on funded accounts, along with a $15 one-time maintenance fee.
Advantages
- Fully licensed in several districts
- Provides a few different trading platforms
- Wide range of forex pairs offered
- Supports multiple account base currencies
Disadvantages
- Does not offer services to many nations
- Inactivity fee applies
Forex.com: Best MT4 Forex Broker For US Clients
The difficulties for US clients to find forex brokers is well known because of the strict regulations in the country; fortunately, Forex.com is one of the few that does. Started in 2001, the broker is now established as one of the most recognized in both the US and worldwide.
Because of their reputation and substantial capitalization, they now form part of StoneX Group Inc., a financial services group listed on the NASDAQ.
Forex.com is world-class in providing access to over 4500 derivatives in foreign exchange, crypto, shares, indices, and commodities with low-cost trading, funding, and withdrawal costs in mind for millions of traders. (Forex.com Review)
Commissions of Forex.com for MT4
Aside from rollover charges and spreads, Forex.com does have commissions of $5 per round turn lot for the fixed spread account. Forex.com has no deposit and withdrawal charges, but some may apply from the client’s bank or payment processor.
Forex.com levies an inactivity fee of $15 per month if no positions have been opened for more than a year.
Advantages
- US clients can trade forex with the broker
- Has been in business since 2001
- Offers several accounts
- Multi-licensed in different regions
Disadvantages
- 1:50 maximum leverage
- Charges inactivity fee
- No cent account available
HotForex: The Multiple-Account MetaTrader 4 Broker
Not many award-winning brokers can cater to all the demands of forex traders worldwide like HotForex, one of the most identified Cyprus-based CFD providers globally. The broker offers the micro and premium accounts for beginner and advanced traders, respectively.
In addition, a zero spread account is available for the more cost-conscious speculator, along with auto and copy trading accounts for signal receivers and copiers, respectively.
HotForex was founded in 2010 and has since gone on to open more than 2 million live accounts in most parts of the world.
Clients using the brokerage service have access to hundreds of in-demand equities, forex, metals, crypto, commodities, energies, and bonds markets backed by recognized trading platforms, favorable conditions, and excellent customer service. (HotForex Review)
Commissions of HotForex for MT4
Spreads and swaps are the standard charges with any MetaTrader 4 broker. HotForex has no deposit and withdrawal fees, but traders should be mindful of any potentially from their external payment processors.
A commission of between $6 and $8 applies per round turn lot for the zero spread account. For any client who doesn’t open a position in their account for more than six months without closure, an inactivity fee of $5 per month applies.
Advantages
- Regulated in multiple regions
- Offers different account types
- Very low minimum deposit
- Fairly high leverage
Disadvantages
- Inactivity fee applies
- Has offshore regulators
- No cent account
FXOpen: One Of The Leading ECN MT4 Brokers
FXOpen is a retail and institutional CFD provider founded in 2003 from Auckland, Australia. They’ve now expanded by having additional offices in St. Kitts and United Kingdom, with regulatory licenses in these two regions along with one from Cyprus.
The broker takes pride in being a transparent STP (straight through processing) brokerage with no dealing desk intervention, and tight spreads. Alternatively, forex clients can exclusively opt for their ECN account with even lower spreads and a fair commission per position.
Traders can benefit from the broker’s experienced and favorable provision of top-tier brokering across more than 50 spot forex markets, more than 25 crypto markets, and other shares, metals, indices, and commodities CFDs. (FXOpen Review)
Commissions of FXOpen for MT4
Swaps and spreads are standard with all brokers. Except if funding using cryptocurrencies, all other deposit methods are free, though a fee may apply from those processing the payments. Most withdrawal options come at a cost.
A commission of $3 applies per round turn lot for the fixed spread account. An inactivity fee of $10 per month will be charged for funded accounts with no trading activity for more than 90 days.
Advantages
- FCA and ASIC-regulated
- $10 min. deposit for STP account
- Wide range of CFDs to trade
- Offers zero spread account with low commission
- Plenty of funding options, including crypto
Disadvantages
- Inactivity fee applies
- No cent account available
AvaTrade: MT4 Broker With One Of The Best Educational Platforms
Since the Ireland-based broker’s establishment in 2006, AvaTrade (previously known as AvaFX) has continuously maintained its vision of carving a reputation of being a reliable leader in user-oriented online trading.
One of AvaTrade’s outstanding feature is their educational material with a free, dedicated service called Sharp Trader revealing all the necessary knowledge of trading forex. Moreover, clients learning the ropes could consider their copy trading service for non-active traders to profit from the markets.
AvaTrade offers forex, commodities, ETFs, options, equities, cryptocurrencies, and indices for over 200 000 clients worldwide.
Coupled with competent, bilingual customer support, regulation across diverse continents, several payment choices, tailored education, and industry-leading trading conditions, it’s clear to see why AvaTrade is the one of the prime choices for MetaTrader 4 brokers. (AvaTrade Review)
Commissions of AvaTrade for MT4
Excluding the expected spreads and rollover charges, deposits and withdrawal across all their offered options are costless, though payment processors might levy their charges. Moreover, inactivity fees apply after 3 months of no activity at $50 per quarter.
Advantages
- Has offices in 10 countries
- Supports numerous base account currencies
- Brilliant educational platform available
- Offers copy trading facility
- Licensed by numerous supervisory bodies
Disadvantages
- Only provides one account type
- Inactivity fee is charged
Tickmill: One Of The Best MT4 Forex Brokers For Low Trading Costs
With a bold slogan like ‘others think big, we think low,’ it’s easy to see how Tickmill prioritizes low-cost trading across the board. 2014 was the year the broker was founded in Seychelles. Their offices are now in London, Tallinn (Estonia), and Limassol (Cyprus).
Moreover, they are regulated by the leading bodies in Seychelles, United Kingdom, South Africa, Cyprus, and Labuan. Tickmill offers a $30 no deposit welcome bonus for new clients looking to test their trading conditions risk-free.
Traders can invest in forex, precious metals, oil, indices, bonds, and cryptocurrencies using low variable or fixed spread accounts starting from a reasonable $100 minimum deposit. (Tickmill Review)
Commissions of Tickmill for MT4
Spreads and swaps are expected with any broker; fortunately, these are a bargain with Tickmill. Traders won’t incur deposit and withdrawal fees directly from the broker, but should be mindful they might from their banks or payment processors.
The commission on their zero spread account is $2 per lot. No inactivity fees apply with Tickmill.
Advantages
- Low trading costs overall
- Multi-jurisdiction licenses
- Offers zero spread account with tiny commission
- No inactivity fee
- Great educational content available
Disadvantages
- No cent account provided
- Limited number of non-forex markets
What is the MT4 or MetaTrader 4 platform?
MetaTrader 4 (MT4) is an online trading platform developed by the Cyprus-based software developer MetaQuotes Software Corporation. It was released in 2005 and has become the de facto standard in forex trading platforms globally for over a decade.
MT4 became popular primarily because of the ease for traders to create trading scripts and expert advisors. It is also relatively idiotproof, simple to navigate, and free to use, making it suitable for all experience levels of traders.
Despite its overwhelming familiarity in the forex markets, many other CFD instruments are tradeable on the software. An updated version of MetaTrader, MetaTrader 5, was released in 2010 to accommodate other securities and improve upon the technical capabilities.
While the package is also freely available, simple to use, and boasts more features, MetaTrader 4 is still more widely utilized. MT4 is also compatible across multiple devices, operating systems, and forex-related platforms, making for better integration and functionality.
What is an MT4 broker?
An MT4 broker is a financial company providing access for retail and institutional clients to buy and sell currencies on the MT4 platform. For active trading purposes, MetaTrader 4 brokers offer the software free of charge. However, other services like signals and virtual private servers can come at a fee.
Retail clients won’t be able to trade forex on MT4 without a broker. MetaTrader brokers will offer a practice or demo account and a standard live account. A demo account is a simulated version of a live one for clients to trade risk-free, experiment with the platform, build strategies, and generally learn the art of trading forex.
All new traders will need to stay in the demo phase for a sufficient period before switching to the live stage where real money is on the line. Live accounts come in several forms like standard, zero spread, cent, etc., depending on what the brokers offer.
Assets available on MT4
Despite the heavy association of MT4 to forex trading, a plethora of other instruments are easily tradable on the platform as well. All the brokers listed here provide several other types of instruments.
The common additional derivatives users can trade with MT4 include cryptocurrencies, stocks, bonds, energies, metals, commodities, and indices. It will depend solely on what an individual brokerage offers their clients.
Though generally, MT4 accommodates far more markets than just currencies with the same convenience, speed, and ease of trading.
Advantages of using MT4 brokers
Most people introduced to forex trading in some form understand the immense popularity of MT4, though they may not understand why this software package has become the go-to place in this market. Below are the five advantages of using MT4 brokers:
- Free to use: There are no costs for using a demo and live account with MetaTrader 4 brokers.
- Popular trading software: As already mentioned, more than 90% of brokers offer MT4 to their clients, meaning wide accessibility within the industry. Even when someone switches between various MT4 brokers, they will be already familiar with navigating the software.
- Simple to navigate: Any excellent charting package should simplify the complex nature of trading the markets. As luck would have it, this advantage exists for anyone using an MetaTrader 4 broker.
- Compatibility with other platforms: The hallmark of any charting package is compatibility across other trading services like analytics software, simulators, and so on. Traders using a MetaTrader 4 broker can link their reasons accounts over these with ease.
- Availability on multiple devices: Unlike other trading software available on a limited range of formats, MT4 is available in web, desktop, and mobile versions across most known operating systems. As MT4 is a fairly old program, it can work well even on older devices, which is another advantage of using an MT4 forex broker.
- Ease of creating expert advisors: MT4’s programming language, MQL4, is regarded as one of the simplest to learn for creating expert advisors or trading robots. It is one of the reasons for the software’s widespread growth in the last 16 years.
Disadvantages of trading with the MT4 platform
In spite of all the known benefits of using MT4 forex brokers, the platform is not without its flaws, mainly in not being as advanced as other trading software: Although MT4 is more than capable at meeting the charting and execution demands of the modern trader, it still pales technically compared to more sophisticated charting packages.
Aside from MT4’s somewhat lacklustre charting capabilities, many experienced traders consider it slower and clunky unlike others like TradingView and cTrader. It’s important to note MT4 is an old software which hasn’t been technically upgraded, besides the release of MT5.
Thus, overall, the features and customer support are on the lower end in comparison to other products in the industry.
How to choose an MT4 broker?
If we could mentioned five things for anyone to observe when choosing the best forex brokers for MT4, they would be the following:
Regulation
Verifying regulation in the best forex brokers for MT4 is often at the top of the list for prospective clients. Some regulatory bodies like the FCA, ASIC, CySEC, CFTC, and others from Europe, North America and Asia are considered tier-1 because they are the strictest and most recognized.
These are the groups traders should note when choosing an MT4 broker. Other regulators are seen as less strict and known, particularly from those so-called offshore regions.
Negative balance protection
Because of the highly leveraged environment of trading currencies, being protected from a possible negative balance is essential.
Although MT4 forex brokers do employ automatic stop out levels which prevent an account from going below zero, negative balance protection helps in the rare case of volatile or frantic market conditions. Unwanted slippage might cause a trader to lose more than expected.
Trading costs
Trading costs encompass the active execution fees, namely spreads, swaps, and commissions, along with other ones concerning deposits, withdrawals, and anything else.
Luckily, spreads are fairly tight across the board. Swaps are also consistent, though some notable variation might exist with thinly-traded markets, namely exotics. Commissions should only apply for fixed or zero spread accounts, which are also relatively low in most cases.
Fees for other things should generally be zero or low.
Range of markets
All MT4 forex brokers should provide at least the 28 combinations of the major and cross currencies (AUD, CAD, CHF, EUR, GBP, JPY, NZD, and USD). A good selection of at least 10 exotic pairs is also beneficial for traders wishing to expand their portfolio.
Customer service
Nowadays, all the best MetaTrader 4 brokers must have a functioning and interactive live chat facility on their websites. This channel tends to solve many queries online without any telephonic or email support.
Other communication methods like phone, email, and even instant messaging services are also necessary for the best MT4 brokers.
MetaTrader 4 brokers FAQs
What broker should I use for MetaTrader 4?
This will depend on numerous factors across many MT4 forex brokers; there is no one size fits all. Traders should observe all the five factors listed above. Other things to account for include the type of accounts offered, the minimum deposit, trading conditions, withdrawal times, and other special features which may exist.
Can I use MetaTrader 4 without a broker?
No. It’s important to note MetaTrader itself is an independent trading platform and not a brokerage firm. An MT4 forex broker offers the platform to users for them to open and manage their positions and accounts through the trading conditions they provide.
So, effectively, one will need a broker to use the MT4 software in the demo and live account stage.
Does MetaTrader 4 take commission?
No. The commission structure depends entirely on the chosen MetaTrader 4 broker.
What is the minimum deposit for MetaTrader 4?
Again, this will depend on the chosen MetaTrader 4 broker. Due to the industry’s competitiveness, many providers allow for deposits as low as $10, with some having no minimum.
On average, traders, could expect to fund at least $100, though it often is less than this with the vast majority of MT4 forex brokers.