Overview of the Most Important Forex Trading Platforms

One of the most important tools any forex trader needs is, without a doubt, the trading platform, and the features included in it could help during situations when the market volatility in high and one needs to act in a split of a second.

Since the trading platform is such an important part of the trading infrastructure, we’ve decided to make an overview on some of the most important ones and hopefully, it will help you decide on which broker you would choose. Some of the platforms mentioned are available at easymarkets.com, forex.com, or any other popular forex brokers currently in existence. However there are some who have in-house developed platforms. This Plus500 review is a good example of one that was created by the broker itself.

Metatrader 4

Launched in 2005 by MetaQuotes Software, the MT4 platform had enjoyed a dramatic surge in popularity and by 2008, a large number of online brokerage company had begun to offer it as an alternative to their own proprietary software.

The platform offers a wide range of analytical functions like online quotes and interactive charts with nine periods, 30 built-in technical indicators, 23 analytical objects, and many others. Even though there are 14 years since it had been launched, mt4 continues to be among the most popular platforms in the world, and it is still being used by many forex day traders.

Metatrader 5

Since September 2010, the new and enhanced Metatrader 5 went live, and by the end of 2013, the MQL4 programming language was totally revised, finally reaching MQL5. MT5 is a multi-asset platform offering a wide number of features.

It is compatible with various operating systems, including Linux and Mac OS. Another important aspect to be mentioned is that MT5 offers algorithmic trading using robots. Another built-in tool which can be very helpful is the Strategy Tester, using several techniques to find the ideal speed/quality ratio.

Proprietary platforms

Aside from MT4 and MT5, some popular brokerage companies had already developed their own proprietary platforms in order to offer a personalized trading experience to customers. They are generally structured in a different way and come with different features.

The main advantage of using proprietary platforms is that, if they are a result of a serious research and development process, they could enhance your trading experience and improve execution. In order to stimulate customers to use them, brokers generally offer access to a wider range of assets through their proprietary platforms. EasyMarkets, SaxoBank, XTB, are just a few of the companies that already put out their own platforms and the feedback they get is well-above average.