Every Brokerage Has to Answer This Question Before It Opens
You have decided to launch a brokerage. You have done the research, you have a niche, you understand the licensing path. Then someone asks: are you running MT4 or MT5?
For experienced operators, the answer is almost automatic. For new founders, it is surprisingly easy to get wrong — not because the platforms are complicated, but because the question gets conflated with deeper ones: which do your traders actually use, which is more expensive to license, and what does your infrastructure provider give you by default?
This guide answers all three. The comparison is not academic. It is a decision with real cost and retention implications for a new brokerage going live in 2026.
Why This Decision Still Matters in 2026
MetaQuotes launched MetaTrader 5 in 2010 as the intended successor to MetaTrader 4. Sixteen years later, MT4 still holds a significant share of active forex trading accounts globally.
That persistence is not nostalgia. It reflects trader behaviour that is slow to change, expert advisor ecosystems that were built for MT4 and never fully migrated, and the institutional memory of broker operations teams that trained on MT4 infrastructure. MT5 has grown consistently, particularly among multi-asset brokerages and new launches, but MT4 is not going away — and MetaQuotes has continued issuing MT4 server licenses to white-label partners.
For a new brokerage operator, this matters practically: your traders will ask which platform you run. Your answer affects whether a forex community converts to your platform or stays on a competitor’s.
What Is Actually Different Between the Two
The comparison is not simply MT4 with more features. The two platforms have architectural differences that affect what kind of brokerage you can build.
Instruments and asset classes MT4 was built for forex and CFDs. It supports spot FX pairs, metals, energies, and indices. It does not natively support crypto contracts, futures, or exchange-traded instruments without significant plugin customization.
MT5 was built for multi-asset trading from the start. It supports forex, CFDs, stocks, futures, and crypto natively within a single account. If your brokerage plans to offer crypto pairs, stock CFDs, or futures contracts alongside forex, MT5 is the cleaner architecture.
Order types MT4 supports four pending order types: Limit, Stop, Stop Limit (via custom configuration), and Market. MT5 expands the native order type library to six, including Buy Stop Limit and Sell Stop Limit, and supports Exchange execution mode in addition to the four MT4 execution modes. For most retail forex traders, these additions are irrelevant. For traders coming from an equities or futures background, they match familiar execution behaviour.
Depth of market MT4 does not display depth of market (DOM) natively. MT5 includes DOM functionality as a standard feature. This matters for traders who use order flow or ladder-based strategies, and for brokerages positioning themselves toward a more sophisticated trader profile.
Hedging MT4 allows traders to hold simultaneous long and short positions on the same instrument in the same account — the classic “hedging” that retail forex traders use for position management. MT5, when operating under FIFO (first in, first out) rules, netspositions by default. MT5 does support a hedging mode that mirrors MT4 behaviour, but it must be configured explicitly. New operators launching MT5 who do not configure hedging mode correctly will get support tickets from forex traders who expect to hedge.
Expert Advisors and the EA ecosystem MT4 has the largest retail EA library in the industry. Thousands of commercial and free EAs were written in MQL4. These do not run on MT5, which uses MQL5. MT5 has its own EA ecosystem, and the MQL5 language is more capable than MQL4, but the catalogue is smaller and many strategies that traders know from MT4 are unavailable or require rewriting.
For a brokerage targeting algorithmic traders or traders with existing EA portfolios, this is the most practically significant difference.
The Licensing Question
MetaQuotes licenses both platforms to broker operators, but the commercial terms have shifted over the years.
MT4 server licenses are available through white-label programs run by technology providers. MetaQuotes stopped selling direct MT4 licenses to new brokers in 2020. New operators access MT4 through an existing license holder who sub-licenses white-label access — typically a technology infrastructure provider. This adds one layer of commercial relationship, but it does not meaningfully complicate the operational setup.
MT5 licenses are available directly through MetaQuotes as well as through white-label arrangements.
For most new brokerage operators launching through a white-label infrastructure provider, the platform choice is less about licensing negotiation and more about what the infrastructure provider includes in the package and what traders in your target market prefer.
What Your Target Market Actually Uses
The platform choice is not just a features comparison. It is a trader retention decision.
Forex-first audience: MT4 remains dominant. A brokerage targeting experienced retail forex traders — particularly those in LATAM, MENA, or Southeast Asia — should offer MT4 as the primary platform. Removing that option increases friction at onboarding.
Multi-asset or crypto-integrated audience: MT5 is the natural choice. Traders expecting crypto pairs, stock CFDs, or futures in the same account alongside forex will encounter friction with MT4’s limitations.
Copy trading audience: Both platforms support copy trading infrastructure, but the platform your copy trading provider integrates with matters. If your infrastructure includes a dedicated PAMM/MAMM layer, verify which platform version it connects to before committing.
New, non-technical audience: Traders who are just starting out often have no strong platform preference. For this segment, user experience, mobile quality, and onboarding simplicity matter more than MT4 vs MT5 distinctions. Both platforms have comparable mobile apps; neither is substantially more approachable for a first-time trader.
The Honest Answer for New Operators in 2026
For most new brokerage launches, MT5 is the better default. The reasons:
It supports a broader instrument range without custom configuration, which preserves the option to expand the product offering later. MetaQuotes’ long-term product development is concentrated on MT5. The ecosystem is growing rather than contracting. MT5 white-label licensing is more straightforward for new operators than securing MT4 access through a sub-licensor.
The exception is a brokerage explicitly targeting experienced MT4 traders with existing EA portfolios. In that niche, offering MT4 is a direct competitive advantage.
The practical resolution for operators who are uncertain: launch on MT5, and add MT4 as a secondary platform once trader demand justifies it. The infrastructure cost of running both is modest when the server environment is managed centrally.
What ProtonX Gives You on Day One
Resolving the MT4 vs MT5 question as a new operator assumes you have a technology setup to configure. Most new operators do not want to be technology operators — they want to run a brokerage.
ProtonX includes platform access as part of the standard white-label infrastructure package. You do not negotiate a MetaQuotes license, configure a server group, or source your own bridge independently. The technology stack is pre-integrated — platform, liquidity, KYC, payment processing, and client portal — and available within a 7-day deployment window.
The public pricing is transparent: $2,500 setup, $2,500 per month. At a conservative 50 funded traders placing 5 lots per month each at $5 spread revenue per lot, gross monthly spread revenue is $1,250 — and the break-even trajectory to cover the $2,500 monthly cost becomes a straightforward calculation based on trader volume.
The platform question — MT4 or MT5 — is answered as part of the onboarding process, configured for your trader audience, and maintained by the ProtonX infrastructure team rather than your operations team.
To start: apply for a ProtonX brokerage or book a discovery call to review the platform configuration for your specific target market.
More on the ProtonX launch process: protonx.com/blog
The #process section at protonx.com/#process covers the full 7-day deployment sequence from application to live trading environment.
FAQ
Is MT4 still available for new brokerages in 2026?
Yes, through white-label infrastructure providers who hold existing MT4 server licenses. MetaQuotes stopped issuing direct MT4 licenses to new brokers in 2020, but MT4 access remains available through established technology partners. New operators launching through a white-label infrastructure provider can typically access both MT4 and MT5 within the same package.
Which platform do most retail forex traders prefer in 2026?
MT4 retains a strong user base among experienced retail forex traders, particularly those with established expert advisor strategies. MT5 has grown steadily and is now the dominant choice for new platform deployments, multi-asset brokerages, and operators launching into markets where trader preferences are less entrenched. The right answer depends on your target trader profile.
Can a new brokerage offer both MT4 and MT5 at the same time?
Yes. Most infrastructure providers can configure both platforms within a shared server environment. Offering both platforms increases onboarding flexibility and removes a friction point for traders who have a strong platform preference. The operational overhead of running both is low when the infrastructure is centrally managed.
What happens to MT4 expert advisors on MT5?
Expert advisors written in MQL4 do not run natively on MT5. MT5 uses MQL5, a different language with similar syntax but distinct functions. Some MQL4 EAs can be recompiled or translated, but this requires development work. If your target traders rely heavily on MT4 EAs, this is a meaningful consideration in the platform decision.
Does MT5 support hedging like MT4?
MT5 supports a hedging account mode that allows simultaneous long and short positions on the same instrument, mirroring MT4 behaviour. However, this mode must be explicitly configured. The default MT5 configuration uses netting mode, which offsets opposing positions. New operators should verify their platform configuration matches the hedging expectations of their trader audience.
What is the cost difference between MT4 and MT5 licensing?
Licensing structures vary by provider and volume. MT5 direct licensing from MetaQuotes uses a usage-based pricing model. MT4 white-label access through existing license holders typically involves a flat monthly fee or per-account charge depending on the provider. For new operators launching through an all-in-one white-label infrastructure provider, both platforms are typically included in the package pricing rather than licensed separately.
Does the platform choice affect liquidity access or execution quality?
No. Execution quality and LP access are determined by the bridge, aggregation layer, and LP relationships — not by whether the platform is MT4 or MT5. Both platforms connect to external liquidity through the same bridge infrastructure. A new operator with good LP access and a well-configured bridge will achieve equivalent execution quality on either platform.