MT5 vs MT4: why VexPro runs only on MetaTrader 5

MetaTrader 4 (MT4) and MetaTrader 5 (MT5) are two trading platforms built by the same company, MetaQuotes. MT4 was launched in 2005 and became the standard for retail Forex; MT5 arrived in 2010 as a new platform, not a simple upgrade. At first glance they look alike — charts, a Market Watch window, a terminal with your orders — but under the hood they work differently, and those differences explain why more and more brokers, VexPro among them, work only with MT5.

The first difference is analysis. MT4 offers 9 timeframes, from 1 minute to 1 month; MT5 offers 21, with intermediate intervals such as 2, 3, 10 or 20 minutes and 2, 3, 6, 8 or 12 hours. The toolbox grows too: MT5 includes 38 built-in technical indicators and 44 graphical objects, compared with the 30 built-in indicators in MT4. For a discretionary trader, that means fitting the chart to your method without relying on external add-ons.

The second difference is orders. MT4 supports four pending order types: Buy Limit, Sell Limit, Buy Stop and Sell Stop. MT5 adds two more, Buy Stop Limit and Sell Stop Limit, which combine a stop-style trigger with a limit-price entry: useful for entering a breakout only if the price pulls back to a level you choose. On both platforms you can attach a Stop Loss and a Take Profit to every position.

The third is market information. MT5 comes with built-in Depth of Market (DOM), which shows the prices and volumes available at each level, and an integrated economic calendar with the most relevant macro events, without leaving the terminal. Neither feature is included natively in MT4. MT5 also supports two position-accounting systems — netting and hedging — whereas MT4 only works with hedging.

The fourth is performance and automation. MT5 is a 64-bit application with a multi-threaded strategy tester: it can spread tests across every processor core, test several symbols at once and use real ticks from history. MT4’s tester runs on a single thread with one symbol per test. Robots are written in different languages: MQL4 on MT4 and MQL5 on MT5. That is why an Expert Advisor written for MT4 will not run on MT5 without being adapted.

The fifth is scope. MT4 was designed mainly for Forex and CFDs; MT5 was built as a multi-asset platform, able to handle currencies, indices, commodities, cryptocurrencies, shares and other instruments in the same terminal. That design is what lets a broker offer its full range of markets in a single environment.

At VexPro we work exclusively with MetaTrader 5. Every trading account — ECN, STP, Cent and Synthetics — runs on MT5 with the VexPro-Server server and an average execution time under 20 ms, and so do the Vex Funded programmes. The platform is free and available as Web Trader (also the recommended route on Mac), Windows desktop and iOS and Android apps, with the same account synced across every device. The connection between your terminal and the server is encrypted end to end, and you can set price alerts and push notifications.

Focusing on a single platform has a practical advantage for you: everything you learn — shortcuts, templates, indicators, robots — works for any account you open with us. You can run Expert Advisors and signals written in MQL5 and backtest with historical data in the strategy tester.

If you are coming from MT4, the move is easier than it looks. Manual trading is almost identical: opening charts, placing orders and managing positions work the same way. What does need work is your robots and custom indicators: you will need their MQL5 version or to adapt them, and it is worth testing them again in the strategy tester before using them live. We recommend starting on a demo account, which mirrors the conditions of the live account, until you feel comfortable.

Choosing a platform does not change the risk of trading. MT5 gives you more tools, but it does not guarantee results: leverage amplifies both gains and losses, and trading leveraged instruments carries a high risk of loss and may not be suitable for all investors.