What is the best Forex trading platform?

There are more Forex trading platforms than we can count, but only a few of them deserve being called the best. You see, the best platforms to trade Forex on are very subjective. What this means is whoever calls something the best, it is based on their own opinion, rather than the opinion of the whole market.
 
So if MT4 is the best for you, it does not mean that it is the best for everybody else. However, we can’t deny the fact that some platforms are much more popular than others. Because of this, let us focus on only 5 possible platforms that a trader could choose.
 
Three of these platforms: MT4, MT5, and cTrader would be considered as the most popular ones, and the two others: UTIP and Ninja Trader the less used versions.
 
In order to determine the best FX trading platform, we need to figure out why people use these ones. For example how MT4 is popular because it’s very simple to use and well optimized, or how UTIP is designed to be a budget version of MT4.
 
All of these facts combined can create an impression about a specific platform, but calling one the best is simply impossible, that would be up to you and your preferences.

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Top Forex trading platforms and how to find one

Let us now take a more detailed look at each of these platforms to see what they have to offer to their users and why people actually choose them. Although some of the reasons may be very similar, there are still some differences that experts manage to find on these platforms. Let’s outline some of them.

 

MT4

MT4 is the most popular Forex trading platform out right now. It can be found with almost every single broker that exists in the market. One of the main reasons is because it was one of the first-ever Forex trading software that was created.
 
The reason why MT4 is considered the best FX trading platform is its age. You see, although the design may look outdated, MT4 is really well optimized. Every software has bugs, but because MT4 has been around for so long, pretty much all of them have been fixed.
What is the best Forex platform to use
Furthermore, if you ever have some kind of issue on the platform it’s very easy to get a solution from the community because of how big it actually is.
 
MT4 also has the advantage of being available on a lot more broker platforms than any other software. Because of this, traders have the opportunity to switch brokers but keep the same platform that they are used to.


MT5

Both MT4 and MT5 have the same design. In fact, it is almost impossible to tell them apart. But MT5 is not considered one of the best trading platforms Forex has to offer because it’s similar to MT4, but because it is slightly better.
 
You see, the main advantage to MT5 is that it has everything that MT4 has but more of it. For example, MT4 has 9 timeframes, whereas MT5 has 21. This can also be said about indicators, Expert Advisors, charting mechanics and many other tools.
 
Also, MT5 was not created with only Forex trading in mind, it is optimized for things like CFD trading as well, which could come in handy for people looking to diversify without changing their platforms.
Best platforms to trade Forex

Overall, MetaTrader 5 can be considered an “upgraded” version of MT4, but not to a point that makes it the obvious choice. The people that use this software are still quite subjective in their rating of it.


cTrader

We can easily say that cTrader is definitely among the top 5 Forex trading platforms in terms of popularity. When it comes to using the platform, it gets a bit more subjective.
 
CTrader is very well optimized much like MT4. The company behind it, Spotware, was very delicate in building this platform with both beginner and expert traders in mind. Things like chart types, timeframes, indicators and EAs are very easy to access and use as well.
Top Forex trading platform

In terms of design, cTrader has a much more modern feel to it. Whereas MT4 looks like it was designed for Windows XP, cTrader looks more like the beloved Windows 7 or Windows 10 models.
 
Thankfully, cTrader also has a large community that is always ready to help if there are any issues with the software.
 
  • Optimized
  • Good design
  • Popular

UTIP

UTIP is an upcoming platform, but it is nowhere near as popular as MT4 or cTrader. However, it has formed quite a large community around it in specific countries such as Russia. But no worries, it is optimized for multiple languages.
 
The reason why it is considered one of the best software for trading Forex is due to how well it is designed for scalpers. The platform has a specific tool called “Fast orders”. It’s a method for traders to open and close their trades with just one click as fast as they want.
 
Scalping itself is an FX trading strategy where traders close positions within seconds after opening them. Thanks to this one-click option they are able to do this much faster and much more often.
 
In terms of design though, UTIP resembles MT4 quite a lot, but still has a bit more modern feel to it. However, as already mentioned UTIP is an upcoming platform, so it is not available with every broker. So, whenever a trader wants to switch they may have to switch their software as well and learn it all over again.


Ninja Trader

Ninja Trader is also an upcoming platform, which is more similar to cTrader than MT4 or MT5, but we aren’t discussing similarities here, we’re trying to find the best Forex trading platforms for beginners as well as experts.
 
In terms of optimization, most users say that the software is more than enough for what they need on a daily basis. In terms of placing trades, using tools and generally interacting with the system it seems to be at a satisfactory level.
 
One major difference with Ninja Trader is that it can be purchased. Even though this may sound like a disadvantage, there is some understanding as to why people would buy it. For example, when traders use MT4 or MT5, it’s technically free. However, the broker may sometimes have a markup on their spread in order to pay for the MT4 license that they provide.
 
With NinjaTrader, brokers are not forced to buy the license because the traders themselves buy the software or pay monthly subscriptions. Although paying for software is not necessarily a good thing, it still has the potential of being cheaper than the markup on spreads over the years.

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What is the best Forex platform to use - Key takeaways

After looking at just 5 available platforms on the FX market we can easily see that almost all of them are very unique. That is one of the reasons why the best software cannot be named objectively. It will always depend on what the trader needs and what the trader likes.
 
However, it is not impossible to find the best one for you specifically. Most traders tend to try out as many as they can or watch other people use them. Once they have the knowledge they can simply base their choice on how they feel about the software. Do they like how it works? Do they like how it looks? And only then, do they consider things like popularity and tools.
 

FAQ on best Forex trading software

How many Forex trading platforms are there?

It is pretty hard to determine the actual number of Forex trading platforms, but it is believed that there are around 30 right now. This includes things like personal platforms for specific brokers as well as universal software like cTrader or MT4.

But, this will definitely change. Technology is getting better and better every day so it won’t be surprising if the next best platform is just around the corner.
 

How do I use these platforms?

Almost every platform can be downloaded on your desktop. Most of them are optimized for all three Windows, Linux, and macOS.

The creators of these platforms make sure that no matter how strong your device is it can still handle running this software, so you don’t really have to get a new computer or a laptop to support it.

However, the future best FX trading platforms may require some power as fast and efficient trading becomes more accessible to the average trader.

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