Juxtman
Member
cTrader and MetaTrader 4/5 are the two most popular trading platforms available to forex market players. How do they differ, what are their strengths? Does any deserve to be called a leader?
MetaTrader – produced by MetaQuotes – is the world’s most known trading platform for investing in the forex market. Currently, it has 2 variants: the older and more widespread among traders – MetaTrader 4, and newer, more modern – MetaTrader 5. MetaTrader 4/5 platforms have an established position on the market, which is why they are most often chosen by forex investors. cTrader – the flagship product of the Spotware company – was developed almost 10 years ago but still doesn’t have as many followers as MetaTrader platforms. Although it is not as common as MetaTrader, more and more recognized brokers – as, for example, Pepperstone and IC Markets decided to include it in their offer. It has become especially popular among brokers wanting to attract more experienced traders by offering them more advanced trading tools.
At first glance, you can see significant differences in the user interface of both MetaTrader and cTrader platforms. MT4 with its raw layout focuses on simplicity and an extensive system of Expert Advisor bots which has become invaluable support for traders. However, MT5 differs a lot from its predecessor and alike cTrader platform is more flexible and has higher capacity. On the other hand, the cTrader platform outstands both MetaTrader platforms with its clean modern design and greater interface editing capabilities (many indicators and different timeframes), more advanced ordering and market depth options (which aren’t even available at MT4).
What then makes MT4 – the oldest and less capable platform – still the most popular platform among traders? That’s the EA bots mentioned before. Every platform has its own bots programmed in a specific language MQL4 or MQL5. On the Internet, there are a lot of ready-made solutions written in MQL4 language, which any novice trader can use to copy signals and replicate the strategy of experienced users. Yet, MT4 is neither developed nor supported by MetaQuotes anymore so sooner or later it will have to give its way to newer platforms.
cTrader – main advantages for users
Every broker while deciding which platform to choose while starting a brokerage business should decide what kind of traders he wants to attract. In the case of novice traders, both MetaTrader and cTrader will satisfy all their needs. Giving easier access to MetaTrader, a richer offer of automated strategies and trading robots, this platform will be a better choice for those investors who are largely working on automated strategies. In turn, cTrader will be an ideal platform for investors who use the scalping strategy and place pending orders intensively using the market depth preview.
MetaTrader – produced by MetaQuotes – is the world’s most known trading platform for investing in the forex market. Currently, it has 2 variants: the older and more widespread among traders – MetaTrader 4, and newer, more modern – MetaTrader 5. MetaTrader 4/5 platforms have an established position on the market, which is why they are most often chosen by forex investors. cTrader – the flagship product of the Spotware company – was developed almost 10 years ago but still doesn’t have as many followers as MetaTrader platforms. Although it is not as common as MetaTrader, more and more recognized brokers – as, for example, Pepperstone and IC Markets decided to include it in their offer. It has become especially popular among brokers wanting to attract more experienced traders by offering them more advanced trading tools.
At first glance, you can see significant differences in the user interface of both MetaTrader and cTrader platforms. MT4 with its raw layout focuses on simplicity and an extensive system of Expert Advisor bots which has become invaluable support for traders. However, MT5 differs a lot from its predecessor and alike cTrader platform is more flexible and has higher capacity. On the other hand, the cTrader platform outstands both MetaTrader platforms with its clean modern design and greater interface editing capabilities (many indicators and different timeframes), more advanced ordering and market depth options (which aren’t even available at MT4).
What then makes MT4 – the oldest and less capable platform – still the most popular platform among traders? That’s the EA bots mentioned before. Every platform has its own bots programmed in a specific language MQL4 or MQL5. On the Internet, there are a lot of ready-made solutions written in MQL4 language, which any novice trader can use to copy signals and replicate the strategy of experienced users. Yet, MT4 is neither developed nor supported by MetaQuotes anymore so sooner or later it will have to give its way to newer platforms.
cTrader – main advantages for users
- Market trends preview
- cTrader offers three modes of the charts: Multi-Chart, Single Chart, and Free Chart, which are very useful to get different views of market trends.
- Market Depth
- cTrader provides the opportunity to accurately assess the depth of the market in 3 different variants: Standard, Price and VWAP. Thanks to this, the investor can accurately track the liquidity of the market and place pending orders at precisely planned prices.
- Indicators and time intervals
- the platform offers a wide range of indicators very useful for analyzing market data (moving averages, MACD, Bollinger etc.) and the possibility of setting different time intervals (classic 1/5/15 minutes, 6-minute, 20-minute and many more )
- Algorithmic Trading
- cTrader offers its algorithmic trading tool in the form of integrated cAlgo (cBots) similar to the famous EA available in MT4. It allows programming robots to carry out automated trading operations, creating indicators, strategy optimization and backtesting. The tool works in C # and .NET Framework.
- Expert Advisors
- MetaTrader enables performing algorithmic transactions with the help of Expert Advisors (EA). They can be personally configured and perform commercial operations on behalf of users. EAs are especially useful for novice traders who want to use strategies that are created by experienced investors.
- Multilingualism
- Thanks to the huge popularity, the platform is available in many languages, which is very convenient for users around the globe who can benefit from trading in their native language.
- Simple and popular
- MetaTrader platforms are very intuitive and easy to use, especially for inexperienced traders, they’re more recognizable and more accessible on the market. This makes it easier for the broker to gain customers but at the same time, they must expect bigger competition.
Every broker while deciding which platform to choose while starting a brokerage business should decide what kind of traders he wants to attract. In the case of novice traders, both MetaTrader and cTrader will satisfy all their needs. Giving easier access to MetaTrader, a richer offer of automated strategies and trading robots, this platform will be a better choice for those investors who are largely working on automated strategies. In turn, cTrader will be an ideal platform for investors who use the scalping strategy and place pending orders intensively using the market depth preview.
