Beginner’s Guide to MT5 Trading

Each and every person with an interest in trading must have heard about the MetaTrader platform. MetaTrader 4 and Metatrader 5 happen to be the most widely used trading platforms on a global level. MetaTrader 5 or MT5 is the advanced successor of the classic MT4 trading platform. The developers of MT5 have done their best to ensure that each and every trader transitioning to the MT5 platform gets a better and superior trading experience. But they also have retained the simplicity and user friendliness of the former version as that made the MetaTrader suite a popular choice among traders in the first place. With this article, you will get a complete beginner’s guide to MT5 trading as we will be drawing a one-on-one comparison between MT4 and MT5, the process of downloading and using MT5, advantages, downsides, adding indicators and trading on MT5.

How to Start Trading with MetaTrader 5 (MT5)?

The first step to start trading with MT5 is opening an MT5 account. For first time users, it is better to practise with a demo account first before getting into actual trading. You can choose to make an account on MT5 directly without a broker for demo trading but a broker is a must when you move forward with live trading. So, it is recommended you opt for a broker of your choice even for demo trading as it will be good to test the trading conditions beforehand. You just have to find a suitable broker who offers MT5 for trading and will be able to download the MT5 version integrated with the broker platform. You can request for login credentials from the broker and can easily log in to your MetaTrader 5 demo account.

Once you download and login to the platform, you can see the intuitive interface loaded with all essential trading tools which can be easily accessed with the main menu bar. You will see tabs like file, view, insert, charts, option, and help. You are free to customise and personalise your trading environment as per your preference. There are certain shortcuts in MT4 & MT5, which make trading a whole lot easier. . You are free to customise and personalise your trading environment as per your preference. Take your time and experiment with all tools until you get used to the advanced trading terminal. You can also see a built-in toolbar right below the main menu where you will find duplicate commands and functions for the main menu which can also be customised as and when needed. You can easily change the chart types, time frames and more for your convenience.

Coming to the chart, you can see the market watch on the left side where prices of all your chosen trading instruments will be displayed. You can also see some other details such as contract specifications on this section. One important feature you can access here is the one-click trading option. Right below the chart, you can see a toolbox to keep track of all your open positions, pending orders and more. You can cancel or modify the orders from here itself. This multi-functional window will also give you some other useful information which might come handy for trading. This includes account history, alerts, news, internal mailbox, expert journals and more. Read in article more about metatrader 4 download.

Placing an order on MT5 is just as easy. Go to the market watch window and right click on the financial instrument that you have chosen for trading. Select the new order and then specify the order type and fill in all the information that is required. Then your order will be placed once you click ‘place’. The simplicity is still there which is what makes MT5 appealing to newbie traders.

MetaTrader 5 Vs MetaTrader 4

Like mentioned before, MetaTrader 5 is an upgraded version of the MetaTrader 4 trading platform. A comparison of MT5 and MT4 will be essential to understand why MT5 can be better for you as a trader and how it differs from its predecessor.

MT4 is often considered as a primary forex trading platform whereas MT5 was introduced as a multi-asset trading platform for forex, stocks, indices, crypto and more.
MT4 has 30 in-built indicators, whereas MT5 has 38 indicators.
MT4 has 31 graphical objects but MT5 has 44.
The number of timeframes in MT4 is limited to nine, meanwhile MT5 has 21 timeframes. ‘
MT4 offers 2 market orders and 4 pending order types. MT5 has 2 market orders, 6 pending orders and also offers stop orders in addition.
MT4 is still the most widely used platform in comparison to MT5. Most brokers will be providing an MT4 integrated trading platform for clients but brokers who provide MT5 functionality are less in number.
MT4 is still very popular and used by novice and experienced traders alike. It is quite an apt choice for a traditional trader. Whereas, advanced traders prefer MT5 due to its larger fleet of tools and a solid UI.

So, based on the comparison one can conclude that MT5 is a perfect match for a modern trader as it comes with many advanced tools and additional features that are not there in MT4. But an old school trader may still prefer MT4 due to its basic design and limited set of tools.

The upgrades have made MT5 more user-friendly with a modern layout, intuitive design and it has kept the simplicity intact.
Many new features such as economic calendars are integrated to the MT5 trading platform.
You can customise the units of measurement and time which is something new.
The index charts also contain a brief history of automated orders that can be directly viewed.
You can also see the market history just like an order book.
MT5 provides a more stable and faster connectivity to servers.
MT5 as a trading platform is more stable in comparison to MT4.
Higher speed and accuracy for order execution.
Hedging is easier on MT5.
Available on a bunch of different devices and browsers with greater compatibility.
Users are free to add more tools and custom indicators in addition to the built-in ones.
Algo trading or automated trading gets better when done with advanced technology of the MT5 trading platform.

metatrader 5

Downsides of MT5

Some of the advanced features and tools need time and practice to get used to and this may be a challenge for beginner traders.
No longer available on the app store but you can use the web terminal instead which is available on both android and ios devices.

How to Download MT5?

First of all, you will need an operating system or device which is compatible with MT5. MT5 is designed to be compatible with a number of operating systems and devices. Hence, that will not be a problem for most traders. Downloading MT5 from a broker’s site will be easier, as brokers will be giving you a link to the MT5 version integrated with their platform. You can download the setup files for PC and run it for installing the MetaTrader 5. You can also find the MT5 app provided by your broker for mobile trading.

How to Add Indicators on MT5?

You can add custom indicators to your MT5 platform by downloading them from the market tab of the toolbox window. Then, you can find all the downloaded indicators in the installation folder. Indicators will be there on the indicators folder and you can manually install them.

Download and install MetaTrader 5: Supreme Edition.
Download indicators from the Market tab of the Toolbox window.
Manually install the indicators from the Indicators folder in the MetaTrader 5 installation folder.

How to Trade CFDs with MT5?

MetaTrader 5 is a perfect choice for someone who is interested in trading CFDs on forex, crypto, stocks and indices. The multi-asset trading platform allows you to easily navigate through different markets with ease and monitor the prices of different trading instruments through the market watch. You can even place orders directly from the market watch window using the one-click trading option. The charting tools are advanced which makes MT5 a better platform for trading CFDs.

FAQs

Is the MT5 Trading Platform Free?

Yes, MT5 is completely free and there are no charges applied for demo or live trading. The spreads/commission in case of live trading would depend on the broker you choose.

Can a Beginner Use MT5?

MT5 is very user friendly and intuitive. Even a complete beginner can easily use MT5 if they spend enough time for demo account practice on the advanced trading platform.

Which Broker is Best for MT5 Trading?

Not many brokers offer MT5 at the moment in comparison to MT4 which is offered by almost each and every forex broker. So, if you wish to use MT5 for trading, you can look for brokers who provide it and then choose the best one based on other factors such as regulation and trading conditions offered.

Is MT5 Better Than MT4?

Although many traders still prefer to use MT4 due to its simplicity, MT5 is surely better when it comes to speed and many other aspects.