Brokers Offering Both MetaTrader 4 and MetaTrader 5

Why running both is a real feature

MetaTrader 5 is not an upgrade of MetaTrader 4. It is a separate platform with a different programming language, and MQL4 code does not compile on it. A trader whose method depends on a specific expert advisor or indicator written for MT4 does not have a platform choice at all until that tool is rewritten.

A broker running both turns that from a decision into a process. The MT4 robot keeps trading while the MT5 version is built and tested, on the same client relationship, with funds moving internally between the two accounts.

What actually differs between the two

• Language. MQL4 and MQL5 are incompatible. This is the whole reason both platforms persist.
• Strategy tester. MT5 tests multi-threaded and across several instruments at once; MT4 is single-threaded on one symbol. For parameter optimisation over long histories the difference is hours against days.
• Timeframes and order types. MT5 offers twenty-one timeframes against nine, and a wider set of pending orders.
• Depth of market. Present in MT5 where the broker populates it, absent from MT4 entirely.
• Position accounting. MT5 supports netting as well as hedging; the broker chooses per account type, and traders arriving from MT4 sometimes find hedging unavailable.

What to check when a broker offers both

Offering two platforms is not the same as offering them on equal terms.

• Is the pricing identical? Brokers frequently price the two differently, and the cheaper platform is not always the newer one.
• Is the instrument list identical? MT5 builds often carry more instruments, particularly equities and indices. If the instruments you trade exist on only one, the choice is made for you.
• Is the MT5 account netting or hedging? Grid, recovery and any method holding opposing positions in one instrument require hedging. This is set by the broker per account type.
• Is depth of market enabled on MT5? The window exists on every build; whether it shows anything depends on the broker feeding it.
• Are both accounts under one client profile? They usually are, which means one verification and internal transfers rather than a funding round trip.

Planning a migration

The sequence that works, for a trader with automation to move:

• Open the MT5 account alongside the MT4 one and fund it minimally.
• Rebuild the tool in MQL5 rather than attempting a mechanical translation — the event models differ enough that a line-by-line port produces subtle behavioural differences.
• Run the MT5 version on a demo against the live MT4 version on the same instrument, and compare trade for trade.
• Move a fraction of the size to MT5 and run both live for a period.
• Only then retire the MT4 version.

The parallel-run step is what catches the differences that testing does not, and it is only possible because both platforms exist at the same broker.

If you do not automate

For a discretionary trader placing manual orders on major pairs, the two platforms are close enough that the choice barely registers. Pick on the pricing and the instrument list, use the one with the timeframes your method needs, and treat the second as a spare rather than a decision to agonise over.