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TradingView vs. MetaTrader
Read time: 8 minutes.
   

For technical analysis traders, choosing the right trading platform is crucial for success. In this article, we'll compare two industry-leading platforms: TradingView and MetaTrader, highlighting their unique features and helping you decide which one best suits your trading style.


Table of Contents





Key Takeaways


  • TradingView offers an intuitive interface and advanced charting tools, ideal for visual learners and technical analysis.
  • MetaTrader provides powerful automation capabilities and faster execution, especially suitable for experienced traders.
  • TradingView is powered by cTrader, which may introduce some lag but offers simple bot creation with PineScript.
  • MetaTrader has an older interface but excels in customization and supports a wider range of markets, including stocks.
  • Both platforms can be connected to your Fusion account for direct trading.
  • Consider trialling both platforms on a demo account to determine which best fits your trading style.


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TradingView


TradingView is renowned for its user-friendly interface and advanced charting tools. It caters to traders of all levels, offering an intuitive design that simplifies the trading process. One of TradingView's standout features is its extensive library of indicators and drawing tools, making it a favourite among visual learners who rely heavily on technical analysis. There’s almost no drawing tool or indicator that you cannot find on TradingView. 

 

TradingView's interface is not only easy to navigate but also highly customisable, allowing users to set up their workspace according to their preferences. This flexibility is particularly beneficial for traders who like to have all their essential tools and information readily accessible. And the best part, it syncs across all your devices, with a downloadable app for your phone and computer.  

 

The platform also has a strong community aspect, allowing traders to share ideas, strategies, and charts with others. This social feature provides a collaborative environment where traders can learn from each other and share strategies and technical tools. 


The platform's social network is vibrant, with millions of traders from around the world sharing their insights and analysis. This community-driven approach can be incredibly valuable for both novice and experienced traders looking to gain different perspectives and improve their trading strategies. 


TradingView provides most of its products for free, but its paid subscription-based model is what really brings it to life. With additional chart types and the ability to load multiple charts on one screen, the value is present for technical-based traders. 


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MetaTrader


MetaTrader is arguably the most well-known forex trading platform. Having been around for a very long time (2005), it’s long been the go-to for most traders, with most now using MetaTrader4, or MetaTrader5. 

 

Known for its powerful automation capabilities, which are particularly appealing to experienced traders, the platform offers advanced features such as Expert Advisors (EAs), allowing users to automate their trading strategies. This can be a game-changer for those who want to implement complex trading systems without constant manual intervention. 

 

MetaTrader’s automation capabilities extend beyond just executing trades. The platform allows traders to back-test their strategies using historical data, providing valuable insights into the potential performance of their trading systems. This feature is particularly useful for traders who wish to develop their own EAs and want to ensure they perform well under various market conditions. 

 

Though somewhat dated, MetaTrader provides deep market access with features like multiple order types, comprehensive charting tools, and a range of technical analysis options. Its robust architecture supports a wide array of customisations and add-ons, giving traders the flexibility to tailor the platform to their specific needs. Whether you are trading forex, commodities, or CFDs, Meta Trader's extensive range of tools and functionalities ensures you have everything you need to make informed trading decisions. 

MetaTrader is completely free to use, with the option of purchasing additional EA’s, drawing tools, or various other add-ons from third-party users through the MQL5 market.  



Forex Platform Comparison: TradingView vs. MetaTrader


MetaTrader v TradingView Table



Which is Right for You?


Choose TradingView if you value:

  • Intuitive interface and advanced charting tools
  • Community insights and social trading features
  • Ease of use for beginners
  • Simple bot creation with PineScript


Choose MetaTrader if you prioritise:

  • Powerful automation capabilities with Expert Advisors
  • Fast execution speeds, especially with a VPS
  • Access to a wide range of markets, including stocks
  • Advanced customisation and flexibility



Conclusion


Both TradingView and MetaTrader offer unique strengths that cater to different trading styles and preferences. Consider your trading goals, experience level, and the features most important to you when making your choice. 

We recommend trialling both platforms on a demo account to determine which suits your trading style best. Both can be connected to your Fusion account for direct trading. 



For More Information:



Still unsure? Reach out to our friendly help team at [email protected] using the chat function on the bottom right of this screen.

25/09/2024
Trading and Brokerage
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cTrader vs. MetaTrader

In the fast-paced world of forex trading, having access to a reliable and efficient trading platform is paramount to your trading success. Among the titans of the forex trading platform world, two names stand out: cTrader and MetaTrader 4/5 (MT4 and MT5). These platforms have amassed an extensive user base and earned their loyal followings.

 

In this article, we'll delve into the intricacies of each platform, comparing their features, advantages, and limitations, to help you determine which platform is right for you.


Metatrader vs cTrader table of differences and similarities



Contents 


Genesis

User Interface and Customisation

Charting and Technical Analysis

Order Types and Placement

Algorithmic Trading and Expert Advisors

Mobile Trading



The Genesis of cTrader and MetaTrader


MetaTrader is the brainchild of MetaQuotes Software. The company introduced the first version, MetaTrader 4 (MT4), in 2005. Its successor, MetaTrader 5 (MT5), followed in 2010, bringing a host of new features and capabilities to the table.

 

cTrader was launched by Spotware Systems Ltd. in 2011, aiming to provide traders with a platform that offers a user-friendly interface and advanced functionalities. cTrader's main focus is on creating a seamless trading experience for both beginner and experienced traders alike.

 


User Interface and Customisation


One of the most significant factors in a trading platform's popularity is its user interface (UI). Despite MT4 being somewhat outdated compared to cTrader's modern design, both offer clean and intuitive interfaces, making them relatively easy for traders to navigate. However, they have different approaches when it comes to customisation.

 

cTrader takes the lead in UI customisation, allowing traders to personalise their workspace extensively. Users can arrange and resize various windows, add or remove trading indicators, and set up multiple charts on a single screen. This level of flexibility empowers traders to create an environment tailored to their specific trading needs.

 

On the other hand, MetaTrader, especially MT4, has a more rigid UI, with limited customisation options. While MT5 improved in this aspect, it still lags behind cTrader's superior customisation features. 

 


Charting and Technical Analysis


In terms of charting and technical analysis, both platforms deliver robust solutions. Traders can access a wide range of chart types, timeframes, and drawing tools on both cTrader and MetaTrader.

 

cTrader stands out with its intuitive charting package, providing more than 70 pre-installed indicators and a smooth drawing experience. It also offers Level II pricing data with its 3 depth of market (DoM) types (Standard, Price, VWAP), giving traders a greater insight into market depth and liquidity.

 

MetaTrader, however, remains a popular choice for technical analysis enthusiasts, thanks to its massive library of third-party indicators and analytical tools. This vibrant community-driven ecosystem ensures that traders have access to an extensive arsenal of tools to refine their strategies.


Let's dive into the specifics:


MetaTrader 4


Chart Types: MetaTrader 4 supports three fundamental chart types, namely Bar, Line, and Candlestick.

Timeframes: Nine distinct timeframes, spanning from 1 minute to 1 month.

Analytical Objects: 24 analytical objects, including lines, channels, shapes, arrows, and essential Gann and Fibonacci tools.

Technical Indicators: 30 built-in technical indicators. Furthermore, traders can explore over 2,000 free custom indicators and access 700 premium indicators available in the Code Base.

Chart Views: The platform allows traders to open an unlimited number of charts simultaneously. Moreover, traders can personalize their charts by creating templates that define specific attributes such as color schemes, chart types, scales, line studies, and applied indicators.


cTrader


Chart Types: cTrader comes with 8 chart types, but also includes additional variations such as tick and pip charts. These chart types include Bar, Line, Candlestick, Heikin-Ashi, HLC, Dot, Tick (configurable with 27 settings), Renko (with 19 settings), and Range-based charts (with 22 settings).

Timeframes: cTrader features 26 timeframes with the standard chart and over 50 timeframes and six zoom levels across all chart types (including tick and pip charts).

Analytical Objects: The platform boasts 33 analytical objects. 

Technical Indicators: cTrader offers 70 built-in technical indicators.

Chart Views: cTrader introduces Chart Views, allowing traders to detach charts and use them as separate tradable desktop applications across multiple screens. Additionally, ChartShot enables traders to share trading examples and strategies relatively easily.

 


Order Types and Placement


Now that we've got a comprehensive view of the differences in charting, let's delve into the nuances of order placement in MetaTrader and cTrader, highlighting their distinct approaches and functionalities:


Order Placement in cTrader


  • Weekend Order Placement: Traders using cTrader have the unique advantage of placing waiting orders during weekends, even when the markets are closed. This feature facilitates meticulous planning and analysis, allowing traders to prepare for the trading week ahead.

  • Specialized Order Types: cTrader goes a step further by introducing specialized order types like Buy or Sell Limit, adding an additional layer of risk management and trading versatility to the platform.

  • Click-and-Drag: Waiting orders, such as Buy Limit or Sell Stop, can be placed by selecting the order type and adjusting its position through an intuitive click-and-drag action directly on the chart.

  • Specialised Stop-Out features: Smart Stop-Out (partial closure while retaining entry) and Fair Stop-Out (full closure to maximize margin for active positions) give traders better risk management tools.


Order Placement in MetaTrader


  • Traditional Approach: MetaTrader employs traditional methods for order placement, necessitating traders to click directly on the desired spot in the chart to execute waiting orders.

  • Limited Specialized Order Types: MetaTrader has all the necessary order types needed for trading but lacks some of the more advanced features like cTrader's smart stop out.


Algorithmic Trading and Expert Advisors


The next significant aspect we need to consider is automated trading. In MetaTrader applications, both MT4 and MT5, traders can utilise Expert Advisors (EAs), which are manually coded programs designed for automated tasks, such as technical analysis of price data and executing positions on specific instruments.

 

When comparing MT4 to MT5, the primary difference between their Expert Advisors lies in the programming language they employ. Since MQL4 has been in use for a longer time than MQL5, there is a more extensive collection of pre-written scripts and codes available for traders to create their personal Expert Advisors, even if they lack programming knowledge. On the other hand, MQL5 is a simpler programming language, making it easier for traders to create new scripts themselves.

 

Regarding cTrader, it also offers similar programs known as cBots, which function similarly to Expert Advisors. As mentioned earlier, cTrader uses the widely recognised C# programming language, theoretically making it the most versatile among the three languages (MQL4, MQL5, and C#) with a larger consumer base. 

 

However, in reality, cBots are less popular than Expert Advisors (EAs), and the reason for this is that the online trading community supporting EAs is much larger than that of cBots. Consequently, there are more pre-existing templates available for MT4/MT5 compared to cTrader. 

 


Mobile Trading


Mobile trading has become an integral part of the modern trading experience. Both platforms offer mobile applications for iOS and Android devices, enabling traders to stay connected to the markets on the go.

 

cTrader's mobile app is widely acclaimed for its user-friendly design and seamless functionality. It provides real-time quotes, interactive charts, and order execution capabilities, giving traders full control over their portfolios from the palm of their hand.

 

MetaTrader's mobile app, too, is highly regarded and offers a range of features for on-the-go trading. It allows traders to access their accounts, execute trades, and monitor markets in real time.

 


Conclusion

 

In conclusion, both cTrader and MetaTrader are powerful trading platforms, each with its own set of unique features and strengths. cTrader shines in its user-friendly interface, extensive customisation options, and array of features. On the other hand, MetaTrader's widespread popularity gives traders a great pool of resources to draw on and stronger community support, while having all the tools needed to be successful in the markets.

 

Ultimately, the choice between cTrader and MetaTrader depends on individual preferences, trading styles, and specific needs. Traders should consider their asset preferences, technical analysis requirements, and whether they prefer a larger community-driven ecosystem or a more user-friendly interface with more features. Regardless of the choice, both platforms have significantly contributed to enhancing the trading experience for millions of traders worldwide.


Ready to Start Trading?


  1. Sign Up for Fusion Markets, Australia's Lowest Cost Forex Provider*

  2. Create Your cTrader or MetaTrader 4 or 5 Account.

  3. Download Your Preferred Version of cTrader (Desktop, Mobile - iOS and Android), MetaTrader 4 (Desktop, Mobile - iOS and Android) or MetaTrader 5.
    Or
    Trade With Your Browser with cTrader WebTrader, MetaTrader 4 WebTrader or MetaTrader 5 WebTrader.

  4. Fund Your Account

  5. Start Trading!



09/08/2023
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Why is MetaTrader 4 so popular?

Anyone who’s into forex trading will undoubtedly have heard of MT4, which stands for MetaTrader 4. It’s the most popular forex trading platform out there, and for good reason. 


Unusually for a technology platform, it is 16 years old and continues to stand the test of time with users around the world and with all sorts of different experience levels. In today’s article, we wanted to provide our thoughts on the reason it’s still so popular 


MT4 was developed and released by MetaQuotes Software in 2005. Throughout its years of existence, it has since grown and made a name for itself as the leading platform in retail forex trading. Nowadays, millions of forex traders around the world use it regularly. 

Foreign exchange brokers like Fusion Markets are also licensed to provide MT4 for their clients. 


While primarily used for forex trading, it also lets a broker easily plug-in the ability to trade indices, cryptocurrency, and other asset classes such as commodities. Brokers like Fusion are offering over 120+ products on MT4.  It’s more than just your everyday exchange platform, though. It’s got excellent built-in charts for those who use technical analysis and its secret weapon, expert advisors are the most popular feature.

Expert Advisors are 3rd party automated trading systems. Something close to 70% of trades executed on MT4 are automated trades and their popularity continues to grow. Add in mobile apps for all platforms, in-built news (or trade ideas like Fusion offers), trading signals and much more, all of this works together to give you a more holistic look into the market to make well-informed trading decisions.

 Here are just a few reasons MT4 continues to remain as popular as ever.


1. It has robots and automated trading

When people think of trading in the financial markets, most people tend to picture sitting around and watching the screen all day.  

Forex is different in that it runs 24/5.  If there is one thing that keeps traders from switching to other trading platforms, it’s the availability of self-developed or 3rd party robots and expert advisors, essentially algorithms that run trading strategies around the clock. This means that forex traders can use programming to automatically execute deals for them when certain conditions are present. Let’s explain a little bit.


Technical analysis of forex trading is a deep topic. There are many methods of analyzing whether a particular currency is worth buying or selling. Among these include moving averages, convergences, and chart patterns. We won’t go into technical analysis in this article but suffice to say that there’s a lot to consider if we want to confirm if a trade should be taken or not. Monitoring different currencies using multiple methods can be exhausting in the forex market, where global currencies are traded 24/5.


Manually monitoring multiple charts is also slow and cumbersome because humans have a limit on how fast they can read and analyze data. That’s where MT4’s automated trading comes in. Using predefined lines of code, the trading robots can scan thousands, of forex markets and check to see if the forex trader’s predefined buy or sell conditions are met. Bridgewater, one of the world’s largest hedge funds uses over 100 million data points. Good luck trying to beat that with just your brain alone. With automated systems like EAs, while those off the shelf are unlikely to have as many data points as Bridgewater, these will still be faster than any human could be.


In forex trading, prices can change in the blink of an eye. Thus, the traders who can execute a deal as fast as possible protect themselves from market fluctuations. Those who prefer to just rely on the wisdom and experience of the more seasoned forex traders can use MT4’s signal trading feature, which basically lets them copy all or some of someone else’s trading moves on the platform. It does this automatically.


Alternatively, you can utilise Fusion’s own copy trading platform, Fusion+. By using MT4’s trading robots, forex traders can just input their commands and let the algorithms/EAs do the heavy lifting.  


2. It capitalizes on the network effect.

Humans are innately social creatures. We want to do what others do, and we want what others have. It’s a convenient way to make ourselves feel secure and validated. If everyone uses a particular forex trading software, others will soon hop in. Network effects refer to technology platforms and refer to the concept that the more users that are on the platform, the stronger the platform becomes. Think about it. No one wants to use Facebook if there are no friends you know on there. Therefore, the more people that use MT4, the more trading groups, videos and resources there will be, the more robots that developers will build for the platform and so on.


According to MetaQuotes, the developer of MT4, the platform now has millions of users and continues to grow. A large part of this is thanks to existing network effects which can be difficult for other platforms to overcome. There are thousands of brokers out there offering MT4 to their clients. Again, the more brokers that offer it, the more newly established forex brokers feel like they have to. For any new broker looking to come into the business, MT4 is the first service they think of because the rest of the business uses it too. Even ‘legacy’ brokers from the 1970’s such as IG have launched a version of MT4. Basically, if a forex trader is not using MT4, they will at least have heard of it. This increases the chances that they will eventually use the platform themselves if speaking to other traders they know.


The whole platform ecosystem becomes like a flywheel and makes it hard for other platforms serving the same market to compete with. 

 
3. It’s easy, fast, and reliable. 

Despite being a forex trading platform, MT4 does a splendid job at making things simple and easy to learn for its users. Remember the trading robots we talked about? They can all be purchased in MT4’s own Market. Users don’t have to scour the Internet looking for the best trading robot because MT4 has thousands of available ones in their selection.

 

MT4 also offers many trading tools, like market orders, pending orders, and stop orders, which any trader can appreciate. The platform offers 23 analytical objects and 30 technical indicators, along with interactive charts and timeframes to give forex traders all the information that they’ll need right at their fingertips. There’s also mobile trading with MT4. By now, we already know that the forex market runs 24/5, but not all of us are in front of our computers all the time. When we’re out doing something else, the only “computer” we really have is our phone.


Finally, MT4 also gives users relevant alerts and financial news to prepare for unexpected price movements. Developing a platform can take years of hard work, mistakes along the way and more. With MT4 you get reliability more than anything else. The bugs have been ironed out and while

we know it’s not the best-looking platform on the market, it is rock-solid and runs on almost every device such as Windows, Mac, iOS, Androids and tablets.  


4. It’s a blank canvas 

It’s important to note that while many brokers offer this platform to clients, it initially comes as an empty shell. It is what the broker puts into it that makes it so exciting. You can put the equivalent of a Ferrari engine into it or a Hyundai.  

With Fusion, we have always tried to use the best from day one.  

We are obsessed with making your trading experience better than any other MT4 broker out there.  
 
We launched with strong liquidity providers to undercut our competition and provide a lower cost of trade than other brokers before us. We built tools to help manage your account easily and with a simple interface. For example, we spend a lot of our resources on building tools to make your trading life easier and provide a unique trading experience. Things like the ‘my performance’ feature, Fusion+ copy trading and more.   

 

Summing it up 

In essence, MT4 is like an all-in-one platform for accessing the world’s largest markets. Those interested in the markets can choose a low-cost broker with no minimum deposit like Fusion and be up and running within five minutes. Not sure how, what or when to trade? You can trade with robots and EAs, follow other successful traders via Fusion+, or if you’re keen to learn yourself, then gain access to more resources like videos and trading communities than any other platform available today.  

It’s no wonder that MT4 has reached the level of popularity it currently has. Fast, reliable, filled and filled with something for everyone, it’s no surprise so many people around the world are using it. It’s also hard to see when it might be knocked off the top spot.  


13/08/2021
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