CTrader Vs Metatrader 4 (MT4)
There has been a continued discussion among Forex traders on which platform is better between the good old Metatrader 4 and the newcomer; CTrader.
Metatrader 4 has been around since 2005 and has been adopted by almost every Forex broker focusing on retail traders. On the other hand, CTrader is only offered by a handful but growing number of Forex brokers including;
- Pepperstone
- FxPro
- IC Markets
- FXPig
- OctaFx
- Kawase
- Tradeview Forex
- Fibo Group
- RoboForex
- Equiti Capital
Both platforms offer demo accounts, hence traders are free to try them out and decide between the dominant MT4 platform and CTrader. The functionality and usability offered by each platform will help a trader choose which of the two platforms is superior.
One major difference between the two platform is that MT4 is a ticket based platform while CTrader is both ticket and position based. In a ticket based platform; each trade is registered separately requiring the trader to close each position separately if need be. On the other hand, all positions on CTrader can be closed automatically with a single click.
The other widely discussed feature between the two platforms is the availability of Level II market depth in CTrader and its lack in MT4. Traders using market depth to view liquidity at various price levels in order to pinpoint precise entries will prefer CTrader over Metatrader 4.
Automated trading systems and custom scripts are built using the MQL4 language on Metatrader 4 and C# (for CAlgo) on CTrader. Though both have common scripts and indicators already inbuilt; MT4 boasts a larger community hence thousands of free and commercial EAs and custom indicators readily available for download. Apart from available scripts, MQL4 developers also have great access to programming help on online forums as well as the official mql5.com site. Forex brokers offering the Metatrader 4 platform can also offer additional plugins and tools to their users as they are able to build on the platform and provide their own features.
Below is a comparison table between the two trading platforms;
| Platform | Metatrader 4 | CTrader |
|---|---|---|
| Developer | Metaquotes | Spotware |
| Year | 2005 | 2011 |
| Cost | Free | Free |
| Platform Auto Updates | Yes | Yes |
| Multi-lingual Interface | Yes | Yes |
| Level II Market depth | No | Yes |
| Web trading | Yes | Yes |
| iOS, Android mobile apps | Yes | Yes |
| Custom background | No | Yes |
| Detachable charts for multiple screens | No | Yes |
| Cloud hosted templates, profiles & passwords | No | Yes |
| Demo accounts | Yes | Yes |
| Real time news | Yes | No |
| Single click Close All Trades | No | Yes |
| Scale Out of Positions | No | Yes |
| Double position in one click | No | Yes |
| Reverse position in one click | No | Yes |
| Technical analysis tools | Yes | Yes |
| One click trading | Yes | Yes |
| Full sized tick chart | No | Yes |
| Auto-trading | Yes | Yes |
| Back-testing | Yes | Yes |
| Trading signals | Yes | No |
| Timeframes | 9 | 26 |
| Partial fills | No | Yes |
| Time offset flexibility on the platform | No | Yes |
Conclusion;
CTrader definitely enjoys superior features in terms of execution and user interface with its most dominant feature over Metatrader 4 being the availability of level II depth of market data. However, since Metatrader has been around for much longer; it enjoys a far much wider community and vast trading scripts. This makes Metatrader 4 a better choice for any trader who wants to implement automated trading. The limited choice of brokers offering the CTrader platform also hinders its adoption among most traders.
Verdict;
CTrader is a worthy alternative and competitor for Metatrader 4, however, unless very specific features such as depth of the market data are required for your trading, MT4 is fully sufficient. Ultimately, the choice of the trading platform to use should be driven by each individual’s trading needs and availability.
