MT4 vs MT5: Which Is Better for Australian Traders (2026)

Quick verdict: MT4 vs MT5 for Australian traders

I recommend MT5 as the better default for a new Australian account: it gives you multi-asset support, level 2 depth of market, 21 timeframes and a faster strategy tester. MT4 still wins for me if you rely on a working MT4 EA or indicator library. Many ASIC brokers run both on one login, so I suggest you pick the platform first and the broker second.

We cover 32 ASIC brokers; our team’s count puts 24 of them on MT4 and 19 on MT5. CMC Markets retired MT5 for AU clients in 2022 and IG Markets has never offered it.

The AU brokers that run both MT4 and MT5, ranked:

1. Pepperstone: MT4 and MT5 on one Razor login.
2. IC Markets: both platforms on one ECN feed.
3. FP Markets: both, plus cTrader and TradingView.
4. Fusion Markets: identical pricing on either platform.
5. Vantage: both, with native TradingView on top.
6. GO Markets: both, with free VPS and Genesis.
7. Eightcap: both, plus 250+ crypto CFDs on MT5.
8. ACY Securities: both, with a multilingual desk.
9. OANDA: both, plus a REST and streaming API.
10. Global Prime: both, with public trade receipts.

The feature table settles most of the argument. Broker choice only matters once the platform is decided.

Quick comparison: MT4 vs MT5 head-to-head

Hedging on MT5 is broker-configurable. Most AU brokers offer hedging-mode MT5 accounts to match MT4 behaviour.

Where MT5 clearly wins

Multi-asset architecture

MT4 was built for forex. CFDs across indices, commodities and shares were added through CFD-only contract specifications, but the engine still treats everything as a foreign exchange instrument internally. MT5 was built around the idea of multiple asset classes from day one. Order matching, position management, margin calculations and reporting all run more cleanly on MT5 if you trade ASX 200, gold and EUR/USD in the same account.

For pure forex traders this difference doesn’t matter much. For traders running cross-asset strategies (long EUR/USD, short DAX, long gold), I’d say MT5 is the smarter engine.

Twenty-one timeframes

MT4 ships with nine timeframes. MT5 has 21. The extra ones (M2, M3, M4, M6, M10, M12, M20, H2, H3, H6, H8, H12) matter to specific strategies, and the practical advantage is native support for Renko-style traders, opening-range breakout traders and anyone following 4-minute or 12-hour cycles without custom indicators.

For most traders this isn’t decisive. But for strategies that live on a non-standard timeframe, MT5 is the answer.

Depth-of-market

MT5 exposes level 2 quotes (bid/ask depth at multiple price points) where the broker’s liquidity provider supports it, and I’d consider that a significant edge for scalpers. IC Markets, Pepperstone, FP Markets and Vantage all provide DOM on MT5 for major forex pairs and gold. MT4 has no DOM at all.

For order-flow traders, this is a single-feature win for MT5.

Multi-thread strategy tester

MT4’s strategy tester runs single-thread, single-pair. Walk-forward analysis is awkward. Optimising parameters across a year of data on M1 timeframe takes hours. MT5’s tester runs across multiple cores, supports multi-pair testing, and finishes the same backtest in a fraction of the time. For algo traders, I’d call that a huge productivity gain.

The MT5 tester also models tick data, slippage and commissions more realistically, which means your backtest results are closer to live trading conditions. MT4’s tester is fine for a first-pass sanity check; MT5’s tester is closer to a production-grade research environment.

Built-in economic calendar

MT5 includes a native economic calendar with filtering by impact level and country. MT4 doesn’t. For news traders this isn’t deal-breaking (every broker website has one) but having it in the platform alongside your charts is convenient.

New MetaQuotes licences

MetaQuotes stopped issuing new MT4 server licences to most new brokers in 2018. The platform is in maintenance mode. MT5 is the active product. New brokers entering the market can only get MT5 licences in most cases. Over the next 5 to 10 years, the broker pool offering MT4 will gradually shrink.

Where MT4 still wins

EA library

MT4 launched in 2005 and the MQL4 EA ecosystem grew for 13 years before MT5 reached comparable adoption. Tens of thousands of EAs were written for MT4. If you have a working MT4 EA, porting it may not be worth the effort.

Commercial MT4 EAs (anything from AUD 100 to AUD 5,000) don’t run on MT5 without a rewrite. The publisher may have an MT5 version available; many don’t. Check before assuming.

Custom indicator catalogue

Same story for indicators. The MT4 indicator catalogue is enormous. Custom moving averages, harmonic pattern scanners, supply and demand zones, divergence detectors. Some have been rebuilt for MT5; many haven’t. If a chart relies on custom MT4 indicators, the migration cost is real.

Simpler programming model

MQL4 is procedural and closer to plain C, which makes it the gentler entry point for traders who code their own EAs but aren’t full-time developers. MQL5 is object-oriented and closer to C++. Beginner EA tutorials lean heavily on MQL4 examples for this reason.

Hedging is default

MT4 supports hedging (running long and short positions on the same instrument simultaneously) by default. MT5’s default mode is netting (positions on the same instrument net out). Most AU brokers configure their MT5 servers in hedging mode to match MT4 behaviour, but if you connect to a netting-mode MT5 server, hedging strategies don’t work as expected. Verify this with the broker before committing.

Slightly broader AU broker support

Of our 32-broker AU shortlist, 24 offer MT4 and 19 offer MT5. That’s a small but real difference. CMC Markets is a notable MT4-only AU broker (they retired MT5 in 2022), and IG Markets is MT4-only as well.

AU broker availability: who offers each platform

Compare key metrics across 21 ASIC-regulated brokers, ordered by our ranking.

Broker	MT4	MT5	cTrader	TradingView
Pepperstone	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
IC Markets	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
FP Markets	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
Eightcap	Yes	Yes	No	Yes
Fusion Markets	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
Blueberry Markets	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
ThinkMarkets	Yes	No	No	Yes
Axi	Yes	Yes	No	No
Vantage	Yes	Yes	No	Yes
Global Prime	Yes	Yes	No	No
ACY Securities	Yes	Yes	No	No
GO Markets	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
FXCM	Yes	No	No	Yes
MultiBank Group	Yes	No	No	No
AvaTrade	Yes	Yes	No	No
Forex.com	Yes	Yes	No	Yes
CMC Markets	Yes	No (retired 2022)	No	Yes
IG Markets	Yes	No	No	Yes
OANDA	Yes	Yes	No	Yes
Focus Markets	No	Yes	No	No
trading.com	No	Yes	No	No

A clear pattern emerges. Most active-trader-focused brokers (Pepperstone, IC Markets, FP Markets, Fusion Markets, GO Markets) offer both MT4 and MT5 plus cTrader. Most beginner-focused or proprietary-platform brokers (CMC, IG, Plus500, eToro, Mitrade) offer one or zero MetaTrader versions.

Migrating from MT4 to MT5

Moving an existing MT4 setup to MT5? The migration cost breaks into three categories.

EAs. MQL4 doesn’t compile on MT5. Three options:

• Buy or build the MT5 version (typically 30 to 60% of the original development effort).
• Use the MetaQuotes MQL4-to-MQL5 conversion tool (rough output that needs cleanup).
• Run both platforms side by side. Keep MT4 for legacy strategies, build new ones on MT5.

Most active EA traders we know keep both running for 6 to 12 months during the migration. The typical approach is to run both until the MT5 version matches the MT4 original, then retire MT4.

Indicators. Same problem. MQL4 indicators don’t run on MT5. Most popular custom indicators have MT5 versions (Pivot Points HL, Heikin Ashi, MACD variants). Some niche ones don’t. If a chart relies on a custom indicator that hasn’t been ported to MT5, rebuilding or commissioning it is the only option.

Templates and chart layouts. MT4 templates (.tpl files) don’t load directly into MT5. Chart layouts must be recreated manually. Budget half a day of fiddling.

Account migration with the broker. Most AU brokers allow opening an MT5 account on the same login as the MT4 account. Funding moves between accounts via the broker’s internal transfer (free, instant). Running them in parallel during the migration is the safest approach.

Backtesting historical data. Re-run old MT4 backtest data against the MT5 version of the same EA to validate that performance is consistent. The MT5 strategy tester models slippage more realistically, so MT5 numbers may be marginally worse than MT4 numbers on the same data. There’s no cause for alarm; the MT5 numbers are the more honest estimate.

Which platform should you choose?

Honest answers to the practical question.

You’re new to forex and have no automation. I’d open MT5 first. Multi-asset, more timeframes, modern backtester. The smaller EA library doesn’t matter when you don’t have any EAs. A first broker shortlist would be Pepperstone, IC Markets, FP Markets, Eightcap or Fusion Markets.

New to forex and might code your own EA later? I’d still go MT5. MQL5 is more powerful and the modern community is built around it. Beginner MQL5 tutorials are catching up to the MQL4 ones in quality.

Got an existing MT4 strategy you’ve spent years tuning? I’d stay on MT4 unless there’s a specific reason to migrate. The cost of porting is real and MT4 will keep working for several more years. Open the same broker on MT5 to experiment in parallel.

Bought commercial EAs that only run on MT4? I’d stay on MT4. The publishers may release MT5 versions over time but you can’t bet on it.

Active scalper or day trader? Either works. Many AU active traders run cTrader rather than MetaTrader entirely (see our cTrader page for the case). Among MetaTrader, MT5 has DOM and faster order entry, which slightly favours it for scalping.

Multi-asset trader (forex + indices + shares)? I’d go MT5. The platform was designed for it.

Trading ASX shares directly? I’d use CMC Stockbroking, Interactive Brokers or a dedicated equities broker.

ASIC, AFSL and MetaTrader regulation

Choosing between MT4 and MT5 changes nothing about your legal protection: both are MetaQuotes (Cyprus) software, and your cover comes from the Australian broker holding the AFSL, not from either platform. Pick either one with a licensed broker such as Pepperstone Group Limited (AFSL 414530) and the 30:1 major-pair cap, mandatory negative balance protection and the 50% margin close-out apply identically, as the ASIC leverage caps guide explains in full. Regulation is never the tiebreaker between the two platforms; a 500:1 offer to Australian retail clients on either is just a broker operating without an AFSL.

Platform aside, the broker underneath decides your costs and protections. Check the field in our top Australian forex brokers guide before you commit.

Compare brokers by the factor that decides it

Each shortlist below re-ranks the market for one decision factor, and my team tested them the same way as this page.

Start with the overall ranking

I consider our tested, ASIC-only ranking of the best forex brokers in Australia the baseline every shortlist below re-ranks.

Best forex brokers

Cost decides it

Once you set the platform, account pricing decides the broker for my money. These shortlists rank by total cost.

Lowest spread brokers Lowest commission brokers ECN brokers Fixed spread brokers

You're starting out

Simpler platforms, stronger education, and demo accounts with no time pressure.

Beginner brokers Demo trading accounts

What you trade decides it

CFD shortlists re-ranked for the asset class you trade most.

CFD brokers Share CFD brokers Crypto CFD brokers Gold CFD brokers Index CFD brokers