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

Summary

• MT5 is the better default for new accounts. Multi-asset support, level 2 depth, 21 timeframes, faster backtester.
• MT4 still wins if you have a working MT4 EA library. MQL4 EAs don’t run on MT5 without rewriting.
• Sixteen ASIC-regulated brokers offer MT4 in Australia. Fourteen offer MT5. Most offer both.
• CMC Markets retired MT5 for AU clients in 2022 and IG Markets has never offered it.
• For most discretionary AU traders the practical difference is small. For algo traders, the platform choice is significant.

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 work 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), MT5 is the more sensible 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. Renko-style traders, opening-range breakout traders and traders following 4-minute or 12-hour cycles get native support without custom indicators.

For most traders this isn’t decisive. For traders whose strategy lives 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. IC Markets, Pepperstone, FP Markets, Vantage and MultiBank 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, this is a huge productivity gain.

The MT5 tester also models tick data, slippage and commissions more realistically. MT4’s tester is good 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. Many active retail strategies still run on MT4 because porting them isn’t worth the effort.

If you’ve bought commercial MT4 EAs (anything from EAs in the AUD 100 to AUD 5,000 range), they 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 your charts are tuned with custom MT4 indicators, the migration cost is real.

Simpler programming model

MQL4 is procedural and closer to plain C. MQL5 is object-oriented and closer to C++. For traders who code their own EAs but aren’t full-time developers, MQL4 is the gentler entry point. 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. Worth verifying per broker.

Slightly broader AU broker support

Eighteen of our 30-broker AU shortlist offer MT4. Fifteen offer MT5. The difference is small but real. CMC Markets is a notable MT4-only AU broker (they retired MT5 in 2022). IG Markets offers neither.

AU broker availability: who offers each platform

The pattern is clear. Most active-trader-focused brokers (Pepperstone, IC Markets, FP Markets, Vantage, Eightcap, Fusion 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

If you’re considering moving an existing MT4 setup to MT5, three categories of migration cost.

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. Once the new MT5 version is performing in line with the MT4 original, they retire the MT4 instance.

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 your chart depends on a custom indicator that has no MT5 version, you’ll need to rebuild it or commission someone.

Templates and chart layouts. MT4 templates (.tpl files) don’t load directly into MT5. You’ll have to recreate chart layouts manually. Half a day of fiddling, typically.

Account migration with the broker. Most AU brokers will let you open an MT5 account on the same login as your MT4 account. Funding moves between accounts via the broker’s internal transfer (free, instant). Run them in parallel during the migration.

Backtesting historical data. You can re-run your 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. Don’t be alarmed; 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. Open MT5 first. Multi-asset, more timeframes, modern backtester. The smaller EA library doesn’t matter when you don’t have any EAs. Your first broker shortlist would be Pepperstone, IC Markets, FP Markets, Eightcap or Fusion Markets.

You’re new to forex and might code your own EA later. Still 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.

You have an existing MT4 strategy you’ve spent years tuning. Stay on MT4 unless you have 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 if you want to experiment in parallel.

You bought commercial EAs that only run on MT4. Stay on MT4. The publishers may release MT5 versions over time but you can’t bet on it.

You’re an 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.

You trade multi-asset (forex + indices + shares). MT5. The platform was designed for it.

You trade ASX shares directly. Neither MT4 nor MT5. Use CMC Stockbroking, Interactive Brokers or a dedicated equities broker.

ASIC, AFSL and what regulation actually covers

Same point as both the MT4 page and the MT5 page. The platform isn’t an AFSL holder. The broker is.

When you trade MT4 or MT5 with an AU broker, you’re a client of the broker (e.g. Pepperstone Group Limited, AFSL 414530), and your ASIC protections apply through that licence. Both platforms are software developed by MetaQuotes (Cyprus). MetaQuotes doesn’t operate as a broker.

Australian retail traders are capped at 30:1 leverage on major forex pairs under ASIC’s Product Intervention Order. The cap is identical on MT4 and MT5. Negative balance protection is mandatory on both. Margin close-out at 50% of initial margin applies to both. AFCA membership applies through the broker, not the platform.

If a broker advertises 500:1 leverage to AU retail clients on either platform, they aren’t ASIC-regulated.