MetaTrader 5 (MT5) is the advanced version of the popular MetaTrader 4 (MT4) platform. Launched in 2010 by MetaQuotes Corporation, the same company behind MT4, MT5 was designed to take trading to the next level with enhanced features. While MT4 had already gained widespread popularity for its user-friendly interface and robust tools, MetaQuotes saw room for further improvement, leading to the development of MT5.
When MT5 was first introduced, many traders were already comfortable with MT4, which they felt had everything necessary for market analysis and trading. As a result, the shift to MT5 was gradual. However, seasoned traders have since recognized the key differences between the two platforms, with MT5 offering more advanced tools and indicators.
In this article, we’ll look at the additional features and capabilities MT5 provides over MT4, and how they can benefit traders seeking a more comprehensive trading experience.
Calendar
The economic calendar is a new feature in the MetaTrader 5 (MT5) trading platform. It’s a weekly calendar that shows important news and data releases that might impact the forex market.
Many websites provide economic calendars, but I prefer having the news directly on the MT5 platform. In this way, when big news comes out and the market becomes volatile, I can see the numbers and charts in real-time without switching between different pages.
The calendar is located at the bottom of the platform in the “toolbox” section, between “mailbox” and “market.” It’s user-friendly and easy to understand. On the left side, you’ll see the scheduled time and the flag of the country where the news is coming from. As you move right, you’ll see the affected currency, the event name, and how important the event is.
The importance of the news is divided into three levels based on past market reactions:
- Small blue dot = low importance
- A small blue dot with a curve = medium importance
- Dot with two curves = high importance
The “period” column shows the time range when the data was collected. The last three columns show the actual, forecasted, and previous numbers. If the actual number is worse than expected, the column turns red; if it’s better, it turns blue.
You can even add these economic events to your charts. You can drag and drop one event, all events for a currency, or even all the events at once, and they will appear on the affected currencies.
Two New ‘Pending Order’ Types – In addition to instant market execution, the MT4 platform offered four types of pending orders: buy limit, sell limit, buy stop, and sell stop. The MT5 platform has added two more: the buy stop limit and the sell stop limit. Although these might sound complex, they’re quite easy to understand.
In MT4, it can be tough to get your trade filled using stop-and-limit orders, especially if the market opens with a gap. But with the new buy-stop limit and sell-stop limit orders in MT5, it’s less likely that you’ll miss a pending trade. These stop-limit orders give your trade more flexibility around the entry price.
This is helpful when the forex market opens with a gap after the weekend. However, it’s mostly used in stock markets, which close daily and often experience gaps.
Here’s how these orders work: A buy-stop order triggers your trade when the price reaches the level you set as your entry point. For example, if you placed a buy-stop order in EUR/USD at 1.1205 on Sunday, October 2, but the market opened 17 pips higher at 1.1219, your order wouldn’t have been filled.
However, with a buy-stop limit order, you can set the entry at 1.1205 and the buy limit at 1.1220. This means the trade will go through if the price opens or moves between those levels but not if the price opens above 1.1220.
The bottom line of the square is the buy stop and the top line is the buy limit.
MQL5 – MQL5 is the programming language built into the MetaTrader 5 (MT5) platform, just like MQL4 is for MT4. So, what makes MQL5 different? While MQL4 was already quite advanced and easy to use, MQL5 takes things to the next level. It offers more advanced features and is constantly evolving, giving traders more tools to develop strategies, indicators, and automated trading programs.
Tech enthusiasts especially love MT5. For example, the new “OrderSendAsync()” function lets you create fast trading programs and robots. Another major feature is handling ‘Depth of Market’ information, but we’ll cover that separately in future articles.
MQL5 is also easier for new traders to use. In MQL4, strict compiling helps reduce errors when programming strategies or indicators, but in MQL5, this feature is always on by default, making it simpler for beginners. The new event types in MQL5 also make it easier to test and improve trading robots in the MT5 strategy tester (like TesterPass, TesterInit, and TesterDeinit). Plus, debugging in MQL5 has been improved, making it safer to buy and import trading software.
MQL5 offers more advanced tools and features for building your robot.
Many people still think MetaTrader 5 (MT5) is just like MetaTrader 4 (MT4). They look similar and share many features, which can make them seem the same. However, if you use MT5 for a while, you’ll notice several differences.
For example, MQL4, the programming language for MT4, is less advanced and less secure compared to MQL5. MT5 also includes an economic calendar and two new types of pending orders, which make it almost impossible to miss a trade with pending orders. MT5 offers newer features and indicators, such as depth of market, position aggregation, more graphical objects, additional timeframes, and more built-in indicators.
Editorial Staff at Chweya is a team of financial experts led by Vincent Nyagaka, with over 9 years of experience in finance, commerce, forex, crypto, and marketing. Started in 2014, Chweya is now among the largest free financial resource sites in the industry and is often referred to as Wikipedia for business.
