Best MT4 Brokers UK: Your Guide to Using MetaTrader 4

My Best MT4 Brokers UK, April 2024

1. Pepperstone – Best overall MT4 broker
2. AvaTrade – Best MT4 broker for new traders
3. IG – Best MT4 broker for market range
4. FX Pro – Best MT4 broker for fast execution
5. Tickmill – Best MT4 broker for high volume traders

Caution: MT4 Brokers to avoid

The following are brokers that I’ve moved out from my ‘Best of’ list. This is usually due to fees that are too high, a poor customer service record, or a product range that is too slim.

How to decide which CFD and forex broker is best for you

There are plenty of brokers offering MT4. If you are weighing up which broker to choose, here are a few factors to consider:

Trading costs

You will, of course, want to compare the relative trading costs across different trading platforms. If you are planning on making high volumes of trades, you will want to consider using a forex broker that has low trading fees. Otherwise, you could end up spending a lot of money on charges.

Some providers build trading fees and commissions on trades into the spreads, which could result in a tighter overall spread. However, some brokers list a flat fee for every trade instead of building them into the spreads. 

Before opening an account with a broker, you should double-check their charges and commissions – tighter spreads could potentially result in less profit on forex trades.

Regulation

When it comes to regulation, most of the brokers listed above are regulated in the UK by the FCA.

When a broker is regulated within the UK, you can typically expect to see stricter limitations on leverage. These brokers are also audited regularly and must provide ‘negative balance protection’ to all traders, which means you can’t lose more money than there originally was in your account. This is a brilliant facet of UK-regulated brokers, as it can prevent you from getting into excessive debt.

Of course, there are brokers out there that aren’t regulated within the UK. For example, some may be offshore brokers, such as in Seychelles, Mauritius, or the British Virgin Islands.

When a broker isn’t regulated in the UK, you can typically expect to receive higher leverage on trades. Though, you should keep in mind that there will likely be fewer protections, thus making them a riskier option.

Educational materials and customer support

Some brokers provide free educational material to their users. This can be of varying quality and quantity, though, so it’s worth sampling some of the resources before selecting a platform.

You may also find that certain brokers have far more attentive and responsive customer service than others, which can be a deal breaker for some users. 

Something else that may be worth keeping an eye out for is copy trading. This is a social trading feature that allows you to mimic how other more experienced and successful investors are trading. MT4 is a popular platform for social trading thanks to its large user base and many online user forums. 

The MT4 trading platform can be complex and tricky to understand, especially for newer or more casual investors. So, a broker that offers educational materials and has a helpful customer support service should be something you take into consideration.

Analysis and trading tools

Some brokers offer plugins for the MT4 platform that provide pattern recognition, which could make it easier to stay on top of ever-changing markets.

Of course, analysis and trading tools aren’t essential when it comes to trading forex or CFDs, but they could go a long way in assisting you, especially if you are still a newcomer to trading.

What is MT4?

MetaTrader 4 (MT4) is an external trading platform that allows you to trade several financial instruments, such as foreign currencies (forex) or CFDs (contracts for difference).

The MT4 platform offers automated trading and advanced charting tools for the technical analysis of forex or CFD markets, which allows you to better keep track of typically complicated markets.

This is the beauty of MT4 – the platform aims to help users spot trends in currency markets.

MT4 itself doesn’t host trades though – this is where MT4 brokers come in. MT4 brokers host the MT4 platform, and all trades will be conducted by the brokers.

So, even though you’re making trades on the MT4 platform, you’re technically trading with the broker you signed up with.

Trading forex on MT4

The foreign exchange market, which is more commonly referred to as the ‘forex’ or ‘FX’, is the global marketplace that deals with exchanging currencies. You’ll need to look for forex brokers who also act as MT4 brokers if you want to make use of the automated trading and algorithmic trading that MT4 provides.

When you trade on the forex market, you will see that currencies are listed together. For example, GBP/USD, USD/EUR and USD/JPY. These are called ‘currency pairs’, and they are typically split into major currency pairs, like the examples listed above, or minor currency pairs, which are typically between two less commonly traded currencies. These minor currency pairs include GBP/CAD or GBP/JPY.

Trading on the forex market involves speculating on currencies, with the aim of selling your positions when the value, also known as the spread, has increased. This is how investors typically turn a profit when investing in forex.

Unlike the regular stock market, the forex market is open at all hours of the day, seven days a week. Also, since there isn’t a central marketplace for foreign currencies, all forex trades are conducted ‘over the counter’ (OTC) and take place electronically on computers.

Forex trading can be slightly more complicated than regular trading on the stock market and there is even some technical jargon commonly thrown around.

If you want to find forex brokers that also act as MT4 brokers, you’ll need to understand some of the jargon below:

Leverage

Leverage, like that seen in derivative trading, is also present in forex trading.

Leverage allows you to borrow money so that you can trade in forex for larger amounts of money than you have initially paid in.

You will commonly see leverage presented as a ratio – for example, 30:1, 50:1, or even 200:1.

Say, for example, you were to trade one lot of GBP/USD for £100,000. If your broker offered you a leverage of 100:1, you would be required to pay £1,000 to make the above trade. This initial investment amount is called the ‘margin’.

Of course, while leverage may allow you to make larger trades with less money, this can also work against you, as you could end up losing far more money than you initially paid in.

This is why leverage is such a double-edged sword, and why you should only use higher leverage if you’re confident that the advantage is on your side.

Still, it can be very difficult to precisely predict whether your trade is advantageous, which is why casual or beginner investors typically don’t need high leverage.

Spreads

‘Spreads’ are the difference between the bidding price and the asking price of a particular currency pair. These spreads are often measured in ‘points’, or ‘pips’, as they are sometimes referred to.

When you trade on major currency pairs, such as GBP/USD or USD/EUR, you will typically see tighter spreads. This is because they are usually traded in higher volumes.

On the flip side, minor currency pairs may have much wider spreads since they aren’t as commonly traded. This can come with its own set of issues though, like increased market volatility.

As previously mentioned, you can sometimes expect trading costs to be built into spreads. This is quite common – even some of the best forex brokers will do this.

Spreads are subject to change frequently and can sometimes be tricky to keep track of. That’s why platforms such as MT4 are ideal for forex trading – it gives you the tools to properly track spreads, so you know when the perfect time to close your position comes.

Before opening a brokerage account, you should first check the typical spreads prospective forex brokers offer on certain currency pairs. – Many brokers offer live spread updates on their websites, which could give you a rough idea of the spreads they offer.

Also consider: My guide on Forex Trading for beginners

Trading derivatives on MT4

Another popular method of trading on the MT4 platform is derivatives, though this is where things tend to get slightly more complicated.

Derivative trading is often done by either spread betting or using CFDs, and essentially involves you placing a ‘bet’ on how a currency’s value will change.

It is vital to keep in mind that spread betting and CFDs are complex instruments. In fact, more than half of retail investor accounts lose money when trading CFDs, so you should ensure you’ve done adequate research before you decide to invest this way.

Spread betting

As mentioned, spread betting is a method of investing that involves placing a ‘bet’ on how you predict a currency’s value will move.

When you do this, you aren’t purchasing any currency whatsoever and don’t own any of the underlying assets you’re betting on. You are instead speculating on the movement.

One of the advantages of spread betting is that you can take full advantage of leverage without needing to place a trade.

While this leverage does allow you to ‘borrow’ money to meet the margin requirement to finance the bet, this does mean you could end up losing far more money than you originally put in.

This works both ways though – you could end up earning more money than you originally invested if the bet goes your way.

Read more: My Guide to Spread Betting

CFDs

‘Contracts for Difference’, or CFDs as they are more commonly known, are another way of trading derivatives.

Trading CFDs is similar to spread betting, with a few key differences.

You are still ‘betting’ on how the value of a currency pair will move when you trade CFDs, though, unlike spread betting, you will instead receive the difference in price from when you opened the position.

Also consider: My CFD Trading for beginners guide

Best MT4 Brokers UK FAQs

Please note

CFDs are complex financial instruments and more than half of retail investor accounts lose money when trading CFDs. Please make sure that you know these risks before you start trading and that you’re aware there’s a high chance of losing money rapidly on your investment.

The value of your investments (and any income from them) can go down as well as up and you may not get back the full amount you invested. Past performance is not a reliable indicator of future performance. Investments should be considered over the longer term and should fit in with your overall attitude to risk and financial circumstances.