Forex trading happens to be an excellent way of generating good earnings on a consistent basis. There are many people who think that forex trading is quite complex. Sure, it involves a lot of follow up and monitoring but this does not mean that you cannot master the forex trade. There are a number of guides that can help you understand how the forex market operates. However, if you want to become a successful trader or investor then you should choose a forex platform that is perfectly suited to your needs.
An ideal forex platform is one that provides you with a variety of services. Always look for a forex platform that has the ability to set up your own trading rules, provide complete details of your account, place orders, provide currency charts and also provide you with accurate analysis of the various forex markets. Since there are a number of trading platforms in the market place, it can be quite difficult to find a suitable forex platform. It is important to understand that the services provided may differ from one platform to another. This means you should be aware of the information and services being offered so that you are able to select a suitable trading platform. For instance, if you find that a particular trading platform is not able to provide you with the required information to make a decision, it is suggested that you look for another forex platform.
Top platform should be productive
- Flexibility: There are several choices of currency pairs to trade in, as well as cryptocurrencies and CFDs.
- User-friendly: user-friendly interface that is suitable for traders of all levels.
- Customisation: Develop your own Expert Advisors (EAs) and technical indicators to match your trading needs and practices. Windows and charts can be arranged for each profile according to your preferences.
- Efficiency: fast performance of your PC or mobile, keeping disruption to a minimum.
- Charting tools: Advanced charting tools help analyze the technical aspects of the market.
- Expert Advisors: Trading robots enable the automation of trades and access to the platform’s algorithmic trading benefits.
- Language: The platform is available in multiple languages.
You want your platform to offer easy-to-navigate trading experience
- Lots Pending Order Types: Traders can place eight types of pending orders to get more precise control over open positions.
- Cryptocurrency Trading: intraday swing trading or position trading. A new hedging feature enables scalping as well.
- One-Click Trading: simplified process of opening a new position with a single click.
- More Technical Analysis Tools: technical tools, which provide options to choose from over 21 timeframes for charting and nine additional techniques for chart structuring.
- Clear Segregation: segregation between the terms of order, position, and transaction.
- Optimised Strategy Tester: Improved testing capabilities for expert advisors and detailed presentation of results.
- Improved EAs: Integrated MQL Forex market product tabs for EAs.
- Economic Calendar: Traders can now stay up-to-date on economic events, data, and indicators in real time, every hour, for market monitoring.
You want your platform to support all order types
Trading software should give traders the ease of achieving their trading objectives, regardless whether they are looking for request, instant, exchange, or market execution. With the best trading platform you can place any type of trade order, including pending, market, stop, and trailing stop orders:
- Market Orders: For instant execution, trade orders can be immediately completed on the consent of traders or brokers.
- Pending Orders: Orders can be executed in the future, as soon as the market situation agrees with the specified conditions.
- Stop Orders: Can be used with both market and pending orders to minimise losses and lock in profits.
- Trailing Stop: Stop-losses can be trailed to follow the current price. If the price moves in the opposite direction, the stop-loss levels are changed.
Best trading platform should run on all major devices
The top platform must be available as a web platform that’s compatible with Windows, Linux, and Mac OS. MT5 can also be accessed from a smartphone or tablet, whether it has an iOS or Android operating system. Trade anytime and anywhere, and have access to trading information 24 hours a day, even while you’re traveling or on vacation. It is super easy to download and install the terminal on any compatible device.
Top platform should offer enhanced security
Best platform must offer the highest security standards to protect traders’ funds. The client terminal and platform servers exchange data through encrypted servers, and the platform uses RSA digital signatures. Your IP address also remains protected.
Variety Of Assets
Just like a famous superstore includes all the items of the user’s interest, a forex trading platform should also offer a wide range of assets and commodities for trading. The forex traders take advantage of diversification in the portfolios and trade at different markets with variable conditions. A list of assets can include major and minor currency pairs, indices, and other important commodities such as gold and crude oil.
Strategies
To facilitate the users, good forex trading platforms offer trading strategies. These help the users to enjoy efficient and profitable trades. The users who have programming knowledge can also upload and include their own strategies.
Things to Consider
Choosing a suitable forex platform can be quite tricky and hence there are a few things that you should take into consideration. Every platform has its own advantages and disadvantages. You will have to take these into account when looking for a reliable trading platform. Most platforms are designed exclusively to meet the requirements of certain segments of traders. So, it is important to understand your own strengths and weaknesses in order to select the best forex platform. For instance, if you are new to forex trading then you can choose a platform that includes basic functionalities. Likewise, if you are an experienced trader then you can choose advanced platforms that provide you with a variety of information and services.
Training & Demo Account
The best forex platform provides a free demo account for its users along with training. In fact you can undergo training at your own convenience and choose to learn through videos or individual training sessions. Finally, once you find a suitable forex platform, make sure that you convert your demo account into a regular account so that you can trade with real currency.
Different Platform Types
To begin with, it is essential to understand the fundamental differences and why the platforms are so different and what we mean by different platform types. Firstly, there are two types of Forex currency trading software. There is the generic type that a Forex broker uses to build a platform on. This is often used by many Forex brokers and is more straightforward, more cost-effective and easier to maintain. Then there is the proprietary software which is unique to the developer and developed by their team of software specialists.
- MetaTrader 4 and 5 for the web – This software has some limitations but is widely regarded in the industry as perhaps the best Forex market software. The developer can make slight tweaks to make it suitable for their platform in appearance, but the functionality remains the same
- MetaTrader for mobile – Follows the same principle as the web-based Forex platforms but MetaTrader for mobile allows the broker to offer an app for phones, tablets and both iOS and Android
- Proprietary software – For brokers that prefer more independence and choice, they will design their proprietary software, giving them full control of what it does and allowing them to make changes as and when necessary. Check it provides all the essential elements of Forex trading and more
As Forex traders, it can be challenging to know which of these Forex trading platforms will best suit your unique requirements until you try them. Using a no deposit bonus or a demo platform will allow you to test these platforms for yourself before you make the decision.
Advantages Of MT4
Key features
MetaTrader 4, like many of the best forex trading apps, allows you to execute trades instantly, on-demand, or based on market signals. Aside from that, MT4 has a number of unique and interesting features that make it stand out from the crowd.
Expert Advisors are one such example. These are MQL4-based proprietary programs that can assist you in automating trading. Expert Advisors’ quality and cost differ since third parties create them, but they can have a significant effect on your portfolio when used correctly.
The MT4 platform’s incredible level of customizability is another essential feature. You can create an interface that matches your exact trading tastes thanks to an infinite number of charts. Custom audio warning trading signals can also be set up to notify you when it’s time to copy a trade.
The MT4 platform’s advanced analytics toolset attracts experienced traders. With 30 built-in indicators, you can forecast price dynamics when you first install the software. After you’ve set up your account, you can add almost 3,000 more free and paid indicators.
The popularity of MetaTrader 4 is the biggest advantage as traders who become familiar with the platform can easily switch between the top forex brokers. The stability of the 15-year-old trading software is another key benefit with other MT4 features:
- One-click trading
- 50+ Indicators
- Pending and limit orders
- 9 time-frames
- Multi charting
Features such as algorithmic and social trading also benefit from the software’s popularity with the largest copy trader community and range of bots to download (called Expert Advisors) including those below from the marketplace.
Disadvantages of MetaTrader 4
Occasionally you may find that some brokers offer wider spreads on the MT4 platform in comparison with the smaller spreads they may offer through their main trading platform (assuming that the broker in question offers several trading platforms to trade on.). Additionally, some professional traders argue that the platform is slower in comparison with other trading platforms.
Other Trading Platforms
cTrader
In recent years, Spotware has developed ‘cTrader’ as a competing trading platform for Forex traders. While this Forex platform does offer advanced charting and trading features, similar to the MetaTrader platform there are some differences:
- As MetaTrader is one of the best-known platforms for auto-trading it has a large online community that share new strategies and indicators. It also makes it much easier to find support on the internet for the MetaTrader platforms, whereas support may be limited for cTrader’s auto-trading capabilities.
- cTrader does not allow the customisation of indicators and has limitations to using third party programmes whereas MetaTrader is fully customisable.
- MetaTrader comes packed with additional features such as an economic calendar, real time market news and ‘signal trading’ functionality whereas cTrader does not have any of these features.
As this platform is available in a web browser, there hasn’t been a strong emphasis placed on the development of mobile apps until recent times. At the moment, cTrader is supplied for Android and iOS devices only. Whilst this probably does cover the majority of traders, it does hinder those using a Windows phone. MetaTrader 4 and 5 are certainly the best online Forex trading platforms for Forex mobile trading.
NinjaTrader
The NinjaTrader trading platform has been around since 2004 and is a Forex platform designed for active forex, futures and stock traders. While the platform offers advanced charting, automated strategy development and trade simulation, those who wish to execute trades from their platform must purchase a lifetime licence or lease the platform on a quarterly or annual basis.
This factor may disqualify this Forex trading platform from some traders’ lists of the best online forex trading platforms for beginners.
One of the main reasons MetaTrader platforms are so popular and commonly used is the fact they are free to the trader via their broker. And, in some cases such as with Admirals, advanced trading tools like the Supreme Edition plugin also come at no additional cost.
Furthermore, NinjaTrader acts primarily as a trading platform and is not a market data provider. This means in order to receive end-of-day or real-time market data, users need to connect their platform to one of the market data providers NinjaTrader operates with, such as Google Finance or Kinetick.
eSignal
The eSignal trading platform is a Forex platform geared towards advanced traders who enjoy fully customisable features. While the platform offers all the standard features expected of a modern trading platform, users can create their own trading strategies or market screeners through the coding language.
The platform offers advanced drawing tools such as time and price squares and Gann boxes, as well as the ability to view up to 500 symbols at one time. However, to access streaming and real-time data feeds, traders need to connect their platform with one of eSignal’s supported brokers. This means users will have to lease the platform from eSignal for a monthly or annual fee. This factor may exclude this Forex trading platform from some traders’ list of the best online trading platform for beginners in the UK.
ProRealTime
The ProRealTime trading platform is a technical analysis Forex platform software developed in France by IT-Finance. The platform is unique as it is a web-based software that is backed up on the company’s cloud network. The platform itself offers a wide range of advanced charting and analytical tools, as well as the ability to create customised market scanners and trading strategies using their ProRealCode language.
However, users must pay a software licence to use the platform. On top of this, there are additional fees to access real-time market data.
How do I start trading forex?
Before using real money, open a free demo account that lets you use the trading platform and learn how it works before making a deposit. After you learn the software and practice using the virtual account, you can open a live forex trading account and begin with an amount of risk capital that you can afford to lose.
- Choose only regulated brokers to open a live account.
- Study free educational material.
- Open a free demo account and practice.
- Learn to use the trading software.
- Develop a trading strategy.
- Deposit a small amount of risk capital.
- Focus on managing percentage returns.
- Only scale when you have a consistent track record.
