A trader asks a support desk for their "eTrader ID password" to get into a live trading account, and the request does not make sense, because eTrader ID never controls a trading account. The same mix-up happens with cTrader ID and the MQL5.community account. All three are personal logins for the platform maker's own services, not the account a broker or prop firm issues, and mixing them up leads to real support tickets and, for firms doing due diligence on a platform, real confusion about who holds what.
This is a short guide to what each login actually does, where it stops, and how it differs from the trading account a firm opens for a client.
Three logins, three companies, one shared shape
cTrader ID belongs to Spotware, the company behind cTrader. The MQL5.community account belongs to MetaQuotes, the maker of MetaTrader 4 and MetaTrader 5. eTrader ID belongs to SGHK, the company behind eTrader. Each one is a personal account with the platform vendor, separate from any broker, and each exists because the platform vendor also runs services that need one sign-in across every broker or firm a trader uses.
What the MQL5.community account does
MetaQuotes runs the MQL5 Market and the MQL5.community, where traders buy and sell robots, indicators and signals, rent VPS hosting for MetaTrader and read the MQL5 documentation and forums. The MQL5.community account is the login for that marketplace and community. It is not the trading account a trader uses to place orders. A trader can hold an MQL5.community account with no broker at all, and can hold trading accounts at several MetaTrader brokers without any of them touching that account.
What the cTrader ID does
Spotware issues the cTrader ID as a single login across every broker that offers cTrader. A trader signs in with one cTrader ID and picks the broker inside the app, the way a browser stays signed into one account across many sites. The cTrader ID also carries into cTrader Copy, Spotware's copy trading service, and into account settings a trader keeps regardless of which broker they use that week. It does not hold funds and does not place trades on its own. The trading account still belongs to the broker.
What the eTrader ID does
eTrader ID is SGHK's version of the same idea, and it is deliberately narrow. It is a personal login used only for eTrader Code, where traders write and run trading robots and indicators in Tide, and for eTrader AI, where traders build AI Traders from blocks. A trader connects their existing trading accounts to their eTrader ID so a robot or AI Trader can place orders on those accounts. The eTrader ID itself holds no money, never places an order on its own, and is not a shared client database across the firms that run eTrader. Each firm's clients, balances and trades live on that firm's own eTrader servers, visible only to that firm. More detail on how the login is scoped is in eTrader ID: one login, many brokers and eTrader ID security for firms.
| Login | Made by | Used for | Holds money or trades |
|---|---|---|---|
| MQL5.community account | MetaQuotes | MQL5 Market, VPS rental, forums and documentation | No |
| cTrader ID | Spotware | Single sign-in across cTrader brokers, cTrader Copy | No |
| eTrader ID | SGHK | eTrader Code and eTrader AI, connecting robots to accounts | No |
| Trading account | The broker or prop firm | Placing orders, holding balance and equity | Yes |
The trading account is the thing that actually trades
Underneath all three platforms, the setup is the same, and it is worth knowing how that broker server model works before comparing anything else. A trader installs the platform's app, MetaTrader 5, cTrader or eTrader, and picks a server inside it: a broker's server on MetaTrader and cTrader, or a firm's own server on eTrader, shown under that firm's name and logo. The firm's CRM opens the account on that server through the platform's API, and the trader signs into the terminal with the login and password for that specific account. None of the three personal logins above replace that step. A cTrader ID does not open a trading account on its own, an MQL5.community account does not either, and neither does an eTrader ID.
Why the confusion happens
The confusion is understandable because all three names sound like they could mean the account itself. "eTrader ID" reads like it might mean "your eTrader account", the way an Apple ID controls an Apple account. It does not work that way here. The clearest way to explain it to a support team or a new trader: the platform ID is for the platform maker's own tools, the trading account is for the money. A trader can delete an eTrader ID and their trading accounts on the firm's servers are untouched, because the two were never linked at that level.
What this means for a firm choosing a platform
For a broker or prop firm comparing eTrader against MetaTrader or cTrader, as covered in more depth in MetaTrader alternatives for brokers and prop firms, the presence of a platform-level ID is not a shared client database to worry about. It is the same pattern all three vendors use. What a firm should actually check is what lives on its own servers: MetaTrader 5 keeps a broker's accounts on that broker's own server group, cTrader keeps them under the broker the trader picked, and eTrader keeps them on the firm's own YourFirm-Demo and YourFirm-Live servers, opened by the firm's CRM and visible to nobody else. That separation, not the existence of a personal login, is what actually determines whether client data stays with the firm.
Firms that want one CRM across platforms do not have to give any of this up. SGHK's Broker CRM and Prop Firm CRM connect in one click to MetaTrader 4, MetaTrader 5, cTrader, DXtrade, NinjaTrader, Match-Trader and TradeLocker as well as eTrader, so adding or switching a platform later does not mean rebuilding account management from scratch.
Ask any platform vendor the same three questions before you sign: where does the trading account live, who can see it, and what does the personal login actually touch. If a vendor cannot answer clearly, that is a bigger warning sign than the login itself. You can put those questions to us directly on an eTrader demo call.
"eTrader ID is exactly as small as a cTrader ID or an MQL5.community account. It logs a trader into our robot and AI tools, nothing more, and every firm's clients stay on that firm's own servers."
— The SGHK Team
Key Takeaways
- cTrader ID, the MQL5.community account and eTrader ID are all personal logins for the platform maker's own services, not shared client databases.
- None of the three holds money or places trades on its own; the trading account issued by the broker or firm does that.
- eTrader ID is used only for eTrader Code and eTrader AI, connecting a trader's existing accounts to their robots and AI Traders.
- Every firm on eTrader runs its own servers with its own clients, the same separation MetaTrader and cTrader brokers have.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is eTrader ID the same as a trading account?
No. eTrader ID is a personal login used only for eTrader Code and eTrader AI. The trading account is issued by the broker or prop firm on its own eTrader server, with its own login and password.
Does eTrader ID hold client money?
No. It holds no money and never places an order by itself. A trader connects their existing trading accounts to it so a robot or AI Trader can trade on those accounts.
Is eTrader ID a shared database across every firm on eTrader?
No. Each firm on eTrader runs its own servers, and its clients, balances and trades are visible only to that firm. eTrader ID has nothing to do with which firm a client trades with.
How is this different from cTrader ID or the MQL5.community account?
It is not different in structure. cTrader ID is Spotware's single sign-in across cTrader brokers and cTrader Copy. The MQL5.community account is MetaQuotes' login for the MQL5 Market and forums. eTrader ID does the equivalent job for eTrader Code and eTrader AI. All three sit outside the trading account itself.
Can a firm run eTrader alongside MetaTrader or cTrader?
Yes. SGHK's Broker CRM and Prop Firm CRM connect to MetaTrader 4, MetaTrader 5, cTrader, DXtrade, NinjaTrader, Match-Trader and TradeLocker as well as eTrader, so a firm can run more than one platform from one CRM.
About SGHK
SGHK is a FinTech company that designs and builds its own software for the trading industry: the eTrader trading platform, Launch your Broker and Launch your Prop Firm. Every product is written, hosted and supported in-house and licensed to trading firms, with the CRMs branded to them, all hosted by us in the cloud, managed by each firm and built to scale across clustered servers as our clients grow. Everything is encrypted, and each firm is the only one with access to its data and its clients' data.