MetaTrader 4 came out in 2005 and is still, on its own, the platform some traders will not leave. It is also the platform MetaQuotes itself has stopped pushing on new licensees, who are generally pointed to MetaTrader 5 or a white-label arrangement instead of a standalone MT4 server. That gap between what traders still ask for and what a new firm can actually license is the real question behind eTrader vs MetaTrader 4 in 2026, and it is worth answering in order rather than as a straight feature match.
Does a new firm still choose MT4 in 2026?
Rarely as a first choice. A firm starting from nothing today is generally offered MetaTrader 5 or a white-label deal rather than its own MetaTrader 4 licence, which is MetaQuotes' own direction for new business. Existing MT4 licences carry on, and a firm that already has one keeps serving the traders who use it. What has changed is the on-ramp: MT4 today is mostly a platform firms keep, not one they start.
What MT4 traders still want it for
Two things, mainly. The first is the legacy MQL4 library: a huge back catalogue of robots, scripts and indicators built up since 2005, much of it never ported to MQL5. A trader running a specific MQL4 robot will look for a broker that still offers MT4 rather than rewrite it. The second is familiarity. Traders who learned to place an order, read a chart and manage an account on MT4 fifteen years ago still open the same layout today, and switching costs them nothing to relearn. Neither reason is about MT4 having features MT5 lacks; both are about what a trader already has and already knows.
Where eTrader fits
eTrader is not aimed at a firm that must keep its existing MT4 client base happy; a firm in that position keeps MT4 running, full stop, because rewriting is not something clients agree to. eTrader is a better question for a firm that is not tied to an MT4 base yet: a new prop firm, a new broker, or an established firm opening a second platform for traders who are not attached to a specific MQL4 robot.
For that firm, eTrader ships the price feed, the dealing desk, MAM / PAMM, copytrading, cloud-hosted robots and native apps for iPhone, Android and Mac in one package, hosted in the cloud by SGHK and managed by the firm, with a full trading terminal in any browser too. There is no MQL4 library to inherit, because eTrader is a different platform with its own language, Tide. A trader coming from MT4 gets a modern chart-trading terminal with drag-to-place orders and up to four take-profit levels; what they give up is the specific robot they used to run, unless someone rewrites it.
MT4, MT5 and eTrader side by side
| MetaTrader 4 | eTrader | |
|---|---|---|
| Made by | MetaQuotes, released 2005 | SGHK |
| New licences | New firms generally pointed to MT5 or a white label instead | Licensed directly, no MT4-style legacy restriction |
| Robot language | MQL4, large legacy library since 2005 | Tide, eTrader's own language; MQL4 robots must be rewritten |
| Bundled with the licence | Terminal only; feed, dealing desk and CRM bought separately | Price feed, dealing desk, MAM / PAMM, copytrading included |
| Apps | Windows, Mac, iOS, Android | Native iPhone, Android, Mac apps and a browser trading terminal; Windows app coming |
| Best for | A firm keeping an existing MT4 client base | A firm not tied to an MT4 base, wanting one bundled platform |
What a firm actually gives up either way
A firm that keeps MT4 for its existing clients is not choosing MT4 for its strengths against modern platforms; it is avoiding the cost of moving thousands of accounts and their robots somewhere else. That is a legitimate reason on its own, and it has nothing to do with eTrader being better or worse. A firm free of that constraint, weighing MT4 against eTrader for a new build, is choosing between a platform MetaQuotes itself is steering new business away from and a platform still building its own third-party library. Neither is a small trade-off, and neither should be waved away.
eTrader's honest gaps here: it is the newest platform in this comparison, its indicator and robot library is smaller than MQL4's after two decades, and every existing MT4 robot needs a rewrite in Tide rather than a straight import. Traders who do not code can use eTrader AI to build an AI Trader from blocks instead of writing Tide directly, which shortens that gap for firms without in-house developers.
The practical answer
If your firm's business is an existing MT4 client base with robots you cannot rewrite overnight, keep MT4 and treat this comparison as background, not a decision to make now. If you are building new, either as a first platform or a second one, MT4 is not where new licensing is heading anyway, so weigh eTrader against MetaTrader 5 or cTrader instead, both of which are the platforms MT4 firms are actually moving toward. Where eTrader wins that comparison is the bundle: no separate feed, no separate dealing desk vendor and no separate CRM integration project. Run a live demo before you decide either way, since a chart and an order ticket tell you more in ten minutes than a comparison table does.
"We do not tell a firm to drop MetaTrader 4 if that is what its clients trade on. We tell them what a new platform, run alongside it, actually costs to add."
— The SGHK Team
Key Takeaways
- New firms are generally pointed to MetaTrader 5 or a white-label deal rather than a standalone MT4 licence in 2026.
- Traders still want MT4 for its legacy MQL4 library and for familiarity, not for features MT5 lacks.
- eTrader fits a firm not tied to an existing MT4 base: price feed, dealing desk, MAM / PAMM and copytrading ship in one platform.
- eTrader's real trade-offs: newest platform on this list, smaller library than two decades of MQL4, and robots are rewritten in Tide, not imported.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can a new broker still get a standalone MetaTrader 4 licence in 2026?
New licensees are generally directed to MetaTrader 5 or a white-label arrangement rather than a standalone MT4 server; check MetaQuotes' current policy directly for your firm's exact situation, since licensing terms can change.
Should a firm with an existing MT4 client base switch to eTrader?
Not as a replacement. If your clients trade on MT4 robots they rely on, keep MT4 running for them. eTrader fits better as a second platform for new clients or a separate desk not tied to those robots, connected through the same CRM.
Can an MQL4 robot run on eTrader?
No. eTrader robots are written in Tide, so an MQL4 robot has to be rewritten rather than imported. The eTrader Code editor checks the code as it is typed and backtests it on the firm's real price history.
Is eTrader closer to MT4 or MT5 in how it is licensed?
Neither, directly. eTrader is licensed from SGHK, hosted in the cloud by SGHK and managed by the firm, with the price feed, dealing desk, MAM / PAMM and copytrading built into the platform. It follows the same broker-server structure as MetaTrader, but the commercial model is SGHK's own.
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.