MetaTrader 5 runs a large share of the retail forex and CFD market, and a firm weighing a second platform is really asking one question: how much control over its own trading terminal does it want to hand to a single vendor. Comparing eTrader vs MetaTrader 5 on that question, rather than on a feature checklist, tells you more about which one fits your firm.
This guide goes through the points a broker or prop firm actually checks before signing: who controls the licence, where the price feed and liquidity come from, how orders are routed, what language robots are written in, and what apps traders get. We build eTrader, so that side is ours to sell. MetaTrader 5's strengths below are MetaQuotes' own claims about its platform: the MQL5 Market and community library, depth of market, hedging and netting account modes, and a multi-threaded strategy tester.
How the two platforms are actually set up
Both work the same way at the structural level. A trader installs the MetaTrader 5 app and picks a broker's server inside it, shown as something like "BrokerName-Live". A trader installs eTrader and picks the firm's server the same way, shown as "YourFirm-Live" with the firm's own name and logo. In both cases the firm's CRM opens the trading account through the platform's API, MetaTrader 5's Manager API on one side and the eTrader CRM API on the other, and the trader signs in with the account the firm issued. Neither platform is a white label of the other; both are shared terminals with firm-owned servers behind them. The difference is what sits behind that server.
eTrader vs MetaTrader 5 on licensing and vendor control
MetaQuotes sets the terms a MetaTrader 5 licence runs on, and it can change them. Prop firms felt this directly in early 2024, when a number had to add or change platforms at short notice after MetaQuotes enforced its licensing terms more strictly, and many added DXtrade, Match-Trader, TradeLocker or cTrader. Apple also removed both MetaTrader apps from the App Store in September 2022, and they were not back until March 2023. Neither event means MetaTrader 5 is a bad platform. It means a firm running only MetaTrader 5 is exposed to decisions made outside its own building.
eTrader is licensed from SGHK directly, hosted in the cloud by SGHK and managed by the firm, with no separate server licence to install or third-party plugin stack around it. The trade-off runs the other way: eTrader is the newest platform in this comparison, so it has not accumulated MetaTrader's install base or its policy history one way or the other.
Price feed and liquidity
MetaTrader 5 does not include a market-data feed. A firm licenses its own price feed and, for A-book execution, its own liquidity provider, then connects both over a bridge. That is standard practice and it gives a firm choice over its provider, at the cost of one more vendor relationship and one more bridge to maintain.
eTrader comes with the eTrader price feed built in: about 580 instruments across forex, metals, indices, energy, crypto, US stocks and ETFs, bonds and 24/7 products, with years of history on every timeframe. A prop firm can run evaluation accounts on demo servers with no liquidity provider at all. A broker that wants A-book or hybrid execution connects its own liquidity provider over FIX, with market depth set per connection from off to the full book.
Dealing desk and order routing
A MetaTrader 5 broker typically adds a bridge and a separate risk management system to split flow between A-book and B-book, monitor exposure and score client behaviour. These come from third-party vendors in the MetaTrader ecosystem, chosen and priced independently.
The eTrader Dealing Desk is built into eTrader Broker: live order flow, net exposure by symbol, house profit and loss for any date range, toxic flow scoring, and routing rules that send orders to the liquidity provider, keep them in house, or split a set percentage of every order between the two per server, per rule or per account. Every setting is also exposed to the firm's CRM through the eTrader CRM API. A firm that wants a named, external risk vendor on MetaTrader 5 has more choice; a firm that wants routing and risk monitoring included from day one gets that with eTrader.
Writing robots: MQL5 versus Tide
This is where MetaTrader 5 is genuinely ahead. Robots and indicators are written in MQL5, and the MQL5 Market and community hold a large, mature library built up since 2010. A trader who depends on a specific MQL5 robot will often only trade where MetaTrader is offered, and MT5 adds a multi-threaded strategy tester, depth of market and hedging and netting account modes on top of the language itself.
eTrader robots are written in Tide, eTrader's own language, so an MQL5 robot has to be rewritten rather than imported. What that buys back: the eTrader Code editor flags errors as the trader types, backtests run on the firm's own real price history, and robots execute in SGHK's cloud with the computer switched off, so no one rents a VPS to keep a robot running. Traders who do not code build AI Traders from blocks in eTrader AI instead. The third-party library around Tide is smaller than MQL5's, because eTrader is the newer platform of the two.
Apps and the trading terminal
MetaTrader 5 ships apps for Windows, Mac, Linux (through Wine), iOS, Android and a browser-based trading terminal, and most brokers do not publish a version under their own name. eTrader gives traders native apps for iPhone, Android and Mac and a full trading terminal in any browser, all on one account, so a position opened on the phone shows on the Mac. A Windows desktop app is still coming; Windows traders use the browser terminal today, which covers the same account and the same features. Traders on both platforms drag stop loss, take profit and pending order lines on the chart, though eTrader adds up to four take-profit levels per position as a native feature.
| Decision point | MetaTrader 5 | eTrader |
|---|---|---|
| Licence and vendor control | Set by MetaQuotes; firms felt licensing changes in 2024 | Licensed from SGHK; hosted and managed by the firm |
| Price feed and liquidity | Firm sources its own feed and liquidity provider | eTrader price feed included; own liquidity optional for A-book |
| Dealing desk and routing | Third-party bridge and risk system | Built in: eTrader Dealing Desk, split routing, toxic flow scoring |
| Robot language | MQL5, large mature library | Tide, eTrader's own language, robots are rewritten not imported |
| Apps | Windows, Mac, web, iOS, Android | Native iPhone, Android and Mac apps, browser terminal; Windows app coming |
Which to choose
If your traders already run MQL5 robots they will not rewrite, or your firm depends on the size of MetaTrader's existing user base, keep MetaTrader 5 and treat any second platform as an addition rather than a replacement. If you are setting up a new firm, or your MetaTrader 5 firm wants a platform with the price feed, dealing desk, MAM / PAMM and copytrading already built in and nothing to host, run eTrader alongside it. SGHK's Broker CRM and Prop Firm CRM connect to MetaTrader 5 and eTrader from the same account list, so traders can choose without the firm running two CRMs. Book a demo and place a few orders on both before you decide.
"We do not ask a firm to give up MetaTrader 5 to run eTrader. Most of our brokers run both, and our CRMs connect to each the same way."
— The SGHK Team
Key Takeaways
- MetaTrader 5 and eTrader use the same broker-server structure; the difference is what SGHK bundles into eTrader that a MetaTrader 5 firm buys separately.
- MetaTrader 5 wins on robot library size and platform maturity; eTrader wins on what ships included: price feed, dealing desk, MAM / PAMM, copytrading and cloud robots.
- Licensing risk is real: the 2022 App Store removal and the 2024 licensing changes both hit firms that ran MetaTrader alone.
- eTrader's honest trade-offs: newest platform here, smaller third-party library, and MQL5 robots must be rewritten in Tide, not imported.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is eTrader a replacement for MetaTrader 5 or an addition to it?
Either, depending on the firm. New firms often start on eTrader alone, since the price feed, dealing desk, MAM / PAMM and copytrading are already built in. Established MetaTrader 5 firms more often add eTrader as a second platform and let traders pick, since SGHK's CRMs connect to both from one account list.
Can a MetaTrader 5 robot run on eTrader without changes?
No. eTrader robots are written in Tide, so an MQL5 robot has to be rewritten. The eTrader Code editor checks the code as it is typed and backtests it on the firm's real price history, and traders who do not want to code can build an AI Trader from blocks in eTrader AI instead.
Does eTrader have depth of market like MetaTrader 5?
Yes. eTrader shows market depth from the firm's liquidity provider, up to the full book, moving with the live price in every eTrader terminal. MetaTrader 5 shows depth of market from the broker's own liquidity connection in the same way.
Do we need our own liquidity provider to run eTrader?
Not necessarily. The eTrader price feed covers around 580 instruments with years of history, so a prop firm can run demo evaluation accounts without one. A broker that wants A-book or hybrid execution connects its own liquidity provider over FIX, the same as it would for MetaTrader 5.
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.