MetaTrader 4 came out in 2005 and MetaTrader 5 in 2010. Most retail brokers and prop firms still run at least one of them, and plenty will keep doing so for years. What changed is that fewer firms now run MetaTrader alone. In September 2022 Apple pulled both MetaTrader apps from the App Store, and they only came back in March 2023. In early 2024 a wave of prop firms had to change platform at short notice after MetaQuotes enforced its licensing terms more strictly. Both episodes taught operators the same thing: when one vendor controls your trading terminal, its decisions become your business risk.
This guide compares the platforms brokers and prop firms most often look at next. We build eTrader, so it is our recommended starting point, and we say so openly. What we write about the other platforms is based on what their makers publish. Where a platform is better than ours at something, we say that too.
The short version
| Platform | Made by | Strongest at | Trade-offs |
|---|---|---|---|
| eTrader | SGHK | One stack: terminal, native apps, price feed, dealing desk, MAM / PAMM, copytrading, cloud robots and AI Traders, nothing for the firm to host | Newest platform on this list, smaller third-party library, robots are written in its own language, Tide |
| MetaTrader 4 / 5 | MetaQuotes | The largest trader base and the biggest library of robots and indicators (MQL4 / MQL5) | Licensing is set by one vendor; firms usually add a bridge, CRM, feed and risk plugins from other vendors |
| cTrader | Spotware | Depth of market, a clean desktop, algorithmic trading in C# | Mostly FX and CFDs; firms still assemble CRM, feed and risk tooling around it |
| DXtrade | Devexperts | A white-label terminal the firm brands as its own, popular with prop firms | Smaller trader community and automation ecosystem than MetaTrader |
| Match-Trader | Match-Trade Technologies | An all-in-one B2B package: platform, client office, payments, prop tools | Automation tooling is lighter than on MetaTrader or cTrader |
| TradeLocker | TradeLocker | TradingView charts inside the terminal, a built-in risk calculator | Newer platform, algo tooling still growing, by its own account |
| TradingView | TradingView | Charting, Pine Script and the largest trading community | A charting front end brokers integrate with, not a platform a firm runs its book on |
How these platforms are set up for a firm
Before comparing features, it helps to know that the basic structure is the same almost everywhere. A trader installs the platform's own app, then picks their broker's server inside it. On MetaTrader 5 that server shows as something like "BrokerName-Live". On cTrader the trader picks the broker the same way. On eTrader the firm gets its own servers, "YourFirm-Demo" and "YourFirm-Live", shown with its name and logo. The firm's CRM opens the trading accounts through the platform's API, and the trader receives a login and password for that server.
Most brokers on MetaTrader and cTrader do not publish an app under their own name, and neither do firms on eTrader. That is the normal industry setup, not a missing feature. DXtrade and Match-Trader sell white-label terminals, for firms that care more about a fully branded app than about traders already knowing the app.
Platform-level logins are common too. cTrader has the cTrader ID and MetaTrader has the MQL5.community account. eTrader has eTrader ID, a personal login for eTrader Code and eTrader AI. None of these replace the trading account the firm issues, and on eTrader the ID holds no money and never places orders on its own.
1. eTrader: the whole stack in one platform
eTrader is what we would pick for a new broker or prop firm, and for an established firm that wants a second platform it does not have to host. Traders get native apps for iPhone, Android and Mac and a full terminal in any browser, all on one account. They trade from the chart: pending orders, stop losses, take profits and alerts are lines they drag, with up to four take-profit levels per position. There are tick charts, market depth, one to four charts per screen, trailing stops, partial closes and push alerts.
The firm side is where eTrader differs most from the rest of this list. The eTrader price feed comes with it, about 580 instruments with years of history, so a prop firm can go live without buying a data feed or signing with a liquidity provider. Brokers connect their own liquidity over FIX and route flow A-book, B-book or by hybrid rules from the built-in eTrader Dealing Desk, which also shows exposure, toxic flow and execution quality. MAM / PAMM and copytrading are native, not plugins. Robots written in eTrader Code, and AI Traders built from blocks in eTrader AI, run in SGHK's cloud, so traders do not rent a VPS. SGHK hosts it all and the firm manages it, with nothing for the firm to host or patch.
The honest downsides. eTrader is the youngest platform here, so some traders will want the terminal they already know. Its third-party library of indicators and robots is small next to MetaTrader's. Robots are written in Tide, eTrader's own language, so a robot built for another platform has to be rewritten rather than imported. The Windows desktop app is still on the way; Windows traders use the browser terminal for now.
2. MetaTrader 4 and MetaTrader 5
MetaTrader's advantage is size. It has the largest base of traders who already know the terminal, and the MQL5 Market and community hold a huge library of robots, indicators and scripts. Traders who depend on a specific robot will often only trade where MetaTrader is offered. MetaTrader 5 adds more timeframes, a depth of market and a multi-threaded strategy tester.
The trade-offs are about control. MetaQuotes decides who gets a licence and on what terms, and prop firms felt that in 2024. New firms are generally pointed to MetaTrader 5 or a white-label arrangement rather than a MetaTrader 4 server of their own. Around it, a firm usually adds a bridge, a CRM, a data feed and risk plugins from other vendors. None of that makes MetaTrader a bad choice. It makes it a choice you should not depend on alone.
3. cTrader
cTrader, from Spotware, is the pick for traders who care about depth of market and automated trading in a mainstream language. Its algorithmic trading uses C#, which suits developers from a .NET background, and it comes with cTrader Copy for copy trading. It runs on Windows, Mac, the web, iOS and Android. It is mostly used for FX and CFDs, and a firm still sets up its CRM, liquidity and risk tools around it.
4. DXtrade
Devexperts sells DXtrade as a white-label platform the firm brands as its own, which is a real advantage for a firm that wants its name on the terminal itself. Many prop firms added it during 2024. Its trader community and robot ecosystem are smaller than MetaTrader's, and the firm still combines it with its own CRM and payment stack.
5. Match-Trader
Match-Trade Technologies offers Match-Trader as part of a wider B2B package: the platform, a client office, payments and dedicated prop firm tools. For a firm that wants one vendor, it is the closest model to SGHK's own. The differences are in the details: eTrader adds native Mac apps, cloud-hosted robots, AI Traders and a built-in dealing desk with hybrid routing. Firms should compare both in a live demo.
6. TradeLocker
TradeLocker built its terminal around TradingView charts and a risk calculator that sizes a position from the risk in money or percent. Discretionary traders who already chart on TradingView find it familiar. TradeLocker itself notes that it is newer than MetaTrader and cTrader and that its automation tools are still growing.
7. TradingView
TradingView is the best-known charting platform and trading community, with Pine Script for indicators and strategies. It is not something a firm runs its trading book on. Brokers integrate with it so their clients can trade from TradingView charts, alongside whatever platform the firm actually runs.
How to choose
For a new prop firm, the question is how much you want to assemble yourself. MetaTrader, cTrader and DXtrade each need a CRM, a price feed and risk tooling around them. Match-Trader and eTrader arrive as one package, and eTrader is the one of the two with cloud robots, AI Traders and native Mac apps. For a broker, execution and routing matter most: check the dealing desk, how A-book and B-book flow is split and what the liquidity connection looks like before anything else.
Most established firms end up offering two platforms, which is also the simplest answer to vendor risk. 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 eTrader next to the platform it already has and let traders choose.
Test before you sign, whatever you pick. Ask for a live demo, place orders during a news release, look at how drawdown and daily loss are calculated, and ask what data you can export if you leave. We are happy to be held to the same test: book an eTrader demo.
"Every firm should be able to leave its platform vendor. That is why our CRMs connect to MetaTrader, cTrader and the rest as well as to eTrader."
— The SGHK Team
Key Takeaways
- MetaTrader still has the largest trader base and robot library; firms add a second platform because of vendor risk, seen in the 2022 App Store removal and the 2024 prop firm licensing changes.
- eTrader, MetaTrader and cTrader share one structure: one app from the platform, each firm on its own servers, accounts opened by the firm's CRM.
- eTrader includes the price feed, dealing desk, MAM / PAMM, copytrading, cloud robots and AI Traders, with nothing for the firm to host.
- eTrader's real trade-offs: it is the newest platform, its third-party library is smaller, and robots are rewritten in Tide.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the best MetaTrader alternative for a prop firm?
For a new prop firm that does not want to assemble a stack, we recommend eTrader: the price feed is included, evaluation accounts run on demo servers with no liquidity provider needed, and the Prop Firm CRM runs challenges, rules and payouts with eTrader connected from day one. Match-Trader is the other one-vendor option worth a demo. Firms whose traders depend on MetaTrader robots usually keep MetaTrader next to it.
Is eTrader structured like MetaTrader and cTrader?
Yes. Traders install eTrader and pick your firm's server, the way they pick a broker's server on MetaTrader 5 or cTrader. Your firm has its own servers, instruments, spreads and leverage, and your CRM opens the accounts through the eTrader CRM API. eTrader ID works like a cTrader ID: a personal login for eTrader Code and eTrader AI, not a shared client database.
Can MetaTrader robots run on eTrader?
Not directly. eTrader robots are written in Tide, so a MetaTrader robot has to be rewritten. The eTrader Code editor checks the code as it is typed and backtests on your firm's real prices, and traders who do not code can build AI Traders from blocks in eTrader AI.
Can we run eTrader and MetaTrader at the same time?
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 one CRM runs both platforms.
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.