Running MetaTrader 5 and eTrader together on one CRM is simpler than most firms expect, because both platforms follow the same broker-server model: a trader installs the platform's own app, picks the firm's server inside it, and the firm's CRM opens the account through the platform's API. MT5 shows up as "YourFirm-Live" in the MetaTrader broker list. eTrader shows up the same way, under the firm's own name and logo. Neither platform requires the other to change how it works.
What changes is what the firm's CRM has to do behind the scenes. This is a concrete guide to pairing MT5 and eTrader on one back office: what a firm gains, and what stays genuinely separate between the two.
What a firm gains from pairing MT5 and eTrader
The first gain is choice without friction. A trader who wants the terminal they already know signs up for MT5. A trader who wants native Mac apps, chart-based order placement with draggable stop and target lines, or built-in copytrading and MAM / PAMM signs up for eTrader. Both are the same firm, the same brand, the same support desk.
The second gain is one CRM instead of two. SGHK's Broker CRM and Prop Firm CRM connect to MetaTrader 5 and to eTrader from the same back office, alongside cTrader, DXtrade, NinjaTrader, Match-Trader and TradeLocker if a firm adds them later. A client's KYC record, deposit history and support tickets live in one place whether they trade on MT5 or eTrader, and a trader who opens an MT5 account today and an eTrader account next year is still one client record, not two.
The third gain is payments and KYC running once. A firm does not verify identity twice because a client happens to hold accounts on two platforms. The same PSP integrations and the same KYC provider, connected once through the CRM's API, cover deposits, withdrawals and identity checks on both.
What stays separate: robots and automation
Automation is the clearest line between the two platforms and it does not disappear by running them side by side. MT5 robots and indicators are written in MQL5, and the MQL5 Market and community hold a large library built up over more than a decade. eTrader robots are written in Tide, eTrader's own language, so an MQL5 robot cannot run on eTrader without being rewritten. That is a real cost for a trader who depends on a specific MT5 robot, and there is no shortcut around it. What softens it: the eTrader Code editor flags mistakes as the trader types, backtests run on the firm's own price history, and traders who do not want to write code can build AI Traders from blocks in eTrader AI instead. A firm pairing the two platforms should expect its MT5-focused traders to stay on MQL5 and its eTrader traders to either learn Tide or use AI Traders, not to migrate strategies wholesale between the two. See our side-by-side look at Tide and MQL5 for the practical differences.
What stays separate: hosting and licensing
The other real difference is who controls the platform underneath. MT5 is licensed from MetaQuotes, and a firm's ability to keep running MT5 servers depends on MetaQuotes' own licensing terms, which is exactly what caught a number of prop firms off guard in early 2024, a lesson covered in more depth in our piece on platform vendor risk. eTrader is hosted in the cloud by SGHK and managed by the firm: there is no server for the firm to install or licence, and the servers are built to scale across clustered infrastructure as the firm grows, with prices updating every 70ms. Neither model is inherently better. What matters operationally is that a firm running both is not depending on a single vendor's decisions for its entire trading business, which is the actual point of pairing two platforms rather than betting on one.
Setting it up in practice
The mechanics are the same for either platform, run in parallel. A firm sets up its MT5 server (or servers) the way it always would, with its own groups, spreads and leverage. It sets up eTrader Broker the same way: instruments by group, spread markup, commission, swaps and leverage tiers, using either its own liquidity provider over FIX or the eTrader price feed of about 580 instruments if it wants to run eTrader without sourcing separate market data. Both connect to the same CRM through their respective APIs. From the CRM's side, opening an account on either platform is the same action with a different target, and the trader receives a login for whichever server they signed up on.
Dealing-desk visibility is worth planning early. eTrader's built-in dealing desk covers order flow, exposure, toxic-flow scoring and A-book, B-book or hybrid routing for the eTrader book directly. MT5 needs a bridge or plugin from another vendor for the same view. A firm running both should decide whether it wants a combined exposure view across the two books or is comfortable managing them separately, before volume makes that decision for it.
Who this pairing suits
MT5 and eTrader together suits a firm that already has an established MT5 client base and wants a second platform without hosting a second set of servers, price feeds and CRM integrations. It also suits a new firm that wants to offer the platform most traders already expect, MT5, alongside a platform with native apps and built-in copytrading that needs nothing extra to be assembled. It does not remove the retraining cost for algo traders who depend on a specific MQL5 robot; that cost is real and should be set expectations on up front rather than glossed over. Firms weighing the pairing are welcome to book a demo and run both side by side before deciding.
"MT5 and eTrader run the same broker-server model, so pairing them is a CRM decision, not a platform rebuild. What stays separate is the robot language and who hosts the servers underneath."
— The SGHK Team
Key Takeaways
- MT5 and eTrader both use the broker-server model, so pairing them under one CRM does not require either platform to change.
- One CRM covering both means one KYC record, one payment stack and one client history, whichever platform the trader is on.
- Robots stay separate: MQL5 on MT5, Tide on eTrader, with no automatic conversion between them.
- Hosting stays separate too: MT5's licence is controlled by MetaQuotes, while eTrader is hosted in the cloud by SGHK and managed by the firm, with nothing for the firm to host or patch.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can a firm run MT5 and eTrader on the same CRM?
Yes. SGHK's Broker CRM and Prop Firm CRM connect to MetaTrader 5 and to eTrader from the same back office, so accounts, KYC and payouts on both platforms sit in one place rather than two separate systems.
Do MT5 robots work on eTrader?
Not directly. MT5 robots are written in MQL5 and eTrader robots are written in Tide, eTrader's own language, so a robot has to be rewritten to move between them. Traders who do not want to code can build AI Traders from blocks in eTrader AI instead.
Does a firm need a separate price feed for eTrader if it already has one for MT5?
No, not necessarily. A firm can connect the same liquidity provider over FIX to both platforms, or use the eTrader price feed, about 580 instruments with years of history, for the eTrader side alone if it prefers not to extend its existing feed.
What is the main reason to pair MT5 with eTrader rather than another second platform?
eTrader arrives with the price feed, dealing desk, MAM / PAMM and copytrading already built in and nothing for the firm to host, which is less integration work than adding a second platform that still needs a bridge, CRM plugin and risk tooling assembled around it.
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.