Same terminal, different terms
Brokers that run MetaTrader
MetaTrader is the same program everywhere, so the broker behind it is the whole choice. Of the nine we track, eight run it: RoboForex from a 10 USD deposit, Alpari from $30, LiteFinance from $50, Tickmill from 100, FxPro with no fixed minimum. Deriv and Bybit run MT5 only, ForTrade only MT4.
Conditions checked against each broker's own pages
MetaTrader brokers, side by side
Ordered by what it takes to get onto MetaTrader with each broker — the published minimum deposit first, then brokers that do not publish one. Cost per lot is our arithmetic on their published spread and commission, and the full working is on our lowest-spread page.
| Broker | Versions | Minimum deposit | Cost per lot | Leverage | Robots and VPS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| RoboForex | MT4 and MT5 | 10 USD / 10 EUR on every account type | Prime: 0 pips plus 10 per million — about 0.2 pips in and out | Up to 1:2000 on Pro and ProCent, 1:500 ECN, 1:300 Prime | Lists a free VPS server among its services; its own pages describe testing Expert Advisors under real market conditions |
| Alpari | MT4 and MT5 (ECN is MT4 only) | $30 on Micro, $100 Standard, $300 ECN, $500 Pro ECN | ECN: 0.1 pips with no commission; Pro ECN: 0.0 pips plus $2.5 per lot | Up to 1:3000 on ECN and Pro ECN | Virtual Private Server for MetaTrader, 30–80+ indicators, and Trading Central and FX Blue as plug-ins |
| LiteFinance | MT4 and MT5, plus cTrader and its own platform | $50 on both ECN and Classic | ECN: 0.0 points plus commission from $0.25 per lot | 1:1000 | Virtual private servers offered for a stable connection |
| Tickmill | MT4 and MT5 | 100 in USD, EUR, GBP, PLN or CHF | Raw: 0.0 pips plus $3 per lot per side — 0.6 pips in and out | 1:30 retail and 1:500 professional under the European entity | All strategies allowed on the Classic and Raw accounts |
| FxPro | MT4, MT5 and cTrader | No fixed minimum on Standard; FxPro recommends $1,000 | Raw+: zero spreads most of the day plus max $3.5 per lot per side — 0.7 pips | 1:500 on the accounts page | “Expert Advisors are fully compatible with our FxPro MT4 and FxPro MT5 platforms”, and cTrader Algos on cTrader |
| Deriv | MT5 only, as its own Deriv MT5 build | Not published as a single figure | Not published as a figure | Not published as a single figure | Publishes instructions for connecting an Expert Advisor to Deriv MT5 |
| Bybit | MT5 only, on the CFD account | Not published | $6 per lot on forex, on a raw spread it does not publish | Up to 500:1 on forex | Expert Advisors supported on the dedicated MT5 CFD account |
| ForTrade | MT4 only, alongside its own Fortrader platform | Not published to visitors outside its markets | Not published | Not published | No Expert Advisor policy published on the pages we checked |
Scroll the table sideways →
Read from each broker's own pages on 23 August 2026. Libertex does not publish a platform list on the pages we checked — its trading pages describe its own platform, and we found no statement that MetaTrader is offered.
The terminal is identical, so the broker is the entire difference
MetaTrader 4 and MetaTrader 5 are written by MetaQuotes, not by brokers. Whichever broker you sign with, the charts, the order tickets and the strategy tester are the same, and no broker can improve them. What a broker controls is everything the terminal displays: the spread on the quote, the commission charged against the account, the leverage available, the execution behind the fill, and whether your automated strategies are allowed to run at all.
That makes “which broker for MetaTrader” a question about account terms rather than software, which is why this page compares deposits, costs and automation rather than features. A comparison of MetaTrader features between two brokers would be a comparison of the same program with itself.
One nuance worth knowing before you compare: MT4 and MT5 accounts are separate. Credentials from one do not work in the other, and where a broker runs both, the account types on offer can differ between them — Alpari's ECN account, for instance, is MT4 only while Pro ECN runs on both.
What it costs to trade there
The cheapest way onto MetaTrader among these brokers is RoboForex, which takes 10 USD on every account type, and its Prime account is also the cheapest to trade on published figures — 0 pips of spread plus 10 per million, which works out at roughly 0.2 pips to open and close a standard lot of EUR/USD. Alpari opens at $30, LiteFinance at $50, Tickmill at 100 in five currencies, and FxPro sets no fixed minimum while recommending $1,000.
A low deposit and a low cost are not the same thing and do not always come together. Tickmill's Raw account costs about 0.6 pips in and out and asks for 100 to open; its Classic account has no commission at all and quotes 1.6 pips, which is $16 on the same trade. The full arithmetic for every account, with the working shown, is on our lowest-spread page.
Three of the eight cannot be compared on cost from outside. Deriv publishes its specification through a browser widget that pages ten instruments at a time; Bybit publishes a $6 per lot commission but not the spread underneath it; ForTrade answers visitors from countries it does not serve with a notice instead of a table.
Robots, and whether they are allowed to run
Most people who insist on MetaTrader want it for automation: Expert Advisors, custom indicators and the strategy tester. Support for that is a broker policy rather than a platform feature, and the brokers here state it differently. FxPro is explicit — Expert Advisors are fully compatible with its MT4 and MT5 platforms, with cTrader Algos on cTrader. Tickmill marks Classic and Raw as “all strategies allowed”. RoboForex describes testing EAs under real conditions and lists a free VPS among its services. Alpari and LiteFinance both offer a VPS.
The VPS matters more than it sounds. An Expert Advisor only trades while the terminal is running and connected, so a robot on a laptop stops when the laptop sleeps. A virtual server keeps it running, and whether the broker gives you one free is a real cost difference for anyone automating.
Read policy exceptions carefully, because they are usually attached to promotions rather than to accounts. Tickmill allows all strategies on its live accounts but forbids Expert Advisors on its $30 Welcome Account — the same broker, two different rules, decided by which account you are on.
MT4 or MT5, and the brokers that decided for you
Five of the eight run both versions and let you choose. Three do not: ForTrade offers MetaTrader 4 and no MT5, while Deriv and Bybit are MT5 only — Deriv through its own Deriv MT5 build, Bybit through the CFD account provided by Infra Capital rather than by Bybit itself.
If you have an Expert Advisor already, the version decides for you: MQL4 and MQL5 are different languages and a robot written for one does not run on the other. If you have nothing to port, the choice is far less consequential than the cost of the account it sits on.
Questions people ask
Which broker is best for MetaTrader?
The terminal is identical everywhere, so it comes down to the account. On published figures RoboForex has both the lowest entry — 10 USD — and the cheapest trading on its Prime account, around 0.2 pips in and out. Tickmill and FxPro publish clearer automation policies; the right answer depends on whether you are optimising the deposit, the cost per lot or the robot.
What is the minimum deposit for a MetaTrader account?
It is set by the broker, not by MetaTrader. Among the brokers here: RoboForex 10 USD, Alpari $30, LiteFinance $50, Tickmill 100, and FxPro with no fixed minimum but a recommended $1,000. Deriv, Bybit and ForTrade do not publish a figure.
Do all forex brokers offer MetaTrader?
No. Eight of the nine brokers we track run it; Libertex publishes no platform list naming MetaTrader on the pages we checked. Brokers that skip it usually run their own platform instead, which they control end to end.
Can I use Expert Advisors with any MetaTrader broker?
Not automatically — it is a broker policy. FxPro states EAs are fully compatible with its MT4 and MT5 platforms, Tickmill marks its Classic and Raw accounts as allowing all strategies, and RoboForex, Alpari and LiteFinance offer a VPS to keep robots running. Promotional accounts often carry exceptions: Tickmill's $30 Welcome Account bars EAs entirely.
Can I move my MT4 account to MT5 with the same broker?
No. They are separate accounts with separate credentials, and an Expert Advisor written in MQL4 will not run on MT5. Where a broker offers both, you open the second account rather than converting the first.
Does the broker change how MetaTrader behaves?
It changes everything the terminal shows. Quotes, spread, commission, leverage, available instruments and execution all come from the broker's server, so two MetaTrader terminals side by side on different brokers can price the same trade differently.
Getting the terminal itself is a different question — which version to download and where from. The full cost arithmetic for every account here is on what a trade actually costs, and a demo account gets you a MetaTrader login without funding anything. Prefer charting elsewhere? Four of these brokers connect to TradingView.