Where a bot runs
Automated forex trading: platforms and brokers
There are three ways to automate forex, and the choice of broker follows from which one you take: MQL programs inside MetaTrader, cTrader Algo in C#, or a broker's own API. Seven of the nine brokers we track run MetaTrader, three add cTrader, and one — Deriv — publishes a developer API of its own.
Conditions checked against each broker's own pages
Three routes to automation
Grouped by route rather than ranked. A bot needs a language, a platform that runs it, a broker that permits it and a machine that stays on — the last two are where most automated setups actually fail.
| Route | Language | Brokers | What it needs | What it suits |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Expert Advisors in MetaTrader | MQL4 on MT4, MQL5 on MT5 — different languages, no conversion between them | RoboForex, Alpari, Tickmill, FxPro, LiteFinance on both versions; ForTrade on MT4 only; Deriv and Bybit on MT5 only | The terminal running and connected, so in practice a VPS — free at RoboForex, offered by Alpari and LiteFinance | Anything bought or downloaded ready-made: the overwhelming majority of robots in circulation are MQL |
| cTrader Algo | C#, written and backtested inside cTrader itself | FxPro, LiteFinance and Deriv | The same always-on connection; cTrader also hosts copy trading in the platform | Writing your own strategy in a mainstream language rather than adapting to MQL — and traders who want order-book depth alongside it |
| The broker's own API | Whatever you write in — the broker publishes the interface | Deriv publishes a developer API; among the crypto platforms, HTX documents one too | Your own code, your own hosting, and your own error handling | Custom systems that do not fit a terminal — and the only route here that is not constrained by a platform vendor's language |
Scroll the table sideways →
Platform support and automation policies as each broker publishes them, read on 24 August 2026. Libertex runs no MetaTrader at all, so MQL robots have nowhere to execute there — an absence that never appears in marketing comparisons of brokers for bots.
The route decides the broker, not the other way round
If you already have a robot, this page is short: an MQL4 file runs on MetaTrader 4 and nowhere else, MQL5 on MetaTrader 5, cTrader Algo on cTrader. None converts, so the file you own eliminates most of the market before any comparison of spreads begins.
If you are writing from scratch, the question is which language you would rather work in and how much of the plumbing you want to own. MQL gives you the largest ecosystem of examples and the strategy tester; cTrader Algo gives you C# and a cleaner platform; an API gives you no constraints and no scaffolding either.
Only after that does the broker matter — and then it matters a great deal, because a bot trading frequently pays spread and commission frequently. The difference between 0.2 and 1.6 pips per round turn is the difference between a strategy that clears its costs and one that does not.
Permission is per account, not per broker
FxPro states that Expert Advisors are fully compatible with its MT4 and MT5 platforms and that cTrader Algo runs on cTrader. Tickmill marks Classic and Raw as allowing all strategies — and bars Expert Advisors on its $30 welcome account. RoboForex describes testing robots under real conditions and lists a free VPS among its services.
ForTrade publishes no automation policy on the pages we checked, and Libertex runs no MetaTrader at all, so MQL robots have nowhere to execute there. Neither fact appears in any marketing comparison of «brokers for bots», because it is absence rather than a feature.
The rule that catches people out is the account-level one. A broker that permits automation on its live accounts can forbid it on a promotional one, and the terms of the promotion are where that is written.
The unglamorous requirement: staying connected
An Expert Advisor trades only while the terminal is open and connected. A robot on a laptop stops when the laptop sleeps, and a strategy that is half-executed is worse than one not running at all — the entries happen and the exits do not.
Hence the VPS, and hence its place in a broker comparison: RoboForex lists a free VPS server among its services, Alpari offers one for MetaTrader, LiteFinance advertises virtual private servers for a stable connection. Where a broker does not provide one, renting it is a real monthly cost that belongs in the strategy's arithmetic.
An API-based system has the same requirement wearing different clothes: something has to run your code, restart it when it dies, and reconnect when the session drops. That work is invisible in every «automate your trading» article and is most of the actual engineering.
What this page is not about
Crypto bots. Search for «trading bot» alone and the results are Coinrule, 3Commas, freqtrade and exchange-native bots — a different market with different platforms. Bybit and HTX both run bot products of that kind, on crypto rather than on forex.
AI trading apps and signal services. Those promise decisions rather than execution, and the claims behind them are the subject of our page on scam patterns and of the checks on our expert advisors page.
Strategy testers as products — Forex Tester, FX Replay and similar. They are backtesting tools rather than execution routes, and they rank on their own searches.
Questions people ask
What do I need to run a trading bot on forex?
A program in a language a platform runs — MQL for MetaTrader, C# for cTrader Algo, anything at all against a broker API — a broker that permits automation on your account type, and a machine that stays connected, which in practice means a VPS.
Which brokers are best for automated trading?
Among those we track, the ones that both state a policy and provide the infrastructure: FxPro says EAs are fully compatible with its MetaTrader platforms, Tickmill allows all strategies on Classic and Raw, and RoboForex, Alpari and LiteFinance offer a VPS. Deriv is the only one publishing a developer API.
Can I run the same bot at any broker?
Only within the same platform. MQL4, MQL5 and cTrader Algo are separate languages with no conversion between them, so the file you own decides which platforms — and therefore which brokers — are available to you.
Do I need a VPS for a trading bot?
If it should trade while your computer is off, yes: an Expert Advisor runs only while the terminal is open and connected. RoboForex lists a free VPS among its services; Alpari and LiteFinance offer one; otherwise it is a monthly cost to include in the strategy's arithmetic.
Is API trading better than MetaTrader?
It is less constrained and more work. An API removes the platform's language and interface limits, and hands you hosting, restarts and error handling in exchange. Deriv publishes one; most forex brokers expect you to use their terminal.
Are forex trading bots profitable?
A bot executes a strategy; it does not supply one. The CFTC's own advisory notes that automated programs may help with discipline but that no technology consistently predicts the future — and how to check a robot's claimed record is set out on our expert advisors page.
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 How to judge a robot before running it is on expert advisors, and what a frequently trading bot pays away is on spread plus commission.