TradingView Vs MT4

When it comes to forex trading, we cannot emphasize enough the importance of finding the right software for the job. As you research the platforms available for the FX market, you realize that you are spoilt for choice. However, some of the options available would only waste your time rather than maximizing your profits.

To make your work easier, we shall review two software programs that we believe would help you take your game to the next level. These are TradingView and Meta Trader 4 (known as MT4).

One thing we can tell you is that you could always use the two programs together. However, when you look at each of them keenly, you realize that there are some differences between the two of them.

In this review, we shall help you decide which platform would serve you best as you explore the FX market.

Here we go!

The Differences: TradingView Vs. MT4

In this section, we will analyze what sets these two software programs apart from each other. We may have mentioned that both platforms will help you scour through the FX market more effectively, but in the end, it should be clear that one of them has the edge over the other. 

Let’s look at the aspects that make the platforms different from each other.

1. The Charting Tools

If you are familiar with the FX market, you should know the significance of charting tools in the trade. The information you get from the charts has a huge impact on how far you make it in the forex trade.

This one of the areas where TradingView outdoes MT4. When you look at the latter, you find that it has around 40 charts, some of which you have to buy and pose some complications when it comes to making them yourself.

In contrast, charting in TradingView is more straightforward, plus you can easily visualize the information and use it for making successful trades. Another thing is that TradingView supports more indicators, numbering more than 100, including those that are exclusive to the platform.

Let’s also touch on the shifty trendlines on MT4 that make them unreliable, unlike the stable lines on TradingView, which always maintain a steady position.

2. Financial Instruments

The other area of comparison is the instruments that both platforms deal with. TradingView is more flexible, and besides forex, it also deals with futures, stocks, cryptos, and commodities. This means that it allows you to expand your grasp in the financial markets.

MT4, on its part, is restricted to forex trading, and so that is the only thing that it allows you to focus on.

3. Time Saving

As a forex trader, you ought to understand the significance of time. TradingView is connected with various brokerage platforms, and this allows you to trade directly from the program without wasting time on trades.

The platform offers you direct access to markets, which makes up for the initial disadvantage that the TradingView had compared to MT4.

Some of the brokers that you are connected to include TradeStation, Forex.com, AMP, Tradovate, among others. This integration’s significance is that you can perform your technical analysis and make your trades swiftly without having to switch to other trading platforms.

The forex arena is quite volatile, and this explains the significance of time-saving qualities.

4. Indicators

When it comes to the indicators, MT4 does very poorly when compared to TradingView. For instance, the platform (MT4) has only about 40 indicators, which are quite basic and are only suited for beginners. Should an expert need custom indicators, he would have to make a purchase in the MetaQuotes market.

Heading over to TradingView, the indicators are in plenty. There are over 100 of them for you to deal with, and anyone should have an easy time accessing them.

Another aspect of indicators where TradingView outdoes MT4 is that you can use its ‘Pine Script’ language to script your indicators.

5. The Interface

Here is another area that you find a glaring distinction between the two platforms. TradingView is a new-age trading tool that is easy to use, and the developer is continuously upgrading it to eliminate bugs and maintain a consistent performance.

Overall, TradingView looks pretty good.

One look at MT4 can tell you that it is an ancient trading platform that hasn’t been updated for a very long time. The developers gave notice that they wouldn’t be doing any more upgrades and have only been releasing fixes and patches randomly.

It is so outdated that even running the software on a Mac is close to impossible since it is not compatible with 64-bit technology.

6. Alerts

Setting up alerts on TradingView is a walk in the park so that you do not have to keep on checking your charts now and then for market movements. When you set the alerts, you will be informed via an email anytime your ideal price level comes up.

Even better is that the entire process is automated so that you can proceed with other tasks facing you.

7. Timeframes

If you can specify the timeframe of a particular currency’s performance, it should be easy for you to tell how it will go in the future. With MT4, you only get nine timeframes, which is not enough to give you information on the currency’s history.

TradingView is more flexible, and you can go several years into the past to see how a particular currency or pairing has been doing historically. You can specify any timeframe you want, such as a 9-hour, 9-day, or 9-year timeframe chart.

We should also point out that MT4 allows you to repeat certain timeframes when you save them on your favorites tab.

8. The Users/Community

When you compare the two platforms, you find that TradingView is more of a social trading platform, and it comprises a community of users who are more active and endowed with more knowledge. 

Both beginners and pros can gain something from the social platform as all the information is laid out there in public. For the novices, there are always some tricks that they could pick while the experts can discuss market movements with their peers.

9. Support

MT4 is available for free, so there is no support staff you could turn to whenever things go south. On the contrary, TradingView has a help section that aims to provide you with guidance when you encounter any issues.

Further, the program constantly has upgrades, and therefore, its chances of crashing are very minimal.

Let’s also mention that you can only access MT4 on the computer you have installed. This implies that if it happens to crash, you are likely to lose everything.

As for TradingView, even if the browser crashes, all your work would be saved in an account.

10. Price/ Registration

The pre-requisite to using MT4 is signing up for an account with a broker or trading platform. You could go for a demo account, but you have to do the registering process afresh every thirty days, which is quite frustrating.

When it comes to TradingView, you have various options at your disposal. You could go for the free sign-up even without a connection to any brokerage platform. This is the basic version, which is greatly appreciated by beginners.

Besides the free version, there are paid plans which allow you to enjoy more features, including charts and instruments. The first one is the Pro version, which would cost you $14.95 per month.

Next up is the Pro+ plan that goes for $29.95 monthly. The highest plan is the premium plan that goes for $59.95 a month, and it is a complete package that contains all the features that the program has to offer.

Which one is Better?

From our analysis, it is easy to see why many individuals conclude that TradingView is better than MT4. It is more modern, has more indicators, plus has impressive charting tools. However, this does not mean that it has a total advantage over MT4.

For instance, Meta Trader 4 is easier to use and is also more customizable. Further, it offers you direct access to the markets, which makes your trading experience much easier.