PPTFMT4 in prop trading: what is left and moving on
MT4 prop trading turns up less and less: new engines do not support it and firms are moving to MT5. We work out who still has it, why they keep it and what exactly breaks when a strategy has to be moved.
Why MT4 is leaving prop programmes
The reason lies not with traders but with how the industry is built. A prop firm buys not a terminal but a ready-made bundle: an engine, a client area, a rules panel and a terminal thrown in. New bundles are assembled around web platforms, and MT4 simply is not part of them.
The second factor is the terminal itself. It cannot do what modern rules rely on: it has no partial close as a separate operation, trade history and position history are not separated, and the report export is poorer. For a firm that computes limits and reviews disputed cases from an export, that is inconvenient.
- Where it still remains
- At programmes with a forex core and a long history that have not changed their infrastructure. A MetaTrader 4 prop firm usually offers it as a second option alongside MT5 rather than as the main one.
- Why they keep it
- For traders with finished MQL4 code. Rewriting an advisor costs more than keeping a terminal, so the firm keeps it as an option.
- What it does not have
- A separation of trades and positions: MT4 has only orders. Because of that a partial close leaves the closed part under the old ticket and creates a new one for the remainder — a single trade looks like several in the history.
What breaks when MQL4 moves to MQL5
Formally it is the same language, in practice a different one. Code that sizes a position and places a stop will be rewritten almost entirely, and here is why.
| What changes | In MT4 | In MT5 |
|---|---|---|
| How positions are tracked | every order is a separate entity | a position and its trades are different objects |
| Sending an order | OrderSend with the price and stop at once | a request structure and a check of the result |
| Account mode | always hedging | hedging or netting — depends on the account |
| Partial close | the remainder gets a new ticket | an operation on the position, one ticket |
What that means for a challenge. Moving an advisor is not porting but retesting. Until the code has been checked on demo, it sizes positions by the old logic, and the very first day on a live challenge can close the account on the daily limit. What you check is not “does it work” but “does it place the right size”.
MetaTrader 4 prop firms: what to check before you start
Three things that are established differently in MT4 than in the other environments.
Frequently asked questions
Are there prop firms with MT4?
There are, but fewer and fewer: MT4 survives at programmes with a long history and usually as a second option alongside MT5. Firms on the new engines do not have it at all, because the infrastructure bundle does not include it.
Why are prop firms moving to MT5?
Because of infrastructure and the review of disputed cases. New bundles for firms are assembled around web platforms and MT5, and MT5 itself is more convenient for a review: in it position history is separated from trade history.
Does an MQL4 advisor run on MT5?
No. The code has to be rewritten: MT5 handles positions, order sending and partial closes differently, and an account can be netting. A move always requires retesting on demo.
Can a challenge be passed on MT4?
Yes, if the firm offers it: the rules are set by the engine, not by the terminal. The only difference is convenience — in MT4 you have to work out the cushion to the limit and export the report by hand.
Where do I see the pip value in MT4?
In the symbol specification: right-click the instrument in the market watch. The same place states the contract size, the minimum lot, the swap and the stop levels — every value needed to work out size.
How do I find out a prop firm's server time?
From the time of the last quote in the market watch: it runs on the server, not on your system. It matters because the daily limit resets on server time.
Is the trade history kept when MT4 is reinstalled?
Not always: it lives in the terminal's profile. It is better to export the stage report at once — if the firm closes the account, access to the history can disappear with it.
Does MT4 execution differ from MT5 at the same firm?
It can, because quotes and the execution model are set by the engine and the provider, not by the terminal. The only way to check is to compare: the same trades on demo in both environments.
Does MT4 have a partial close?
It does: you enter a smaller volume in the order window. But the closed part stays under the old ticket and a new one is created for the remainder — in the history one trade falls apart into several orders. In MT5 the position stays single and simply reduces in volume, which makes the export easier to review.
Is MT4 worth choosing today?
Only for finished MQL4 code that would be a shame to rewrite. In every other case the choice among MT5 and web platforms is wider and reviewing breaches is simpler.
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