There’s a decent offering of Forex trading platforms and especially as novice trader it’s hard to get an overview. We’d like to help you with this matter and show you what different platforms are available and which one to choose.
What is a Forex Trading Platform?
First of all we need to clarify what a platform is and why you need one. The platform itself has nothing to do with a forex broker. A forex broker only offers a platform where people can trade. But it’s his choice which platform he uses, if he buys an existing platform or develops his very own one. Licensed platforms are widely spread as the broker doesn’t have to invest millions in delevoping his own platform. The downside of this approach is that the broker is just using a platform his competitors also have and nothing really unique. But developing an own platform is something only very few brokers can afford.
As trader you can login to a trading platform, administrate your account (making deposits and withdrawals) and trade with currencies obviously. You can analyze charts of currency pairs and follow prices in real time.
What makes a platform good?
A good platform makes it as simple as possible and as efficient as possible for you to trade. This sounds like a simple task but it really isn’t. Trader’s demands are releatively high nowadays even for novice traders. As novice traders you really don’t need all features and everything but you have to be confident that trading is as simple as possible and you don’t have trouble executing trades, analyzing charts, etc. Especially in the early stages you want to avoid costly mistakes and these will happen when you’re not confident using a certain platform.
Metatrader
Without a doubt there’s one trading platform that stands out from the rest and this platform is called Metatrader. This platform is available in the fifth generation already and can be used by every broker. The broker is buying a license and can offer the Metatrader platform to its traders. He sets up things like currency pairs, spreads, etc. and can differ from other brokers this way. When it comes to trading execution there might be differences, if a broker executes certain positions fast, slow or januarybe even rejects them.
Here’s a screenshot of Metatrader. Click to enlarge:
eToro, Plus500 and Co
It can be a huge competitive advantage when you’re able to offer a platform that no other broker can offer. There’s no doubt that Metatrader is a very good platform but when it comes to novice traders that trade Forex for the very first time Metatrader shows significant flaws. Navigation and trading execution is not self explaining and there are platforms where it’s easier to start out. Examples are Plus500 and eToro. There you can execute a trade with one single mouse click, stop loss and take profits can be set automatically when you’ve set your risk level. With Metatrader this all goes manually. Here’s a screenshot of the eToro trading platform (click to enlarge):
eToro is one of the most popular brokers and has an excellent customers service. You can start with only $100 minimum deposit and trade the Forex market, commodities and plenty of indices.
>> Start trading at eToro today! <<
CFDs are complex instruments and come with a high risk of losing money rapidly due to leverage. 75% of retail investor accounts lose money when trading CFDs with this provider. You should consider whether you understand how CFDs work, and whether you can afford to take the high risk of losing your money.
