A free trading software package is certainly the tool a trader uses most! With the exponential rise in the number of individuals taking up trading, many free trading software options have emerged on the market. It’s therefore important to choose carefully a reliable piece of software suited to your needs.
How to Download Free Trading Software
- eToro: Go to eToro, enter your details and download the software.
- MetaTrader 4: Go to the website of a platform that offers it, open your trading account by entering your details and download the software.
- iPhone app: Go to a platform’s website, enter your details and download the software from the Apple App Store.
- Android app: Go to the platform of your choice, enter your details and download the software from the Play Store.
- ProRealTime: Go to the ProRealTime website, enter your details and download the software.
- xStation: Go to the XTB website, enter your details and download the software or the mobile app.
If this topic interests you, also see “Best Technical Analysis & Stock Market Software” and “Pivot Point”.
What Is Free Trading Software?
Free trading software is the tool a trader or investor needs in their arsenal to perform well. It lets them manage their orders, carry out analysis and make transactions on the financial markets in real time.
In short, free trading software keeps its user connected to all the data needed to make decisions, such as asset prices on the stock markets and economic news that can affect the financial markets.
Why Is Trading Software Free?
It’s also important to explain why trading software is free, to avoid any confusion for clients.
First, you need to know that brokers are paid through the spread. Their main goal is also to attract as many traders and investors as possible, so it’s in their interest to give clients all the features of the trading software.
Ultimately, free trading software isn’t actually free: brokers pay for the software licence on behalf of their clients, so that traders can harness the full power of the trading software.
How to Choose the Ideal Trading Software
Your choice of broker for using the trading software should be taken seriously. Some brokers offer their own free trading software. Some platforms offer both their own trading platform and the free MetaTrader 4 software; it’s up to you to choose the one best suited to your level and the way you trade.
eToro also offers its own eToro software, which is quite impressive because it offers social interaction with all other eToro users worldwide.
Not forgetting Vantage, which provides its clients with the free MetaTrader 4 and MetaTrader 5 trading software.
These are the most widely used and recommended in the trading world, as they offer many features, a range of technical indicators and, above all, chart analysis tools. Their main advantage is undoubtedly fast order execution. MetaTrader 5 stands out with its MQL5 network, which lets users interact with traders and developers.
Each free trading software package has its own features and exclusive functions. Each is suited to a specific trading style and they don’t require the same set-up: some need modest hardware, others somewhat more powerful hardware.
So it’s important to take all this into account before choosing the software you’ll use and, above all, to select the one that suits you best.
Pros and Cons of Free Trading Software
The advantage of free trading software is precisely that it’s free. What more could a trader ask for than to harness the full power of software at no cost? Carrying out analysis, adding indicators and drawing trend lines, all for free, can indirectly contribute to a trader’s profitability. Nevertheless, there are some drawbacks not to be overlooked.
Best Free Software for Advanced Traders
An advanced trader will need several advanced software features for their analysis. Among the trading software most used by traders, especially professionals, are:
- MetaTrader 4
- MetaTrader 5
- eToro
- ProRealTime
- cTrader
- NinjaTrader
The MetaTrader series is very widespread and has a good reputation in the trading community. Brokers usually offer them because they are very comprehensive in terms of indicators and analysis tools, which is very attractive for professionals.
MetaTrader 4: Practical Trading Software for Professionals
First, this platform is certainly the most used by professional traders, and even beginners. This trading software offers many technical indicators and analysis tools for you if you’re a pro :). These indicators include:
- MACD
- Bollinger Bands
- Stochastic
- RSI
- Moving Average
- Fibonacci retracements
- Ichimoku Kinko Hyo
- Parabolic SAR
- etc.
In addition, MT4’s technical analysis tools include 30 indicators and more than 2,000 free custom indicators. You can add them to your arsenal to analyse the market thoroughly alongside fundamental analysis. With the MQL4 network, you can get your own custom indicator tailored to your trading strategy.
These features let advanced traders carry out comprehensive technical analysis and find very precise entry points. It is also offered by many brokers, such as Vantage FX. With the option to simulate trades, clients can test trading or a particular strategy for free with virtual money provided by these brokers. We recommend Vantage if you want to trade with MT4.
MetaTrader 5: Optimised Free Trading Software
Although MetaTrader 5 has an interface fairly similar to version 4, there are some differences not to be overlooked. The buttons take up more space in this version, making the trading software easier to explore.
In terms of technical indicators, 8 indicators have been added to the 30 already available in version 4. The trend indicators available in this free trading software include:
- Variable Index Dynamic Average
- Exponential Moving Average
- Weighted Moving Average line
- Double and triple EMA (exponential moving average).
These trend indicators remain professionals’ favourites, because many traders are convinced that following the trend is the best strategy there is. With this wide range of trend indicators, professional traders can pinpoint their entry points while following the market trend.
Not forgetting the timeframes that let traders follow prices according to their strategy: MetaTrader 5 has 21 chart timeframes. The chart drawing tools have been optimised to give traders a wide choice for their chart analysis.
Diversifiez votre patrimoineInvestissez dans l’artDes tableaux originaux, pièces uniques signées par l’artiste. Un actif tangible, loin des écrans et des cotations.Voir les tableaux →Attractive Trading Software for Beginners
First, for beginners, the free eToro trading software is the best fit.
Why? Because this software is very practical, easy to use and not hard to get (just follow the download steps at the top of this article :)). eToro remains the best choice for any beginner, as it has:
- A visual-mode interface: simple and intuitive for beginners (unlike expert mode, which can be a bit hard on the eyes if you’re new to trading :))
- A feature for automating tasks (automated trading)
- A dynamic social network of traders, letting members interact and share their analysis and trading experience. A newcomer will quickly learn the basics of trading by joining this network 🙂
Free Trading Software for Stock Market Analysis
The free trading software MetaTrader 4 is an excellent tool for technical as well as fundamental analysis. It lets you view prices over 9 different timeframes, from one minute (M1) to one month (MN). This gives traders the chance to observe market movements in detail and combine technical indicators and chart objects to make a decision.
Comparison Table of the Best Free Trading Software
Here is a comparison table of the best free trading software:
eToro | Metatrader 4 | Metatrader 5 | |
Chart timeframes | 9 timeframes (1s – 1m – 5m – 10m – 15m – 30m – H1 – H4 – D1) | 9 timeframes (1m – 5m – 10m – 15m – 30m – H1 – H4 – D1 – 1W) | 21 timeframes (1m to MN1) |
Number of indicators available | 66 | 30 | 38 |
Number of chart drawing tools | 13 | 24 | 44 |
Tradable assets | 2000+ | 1024 | unlimited |
Social Network | eToro | MLQ4 Community | MLQ5 community |
Automated Trading | Available | Available | Available |
Copy Trading | Available | – | – |
Mobile version | Available (Android and iOS) | Available (Android and iOS) | Available (Android and iOS) |
Consequently, if you want to diversify your portfolio, we recommend eToro, with its 2,000+ tradable financial assets. This trading software also offers a wider choice of technical indicators for technical analysts. On the other hand, the MetaTrader 4 and MetaTrader 5 trading software are both offered through a broker.
Best Software for Your Trading Style
To choose the ideal trading software, it’s important to know your trading style.
For example, a trader who scalps will need software that lets them place orders instantly on the market. Here are the best free trading software options for your trading style:
- For Scalping
MetaTrader 4 is the best suited to scalping. Scalpers can place orders very quickly with this software, which is very handy for scalping.
- For Day Trading
eToro remains the best platform for intraday trading; both modes (expert mode and visual mode) suit a day trader perfectly, whether beginner or advanced.
- For Swing Trading
Software for swing trading? This software lets you analyse the market up to the MN1 timeframe (1 candle = 1 month), which is very useful for swing trading because it gives you a very broad view of the market.
To sum up, these trading styles involve entering positions on the market manually. But trading doesn’t always mean placing orders yourself: you can also automate your strategy so that a trading robot places orders for you. This automated robot can run 24/7 on the free trading software, so you don’t have to stay in front of the screen analysing and setting up your orders.
What Is an Automated Trader?
An automated trader is a robot that places buy and sell orders according to a programmable automated trading algorithm. In other words, you configure the software according to your strategy so that it places orders for you. Technically, it opens and closes your positions on the market every day of the week according to programming code.
What Is the Ideal Software for Automated Trading?
There are many reasons to choose MetaTrader 4. With this software, you can:
- Set up a free automated trading algorithm – a trading robot.
- Use MetaTrader’s Expert Advisors and professional indicators.
- Benefit from several very advanced technical indicators
- Optimise your automated trading robot for free. To do this, go to the Strategy Tester in the MetaTrader 4 toolbar.
- Do free backtesting.
In addition, MetaTrader 5 is also excellent software for automated trading, with many advantages, such as:
- Optimising your automated trading software.
- Programming your automated trading software with the MQL5 Wizard, which requires no programming knowledge, making it ideal for beginners.
- Access to the MQL5 network, where you can exchange ideas on automated trading with professionals.
Best Free Trading Software for Your Device’s Operating System
The features of free trading software vary depending on your device’s operating system:
- Free Trading Software for Mac
The eToro WebTrader is the best platform on Mac because it doesn’t require installation, which can take a long time and be complicated on a Mac.
- Free Trading Software for Windows,
MetaTrader 4 is very attractive for Windows, as it works with almost all versions of Windows. This software is offered by the best brokers, such as Vantage and AvaTrade.
- Free Trading App on Android and iOS:
The MetaTrader 4 and 5 apps, both available on Google Play and the Apple App Store.
Conclusion – The Best Free Trading Software
In conclusion, MetaTrader 4 meets all the criteria for the best free trading software. It is also one of the most recent versions of MetaTrader. This analysis platform gives you a fundamental view of the market through the News and Economic Calendar tabs, as well as a technical view thanks to technical indicators (RSI, MACD, MA, etc.) and drawing tools you can add to the chart (trend lines, Fibonacci retracements, Gann lines, etc.). In addition, the software places orders on the market very quickly, which perfectly suits scalpers, for example, and the interface is very easy for beginners to use.
MetaTrader 4 is available among the trading software options, so you can enjoy its power and features by signing up with a broker that offers it.
Have you ever used free trading software? Feel free to leave a comment to share your experience with us!