Comparison

MetaTrader 4 vs cTrader

Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.

Head to head
About

MetaTrader 4

Trade currency markets and analyze quotes with real-time data and advanced charting tools. Perform trading operations, manage orders, and access financial news. Connect to hundreds of brokers for a comprehensive trading experience.

Highlights
  • Real-time currency quotes
  • Full set of trade orders
  • High-performance interactive charts
  • 30 technical indicators
  • 24 analytical objects
  • Financial news and sound notifications
  • Secure chats with other traders
Features
Read full description

Connect to hundreds of brokers and trade on currency markets from the MetaTrader 4 for iPhone or iPad! The mobile trading platform allows you to perform trading operations and analyze currency quotes using technical indicators and graphical objects. Risk Warning: Our programs may involve real trading with a high risk of losing money rapidly. Most retail investor accounts lose money when trading financial products. You should consider whether you understand how various financial products work and whether you can afford to take the high risk of losing money. TRADING • Real-time quotes of financial instruments • Full set of trade orders, including pending orders • Trading from charts in iPad • All types of trade execution • Complete trading history ADVANCED FUNCTIONALITY • High-performance charts • Customizable chart color scheme • Configuring properties of graphical objects and indicators • Display of four charts in one window available on iPad • Trade levels visualizing the prices of pending order, as well as SL and TP values on the chart • Information window that displays orders, trading history, emails, news, and logs on iPad • Sound notifications • Financial news — dozens of materials daily • Secure and fast chats with other traders, creation of group chats and channels • Support for push-notifications from the desktop platform and MQL5.community services TECHNICAL ANALYSIS • Interactive real-time price charts with zoom and scroll options • 30 most popular technical indicators • 24 analytical objects: lines, channels, geometric shapes, as well as Gann, Fibonacci and Elliott tools • 9 timeframes: M1, M5, M15, M30, H1, H4, D1, W1 and MN • 3 types of charts: bars, Japanese candlesticks and broken line Download MetaTrader 4 and trade on currency markets! To trade using real money, you need to open a real trading account by entering into a separate agreement with a financial company (broker), which has installed the server component of the MetaTrader 4 trading platform and has the appropriate permissions to provide financial trading service in their respective country. MetaQuotes is a software company and does not provide financial services, nor it has access to MetaTrader 4 platform servers and databases managed by financial companies.

About

cTrader

Trade global assets like Forex, metals, and stocks with advanced charting and analysis tools. Customize your trading experience with price alerts, trade statistics, and a user-friendly interface. Access all your accounts in one place for seamless on-the-go trading.

Highlights
  • Trade Forex, Metals, Oil, Indices, Stocks, ETFs
  • Advanced technical analysis tools
  • Customizable price alerts
  • Trade statistics and performance review
  • Multiple chart types and drawing tools
  • One-click trading with QuickTrade Mode
  • Symbol watchlists and account management
Features
Read full description

The cTrader mobile app supports trading in forex, metals, oil, indices, stocks and ETFs. Trade with top brokers including IC Markets, Pepperstone, BlackBull, FP Markets, FPM Trading, Fusion Markets, AUTU Securities, Axiory, Deriv, Dominion Markets, FxPro, TopFX, TradeView Markets, Tradona Markets, Skilling and many others. Log in securely, connect your trading accounts and stay in sync across devices. Get access to a complete range of order types, advanced technical analysis tools, price alerts, trade statistics, advanced order and risk management settings, symbol watchlists and a variety of options to customize the platform to your on-the-go trading style. Trade on a fast, transparent trading platform designed for serious traders: - Detailed symbol information helps you understand the assets you are trading - Symbol trading sessions show you when each market is open or closed - Integrated market news keeps you informed about events that may affect your trading - Fluid, responsive charts and QuickTrade mode allow for one-tap order execution - Market sentiment indicators show how other traders are positioned Use advanced technical analysis tools with flexible settings for all indicators and drawings: - Multiple chart types, including time-based, tick, Renko, range and Heikin-Ashi - Several chart views such as candlesticks, bar, line, dots and area charts - A rich set of drawing tools, including trend lines, Fibonacci tools, channels, shapes, text and pitchforks - Dozens of popular technical indicators to support your trading strategies Stay in control with powerful trading tools: - Configure push and email alerts to stay updated on key events - Manage all your accounts in one app and switch between them quickly - Review detailed trade statistics and performance metrics - Set price alerts to be notified when a price reaches your chosen level - Create and manage symbol watchlists to track your favourite instruments - Manage active sessions and log out from other devices when needed - Trade comfortably with a dark theme optimized for long trading sessions - Access the platform in 22 languages to trade in your preferred language cTrader is trusted as a transparent, reliable trading platform rather than a single broker brand. Whether you trade Forex, CFDs, stock CFDs or gold, cTrader provides the tools you need to analyze markets, manage risk and execute your trading plan from anywhere.

Screenshots

MetaTrader 44 screens
cTrader4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is update cadence: cTrader at weekly against MetaTrader 4's every 2 months. MetaTrader 4's advantage is ratings volume (82K vs 1.8K) and iOS requirement (13.0 vs 15.0). On price, rating, review sentiment and ads there is nothing between them.

Scored on Price · Rating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings · Update frequency · Ads · In-app purchases · Monetization · Best chart rank · Devices · Requires iOS

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

Both are free to download. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 4.8 for MetaTrader 4 against 4.8 for cTrader. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: MetaTrader 4 has 82K ratings behind it against 1.8K, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews are what separate them: 93% of MetaTrader 4's written reviews are positive against 87% of cTrader's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

MetaTrader 4 ships an update every 2 months, cTrader weekly. The most recent releases landed on October 21, 2026 and October 20, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard3 real differences · 7 level
MetaTrader 4 versus cTrader: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterMetaTrader 4cTrader
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.8 (82K ratings) — better4.8 (1.8K ratings)
Positive reviews93.4% of reviews — better87.4% of reviews
Number of ratings82K — better1.8K
Update frequencyEvery 2 monthsWeekly — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNoNo
MonetizationFreeFree
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPodiPhone, iPad, iPod
Requires iOS13.0 — better15.0
Further details — not scored
Size21 MB240 MB
Age rating4+17+
DeveloperMetaQuotes Software Corp.Spotware

Customer experience

MetaTrader 4

All ratings81,317 ratings
Positive96.1%
Neutral1.8%
Negative2.1%
Written reviews2,310 reviews
Positive93.4%
Neutral2.1%
Negative4.5%

cTrader

All ratings1,796 ratings
Positive94.7%
Neutral2.3%
Negative3.0%
Written reviews1,496 reviews
Positive87.4%
Neutral4.9%
Negative7.7%

User reviews

MetaTrader 4

From 82K App Store ratings

What we love

  • 👍 Mobile-friendly
  • 👍 Simple and easy to use
  • 🚀 Runs well
  • 🚀 Efficient trading experience
  • 🚀 Quick execution speeds

Room to improve

  • 🐛 Occasional glitches and bugs
  • 🔍 Limited chart customization and indicators compared to desktop
  • 🔍 Inability to set parameters and save them for quick execution

cTrader

From 1.8K App Store ratings

What we love

  • 🚀 Fast execution
  • 👍 User-friendly interface
  • 🔒 Robust security features
  • 💡 Advanced charting and analysis tools
  • 👍 Easy to manage trades and adjust SL/TP

Room to improve

  • 🐛 Occasional crashes and loading issues
  • 🔋 Slow load times on some devices
  • 👎 Limited customization options
  • 👎 Removal of useful features in recent updates
  • 👎 Inconsistent performance across platforms

Bugs and requests

MetaTrader 4

Reported bugs

3 issues
  • Chart customizations and drawings disappearing when switching accounts or restarting the app
  • Occasional freezing or lagging of the app
  • Inconsistent behavior when accidentally switching between buy and sell orders

Requested features

5 requests
  • Add more technical indicators
  • Allow setting parameters for trades and saving them for quick execution
  • Prevent loss of chart customizations and drawings when switching between accounts
  • Add price alerts and push notifications
  • Improve ability to adjust stop loss and take profit levels directly on the chart

cTrader

Reported bugs

3 issues
  • Equity/balance panel not accessible on iOS
  • Inconsistent order execution and slippage issues
  • Inability to sort orders and positions by price or TP/SL

Requested features

5 requests
  • Add candle timer and settings to customize TP levels
  • Improve mobile app to match desktop functionality
  • Implement dark mode and more chart customization options
  • Synchronize indicators and drawings across platforms
  • Add more advanced risk management tools

In-app purchases

None

MetaTrader 4

No in-app purchases

None

cTrader

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is MetaTrader 4 free?
MetaTrader 4 is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is cTrader free?
cTrader is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, MetaTrader 4 or cTrader?
MetaTrader 4 is rated higher. MetaTrader 4 averages 4.8 out of 5 from 82K ratings, while cTrader averages 4.8 from 1.8K ratings.
Do MetaTrader 4 or cTrader have ads?
Neither MetaTrader 4 nor cTrader shows ads.
Which is updated more often, MetaTrader 4 or cTrader?
MetaTrader 4 ships an update every 2 months, and cTrader weekly. Most recently, MetaTrader 4 was updated on October 21, 2026 and cTrader on October 20, 2026.

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