A forex trading platform is one of the two intermediaries that connect you with the forex market itself. The other one being of course the forex broker. But as with many other notions in the forex market, the line between a trading platform and a broker is quite narrow.
So in this article we want to, first, clear out any confusion between the definition of a forex trading platform and a forex broker, and second, provide you with a detailed list of what we believe are the top notch forex trading platforms in 2023.
Forex Trading Platform: A Technical Definition
So what is a trading platform? Technically speaking, a forex trading platform is merely a software or an app that connects you with a terminal that itself enables you to trade foreign exchange currencies.
Basically it is a program that lets you trade. Similar to many other apps and software that can be installed on your personal computer and also on your phone and provide the possibility for you to trade online.
Then what does a broker do? And how does it differ from a trading platform?
Forex Trading Platform vs. Forex Broker
As we mentioned in the last section, a forex trading platform is only a software or application that enables you to trade. The forex broker, however, it is the brokerage firm that actually establishes your contact with the forex market.
The forex broker you choose might be different from the forex trading platform.
But on many occasions, the forex broker also offers its own trading platform as well. But the fact still remains that regardless of the forex broker that traders choose, they still opt MetaTrader 4 as their trading platform. In any case, let us now go through the list of the best trading platforms in 2023.
MetaTrader 4
MetaTrader 4
This trading platform which was founded back in 2005 is probably the most popular trading platform in the world, for many reasons. There are a certain number of advantages to MetaTrader 4. For instance, it is easy and straightforward enough to use, and yet it has a lot of tools and features that are suitable for analysis. This includes 30 different indicators that can be used in technical analysis.
MetaTrader 5
MetaTrader 5
MetaTrader 5 is naturally the more advanced version of MetaTrader 4 released into the market by the same developers. It came out 5 years after the release of its predecessor. MetaTrader 5 offers more features and functionalities compared to MT4. This includes an increased number of indicators up to 38 for better technical analysis.
LiteFinance
LiteFinance
LiteFinance is the name of the trading platform offered by the broker with the same name. The advantage of using the same platform as the broker is the smoother integration of the two with each other. This trading platform allows for the trading of various financial instruments, including foreign currencies, digital currencies, and even commodities.
Ninja Trader
Ninja Trader
Ninja Trader is yet another trading platform offered by its parent broker company. But it is certainly not the last one on our list. This trading platform has also been offered to traders around the same time MetaTrader 4 came out. The biggest advantage of NinjaTrader is the wide and extensive array of analytical tools that it offers traders.
ProRealTime
ProRealTime
ProRealTime is a trading platform that is known for its diversity in financial instruments, especially when it comes to the forex market. As an example, it offers 120 foreign currency pairs for trading to users. This is relatively a high number compared to most of the other forex brokers and trading platforms out there. In addition to the diversity of instruments, ProRealTime also has excellent analytical tools.
cTrader
cTrader
cTrader was established and released to the market in 2011. This trading platform offers a reasonable number of analytical tools, which includes more than 50 technical analysis indicators. Furthermore, cTrader is quite suitable for automated trading, which is a form of trading that uses bots and programs to execute trades autonomously.
eSignal
eSignal
This trading platform is more well-known for the graphical elements of analysis and trading, and the charts that it offers to traders. However, there is a downside to eSignal, which is the number of brokers that support this trading platform. Unfortunately, not many brokers do.
Mirror Trader
Mirror Trader
Contrary to the previous trading platform, Mirror Trader is more well accepted among forex brokers and it is supported by a reasonable number of them. The biggest advantage of this trading platform is the fact that it has been especially designed to be compatible with social trading. Furthermore, Mirror Trader provides a high number of trading strategies to users.
ATAS
ATAS
ATAS is a trading platform that has been specifically designed for trading in the stock market. Of course it supports a variety of other financial instruments from other financial markets. But its compatibility with stock trading is more pronounced. For instance, it is automatically connected with some of the major stock markets around the world.
XTB: xStation
There is a brokerage firm called XTB and the trading platform that they offer is called xStation. There are many advantages and unique features that these brokers and its trading platform jointly offer users. But among them we can refer to its unique capabilities for social trading. In addition to the extremely high number of financial instruments that it offers for trading. In fact, this broker offers close to a thousand financial instruments to traders.
ZuluTrade
ZuluTrade is one of the most well-known names in the world of trading, regardless of market. The reason for this is that this trading platform supports a comprehensive list of financial instruments for trading. But perhaps the most important thing that ZuluTrade is known for is its features regarding copy trading and social trading. This is perhaps the best platform for copy trading, where you can go and copy the exact strategies and approach of other traders to forex trading.
TradingView
TradingView
Last on our list is TradingView, which itself is not a trading platform per se. This platform is an information source for various markets and offers the most referred to charts and analysis data. Therefore, it is used by almost all traders and trading platforms.
Conclusion
A forex trading platform is a software or application that makes it possible for traders to trade on the forex market. It is different from a broker, in that the trading platform is the technical software or app, whereas the broker is the company or firm that facilitates traders’ access to the forex market.
