69% of retail investor accounts lose money
- Experts highlight StoneX Trading MT4 as a solid choice for traders seeking to use MetaTrader 4 with a reputable UK broker. They commend its integration of nine Expert Advisors and VPS hosting, which facilitate automated trading, although they suggest that StoneX's proprietary platform may offer a better overall experience for most users.
- Across 125 user reviews on Good Money Guide, averaging 3.8/5, customers frequently praise the platform's reliability, ease of use, and responsive customer service. Many users appreciate the fast execution and intuitive interface, while some express concerns about the limited market range and occasional issues with system reliability during critical trading moments.
StoneX Trading MT4 Expert rating
Our expert rating is the average of the areas listed here, each scored out of 5 by our team.Our experts have rated StoneX Trading MT4 across five key areas of our review framework.
- Pricing4.0
- Market Access4.0
- Online Platform4.0
- Customer Service4.5
- Research & Analysis4.5
Pros
- Spread betting
- Good pricing
- Backed by StoneX
Cons
- Limited market range
- Better signals and analytics on their main platform
See full expert review
Our verdict
StoneX Trading offers MetaTrader 4 (MT4) for forex and CFD traders who want advanced charting, automated trading and Expert Advisors. MT4 is available on desktop, iPhone and Android, with nine Expert Advisors from FX Blue, custom indicators and VPS hosting for traders who want to run automated strategies around the clock.
70% of retail investor accounts lose money when trading CFDs with this provider.
Is MT4 available on StoneX Trading?
StoneX Trading offers MetaTrader 4 and it is a good option if you want to use MT4 with an established UK broker.
However, I still think StoneX Trading’s main proprietary platform is better for most traders. It is easier to use and gives you better access to StoneX's own trading tools and wider offering. MT4 really comes into its own if you specifically want to automate your trading, use Expert Advisors or have already built your trading setup around MetaTrader.
StoneX Trading adds nine Expert Advisors from FX Blue, including Sentiment Trader, as well as custom indicators and an economic calendar. You can use EAs to monitor markets and automatically execute trades based on rules you have set.
There is also VPS hosting, which is a genuinely useful addition for serious automated traders because you can keep your EAs running during trading hours without leaving your own computer switched on.
Overall, StoneX Trading is a good MT4 broker if you want the reassurance and service of a large established financial services group alongside MetaTrader. But unless you specifically need MT4, I would probably use StoneX Trading’s main platform instead.
Pricing
StoneX Trading says MT4 traders get the same tight spreads and fast execution available through its proprietary platforms.
There is no minimum deposit if you fund your MT4 account by bank transfer, although card deposits have a £100 minimum. Obviously, that doesn't mean you should open an account with a tiny balance because you still need enough money to cover the margin requirements of the positions you are trading.
As MT4 is primarily aimed at leveraged forex and CFD trading, you also need to factor in the spread and any overnight financing charges rather than looking solely at whether there is an account fee.
If you are an active trader, execution quality is just as important as the headline spread. A fractionally cheaper spread isn't much use if you regularly suffer from poor fills when markets are moving quickly.
Market Access
This is the main area where I think you need to be aware of the difference between StoneX Trading's MT4 account and its main trading platform.
MT4 is primarily designed for trading forex, commodities and indices, rather than providing access to everything StoneX Trading offers.
The current StoneX information doesn't give a specific number of markets available through MT4, so I would remove the old claim that there are around 84 markets unless StoneX confirms that figure is still correct.
For traders who mainly want to trade currencies and the major indices and commodities, that isn't necessarily a problem. But if having the widest possible choice of markets is important to you, StoneX Trading's main platform is likely to be the better option.
Platform & Apps
MT4 is old, but it is still one of the most popular trading platforms in the world, particularly amongst forex traders.
The main reason people still use it is not because it looks particularly good – it doesn't – but because there is a huge ecosystem of indicators, Expert Advisors and automated trading strategies built around it.
StoneX Trading provides nine Expert Advisors from FX Blue, including Sentiment Trader, which you can adapt to your trading style. You can also use custom indicators, advanced charts, drawing tools and different timeframes, as well as dealing directly from the charts.
There are MT4 apps for both iPhone and Android, with one-click trading, charts, indicators and drawing tools, so you can access the same MT4 account when you are away from your main trading computer.
But personally, if I was sitting in front of a screen trading manually, I'd use StoneX Trading's own platform. MT4 makes much more sense if you have a particular indicator, EA or automated strategy that you specifically want to run.
Customer Service
One of the reasons for choosing StoneX Trading for MT4 rather than one of the hundreds of MetaTrader brokers available online is the broker behind the platform.
MT4 is just the software you use to trade. Your actual account, pricing, execution and customer service come from StoneX Trading.
That distinction is important because there are an enormous number of MT4 brokers and they are certainly not all equal. With StoneX Trading you are dealing with an established financial services business rather than choosing a broker simply because it happens to offer MetaTrader.
StoneX Trading also offers dedicated customer service, and there is online chat support if you have problems with your account or platform.
For me, that is one of the strongest reasons to use StoneX Trading for MT4.
Research & Analysis
MT4 is primarily a technical analysis and automated trading platform rather than a research platform.
You get professional charting with a wide range of technical indicators, chart types, drawing tools and timeframes, and you can trade directly from charts. StoneX Trading also provides custom indicators and a customisable economic calendar to help you keep track of market-moving events.
Where MT4 becomes much more interesting is automated analysis. StoneX provides nine Expert Advisors from FX Blue, which can monitor markets for trading opportunities and execute orders according to rules you have defined.
There is also VPS hosting for EAs, allowing automated strategies to run during trading hours without relying on your home computer being switched on and connected to the internet.
However, if you want StoneX's broader market research, trading ideas and proprietary analytics rather than running your own technical strategies, I think the main StoneX Trading platform is the better choice. MT4 is really for traders who know why they want MT4.
Customer reviews for StoneX Trading (Formerly City Index)
Customer ratings come from reviews left on this site. Every review is read and approved before it is published.Based on 125 reviews
- Excellent41%
- Very good25%
- Basic18%
- Poor10%
- Bad7%
Read customer reviews
4/5
Pros:
Tools and features
Cons:
Education
Alex Arora @ 06/16/2021 08:39
Great stable platform, been a trader for 20+ years and I have a few accounts with various providers, essentially they have similar features but where City Index stands out, is that they are constantly innovating - recently I have really liked and utilised the smart signals add on which now sets them apart.
mark mckaig @ 11/06/2020 09:52
I've been with City Index for years, but since they got bought by Gain Capital, things have gone down-hill. If you try to withdraw money to your bank account - good luck ! I'm currently having to take court action to get them to pay me my own money into my bank account, and purely by luck, I happened to check trust pilot and found numerous reviews from customers having the same issues. The best way to describe them is that rarely will you get filled at quoted pricing, and in terms of customer service - arrogance and contempt for customers about covers it. If you try to withdraw money, they will be as unhelpful and obstructive as they possibly can, and looking at trust pilot there are a good few people who have lost their money this way.
Ian French Huddersfield @ 05/08/2020 11:04
As a novice, I signed up to this with the intention of buying shares in a particular company, and specifically mentioned this, as well as my zero level of experience when calling their customer support helpline and being put through to a broker agent. Even after joking with the broker about my clueless nature of the share buying market, and needing all the help I could get, I was quickly led to CFD trading, and I as a novice bought into this thinking I was buying shares. No explanation was given as to the difference between CFD and shares, and only a month later after further research from other sources, did it become apparant that I had in fact signed up to a betting site, placing bets on the margin movement on share prices with a line of credit.
I'm rather annoyed by this. I feel like my inexperience was taken advantage of just so a broker could get some quick commission from me, as people who trade CFD will be buying trades and stopping trades more frequently due to the market's short term nature, and as a result they get hit with more charges.
The only way out of this is to ensure my CFD get's back into the black. Close out my open trades and reinvest that money on a different share buying platform, specifically for the purchase of shares, and not CFD trading. I'm just fortunate I entered City Index with the bare minimum amount of money possible under the philosophy of 'spend only what you can afford to lose', so any losses I accrue on a negative close out, won't sting too much.
I do actually see how you can make money using CFD, but City Index really should push this on more experienced traders, and as a matter of ethics should not push this on novices.
My advice; If you want to invest and you are a rookie, and you decide to use this company, steer clear of CFD and make that statement clear to the broker that you don't want CFD when you call the ''helpline''.
To quote that common question ''Have you been missold PPI?''.
Well thanks to City Index, I was missold CFD.
I give this rating 2 stars, only because the graphical data in front is easy to understand and it helps when monitoring share price movements, and the movement of money is quick. But really, that is the only good things about them.
2/5
2/5
4/5
5/5
4/5
3/5
3/5
3/5
4/5
4/5
4/5
2/5
4/5
4/5
3/5
4/5
Richard is the founder of the Good Money Guide (formerly Good Broker Guide), one of the original investment comparison sites established in 2015. With a career spanning two decades as a broker, he brings extensive expertise and knowledge to the financial landscape.
Having worked as a broker at Investors Intelligence and a multi-asset derivatives broker at MF Global (Man Financial), Richard has acquired substantial experience in the industry. His career began as a private client stockbroker at Walker Crips and Phillip Securities (now King and Shaxson), following internships on the NYMEX oil trading floor in New York and London IPE in 2001 and 2000.
Richard’s contributions and expertise have been recognized by respected publications such as The Sunday Times, BusinessInsider, Yahoo Finance, BusinessNews.org.uk, Master Investor, Wealth Briefing, iNews, and The FT, among many others.
Under Richard’s leadership, the Good Money Guide has evolved into a valuable destination for comprehensive information and expert guidance, specialising in trading, investment, and currency exchange. His commitment to delivering high-quality insights has solidified the Good Money Guide’s standing as a well-respected resource for both customers and industry colleagues.
