An online trading platform is a piece of software that connects traders to financial markets by offering an interface on which traders can buy and sell financial products such as stocks, currencies, indices, and more. Trading platforms come with broad-based functionality including live charting, market depth, analysis tools, and other real-time data to help traders with decision-making.

Commercial trading platforms such as MT5 are developed by third parties (MetaQuotes) for the retail investor market, and access to their services is provided by licensed brokers like Alchemy Markets. When you become our client, you can trade our entire product range on MT5 with tight spreads, no commissions¹, and institutional liquidity and execution of your orders with speeds under <10ms. You will also have free access to sophisticated tools from Trading Central and FXBlue.

Which online trading platform is best will depend on your trading style and specific needs. For example, the best CFD trading platform may not be for Forex spot trading and so on. The most popular online trading platform based on number of users is MetaTrader, with their MT5 platform. These offer high-quality user interfaces, excellent execution, and can be used alongside multiple third party products.

Alchemy Markets traders who would like to execute advanced strategies on MT5 can do so with free, sophisticated trading software and services provided by Trading Central and FXBlue.

The best CFD trading platform online is subjective to a trader’s needs and trading style, and depends on which assets they want to trade. The most popular and widely used platform available is MT5. Different platforms for trading CFDs have different features, and you must choose based on your own trade style and preference. MT4 was designed specifically for Forex traders, and therefore has features and functionalities that are focused on the Forex market while remaining simple and straightforward in executing CFD trades. MT5 is a platform for multi-asset trading, and CFD traders can access more technical indicators and timeframes, an economic calendar, and more order types.

Regardless of the platform used, all traders can benefit from competitive rates and superior conditions. These depend on the broker they choose and can enhance trading significantly. At Alchemy Markets, we provide tight spreads, no commissions¹, institutional liquidity and execution with speeds <10ms and transparent pricing. With free, advanced trading software and services from Trading Central and FXBlue, traders can also use less time to make better investment decisions when trading CFDs.

Day traders are typically chartists who require fast execution, low spreads, and immediate information. MetaTrader is justifiably popular with day traders, and are the top trading platforms for intraday traders. Traders who require HFT-level fast execution may benefit from proprietary or custom platforms like the Alchemy Markets FIX API. With institutional raw spreads and a sliding scale commission based on notional volume, the more you trade, the more you can save.

The most popular Forex trading platform provider is without a doubt MetaTrader, which is a tried and tested and award-winning platform for Forex traders. Mostly used in the FX market, MetaTrader also offers functionality for stocks and other assets, but its main value proposition is for Forex retail trading.

Absolutely. At Alchemy Markets, we provide MT5 and our FIX API - on which you can trade 125 Forex pairs with tight spreads and no commissions¹. FIX API caters towards traders using HFT and algorithmic strategies, while both iterations of Metatrader are well suited to technical intra-day and longer-term traders looking to access a broad range of FX pairs.

Yes. We provide the MT5 web trading platform that can be launched directly from your browser without downloading or installing any applications. You will be able to trade our entire product range of 1000+ products over 10+ asset classes, with a full set of trade orders including market, pending, and stop orders, One Click Trading, Advanced Market Depth, 30 indicators, and 9 timeframes. For more information on the MT5 web trading platform, you can visit our dedicated page.

Online trading platforms are secure, and keep funds segregated in client accounts. This protects your assets in case of the platform going down. Of course, your capital is always at risk in a live trading scenario, and you need to be aware of the risks incurred with each trade. Especially when copy trading or using algorithmic strategies, you should be aware that your balance can decrease even when you are not monitoring your portfolio.