Best Trading Platforms for Beginners

Did you know that your choice of platform can affect your trading performance? If you're a beginner, here are the best trading platforms to start your forex trading with.

Trading platforms come in many different kinds as many companies compete to develop trading technology. Selecting which trading platform to use is crucial because it can affect the trader's performance in the currency market. It becomes even more important for novice traders since it may also affect their learning process. However, it can be unclear because each platform offers different tools and features. Also, it is worth noting that the choice of trading platforms is closely related to the choice of brokers because not all brokers provide all types of platforms.

Naturally, every trader desires a platform to give them everything they need for their strategy and live up to their standards. After all, each trader may have specific needs related to which tool, speed, or research requirements in the platform. That is why the question of "Which forex trading platform is the best" is very commonly asked by traders in the early times of their careers.

Given the rapid development of technology and the increasing competition in software and trading platforms, this question is even more relevant for traders. Here are some of them

• MT4: Suitable for any trader.
• MT5: Good or handling many trading instruments and carrying several orders simultaneously.
• cTrader: Better for a trader who wishes for a simpler trading platform.
• NinjaTrader: Suitable for both beginner and professional traders.
• ZuluTrade: Provide guidance specifically aimed at beginners.
• Mirror trader: Best for automatic or semi-automatic trading.
• ProRealTime: Particularly suitable for intraday traders.
• Libertex: Suitable for novice traders.

In retrospect to the abovementioned aspects, here are the best trading platforms recommended for traders, particularly for beginners who put importance on ease of use and reliable performance:

Here are Recommend Platforms for Beginners

When choosing a trading platform for beginners, it's essential to consider user-friendly, educational factors and provide a supportive environment for learning and practicing trading. Here are some key considerations:

• Simplicity: Look for a trading platform that has a clean and intuitive interface. It should be easy to navigate, with clear and straightforward features. Avoid platforms that overwhelm beginners with complex tools and advanced functionalities.
• Educational Resources: A good trading platform for beginners should provide educational resources, tutorials, and a knowledge base to help users understand the basics of trading, technical analysis, risk management, and other essential concepts. Look for platforms that offer educational materials, video tutorials, webinars, or demo accounts for practice trading.
• Useful Tools: Trading platforms offer a range of tools to assist traders in analyzing markets, making informed trading decisions, and managing their positions. Tools can help beginners to navigate the market easily. Some examples of great tools include charting tools, order executions, analytical tools, and many more.

1. MetaTrader 4

MetaTrader 4 is probably the most popular and widely used trading platform among forex traders and is even said to be the standard in the industry. The software was released in 2005, specifically designed for forex trading by MetaQuotes Corp.

Almost every reputable forex broker for beginners uses MetaTrader 4 as their main trading platform, making it very accessible for any trader. The reason behind its popularity is mainly caused by its distinctive features that are suitable for any type of trader, such as:

• 30 technical indicators.
• 23 analytical objects.
• Several customizable indicators (not included in the standard set of analytical tools).
• Allows copy trading.
• One-click trading.
• Flexible setting of price charts.
• Compatible with the most popular operating systems (Mac, iOS, Windows, Android, Linux).
• Abundant order type.
• Demo account is available.
• Multi-charting.
• Lots of available Expert Advisors.

The downside of using MetaTrader 4 is that sometimes you may find some brokers offer wider spreads on the platform than their central trading platform. Other than that, some professional traders have found that MetaTrader 4 can be slower than its competitors.

2. MetaTrader 5

Contrary to popular belief, MetaTrader 5 is not merely an upgraded version of MetaTrader 4; it is an entirely new platform developed by the same company. MetaTrader 5 distinguishes itself from its predecessor by offering different tools specifically designed for various types of markets.

Unlike MetaTrader 4, which primarily caters to forex traders, MetaTrader 5 has a broader target user base. It provides a wider range of tradable assets, including futures, stocks, and other financial instruments. Additionally, MetaTrader 5 boasts improved speed, an expanded selection of indicators, and additional features, making it a comprehensive and advanced trading platform.

Compared to MetaTrader 4, this platform can handle many trading instruments and carry several orders simultaneously. Some of the advantages of using MetaTrader 5 are as follows:

• Provides 21-time frames, including 11 types of minute charts and seven types of hourly charts.
• 6 types of pending orders, including sell-stop, sell-limit, buy-stop, buy-stop limit, and sell-stop-limit orders.
• Avaliable for demo account
• The Depth of Market (DOM) function allows traders to view the bid and offer prices at different levels.
• More than 70 market analysis tools.
• Customization for sound alerts when a trading signal is approaching.

3. cTrader

cTrader is a globally recognized online trading platform developed by Spotware Systems Ltd. cTrader offers many attractive features such as fast execution, level II pricing, a complete range of orders, and advanced order protection.

cTrader can be suitable for beginners, as it offers several features to assist new traders in their learning and trading journey. It has a clean and intuitive interface, making it easy for beginners to navigate and understand. cTrader is known for its Straight Through Processing (STP) execution model, meaning orders are directly sent to liquidity providers without interference. This promotes transparency and fair execution. Apart from that, cTrader also its advantages:

• Comes with a wide range of features suitable for various types of traders.
• Various responsive and detachable charts in different time frames and zoom levels.
• Different viewing modes.
• Available for a demo account.
• Allows copy trading with cTrader Copy, accessible from the cTrader side menu.
• Available for desktop, web, and mobile (Android and iOS).

4. NinjaTrader

NinjaTrader is a widely-used trading platform released in 2004. It is specifically designed for active forex, futures, and stock traders. The platform has useful features and a user-friendly interface that allows traders to trade efficiently. Suitable for both beginner and professional traders, NinjaTrader provides a wide range of useful tools such as analysis, chart systems, and data output. You can choose two versions, namely the basic or the lite version, which requires traders to set the charts manually. Meanwhile, the extended or pro version allows traders to use automated trading, unlimited trading, and analytical capabilities.

In addition to offering a user-friendly interface, NinjaTrader also has abundant useful features that simplify trading for beginners. Those are:

• Allow a demo account for the test.
• Analyze cluster charts.
• Unfiltered market data.
• Charting and analysis tools.
• Unlimited support and daily training.

5. ZuluTrade

ZuluTrade is another top-rated trading platform that allows beginners to trade independently. The official website provides a detailed guide specifically aimed at beginners. The platform also displays instructions on attaching a trading account to the platform.

Furthermore, ZuluTrade is excellent for beginners because it provides a massive opportunity to monitor professionals' strategies to be applied to their strategy. All you need to do is connect your trading account and activate the automatic transaction option on the platform. You can share and copy a professional's strategy, so make sure you choose a strategy suitable for your capital and risk management. 

6. Mirror Trader

As the name suggests, Mirror Trader is a trading platform that allows beginners to mirror the transactions of successful traders, either with automatic or semi-automatic trading. Traders are free to choose which strategy they would like to try. So regarding its functionality.

There are three main features provided in this platform:

1. Trading Portfolio. It consists of ed trading strategies for automatic mirroring. Creating a compelling and balanced trading portfolio is vital to diversify the investment profile.
2. Strategies Performance. The platform displays a detailed summary of the performance of each strategy. This is incredibly helpful so that traders can make sensible choices.
3. Strategies Filters. In mirror trading, choosing a strategy is the most crucial step. In this case, the platform allows traders to create a custom strategy filter to identify the most suitable method based on the traders' tastes and preferences.

However, remember that mirror trading is not as easy as it looks. At first, glance, analyzing and evaluating other traders' strategies seems simple. Yet, it needs a deep understanding of forex trading and experience. So before you mirror a strategy, ensure that the trader has a good track record and reliable performance in risk management.

7. ProRealTime

ProRealTime is a trading platform developed in France by IT-Finance. It is considered unique because it is a beginner friendly web-based software backed up on its cloud network. The platform provides various choices of advanced charting and at least 100 tools for technical analysis, market scanning, charting, automatic trading, and more.

Also, traders can customize their market scanners and trading strategies by using the unique ProRealTime language. As for the market data, ProRealTime provides high-quality real-time data guaranteed with 24-hour maintenance by an in-house team. This makes the platform particularly suitable for intraday traders that could make use of real-time data and execution.

8. Libertex

Libertex is a popular trading platform and was awarded the title of the best trading platform 2014 at the international exhibition of innovative technology in the online trading industry Forex-Expo. The trading platform is not only limited to forex. It also provides access to stock assets, commodities, and cryptocurrencies in one account.

Libertex supports trading in 50 different currency pairs and 43 of the most popular cryptocurrencies. It has quite a user-friendly interface and a simple trading process, making it suitable for novice traders. It has also adapted to popular operating systems and is available for web and mobile devices.

Conclusion

We can conclude that choosing a trading platform is not easy, especially in recent years, where the competition among software companies continues to increase. Just like traders might need to learn the basics of forex trading in different ways and languages, they might also require different platforms to get used to the market.

Generally speaking, MetaTrader 4 and MetaTrader 5 are the two safest options for beginners because of their high reputation, accessibility, and reliable performance. Both are already tested and have received many positive reviews from users across the globe.

However, you can check out other trading platforms if you have a specific trading strategy. You might find the right one that matches your conditions by trying several trading platforms. It is better to use the forex demo account version before jumping into real trading; see whether the platform is safe, provides the necessary features, and is easy to use.