How to Use MetaTrader 5: A Beginner's Guide

A beginner's guide to MetaTrader 5: the four windows that matter, what each one does, the setup steps in order, and where every other platform task on this site fits. The pillar page for the MT5 section.

MetaTrader 5 has more windows, menus and settings than any new user needs. Four of them do almost everything: Market Watch lists the instruments, the chart shows the price, the Navigator holds your tools, and the Toolbox shows your account and your trades. This guide covers those four and the order to learn them in; each detailed task links to its own page.

Key Takeaways

• Four windows: Market Watch (Ctrl+M), Charts, Navigator (Ctrl+N), Toolbox (Ctrl+T).
• Learn in this order: read a price, read a contract specification, place an order with a stop, read your account line.
• MarketsAll offers MT5 and Web Trader; the layouts differ, the concepts do not.
• Everything you need to size a trade is in the contract specification, not on the chart.

Getting Started

MetaTrader 5 is available as a desktop application, a web platform and mobile apps. MarketsAll provides MT5 and Web Trader across all account types.

You log in with an account number, a password and a server name, all issued when the account is opened. Demo and live are separate accounts with separate logins on the same platform — check which is active before placing an order. See demo vs live accounts.

The Four Windows

Market Watch

The instrument list and the first place to go. Right-clicking a symbol offers Specification — the single most important window on the platform, because it holds contract size, margin, swap rates, trading hours and the minimum stop distance. See how to read contract specifications on MT5.

One detail that trips up new users: the spread shown here is in points, not pips. On a five-decimal quote, "9" means 0.9 pips. See what is a spread and what is a pip.

Charts

Right-click a symbol and choose Chart Window. Timeframes run from one minute to one month, chart types include candlesticks, and templates save a layout for reuse. See how to read charts and change timeframes on MetaTrader 5.

Navigator

Holds your accounts and your tools. Indicators are dragged onto a chart from here. Expert advisors — automated strategies — also live here and require the Algo Trading button to be enabled before they run.

Toolbox

The Trade tab lists open positions and pending orders, with the account line beneath: Balance, Equity, Margin, Free Margin, Margin Level. That line is the state of the account, and the last figure is the one the stop-out watches. See how to read balance, equity and margin in the MT5 terminal and balance vs equity vs free margin.

The History tab exports closed trades — the raw material for a trading journal.

Placing Your First Order

Press F9, or right-click a symbol and choose New Order. Set the volume, set a Stop Loss and Take Profit, then click Buy or Sell. Full detail in how to open and close a position on MetaTrader 5 and how to set stop-loss and take-profit orders on MT5.

The order types available — market, limit, stop, stop-limit — are covered in MetaTrader 5 order types explained, and the decision between entering now and waiting for a level in market orders vs pending orders.

A Learning Order That Works

1. Read a quote. Bid, ask, and the spread in points.
2. Open a contract specification. Contract size, margin, swap, hours, minimum stop distance.
3. Calculate a position size from a stop distance before placing anything. See position sizing.
4. Place an order with a stop and a target attached, on a demo account.
5. Watch the account line while the position is open — which numbers move and which do not.
6. Export the history and start a journal from the first trade.

Steps 1 to 3 are where most early errors are prevented, and none of them involves a chart.

Settings Worth Checking Early

• One-click trading. Convenient, and it opens positions with no stop attached. Know whether it is on.
• Chart timezone. The platform's server time is often not your local time; this affects how you read session boundaries. See global market trading hours.
• Algo Trading. Off unless you are running an expert advisor.

Web Trader

MarketsAll also offers Web Trader, which runs in a browser with no installation. The same instruments, order types and account fields are present in a different layout.

Is MetaTrader 5 free?

The platform is provided by the broker. MarketsAll offers MT5 and Web Trader across all account types.

What is the difference between MT5 and Web Trader?

Web Trader runs in a browser with no installation; MT5 is a desktop application with the full feature set. Both connect to the same account.

Can I use MT5 on a demo account first?

Yes, and it is the standard way to learn the platform. Demo and live are separate logins.

Where do I find swap rates and contract sizes?

In each instrument's Specification window, reached by right-clicking the symbol in Market Watch.

Why does the spread look ten times too large?

It is displayed in points. On a five-decimal quote, one point is a tenth of a pip.

Related Guides

How to open and close a position on MT5 · How to read contract specifications on MT5 · How to set stop-loss and take-profit on MT5 · MetaTrader 5 order types explained · How to read balance, equity and margin in the MT5 terminal · How to read charts and change timeframes