Best charting software for crypto and forex traders

Most traders end up with two tools, not one: something to analyse the market on, and something to place trades with. Sometimes that's the same app. Often it isn't. Here's an honest look at the main charting platforms for crypto and forex, what we use ourselves, and how to pick without paying for features you won't touch.

What good charting software has to do

Before comparing names, it helps to know what actually matters:

• The right prices. Crypto trades on many exchanges at slightly different prices; forex and CFD prices come from your broker. Your chart should show the market you actually trade.
• Solid drawing tools that stay where you put them and sync between your computer and phone.
• Alerts that reach you when price hits a level, so you don't have to watch the screen.
• A way to test ideas, such as bar replay or a strategy tester.
• A cost that makes sense for how often you trade.

TradingView

TradingView is the all-rounder, and for crypto it's the platform most traders start on. It runs in the browser, as a desktop app and on phones, and covers crypto, forex, stocks and futures in one place.

One thing catches people out: each crypto pair is listed per exchange, for example BINANCE:BTCUSDT and COINBASE:BTCUSD. Their prices differ slightly, and so do their wicks. Chart the exchange you trade on, or your levels and stops won't match what you see when you place the order.

What it does well: the drawing tools are the best of the platforms here, layouts sync across devices, alerts are easy to set, bar replay lets you practise on past price action, and Pine Script lets you build your own indicators and strategies.

What to watch: the free plan shows ads and limits how many indicators you can add to a chart (we run into that limit ourselves) and how many alerts you can keep. Paid plans raise those limits. The huge library of community scripts is mixed: plenty of popular indicators look far better on past charts than they trade, so test anything before you rely on it. Our guide on how to backtest a trading idea shows how.

MetaTrader 5 (and MetaTrader 4)

MetaTrader is the platform most forex brokers give you for free. Its big advantage is simple: the chart shows your broker's prices, which are the prices your orders fill at.

On crypto, the catch is that MetaTrader only offers crypto as CFDs, where your broker offers them. You don't own the coins. The broker sets the price, the spread, the trading hours and the overnight fee.

What it does well: MT5 has 21 timeframes, one-click trading from the chart, and a strategy tester that can run Expert Advisors (trading robots) on tick data. MT4 is older, with 9 timeframes, but many brokers still offer it.

What to watch: the drawing tools feel dated next to TradingView, and how much price history you get depends on your broker. It's not a tool for trading coins on a crypto exchange.

If you run or are thinking of buying an Expert Advisor, MT5's tester is where you check it. See how to judge an Expert Advisor before trusting any robot with real money.

cTrader

cTrader is the other free broker platform. It's offered by fewer brokers than MetaTrader, but its interface is cleaner, it shows market depth, and automated strategies (cBots) are written in C#. Like MetaTrader, crypto is only available as CFDs where the broker offers it.

Exchange charts: Binance, Coinbase, Kraken and others

Every major crypto exchange has charts built into its trading screen, and many use TradingView's charting library, so they'll look familiar. They're free, and you place the order right next to the chart.

What to watch: you see one exchange's data, layouts and drawings are tied to that exchange, and alerts are basic. They're fine for placing orders and quick checks; most people still do their analysis somewhere else.

Order-flow tools, for experienced traders

Platforms such as Bookmap and ATAS show the order book and the volume traded at each price, and support several crypto exchanges. Some short-term traders of liquid crypto futures use them to see where large orders sit. They're paid tools with a steep learning curve, and nothing a beginner needs.

What we use

At ForexBob we do our analysis on TradingView and trade on MetaTrader 5. TradingView is where we mark levels and set alerts, on the computer or the phone. MetaTrader 5 is where the orders go, because its prices are the ones our trades fill at, and its strategy tester is where we check every Expert Advisor before trusting it.

If you use two tools like this, check your levels on the broker's chart before you place the order. Prices can differ by a few pips between data feeds, especially on gold and crypto CFDs, and a stop that looked safe on one chart can sit right in the spread on another.

How to choose

• You buy and sell crypto on an exchange: start with TradingView's free plan for analysis and use the exchange's own screen to place orders.
• You trade forex or gold with a broker: use MetaTrader 5 or cTrader from your broker, and add TradingView if you like its tools. Our guide to trading gold (XAU/USD) covers what's different about gold.
• You want to automate: MetaTrader 5 (MQL5) or cTrader (C#), and test properly before going live.
• Start free. Upgrade only when a limit gets in the way of something you do every day, like needing more alerts.

Software doesn't make the trade

Better charts won't make you a better trader on their own. We've tested a lot of indicator-based entries, and on their own most of them didn't beat random entries once costs were included. Our Fibonacci guide explains how to use levels as a map rather than a signal.

What protects you is the plan: where your stop loss goes, and how big the position is. Crypto moves much more than the major currency pairs, so the same percentage risk means a smaller position. The position size calculator works that out for any stop distance.

Cryptocurrencies are highly volatile, and crypto CFDs carry the same leverage risks as forex.

Keep reading: how to backtest a trading idea, how to judge an Expert Advisor and the position size calculator.

Risk note: trading forex carries a high level of risk and may not be suitable for everyone. This article is for education only and is not financial advice.