There seems to be some questions about running MT4/5 on a Mac so I thought I would start this thread. There are only a few options that you have out there to run MT4/5 on your Mac. There are 3 that I know of and all have pros and cons.
1 - Wine or some version of it (such as play on mac). The good thing about this is it is free. However it is not for casual computer users. Wine is not a stable program so if you expect to load it and forget it, that most likely will not happen. If you are an intermediate or advanced computer user then you will have a good chance to make it work but there can be new difficulties encountered with different builds of MT4 and what works today might not work tomorrow without some troubleshooting.
2- VPS - you get everything you need with just a monthly fee. All you need is a browser or Microsoft remote desktop for Mac and you will have no problem connecting to the VPS. A lot depends on the VPS provider but there are many of them out there that make it pretty easy to use and have great customer support. The downside to this is the ongoing monthly fee. If you are going to run a EA all the time you might have one anyway, if not the monthly fee will add up quickly. Also there is a lag you have to deal with that gets old since you are working on a remote server.
3 - Run windows on your Mac (VM Fusion or Boot Camp). In my opinion this is the most stable way to go and compared to Wine I find it easier. The big downside is the cost. You have to buy VM Fusion or Boot camp and you have to have a license and installation disk for Windows. Once you get it up and running it operates just like a windows PC would.
I personally run VM Fusion and have a VPS. I have tried multiple times to make Wine work but just find it to be too unstable for myself. I considered the cost of getting VM Fusion up and running to be a cost the trading business. For myself the stability and ease of use for VM Fusion lets me focus on the trading activity, not making sure MT4/5 work.
I am by no means an expert on any of this but I have been running my Meta Trader terminals like this for many years now.
Just my input on the matter, if anyone else has experiance with other ways to use MT4 with a Mac or are proficient with Wine please post.
1 - Wine or some version of it (such as play on mac). The good thing about this is it is free. However it is not for casual computer users. Wine is not a stable program so if you expect to load it and forget it, that most likely will not happen. If you are an intermediate or advanced computer user then you will have a good chance to make it work but there can be new difficulties encountered with different builds of MT4 and what works today might not work tomorrow without some troubleshooting.
2- VPS - you get everything you need with just a monthly fee. All you need is a browser or Microsoft remote desktop for Mac and you will have no problem connecting to the VPS. A lot depends on the VPS provider but there are many of them out there that make it pretty easy to use and have great customer support. The downside to this is the ongoing monthly fee. If you are going to run a EA all the time you might have one anyway, if not the monthly fee will add up quickly. Also there is a lag you have to deal with that gets old since you are working on a remote server.
3 - Run windows on your Mac (VM Fusion or Boot Camp). In my opinion this is the most stable way to go and compared to Wine I find it easier. The big downside is the cost. You have to buy VM Fusion or Boot camp and you have to have a license and installation disk for Windows. Once you get it up and running it operates just like a windows PC would.
I personally run VM Fusion and have a VPS. I have tried multiple times to make Wine work but just find it to be too unstable for myself. I considered the cost of getting VM Fusion up and running to be a cost the trading business. For myself the stability and ease of use for VM Fusion lets me focus on the trading activity, not making sure MT4/5 work.
I am by no means an expert on any of this but I have been running my Meta Trader terminals like this for many years now.
Just my input on the matter, if anyone else has experiance with other ways to use MT4 with a Mac or are proficient with Wine please post.
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