I do not like how slow Oanda’s MT4 platform is to process trades. Is there a noticeable difference in how long a [U][I]live[/I][/U] trade takes to process between the two? Also what would be the advantages of switching to FxTrade (if any)?
Please note: I don’t have a need for any special indicators MT4 might be useful for.
Johnny2pips,
Try and demo Oanda’s FxTrade platform. I’ve used FxTrade with the one click feature for over three years and really like it. Fast, easy to use and you can set default order size, TP, SL etc. 
I haven’t tried placing orders on Oanda’s MT4 platform but I hear it’s slow and does work so well.
Tip, use their MT4 for charting with all the cool bells and whistles, then place and manage the trades on FxTrade.
Thanks for the input d pip. The problem is I don’t actually use any of the “cool bells and whistles” mt4 has to offer anymore.
The main question is (for those that have used both) which preformed best as far as order processing speeds. Sometimes the MT4 platform takes 5 min to submit/close a order. If the same problem happens on FxTrade then I’d have no reason to switch, on the other hand if it is indeed faster it would be best to readjust to the java platform.
Five minutes, that’s useless, you’ve got to try the FxTrade platform.
On FxTrade the orders are placed, opened/closed instantly, it’s click and done, I’m talking within a second. And in three years I’ve been with Oanda I’ve never had a re-quote.
I would suggest you download the demo and try it. I use both and have never seen a difference with speed or price between the demo & live platform.
Actually if you don’t need bells & whistles the Java based FxTrade platform is straight forward and IMO very nice to use, simple & zen-ish
Try it, I bet you’ll like it.
PS There’s a long story behind Oanda’s crappy MT4 issue and I won’t go into it but…the company quietly suggest people use the MT4 just for charting, bells & whistles etc and place orders on FxTrade
If it works that well I’ll gladly make the switch! Thanks again for your help bpip. It’s really nice to have members here willing to help others with these sort of tech questions. To bad oanda doesn’t allow money transfer between sub accounts though. Looks like I’ll be waiting a week for the switch over to happen.
Oh well whatever, here’s to hoping it works as flawlessly with micro accounts.
You should be able to switch back & forth between sub accounts with FxTrade.
But maybe because I started my first account on FxTrade I have the option to go back & forth between FxTrade and my MT4 sub account.
With FxTrade you place trades by units instead of lots. One unit = .01 cent a pip, 10 pip move = .10 cent profit. So you can size your position as small as you want. It’s great for money /trade management.
Good luck!
Just to make sure I understand how the unit system works 1,000 units = $1.00 per pip or $0.10?
1,000 units = .10 cent per pip, 10,000 units = $1.00 per pip, also any size you want, for example, 1,700 units = .17 cent pip.
See how flexible you can be with your order size. 
Fxtrade all the way without a doubt as d-pip pointed out. Much faster, more reliable and accessible anywhere via web. It really is a excellent platform IMO.
Okay sounds easy enough. I’ll add a little bit of spare cash this month to get acquainted with the platform and if all goes well next month will be the full switch. This way I can “demo” with real money (a few cents) to get the true experience. Hopefully that makes sense.
Thanks for the positive feedback!
While watching instructional video’s about FxTrade at oanda.com I found it to be vary customizable. You can set a “standard stop” for each currency pair along with a lot of other stuff. Whenever a trade is placed the stop is automatically placed with the trade. For example I choose 20 pips for E/U. This will be so much easier than MT4! MT4 is a hassle to place trades and stop/limits having to know the exact price is a pain sometimes. Anyways thought I’d just add that bit of information in case someone else was considering Oanda’s FxTrade.
As d-pip said earlier if you need the bells and whistles of MT4 use it for charting and trade from FxTrade. Every computer has java and it doesn’t seem to put to much stain on my processor. Anyone with lower than standard (or more) amounts of ram could easily use it without worry of crashing.
I have just started demo trading with OANDA, and I thought I was the only one who had problems trading with MT4. I also do not like the interface for placing trades. It seems like a good idea to do what everyone else is doing and place trades with FxTrade, and chart with MT4.
There is something I had a question about if someone could answer. I’m not sure how it works in live, but in demo, when I opted to open/install MT4 after joining OANDA practice account, a sub account was opened with different funds. When trading live, wouldn’t both FxTrade and OANDA link to the same account? I want to make sure that when I open a account and MT4, that whether I trade with MT4 or FxTrade, it affects my primary, single account, with all of my funds.
Also, when you place a trade on FxTrade it won’t show up on MT4, but if you place a trade on MT4 it will show up on FxTrade is that correct? Thanks.
If you close MT4 on your desktop, stop loss will not be tracked. I only use MT4 to chart but place all trades on FxTrade. Oanda MT4 does not utilize the 5 day NY close (not sure if that is important to you)