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MetaTrader was written for Windows. There are several ways to use it on a Mac, each with its limits. This guide compares them, with sources, and shows the simplest route if you run Expert Advisors: a real Windows desktop that never switches off, opened from your Mac with Microsoft’s free app.
The short answer
There is no version of MetaTrader written for macOS. There are four ways to use it anyway, and the right one depends on what you need it to do.
| What you need | Official macOS installer | Windows in a virtual machine | Web terminal and iPhone app | Windows VPS |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Expert Advisors running with the Mac closed or off | No: Stops with the Mac | No: Stops with the Mac | No: No Expert Advisors | Yes, around the clock |
| The standard Windows MetaTrader, with every feature | No: Runs inside Wine | Yes | No: Cut-down version | Yes, on a real Windows |
| Unaffected by macOS updates | No | Mostly | Yes | Yes: the platform is not on the Mac |
| No load on the Mac’s RAM, battery or fans | No | No: Two operating systems at once | Yes | The Mac only runs one window |
| What you have to buy | Nothing: it is free | Virtualisation software and a Windows licence | Nothing: it is free | The VPS; Microsoft’s app is free |
| Best for | Manual trading with the Mac on | People who already run Windows on their Mac | Checking charts and placing manual orders | Expert Advisors, trade copiers, several terminals |
The official installer
MetaQuotes does publish an installer for the Mac, but it is not a program written for macOS. As its own documentation explains, the installer downloads and configures Wine, a compatibility layer for Windows software, and then installs MetaTrader inside it.
It needs macOS Catalina 10.15.7 or later for MT5 and macOS Big Sur 11 or later for MT4, and it supports every Apple processor. On Apple silicon the Windows code runs through Rosetta 2, Apple’s translator for Intel software.
For manual trading it works, and for many people it is enough. The limits come from having two translation layers between MetaTrader and the Mac, either of which can break with an update.
The simplest route
Instead of bending MetaTrader to fit the Mac, leave it where it works best: on a real Windows machine in a data centre, on around the clock. The Mac becomes the screen and the keyboard.
You install your broker’s MetaTrader with the normal Windows installer. EAs, indicators, DLLs and Market tools behave as they do on any PC.
The VPS is a separate machine that stays on. Close the laptop, switch it off or update it: the platform keeps working.
Nothing depends on Wine or on Rosetta 2. The Mac only needs a Microsoft app that shows the VPS screen.
Windows is already on the VPS. You need neither virtualisation software nor a Windows licence for the Mac.
Keep a number of MetaTraders open on the same VPS, a trade copier included: up to eight on the Standard plan.
The same app exists for iPhone and iPad: open the same desktop, with the same MetaTrader, wherever you are.
The guide
From ordering to your first open chart takes a few minutes. If you can use a Mac and have seen Windows once, you can do all of it.
For one MetaTrader with a simple EA the Cheap plan is enough; with several terminals or heavy EAs, start from Basic. After activation you receive an email with the VPS address, a username and a password.
This is Microsoft’s free Remote Desktop app; until 2024 it was called Microsoft Remote Desktop. It is on the Mac App Store, needs macOS 14 or later, and you do not need a Microsoft account to connect to a VPS.
Open Windows App, choose Add PC and paste the VPS address into the PC name field. The first time you connect, enter the username and password from the email. Save them and next time a double-click is all it takes.
On the Windows desktop open the browser, go to your broker’s site and download MT4 or MT5 in the Windows version. Install it and log in to your account as you would on a PC.
Copy the files on the Mac and paste them into the VPS window: the clipboard is shared. In MetaTrader choose File → Open Data Folder and put them under MQL4 or MQL5, in the Experts and Indicators folders.
When you have finished, close the Windows App window without signing out of Windows. MetaTrader stays open on the VPS and the EA keeps working. You can close the Mac.
A note on the keyboard. Inside the VPS the shortcuts are the Windows ones: copy is Ctrl+C, not ⌘+C. In the Windows App settings you can also choose the resolution and run the VPS full screen or across several displays.
They are made by Microsoft and they are free. On Windows there is nothing to install.
In all honesty
If you trade by hand for a few hours a day, with the Mac on in front of you and no Expert Advisors, the official macOS installer, your broker’s web terminal or the iPhone and iPad apps will do, and they cost nothing.
A VPS becomes the right choice when something has to stay on while you are away: an Expert Advisor, a trailing stop, a trade copier, several terminals at once. Or when you are tired of finding out after an update that the platform no longer starts.
NinjaTrader Desktop and Quantower are Windows-only as well. On a VPS they run on a real Windows, and you open them from your Mac in exactly the same way.
NinjaTrader VPSWhich plan
These are the plans of our Forex VPS: Windows Server 2022, at least 4 GB of RAM, MT4 and MT5 that restart on their own after a reboot. All prices are in euro and include VAT.
Right for one MT4 or MT5 terminal running a simple EA. Easy to upgrade.
€18.30/month
VAT included
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For traders who run a few MetaTrader or cTrader terminals.
€29.89/month
VAT included
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Recommended
Extra headroom so nothing slows down: 3 vCores and 6 GB of RAM.
€42.70/month
VAT included€48.80save €6.10
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Sized for 5–8 MetaTrader terminals at once.
€59.78/month
VAT included
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FAQ
A question before you order? Write to us: a person will reply.
Contact supportYes, in four ways: MetaQuotes’ official macOS installer, Windows in a virtual machine, the web terminal and mobile apps, or a Windows VPS you open from the Mac. Which one makes sense depends on whether you trade by hand or run Expert Advisors.
No. MetaQuotes’ official installer for macOS sets up Wine, a compatibility layer for Windows software, and runs MetaTrader inside it. There is no version written for macOS at the moment.
Yes: the official installer supports every Apple processor, and the Windows code runs through Rosetta 2. With a VPS the question does not arise. MetaTrader runs on the Windows server, not on the Mac, so the chip in your Mac makes no difference.
Apple says Rosetta remains available up to macOS 27 and that from macOS 28 it will be kept only for certain older games. MetaQuotes has not announced a native Apple silicon version so far, so what it will ship is not known yet. A VPS does not depend on Rosetta at all.
Only on a VPS. A MetaTrader installed on the Mac stops when the Mac sleeps or restarts for an update, and the EA stops with it. On a VPS the platform stays open on a separate machine, so you can close the Mac whenever you like.
Windows App, Microsoft’s free app, which until 2024 was called Microsoft Remote Desktop. It is on the Mac App Store, needs macOS 14 or later, and does not ask for a Microsoft account when you connect to a VPS. There are versions for iPhone and iPad too.
No. Windows Server 2022 is already installed on the VPS. There is nothing to buy or install on the Mac apart from Microsoft’s free app.
The free version is fine for manual trading with the Mac switched on. A VPS is the better choice as soon as something must keep running without you: Expert Advisors, trailing stops, trade copiers or several terminals. It also spares you the wait for a fixed build when a macOS update breaks the Mac version.
See also
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