MT4 grey label in 2026: what is still possible and what to choose

Is an MT4 grey label still possible in 2026?

Only in a narrow sense: you can sometimes get client groups on an MT4 server that already exists, but nobody can obtain a new MT4 licence from MetaQuotes. The MetaTrader 4 broker page is blunt about it, and it has said so for years.

That changes the nature of the offer. A grey label has always meant a brokerage set up inside another company’s licensed server. With MT5, the server licensee can still be a company that bought or renewed its licence recently. With MT4, the licensee is by definition a firm that has held its licence since before the sales stop, and your brokerage lives on that legacy capacity for as long as the licensee keeps it running.

Some MT4 grey labels are perfectly legitimate: an established broker with an old MT4 server lets a partner run its own groups. Others are resold capacity several steps away from the actual licence holder. The label on the offer does not tell you which one you are looking at; the documents do.

How does an MT4 grey label work in the licence chain?

The chain has three links: MetaQuotes, the company holding the MT4 server licence, and you. MetaQuotes licenses the server software to the licensee. The licensee runs the server and can create client groups and manager access for partners. A grey label is one of those partners: you get your own groups and your brand on the client-facing tools, while the server licence stays with the licensee.

MetaQuotes does not sell a product called a grey label. Its broker pages describe licences for companies that deploy and run the software themselves. The MT4 page says MetaQuotes’ solutions “do not permit even partial external management or third-party control over your company’s operations”, and that “MetaQuotes has no access to your servers, accounts, or your clients’ trading history.” In other words, MetaQuotes deals with the licensee, not with you. If the licensee’s arrangement changes, you have no direct relationship to fall back on.

For the general model and how it compares with MT5, see our main guide to the MT5 grey label and the grey label brokerage definition.

What happened to MT4 licensing between 2018 and 2026?

MetaQuotes stopped issuing new MT4 licences to new clients in January 2018, then tightened white label access in 2022, and kept shipping MT4 builds into 2026. The timeline below lists what each source actually says, with dates. Items from trade press are reports, not MetaQuotes announcements, unless stated.

What does an “MT4 grey label” offer usually mean in practice?

In practice it means rented space on a legacy MT4 server, with your branding on whatever sits in front of it. The server is almost always the seller’s own or, more often than people expect, a server belonging to a third company the seller has an arrangement with.

We have seen offers that bundle very different things under the same name:

• Client groups on a broker’s own MT4 server. The cleanest version. The broker holds the licence, you get groups and manager rights over them, and the contract names the licensee.
• Resold capacity from a reseller. The seller is not the licensee. Ask who is, in writing; if they will not say, treat the offer as unverified.
• A branded front end with no MT4 server at all. Some “MT4 grey label” offers are really a web terminal or app that connects to an MT5 or other back end. That may suit you, but call it what it is.
• Old white label capacity relabelled. A white label that predates 2022 being split among partners. Atomiq Consulting claimed on 30 October 2022 that “there is no longer the ability to operate as a sub-label or ‘underneath’ an existing broker / white label vendor.” That is a vendor’s statement, not MetaQuotes’, but it shows why you need the licensee’s own confirmation.

What are the risks of an MT4 grey label in 2026?

The biggest risk is that your whole brokerage depends on a legacy licence you do not control and cannot replace. If the licensee stops paying, sells the business, falls out with MetaQuotes or decides to retire MT4, your clients’ accounts go with it.

Brokers are already retiring MT4. OANDA Japan told clients on 18 September 2026 that MT4 would close after trading on 27 November 2026, giving stricter cybersecurity standards as the reason and stating that MetaQuotes no longer maintains MT4. That is the broker’s own explanation; MetaQuotes’ news feed still listed MT4 builds 1460 and 1470 in March 2026. Either way, it shows what a licensee can decide on its own timetable.

Then there is cost. The licensee pays MetaQuotes to keep its legacy MT4 server running, and that cost does not fall as the platform ages. A licensee carrying an ageing platform for a shrinking number of partners has every reason to pass the cost on, change terms at renewal, or stop offering partner capacity altogether. Ask any MT4 seller how its charges to you are tied to its own licence costs, and how much notice you get before they change. If you want current figures for an MT5 alternative, message us and we will send them for your setup.

• No new licences: if the licensee exits, you cannot buy your own MT4 licence as a fallback.
• Upgrade path is to MT5 anyway: any move to white label or own licence means migrating platforms later.
• App store exposure: branded apps need a licensed publisher; see our App Store approval guide.
• Data portability: MT4 logins and history must be exportable under the contract, or you start again from zero.
• Fewer new features: MetaQuotes says further conceptual updates will only be released for MetaTrader 5.

MT4 grey label vs MT5 grey label: how do they compare?

An MT5 grey label gives you the same business model on a platform that MetaQuotes still sells and develops, so it carries less dependency risk. The table compares the two on the points that matter for a new brokerage.

Do my clients really need MT4, or will MT5 work?

Usually MT5 works, and the real question is which MT4 habits your clients would miss. Ask before assuming. In our experience the concerns fall into three groups.

A quick way to find out is to survey your twenty most active clients. Ask which terminal they log in from, whether they run any expert advisers and whether they copy anyone. If most trade manually from a phone or a browser, the platform under the hood matters far less than spreads, payment speed and a support person who answers. If a handful run bought EAs, talk to those clients individually rather than letting them decide the platform for everyone.

How do I move MT4 clients to an MT5 grey label?

You open MT5 accounts for clients in your new groups, move balances under clear client consent, and keep MT4 history available for records. Clients cannot simply carry an MT4 login onto an MT5 server; the platforms use different account structures. Our MT4 to MT5 migration checklist covers the detail, and the migration solution page explains how we run it.

1. InventoryList active accounts, balances, open positions, IB relationships and any EAs or copy strategies clients depend on.
2. Set up MT5 groupsRecreate your account types, symbols, leverage and commission structure as MT5 client groups.
3. Prepare clientsAnnounce the date, explain what changes and what does not, and offer help with EAs and app downloads.
4. Open accounts and move balancesCreate MT5 accounts through the CRM, transfer balances once positions are closed or by agreement, and confirm each one.
5. Archive MT4 historyExport statements and trade history so you can answer client and regulator questions later.
6. Switch off in stagesMove the MT4 groups to close-only, then retire them once the last account is settled.

What should I ask an MT4 grey label provider before signing?

Ask questions that only the real licensee can answer. A provider who sells legitimate MT4 capacity will not mind; one who cannot answer should not be holding your clients’ accounts.

• What is the legal name of the company holding the MT4 server licence, and is it your company?
• Since when has the licence been held, and how many partners already share the server?
• What notice will I get if the licensee stops offering MT4 or the server is retired?
• Can I export client records, MT4 logins and full trade history in a standard format at any time?
• Which entity signs the client agreement and holds client money?
• Is there a contractual path to move my clients to MT5, and at what cost?
• Under whose developer account will branded apps be published?
• Which charges are fixed for the contract term, and which can change when the licensee’s own costs change?

What drives the cost of an MT4 grey label, and how do you compare quotes?

The cost of an MT4 grey label is driven less by the technology than by the scarcity and the risk behind it. Because no new MT4 licences are sold, the seller’s pricing reflects what its legacy licence costs to keep, how many partners share it and how long it intends to keep the server alive. None of that is visible in a headline figure, so break every quote down before you compare it with an MT5 offer.

Put the MT4 quote and an MT5 grey label quote side by side and check the same lines on each. Very often the MT4 offer looks simpler only because it leaves out the cost you will pay later: migrating to MT5 when the licensee retires the server.

• Server access: client groups, Manager rights and the number of accounts allowed on the shared server.
• Front ends: whether a branded web terminal and apps are included, and whose developer accounts they are published under.
• CRM and payments: onboarding, KYC, deposits, withdrawals and IB commissions. FXUP has its own broker CRM and also works with partner CRMs, and we propose whichever fits the client.
• Liquidity and bridge: whose liquidity prices your groups and whether you can connect your own.
• Term and exit: minimum term, notice of server retirement, data export and any charge for handing over history.
• Future migration: who pays for moving clients to MT5, and whether the seller commits to help.

Does FXUP offer an MT4 grey label?

We do not promise MT4. Our standard route is an MT5 grey label, live in about one to two weeks once documents, liquidity and branding are ready, with a branded WebTrader, iOS and Android apps, a CRM (our own or a partner CRM, whichever fits) and liquidity integration. If you specifically need MT4, write to us and we will check availability for your case.

FXUP is a technology provider, not a broker, and we are not affiliated with MetaQuotes. We also work as consultants on the MetaQuotes side: for clients who later want their own MT5 licence, we handle MetaQuotes’ requirements and the application, for a fee. In the applications we handle, MetaQuotes charges a monthly fee that depends on the tier (Entry, Standard or Enterprise, sized at 1,000, 25,000 and 200,000 real accounts on its licence page), and for the Entry tier it asks for three months to be paid upfront; ask us for the current figures. If you are comparing an MT4 offer with an MT5 alternative, send it to us on WhatsApp and we will tell you what we would check. You can also see what your clients would use on MT5 in the WebTrader demo and the mobile app demo, both connected to a real MT5 demo environment.

For the wider picture, read how a white label compares with a grey label, what drives the MT5 grey label cost, and how MetaQuotes’ white label policy has been reported since 2022.

Questions buyers ask

Not covered here? Ask us on WhatsApp, message @FXUPCK on Telegram or write to [email protected].