MT5 full licence vs white label: control

What is the difference between an MT5 full licence and a white label?

An MT5 full licence is a direct agreement between your company and MetaQuotes to run your own MetaTrader 5 servers; a white label is a branded environment you receive under someone else’s full licence. People also call the full licence a “main label” or “server licence”. These are market terms, not MetaQuotes product names; MetaQuotes itself sells Entry, Standard and Enterprise licences.

Almost every practical difference follows from that one point. Whoever holds the licence controls the server, carries MetaQuotes’ conditions and decides what is possible. On a white label, that is the licence holder; on a full licence, it is you.

What does a full MT5 licence from MetaQuotes include?

A full MT5 licence includes the MetaTrader 5 server software, the client terminals and back-office components in the delivery set for your tier, and the right to run them under your own company. When we checked MetaQuotes’ licence page on 12 October 2026, it described three tiers by real-account capacity.

MetaQuotes is explicit that the broker hosts the software. Its page says “You independently deploy our software on your own hardware” and that it does not offer SaaS. Its brokerage guide adds that installation can be done by you or by MetaQuotes free of charge as part of the delivery set. Hosting, monitoring, upgrades and administration are then yours.

Where does an MT5 white label sit in the licence chain?

An MT5 white label sits one step below a full licence: MetaQuotes licenses the holder, and the holder provides you with a branded environment that your company is verified for. You get your company name on the terminals, your own groups and conditions and Manager access, but not the server itself.

Whether new white labels are available is contested in the public record. MetaQuotes’ corporate page still says MetaTrader 5 “supports White Label licensing”; its licence sales page lists only the three tiers above; and B2Broker wrote in an article dated April 2026 that MetaQuotes “stopped issuing new MetaTrader 5 white label licenses in late 2022”. We check availability for each case. Our MT5 white label guide covers the detail.

Who controls what on a full licence versus a white label?

On a full licence you control the server, its configuration, plugins and data; on a white label you control your clients and conditions within limits set by the holder. The table shows where the line usually falls.

How do the costs of a full MT5 licence and a white label compare?

A full MT5 licence costs more in fixed terms and less in dependence; a white label costs less up front but usually adds a monthly platform fee and often a revenue share to the licence holder. MetaQuotes does not publish its prices, and the figures that circulate online are third-party estimates that age quickly, so we do not repeat them here.

What we can tell you from the applications we handle is how MetaQuotes structures the bill. It charges a monthly fee that depends on the tier you choose, Entry, Standard or Enterprise, and if you choose Entry, MetaQuotes asks for three months to be paid upfront. That upfront amount is worth planning for, because it falls due before you have taken a single client deposit. Message us on WhatsApp and we will send current figures for both routes for your setup.

What should a full licence or white label quote contain?

A useful quote lists every recurring and one-off line separately, says who pays MetaQuotes and states what happens when you leave. If a quote is one monthly number with no breakdown, you cannot compare it with anything, and you will not know what moves it later.

Put two quotes side by side line by line, not total by total. The cheaper headline often turns out to exclude hosting, the bridge, extra Manager seats or the mobile apps, and those are the items you need in the first month.

• Which MetaQuotes tier the quote assumes, and what happens when your real-account numbers approach its capacity.
• Whether the MetaQuotes fee is included, passed through or billed separately, and how upfront payments are handled.
• Set-up scope: symbols, groups, swaps, margin rules, Manager seats and test environment.
• Hosting: location, backup server, monitoring and who responds to an outage at night.
• Liquidity bridge or gateway: included, extra, or for you to source.
• Front ends: desktop, web and mobile terminals, branded or standard, and who publishes the apps.
• Revenue share: the percentage base (volume, spread, net revenue) and any minimum.
• Exit terms: notice period, data export format and help with migration.

What costs are usually left out of a quote?

The items most often left out are the ones around the platform rather than the platform itself: liquidity, CRM, payments, compliance and people. None of them disappear on a white label; some simply move from your payroll to someone else’s invoice.

For a full licence, add the cost of your own servers near your liquidity, an MT5 administrator on call during trading hours, and the time your team spends on MetaQuotes’ compliance requests and updates. For a white label, add any price increases the holder passes on when MetaQuotes changes its own terms. In both cases add company formation, a financial licence where your activity requires one, banking, payment service providers, KYC checks and the legal review of the contract. If you send us your current quote, we will mark what is missing.

What else does a full MT5 licence cost you to run?

A full MT5 licence costs you servers, people and process on top of the licence fee. Because MetaQuotes does not host, you need data-centre space or cloud servers near your liquidity, monitoring, backups, security and someone who can administer MT5 at any hour.

Plan for at least an MT5 administrator, dealing or risk staff and support cover across trading hours, whether employed or outsourced. You will also manage MetaQuotes’ compliance requirements directly, including updates and any changes to its terms. For many brokers this is where the full licence becomes expensive: not the invoice from MetaQuotes, but the operation around it. Our broker technology stack page lists the components.

• Primary and backup servers, access servers near clients, network and DDoS protection.
• Bridge or gateways to liquidity providers. See MT5 liquidity bridge.
• MT5 administration, monitoring and upgrade management.
• Dealing, risk and support staff or an outsourced service.
• CRM, client portal and payment integrations.

Are the requirements different for a full licence and a white label?

The core requirements are similar, because MetaQuotes verifies the company in both cases, but a full licence puts you in direct contact with MetaQuotes and usually invites closer scrutiny. MetaQuotes’ guide starts with a registered company with relevant business activities, a corporate account at a licensed bank and a compliant website.

For white labels, Finance Magnates reported in September 2022 a document pack including registers of directors and shareholders, proof of address, good standing, domain ownership, a bank reference and video ID. For a full licence, expect the same and more questions about your regulatory position, infrastructure and plans. Finance Magnates also wrote in December 2024 that MetaQuotes had made it difficult for offshore entities to obtain new MT5 licences. Details are on MetaQuotes MT5 requirements and MT5 white label requirements.

How long does each route take to launch?

With FXUP, an MT5 white label typically goes live in about two to four weeks once the licence holder and MetaQuotes have approved your company. A full licence has no fixed timeline, because it depends on your company formation, licence route, bank and MetaQuotes’ review, and then on building your own server environment.

Do not underestimate the second half. Once MetaQuotes approves a full licence, you still need servers deployed, symbols and groups configured, liquidity connected, front ends branded and staff trained before the first client deposits. A grey label, at about one to two weeks with FXUP, remains the quickest way to trade while a full licence is in progress.

When should you move from a white label to your own MT5 licence?

Move to your own licence when the white label’s limits or costs start to hold you back, usually at a scale where running your own servers pays for itself. There is no fixed number, but a few signals are reliable.

• Your account numbers approach the scale of a MetaQuotes tier, such as the 1,000 real accounts described for Entry, and keep growing.
• You need server plugins, gateways or configurations the licence holder will not allow.
• Your regulator or banking partners ask why a third party controls your trading server.
• Your monthly white label fees and revenue share begin to look larger than a licence, hosting and staff would cost you.
• You have, or can hire, people to run MT5 administration and dealing every trading day.

How does migration from a white label to a full licence work?

Migration works by preparing your own server, copying configuration and client accounts across, and switching clients over a weekend with a clear cut-off. It is straightforward if your white label contract allows data export and painful if it does not.

1. Secure the licence and serversMetaQuotes approval for your tier, servers deployed and liquidity connected on the new environment.
2. Replicate configurationSymbols, groups, swaps, margin rules, sessions and Manager permissions copied from the white label set-up.
3. Export client dataClient records, balances, open positions and history exported from the holder under your contract.
4. Test in parallelStaff and selected clients test logins, trading, deposits and reports on the new server.
5. Switch and communicateClose or transfer positions at a set time, move balances, update terminals and apps, and keep support ready for questions.

Where does an MT5 grey label fit between the two?

An MT5 grey label sits below a white label on control and cost. An MT5 grey label is a brokerage set up inside another company’s licensed MetaTrader 5 server: you get your own client groups and your brand on the WebTrader, mobile apps, CRM and client portal, while the MT5 server licence stays with the provider.

Many brokers use it as a bridge. Say you are a team of five with an IB network of 400 traders and a licence application under way. A grey label lets you trade within one to two weeks with FXUP; once your own licence is approved, you migrate to it, keeping the same front ends and CRM. The comparison is on white label vs grey label, and the cost structure on MT5 grey label cost.

The caution is the same as for a white label, only stronger: you depend on the provider’s permissions under its MetaQuotes agreement. Ask in writing whether your business type and client countries are allowed.

How does FXUP help with either route?

FXUP helps on both routes: we set up MT5 white labels with licence holders, and we work as consultants for companies applying for their own MetaQuotes licence, handling MetaQuotes’ requirements and the application on the client’s behalf for a fee, alongside company formation and licence routes through partners. FXUP is an independent firm and is not affiliated with MetaQuotes; approval for either route is MetaQuotes’ decision.

We also supply the technology around the server: a branded WebTrader, iOS and Android apps, CRM and bridge integration. For CRM we have our own system and also work with partner CRMs, and we propose whichever fits your operation.

Whichever route you take, your branded WebTrader, mobile apps and broker CRM can stay the same, because they connect to MT5 through the Web API. That makes a later move from white label to full licence much less visible to your clients. Read more on own MT5 licence, or ask us on WhatsApp which route suits your numbers.

Questions buyers ask

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