MT5 white label alternatives in 2026: grey label

Why do brokers look for MT5 white label alternatives?

Brokers look for alternatives mostly because a new MT5 white label is hard to obtain, and sometimes because they want lower fixed costs or more control. The sources disagree on availability: MetaQuotes’ corporate page still says MetaTrader 5 “supports White Label licensing”, its licence sales page lists only Entry, Standard and Enterprise options, and B2Broker wrote in April 2026 that MetaQuotes “stopped issuing new MetaTrader 5 white label licenses in late 2022”. Our MetaQuotes white label policy page sets out the dated record.

There are other reasons too. Some founders do not want to depend on a third party’s MetaQuotes agreement after the February 2024 prop-firm episode, when Finance Magnates reported firms on other brokers’ licences being cut off within days. Others want features their target clients ask for, such as TradingView charts in the platform. And some simply want to launch this month rather than after a long verification.

What are the main alternatives to an MT5 white label?

The main alternatives fall into three groups: keep MT5 through a different arrangement, hold MT5 yourself, or move to another platform’s white label. Which one fits depends on how quickly you need to launch, what your clients expect and how much you want to manage.

Is an MT5 grey label a good alternative to a white label?

For most new brands, yes: an MT5 grey label keeps MetaTrader 5 and can be live in about 1–2 weeks with FXUP. 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.

Grey label is an industry term, not a MetaQuotes product, and that is the trade-off to understand. You have less control than on a white label: the server, its symbol set-up and its MetaQuotes relationship belong to the provider. In exchange you launch quickly, with lower fixed costs, and you can move to a white label or your own licence later. The branded front ends, CRM and client data can stay with you if they are set up in your name from the start. The details are on white label vs grey label and MT5 grey label cost.

Should you get your own MT5 licence instead?

Your own MT5 licence makes sense if you expect enough clients to justify running servers and staff, or if you need full control over the platform. MetaQuotes sells three options: when we checked on 12 October 2026, its licence page described Entry with “business capacity of 1,000 real accounts”, Standard with 25,000 and Enterprise with 200,000.

MetaQuotes is clear that you run it yourself: the same page says you deploy the software on your own hardware and that it does not offer SaaS. That means hosting, administration, upgrades and a direct compliance relationship with MetaQuotes. Timing depends on your company, licence route and MetaQuotes’ review. Compare the two routes on MT5 full licence vs white label.

MetaQuotes does not publish prices. It charges a monthly fee that depends on the tier, and in the applications we handle, choosing Entry means three months are paid upfront. FXUP works as a consulting firm on this route, handling MetaQuotes requirements and the application for clients, for a fee. If you want current figures for a tier, ask us on WhatsApp and we will send them.

What does cTrader offer as a white label?

cTrader, developed by Spotware, is offered as a white label through brokers and other firms that hold a cTrader set-up. When we checked its white label page in October 2026, Spotware described the product as a way for banks, brokers and prime brokers to offer white labels of their own cTrader platform, with each white label getting branded desktop, web, iOS and Android versions.

Spotware says branded white labels “can be delivered in a matter of days”. Its broker page, checked the same month, said the stack runs in Equinix data centres in London and New York as a cloud service, that the platform is available in 23 languages and that existing client accounts can be migrated in a day. These are the vendor’s claims. The practical questions are the same as for MT5: whose cTrader set-up you sit on, what you control and how you leave.

What do Match-Trader, DXtrade and TradeLocker offer?

Match-Trader, DXtrade and TradeLocker are independent platforms that brokers can offer under their own brand, each with a different emphasis. The facts below come from each vendor’s own website in October 2026 and are their claims, not our test results.

Match-Trader (Match-Trade Technologies) describes itself as an all-in-one trading platform with TradingView charts. Its site says the platform is available as a white label or a server licence, includes “a complete CRM and Client Office” for leads, clients, IBs, onboarding and payments, and invites brokers to “start your brokerage or prop firm in just 1 week”.

DXtrade (Devexperts) is described on its site as “a family of multi-asset, multi-market, and broker-agnostic trading platforms”, with one line for FX, CFDs, spread bets and crypto and another for stocks, options, futures, mutual funds and bonds. The page says it “gets you live in under two weeks”, while another section refers to integration taking several weeks.

TradeLocker presents itself as an intuitive all-in-one platform with customisable TradingView charts, aimed at brokerages and prop firms. Its homepage does not set out white label terms or launch times; those sit on its broker pages and in direct discussion.

Can you join an existing MT5 licence holder instead of applying for a new white label?

Sometimes, yes: some brokers, technology firms and liquidity providers with their own MT5 licence still host branded arrangements for other companies. In practice this is either a white label recognised under their MetaQuotes agreement, which still means MetaQuotes checks your company, or a grey label on their server.

The risk is in the permissions. The February 2024 episode reported by Finance Magnates involved a broker that had, in the article’s words, “grey-labeled its own MetaTrader license to prop trading companies”, and those companies lost access quickly when MetaQuotes acted. Before you join any existing holder, ask in writing whether your type of business and your client countries are allowed under its agreement, and what happens to your clients if that changes. Our MT5 white label providers guide lists the questions.

A liquidity provider’s MT5 offer can be convenient, because pricing and platform come together. Check that you can add other liquidity later and that the mark-up is disclosed; otherwise the platform becomes a way to lock in your execution costs.

Is building your own trading platform a realistic alternative?

For a new brokerage, building a full trading platform from scratch is rarely realistic: it means writing a matching engine, risk system, reporting and client terminals, then getting traders to trust it. Vendors that have done it talk in terms of years and large budgets, and the regulatory and security work never stops.

What is realistic is building the parts your clients touch. A custom WebTrader and mobile apps on top of an existing server, connected through an official API, give you a distinct product without carrying the core trading engine. That is the model behind our branded WebTrader and the MT5 Web API integration we use.

How do the MT5 white label alternatives compare?

The alternatives differ most on who holds the platform licence, how quickly you can launch and whether your clients already know the platform. The table compares them on the points founders usually ask about first.

What do you lose by leaving MetaTrader 5?

Leaving MetaTrader 5 mainly costs you client familiarity and the MQL5 ecosystem. Many retail traders already use MT5 at another broker, run Expert Advisors written in MQL5 or rely on specific indicators. A different platform means asking them to learn a new interface, and some will not.

There are also back-office consequences. Your CRM, bridge, risk tools and copy-trading module must support the new platform; not all do. On the other hand, some alternatives bundle a CRM or charting that you would otherwise buy separately, and some prop firms have moved platforms precisely to reduce dependence on one vendor. Finance Magnates reported in February 2024 that prop firms were migrating to alternatives such as cTrader and Match-Trader after the MetaQuotes crackdown.

How do you choose the right alternative for your brokerage?

Choose by starting from your clients and your timeline, then checking what you can afford to manage. The steps below are the order we use with founders, and the table gives our usual first answer for common situations.

1. Ask what your clients useIf your clients or IBs already trade on MT5, keep MT5 unless there is a strong reason not to. Moving platforms costs more in lost clients than in fees.
2. Set your launch dateIf you need to launch within weeks, a grey label is usually the realistic MT5 route. A white label or own licence adds verification time.
3. Estimate account numbersUnder a thousand active accounts rarely justifies running your own MT5 servers; tens of thousands usually does. MetaQuotes’ own tiers start at 1,000 real accounts.
4. Check your toolsList your CRM, bridge, risk, copy-trading and payment tools and confirm each supports the platform you choose.
5. Plan the next stepPick a route you can grow out of: grey label now, white label or own licence later, with your data and front ends portable.

How can you keep MT5 and still own your brand?

You can keep MT5 and own your brand by putting your own front ends and back office in front of whichever MT5 route you use. A branded WebTrader, iOS and Android apps on your own developer accounts and a CRM in your name, either our own broker CRM or a partner CRM we propose because it fits your operation, stay with you if you move from a grey label to a white label or to your own licence.

That is the approach FXUP takes. Our WebTrader and apps connect to MT5 through the MetaTrader 5 Web API, so the server behind them can change while your clients keep the same login page, app and brand. You can try them in the WebTrader demo and mobile app demo. FXUP is an independent technology provider and is not affiliated with MetaQuotes, Spotware, Match-Trade or Devexperts.

If you want to talk through which route fits, message us on WhatsApp with your target markets and expected client numbers.

Questions buyers ask

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