How to place a trade on MetaTrader 5: a step-by-step guide

To place a trade on MetaTrader 5, select the instrument in Market Watch, press F9 (or right-click and choose New Order), set the volume in lots, enter your stop loss and take profit, and click Buy by Market or Sell by Market, or switch the Type field to a pending order and click Place. The position then appears in the Trade tab of the Toolbox, where you can modify or close it.

That is the whole process in two sentences. The rest of this guide covers the details that cause most beginner mistakes: what the different execution modes mean, how volume relates to risk, why MetaTrader talks in points rather than pips, which price your stop is measured against, and how to change a trade once it is open. If you are still choosing between platforms, the MetaTrader 4 vs MetaTrader 5 guide covers the differences, and practising every step below on a demo account first costs nothing.

Screens and menu names can differ slightly between MetaTrader 5 builds and between brokers' versions of the platform, so if a label below does not match exactly, look for the nearest equivalent.

Before you open the order window

Three checks save most of the errors people make on their first live trades.

1. Make sure you are logged into the right account

The account number and server appear in the Navigator window (Ctrl+N) under Accounts, and in the title bar. Many traders have a demo and a live account on the same broker; trades placed on the wrong one are a common and avoidable surprise. To switch, use File, then Login to Trade Account.

2. Find the symbol and check its specification

Open Market Watch (Ctrl+M). If the instrument you want is not listed, right-click and choose Symbols, or type its name into the search line at the top of the list. Broker symbol names vary: EUR/USD might be EURUSD, EURUSD.r, EURUSDm or something similar depending on the account type.

Right-click the symbol and choose Specification. Note four things:

• Contract size: usually 100,000 units for a forex pair, so 1.00 lot is 100,000 of the base currency. Gold, indices and other CFDs have their own contract sizes.
• Minimum volume and volume step: commonly 0.01 lots and 0.01 lots on forex, but brokers set their own.
• Digits: how many decimal places the price has. Five for most pairs quoted to a fraction of a pip, three for most JPY pairs.
• Stops level: the minimum distance, in points, between the current price and a stop loss, take profit or pending order. If it is greater than zero, orders placed too close will be rejected.

3. Work out the volume from your risk

MetaTrader will let you type any volume. It will not tell you whether that volume is sensible. Decide where the stop loss goes first, then calculate the volume that risks the amount your plan allows. The position sizing guide explains the method, and the position size calculator does the arithmetic. Your risk management plan should already say how much that is.

Points versus pips

MetaTrader measures distances in points, which are the smallest price increment for the symbol. On a five-digit EUR/USD quote such as 1.08500, one point is 0.00001, which is a tenth of a pip. So:

• 10 points equals 1 pip.
• A 30-pip stop is 300 points.
• A stops level of 20 points means the stop must be at least 2 pips away.

On a three-digit USD/JPY quote such as 150.000, one point is 0.001, again a tenth of a pip. For gold and indices, the point depends on how many digits the broker quotes, so check the Specification. If you are unsure what a pip is on a given instrument, the what is a pip guide and the pip value calculator cover it.

This matters because some fields and settings in MetaTrader, including the deviation setting and, depending on your settings, the stop loss and take profit fields, are expressed in points. Typing 30 when you mean 30 pips gives you a 3-pip stop.

Step 1: open the New Order window

There are several routes to the same window:

• Press F9.
• In Market Watch, right-click the symbol and choose New Order, or double-click the symbol.
• Click New Order on the toolbar or in the Tools menu.
• On a chart, right-click and choose Trading, then New Order.

The window shows a small tick chart of the current bid and ask on one side and the order fields on the other. Check that the Symbol field shows the instrument you meant.

Step 2: choose the Type

The Type field decides what kind of order you are placing. It offers the market execution mode your broker uses for that symbol, plus the pending order option.

Market orders: the execution mode

For a market order, the Type shows one of the execution modes set by the broker:

• Market Execution: you are filled at the price the broker obtains when the order arrives. The buttons are Sell by Market and Buy by Market. The fill can differ from the price you saw, in either direction. This is the most common mode on many retail accounts.
• Instant Execution: you ask to trade at the displayed price. A Deviation field lets you set the maximum slippage, in points, you will accept. If the price has moved further than that, you receive a requote with a new price instead of a fill.
• Request Execution: you click Request to receive a price, then confirm with Buy or Sell within a few seconds.
• Exchange Execution: used for exchange-traded instruments; orders are sent to the exchange.

You cannot choose between these; the broker sets the mode per symbol. Knowing which one you have explains why your fill price sometimes differs from the screen. The slippage guide covers when that is most likely.

Pending orders

If you set Type to a pending order, a second field lets you choose one of six order types:

• Buy Limit: buy at a price below the current ask.
• Sell Limit: sell at a price above the current bid.
• Buy Stop: buy at a price above the current ask.
• Sell Stop: sell at a price below the current bid.
• Buy Stop Limit: when the ask reaches a stop price above the market, a Buy Limit order is placed at a lower Stop Limit price.
• Sell Stop Limit: when the bid reaches a stop price below the market, a Sell Limit order is placed at a higher Stop Limit price.

If the difference between limits and stops is not yet second nature, the buy limit vs buy stop guide works through each with examples, and the order types guide covers the wider picture.

Step 3: set the volume

Enter the volume in lots. The field will not accept a value below the minimum or between volume steps. Double-check the decimal: 0.10 and 1.00 are a tenfold difference in risk, and the window does not ask whether you are sure.

On a standard forex contract of 100,000 units, 1.00 lot of EUR/USD on a US dollar account is worth about $10 per pip, 0.10 lots about $1 per pip and 0.01 lots about $0.10 per pip. Other pairs and account currencies differ, and the lot sizes guide covers the conversions.

Step 4: set the stop loss and take profit

Enter the Stop Loss and Take Profit levels. Depending on your platform settings, these fields take either a price or a distance in points. Leaving a field at zero means no level is set.

Which side of the quote matters:

• A buy position is opened at the ask and closed at the bid. Its stop loss and take profit are triggered by the bid.
• A sell position is opened at the bid and closed at the ask. Its stop loss and take profit are triggered by the ask.

Because MetaTrader charts are drawn from the bid by default, a short position's stop can be hit when the chart's candles never touch the level, because the ask (bid plus spread) did. Turning on the ask line in the chart properties makes this visible. The reading a forex quote guide explains the bid and ask in more detail.

Both levels must be further from the current price than the symbol's stops level, or the order will be rejected with an invalid stops message.

You can also leave the stop loss empty, place the trade and set it a moment later. That is a bad habit to get into. A fast move, a lost connection or a distraction can leave a leveraged position without a stop. Setting it in the order window means the position is never unprotected.

Step 5: for pending orders, set price, expiration and fill policy

A pending order needs more information:

• Price: the level at which the order triggers.
• Stop Limit price: for stop limit orders only, the price of the limit order placed once the stop price is reached.
• Expiration: Good Till Cancelled keeps the order until you delete it; Today cancels it at the end of the trading day; the Specified options cancel it at a date or time you choose. If the field is greyed out, your broker has disabled the option.
• Fill Policy: where available, choices such as Fill or Kill, Immediate or Cancel or Return govern what happens if the full volume cannot be filled at once. Many retail forex accounts set this for you.

Then click Place. The order appears in the Trade tab as a pending order, and as a dotted line on the chart.

Step 6: optional comment, then submit

The Comment field accepts a short note (up to 31 characters) that stays attached to the order and shows in your history. A setup name or a reference to your journal entry makes later review easier.

For a market order, click Buy by Market or Sell by Market (or Buy and Sell in other execution modes). A confirmation shows the fill price and order number. If the order fails, the message usually says why: not enough money, invalid volume, invalid stops, market closed, or off quotes.

Worked example: a market buy with a stop and target

All numbers are illustrative.

A trader with a US dollar account of $5,000 risks 1% per trade, or $50. They want to buy EUR/USD with a stop loss 30 pips below entry and a take profit 60 pips above.

Volume: $50 over 30 pips is $1.67 per pip. One standard lot is about $10 per pip, so the volume is 0.1667 lots. Rounded down to the 0.01 step, that is 0.16 lots. Risk at that size: 0.16 times $10 times 30 pips, or $48.

Prices: the screen shows a bid of 1.08490 and an ask of 1.08500. A buy fills at the ask, so the expected entry is 1.08500.

Stop loss: 30 pips below 1.08500 is 1.08200. In points, 30 pips is 300 points.

Take profit: 60 pips above 1.08500 is 1.09100, or 600 points.

The order window: Symbol EURUSD, Type Market Execution, Volume 0.16, Stop Loss 1.08200, Take Profit 1.09100, Comment "pullback setup". Click Buy by Market.

The fill: suppose the order is filled at 1.08502, 2 points of slippage. The stop and target stay at the prices you entered, so the stop distance is now 30.2 pips and the risk is about $48.32. That is a normal small difference; a large one is a sign to check when and how you enter.

The same idea as a pending order

Suppose instead the trader wants to buy only if EUR/USD dips to 1.08200. They choose Type: Buy Limit, Price 1.08200, Stop Loss 1.07900 (30 pips below), Take Profit 1.08800 (60 pips above), Volume 0.16, Expiration Today. If the ask falls to 1.08200 before the end of the trading day, the order is filled at that price or better; if not, it expires and nothing happens. A buy limit is triggered by the ask, so the order can fill when the bid on the chart is still about a spread above 1.08200.

One Click Trading

MetaTrader 5 has a One Click Trading panel that shows Sell and Buy buttons with a volume box in the top-left corner of the chart. Right-click the chart and choose One Click Trading to show it; the first time, the platform asks you to accept the risks of trading without confirmation. Trades from this panel are sent immediately, without the order window and usually without a stop loss.

It is fast, which is its appeal, and that is also the risk: a mis-click or a wrong volume is filled at once. Many traders leave it switched off, or use it only with a stop loss added straight after entry. It can be enabled or disabled under Tools, Options, Trade.

After the trade: managing the position

Open the Toolbox (Ctrl+T) and select the Trade tab. Each position shows its symbol, ticket, time, type, volume, entry price, stop loss, take profit, current price, swap and floating result. The top line summarises balance, equity, margin, free margin and margin level. The margin call and stop-out guide explains why margin level matters.

Modifying the stop loss or take profit

• Right-click the position and choose Modify or Delete Order, or double-click it. Enter the new levels and click Modify.
• On the chart, if trade levels are shown (Tools, Options, Charts, Show trade levels), you can drag the stop loss and take profit lines to new prices.

Moving a stop closer to protect gains, including to break-even, is covered in the break-even and partial close guide. MetaTrader 5 also has a built-in trailing stop: right-click the position and choose Trailing Stop. It runs in your terminal, so it stops adjusting if the platform is closed, as the trailing stop guide explains.

Closing a position

• Click the small cross at the right of the position's row in the Trade tab, or right-click and choose Close Position. The position is closed at market.
• Double-click the position to open the order window in close mode, where you can see the current price before confirming.
• To close part of a position, change the volume in that window before closing. Closing 0.08 of a 0.16 lot position leaves 0.08 open with the same stop and target.

Deleting a pending order

Right-click the pending order in the Trade tab and choose Delete Order, or click the cross on its row.

Netting and hedging accounts

MetaTrader 5 accounts use one of two position accounting systems, set by the broker:

• Hedging: each trade is a separate position. Buying 0.10 lots of EUR/USD while already short 0.10 lots opens a second position, and you hold both.
• Netting: there is one position per symbol. Buying 0.10 lots while short 0.10 lots closes the short.

The account type is shown in the Navigator and in the account login details. If you place a trade expecting one behaviour and get the other, the result can be surprising. The hedging guide covers why holding both directions on one pair rarely achieves what traders expect.

Reviewing what happened

The History tab of the Toolbox lists closed positions, orders and deals. Right-click to choose the period and switch between positions, deals and orders. Exporting the history (right-click, Report) gives you the data for a trading journal. Comparing your intended entry and stop with the actual fills is the simplest way to see your real slippage.

Placing trades on the MetaTrader 5 mobile app

The mobile apps follow the same logic with a different layout. From the Quotes screen, tap the symbol and choose Trade, or use the trade icon on the chart. Choose the execution or pending type, set volume, stop loss and take profit, and confirm. Open positions appear on the Trade screen, where a long press offers modify and close options. Small screens make volume mistakes easier, so check the decimal twice.

Common mistakes

• Trading on the wrong account. Check the account number and server before the first trade of the session.
• Volume typed with the decimal in the wrong place. 1.6 instead of 0.16 is ten times the risk.
• Confusing points and pips. A 30-point stop on a five-digit pair is 3 pips.
• No stop loss on entry. Setting it later relies on remembering and on nothing happening in between.
• Stops too close to the price. Orders inside the stops level are rejected; stops inside the normal spread are triggered by noise.
• Forgetting that short positions close on the ask. The chart shows the bid, so the stop can be hit without a visible touch.
• Using the wrong expiration. A Good Till Cancelled pending order placed for today's setup can fill next week in a completely different market.
• One Click Trading switched on by accident. Turn it off if you do not use it deliberately.

Frequently asked questions

How do I open a buy trade on MT5?

Select the symbol in Market Watch, press F9 to open the New Order window, enter the volume in lots, set the stop loss and take profit, and click Buy by Market (or Buy, depending on the execution mode). The position appears in the Trade tab of the Toolbox.

What is the difference between market execution and instant execution in MT5?

With market execution you are filled at the price the broker obtains when the order arrives, which can differ from the screen. With instant execution you ask for the displayed price and set a maximum deviation; if the price moves further than that, you receive a requote instead of a fill. The broker chooses the mode for each symbol.

Why does MT5 reject my stop loss?

Usually because it is closer to the current price than the symbol's stops level, or on the wrong side of the price for the order direction. Check the stops level in the symbol's specification, which is given in points.

How do I set a stop loss in pips on MT5?

Depending on your platform settings, the stop loss field takes either a price or a distance in points. On five-digit forex quotes, one pip is ten points, so a 25-pip stop is 250 points. Entering the price directly avoids the conversion.

How do I close part of a position in MT5?

Double-click the position in the Trade tab, change the volume to the amount you want to close, and confirm the close. The remainder stays open with the same stop loss and take profit.

Can I place a trade on MT5 when the market is closed?

You cannot open a market order when the symbol's trading session is closed, but you can usually place pending orders, which will trigger when the market reopens and the price reaches their level. Remember that prices can open some distance from the previous close.