MetaTrader 5 for prop firms: access, licensing and costs

What MetaTrader 5 is

MetaTrader 5 (MT5) is a multi-asset trading platform made by MetaQuotes. MetaQuotes describes it as a full-cycle platform that includes all elements a company may need to provide brokerage services, sold under license types with different numbers of real accounts and components. The same page says MetaQuotes does not offer SaaS or similar solutions that would allow third-party control over a company's operations.

For a prop firm, MT5's main draw is familiarity. Many CFD traders have used it, along with automated strategies known as expert advisors. The harder question is access.

How access changed

Late 2022: new white labels stopped

A white label let a company run MT5 under its own brand through a broker that held a main license. In October 2022, MetaQuotes stopped approving white labels for new customers, and the option was removed from its marketplace. A 2026 broker guide confirms that new brokers cannot simply request a fresh MT5 white label: they must work with a licensed broker willing to sub-license, or use another platform.

February 2024: grey labels for prop firms cut off

Many prop firms had been running MT5 through a broker's license, often called a grey label. In February 2024, Funding Pips lost MT5 access abruptly, with no prior notice. Finance Magnates reported that its broker, Blackbull Markets, said offering MT5 to prop firms breached its grey label license and that it had to shut the account, and that the action was linked to active US accounts. The same report suggested MT5 access for US traders could end across the prop industry.

Where it stands now

When Funding Pips brought MT5 back in March 2025, Finance Magnates reported that it did so with its own direct license from MetaQuotes, and that the service excluded clients in the US and Canada. The same report says MetaQuotes accepts prop firms that buy licenses directly rather than through a broker's white label, and that do not serve the US. In practice, MT5 now generally means a firm's own direct license, and US traders are restricted.

Strengths and trade-offs

• Trader familiarity. Many CFD traders already know MT5, so there is less to learn at signup.
• Automation. Traders can run expert advisors, which some want and some firms restrict through their rules.
• Licensing risk. Access has changed twice since 2022. A firm on MT5 depends on staying inside MetaQuotes' terms.
• US traders. If US traders are core to your plan, MT5 does not fit that plan today. Look at cTrader, Match-Trader, TradeLocker, DXtrade or the futures platforms, and ask each vendor the same question about US access.
• Price is not published. MetaQuotes does not publish a rate card. Broker pricing for access through a license holder reflects the main label's own model, per the B2Broker cost guide.

Questions to ask before you commit

• Is the license in my firm's name, direct from MetaQuotes? If not, who holds it, and does their license allow prop firm use?
• Which countries am I allowed to serve, and how are US and Canadian traders blocked?
• What happens to my traders' accounts and data if access ends?
• Which CRM and trader dashboard connect to my MT5 server, and how are my drawdown and daily loss rules enforced?
• Who hosts the server, and who pays for hosting?

What it costs

MetaQuotes does not publish prices, so these are estimates. Access through a license holder is estimated at $5,000 to $15,000 to set up and $1,000 to $5,000 a month. A full server license is estimated at $10,000 to $20,000 a month. The table on this page shows each figure with its source and the date we checked it. To see MT5 next to the rest of your budget, use the launch cost calculator.

Where Prop Firm Studios fits

We do not build trading technology, and we do not sell MT5 licenses. On the Full Scale plan, we help a client choose a platform (for CFD firms, MT5 (through a license holder), cTrader, Match-Trader, TradeLocker or DXtrade; for futures firms, Rithmic, Tradovate, NinjaTrader or ProjectX), then set up and integrate the providers they pick, including the CRM, payments and KYC around it. License and hosting fees are paid by the client directly to each provider. For the full launch sequence, read how to start a prop firm in 2026, or go back to the tech stack overview.