Brokers, MetaTrader 5 and cTrader: free trading lesson

Step 1

What a broker does

A broker holds your money, shows you its buy and sell prices, and carries out your orders. It earns from the spread and its fees. AiTradely is not a broker: it reads the markets and writes plans, and once you connect your broker it can send an order there, only after you confirm it. Your money never leaves your broker account.

YOU

Decide the plan

Confirm every order

AITRADELY

AI analysis and plans

Sends your confirmed order

YOUR BROKER

Holds your money

Fills the order at its prices

Your money sits with the broker, in an account in your name. AiTradely never holds it.

Step 2

The trading platform

Your broker gives you a trading platform: the app where you see your balance, the prices and your open trades, and where you place orders. Most brokers offer one of two: MetaTrader 5 or cTrader. The platform is only the screen. Your money and your account stay at the broker.

YOUR BROKER

Holds your money

Fills your orders

METATRADER 5

Prices and charts

Buy and sell

CTRADER

Prices and charts

Buy and sell

Two screens, one broker: the platform shows your account, the broker holds the money.

Step 3

MetaTrader 5

MetaTrader 5, or MT5, is made by MetaQuotes and offered by more brokers than any other platform. It runs on a computer, in a browser and on a phone. When you open an MT5 account, the broker sends you three things, and they are all you need to sign in:

Login: your account number.
Password: the one the broker sends you, or the one you chose.
Server: the name of the broker's MT5 server, for example Broker-Live.

What your broker sends you when you open an MT5 account.

Step 4

cTrader

cTrader is made by Spotware and offered by fewer brokers. You sign in with one cTrader ID, and every cTrader account you hold at any broker shows up under it. Charts and orders work as on MT5: buy, sell, a stop loss and a take profit.

	MT5	CTRADER
Made by	MetaQuotes	Spotware
Sign in with	Login, password, server	A cTrader ID
Offered by	Most brokers	Fewer brokers
Works on	Computer, web, phone	Computer, web, phone

Two platforms, the same trading: buy, sell, a stop loss and a take profit.

Step 5

What trading costs

Every trade costs something, win or lose. The spread you know from lesson 2. Some accounts add a commission per trade, and trades held overnight pay or earn a small swap. These costs are why lesson 8 said the break-even numbers go up a little in real life.

COST	WHAT IT IS	WHEN
Spread	Gap between buy and sell price	Every trade
Commission	A fee per trade, on some accounts	Every trade
Swap	A fee for holding a trade overnight	Each night

Each broker lists its costs. Compare them before you open an account.

Step 6

Deposits and withdrawals

Opening an account takes a few minutes, and the broker usually checks your ID the same day. Three habits keep it safe:

Open the account on the broker's own website, in your own name, with your photo ID.
Deposit only money you can afford to lose. It goes to your broker, not to AiTradely.
Early on, ask for a small withdrawal and check that it arrives. A good broker pays out without excuses.

Step 7

Connect your broker to AiTradely

Once your account is open, connect your broker to AiTradely in Portfolio: your MT5 account with its login, password and server, or your cTrader account with your cTrader ID. From then on you can send AI trade plans and strategy signals to your broker from the app. The green numbers on the screenshot match:

No broker connected: until you connect one, the app only analyses and plans.
AiTradely, you approve, your broker: every order goes to your broker only after you confirm it. You set the risk in dollars and the app works out the size.

AiTradely is compatible with MetaTrader 5 and connects cTrader accounts. Connecting a broker is part of the Gold plan.

Portfolio in AiTradely before a broker is connected: AiTradely, you approve, your broker — Portfolio in the app on 20 October 2026

Watch out. Trading with leverage can lose money fast, and most retail accounts that trade CFDs lose money. Only deposit what you can afford to lose, and keep following the plan from lesson 11.

Brokers, MetaTrader 5 and cTrader