Ctrader
Family V · Platforms
Not to be confused with webtrader.
cTrader is a trading platform rather than a broker or a market: it is software that a trader uses to view prices, place orders and manage positions, while the broker supplies the connection to liquidity and holds the account. It exists in desktop, web and mobile versions, and brokers that adopt it run the cTrader backend alongside or instead of other platform offerings. Access, commission and instrument coverage therefore vary by broker and jurisdiction, not by the platform itself.[1]
What the platform provides
cTrader is built around direct market access order types rather than a dealing-desk model. Its standard feature set includes market, limit, stop and stop-limit orders, depth-of-market display where the broker supplies it, and position management tools such as partial closes and trailing stops.
- Manual trading from charts or a dedicated order panel.
- Automated strategies written in cAlgo, the platform's C#-based environment.
- Copy trading, where followers mirror the positions of a strategy provider.
- Account-level reporting and trade history.
The platform does not set spreads, commissions or leverage. Those are terms of the broker's account, and they differ between brokers and between regulatory regions.
Worked example: position sizing on cTrader
A trader using a cTrader account with a USD balance wants to risk 1% of a $10,000 balance on a long position in an instrument quoted in USD, with a stop 50 pips away and a pip value of $1 per 0.10 lot.
The same calculation produces a different lot size if the broker's pip value, contract size or account currency differs, so the figure must be recomputed for each account rather than copied between them.
Availability and variation
cTrader is offered by a subset of brokers, and the exact build, instrument list and order types available depend on the broker's licence and configuration. Some brokers restrict automated trading or copy trading for certain account types or client categories. Traders should check the broker's own documentation for the platform version, commission schedule and leverage limits that apply to their account.
Often confused with
- webtrader
- A webtrader is a browser-based trading interface that connects to a broker's servers and lets a user place, modify and monitor orders without installing dedicated desktop software.
See also
References
- ↑ MetaTrader 4 and MetaTrader 5 terminal documentation; cTrader order window documentation. Field names and defaults vary between builds and between brokers.