How to use MetaTrader 5 at TabTrade: setup, demo and first order

What you’ll learn

• Setting up a demo account and giving it a balance
• Positioning charts, watchlists and the order panel
• Building and sorting watchlists
• Placing market, limit and stop orders
• Calculating spread and commission on the Edge account
• Locating statements and trade history

Demo first

A demo account runs on live prices with simulated money. Set the opening balance to the amount planned for live trading. Practising with $100,000 builds size habits that fall apart on a $5,000 live account.

The platform behind that demo is MetaTrader 5, and everything in this lesson happens inside it.

Open a demo from the account management area. Choose the account type you intend to use later. If that is a Standard account, pick Standard. If it is Edge, pick Edge. The pricing feed, margin rules and contract sizes match the live environment, so you learn the right cost structure from day one.

Once the account is created, practise sizing positions for the balance you will actually deposit. A worked example makes this clear.

Worked example: sizing with a $5,000 balance

The prices shown in this module’s terminal examples are illustrative.

Suppose you plan to risk 1% of a $5,000 account on a trade. That is $50. You identify a EUR/USD setup with a 25‑pip stop loss.

• 1 standard lot of EUR/USD moves $10 per pip.
• Risk per lot if the stop is hit: 25 pips × $10 = $250.
• Maximum lots = risk budget ÷ risk per lot = $50 ÷ $250 = 0.20 lots.
• In MetaTrader 5 that is 0.20 in the volume field, or 2 mini lots.

Run the same sums on the demo account. The habit of calculating position size before every trade is what keeps a small account alive.

Rule of thumb: Match the demo balance to the intended live balance. If you cannot trade the demo profitably with that number, you are not ready for real money.

Laying out the workspace

Most of the workspace comes down to three panes:

• Chart (centre): the place for price analysis
• Watchlist (left or right): the instruments actually followed, not every symbol available
• Order panel / positions (bottom): execution and open risk in one view

On MetaTrader 5 you can detach, resize and dock these panes. A clean layout reduces mistakes. The chart pane should be large enough that candles do not look like a smear. The watchlist needs only a few columns; more on that later. The order panel shows working orders, open positions and account summary in one strip.

Once the layout works, save it as a workspace so a restart does not mean ten minutes of rebuilding. In MetaTrader 5, use File → Profiles → Save As. Give it a name you recognise, such as “Daily Routine”. You can switch between profiles later if you trade different sessions.

Watchlists

Organise lists by theme rather than alphabetically: Majors, Commodity FX, Indices, Watching for breakout. Add the columns used for decisions (spread, daily change, ATR) and remove the rest.

Before sizing a first order, check spread costs on the majors.

A watchlist that shows only the symbol name is a menu, not a decision tool. Right‑click the column header and tick the fields that matter for your style. A breakout trader needs ATR and the day’s range. A scalper needs the current spread. A swing trader might add swap rates.

Sample watchlist: Majors

Symbol	Bid	Ask	Spread	Daily Change %	ATR(14)
EURUSD	1.0850	1.0852	2.0	+0.12%	0.0008
GBPUSD	1.2650	1.2653	3.0	-0.08%	0.0011
USDJPY	140.20	140.23	3.0	+0.04%	0.45
AUDUSD	0.6520	0.6522	2.0	+0.19%	0.0007

The spread column shows the raw difference in pips (or points). On an Edge account the numbers will be tiny because the spreads start from zero; on a Standard account they will be wider but still competitive. You can sort any column by clicking its header. Sorting by ATR quickly shows which pairs are moving enough to trade.

TabTrade lists over 1,100 instruments. A focused watchlist stops you scrolling through symbols you have no intention of trading. Keep each list short. Ten to fifteen names is plenty. If a symbol sits on the list for a month without a trade, remove it.

Placing a trade

The order panel is where analysis turns into risk. On MetaTrader 5 you open a new order with F9 or the New Order button. The ticket lets you choose:

• Symbol - pulled from the watchlist or chart.
• Order type - market execution, pending limit or pending stop.
• Volume - lots, calculated from your stop distance and risk budget.
• Stop Loss and Take Profit - set immediately, not later.
• Comment - optional, useful for noting the setup.

A stop loss attached on the ticket defines the maximum loss before the order is sent; a market order without one leaves that loss undefined. Pending orders set entry levels in advance and fill without anyone at the screen. A buy stop goes above the current price; a sell stop goes below. A buy limit goes below; a sell limit goes above.

After the order fills, it moves to the positions tab. Here you can modify stops and targets by dragging the lines on the chart or by right‑clicking the position. Both methods work; the chart method is faster once you trust it.

Understanding your trading costs

Every trade has a cost. On TabTrade’s account types the costs break down differently.

• Standard, Cent and Swap‑Free accounts: spread-based pricing with no separate commission on FX, indices or metals.
• Edge account: tight spreads from 0 pips plus a fixed commission of $3.50 USD per lot per side ($7 round turn) on FX and metals.
• VIP account: tailored pricing with raw-style minimum spreads from 0.0 pips under qualifying market conditions and negotiable commissions.

Cryptocurrency trades use percentage-based commission across account types. Check the current symbol specification for the applicable rate.

Because Edge accounts publish average spreads, you can calculate the total cost of a round trip with real numbers.

Worked example: Edge account cost for 1 lot of EUR/USD

• Average spread: 0.03 pips (from the published Edge table).
• Pip value for 1 lot: $10.
• Spread cost: 0.03 × $10 = $0.30.
• Commission round turn: $7.00.
• Total round‑turn cost: $7.30.

Compare that to a hypothetical Standard account where the spread might be wider but no commission is charged. The Edge account rewards traders who want predictable costs and the tightest possible spreads, especially if they trade frequently.

Swap costs apply when a position is held through rollover. Rollover is 5:00 PM New York time, normally 22:00 UTC outside US daylight saving and 21:00 UTC during it. Rates differ by instrument and direction. For illustration, assume a long AUD/USD position of 1 lot incurs a swap debit of 0.50 points per night. Over 30 nights that is 15 points, or $15. Forex swap is commonly tripled on Wednesday to cover weekend settlement. Check the current symbol specification because the rate and triple-swap day can vary.

The table below summarises the main cost components.

Cost component	When it applies	Where to find it
Spread	Every trade	Watchlist or Market Watch
Commission	Edge/VIP FX & metals	Order ticket and statement
Swap	Overnight positions	Symbol specification and statement

Beginners often overlook swap because a single night looks trivial. Compounded over weeks, it can turn a small winner into a loser. The statement is where you catch it.

Statements

The account statement is the record to trust for costs. Review swap and commission every month. These are the two costs that compound quietly.

In MetaTrader 5, right‑click the account history tab and select “Save as Report”. The statement lists every balance operation: deposits, withdrawals, closed trades, open positions and the running equity. The key columns to examine are:

• Profit - the price-movement gain or loss on a closed trade. Spread is reflected in the executed prices, while separately displayed commission and swap are excluded.
• Commission - shown as a separate line when it applies.
• Swap - overnight charges or credits.
• Balance - the running total after each closed transaction.

Ticket	Open Time	Type	Size	Item	Price	S / L	T / P	Close Time	Price	Commission	Swap	Profit
123456	2026.08.10	buy	0.20	EURUSD	1.0852	1.0825	1.0905	2026.08.12	1.0895	-1.40	-0.15	86.00

In the example above, $86.00 is the price-movement profit, with spread already reflected by execution. Subtract the separately displayed $1.40 commission and $0.15 swap: $86.00 - $1.40 - $0.15 = $84.45 net.

Sort the history by instrument or by date to spot patterns. If one pair consistently generates high swap charges, consider whether the holding time is worth it. If commission is eating a large share of small winners, you may be trading too small a move for the cost structure. The statement is not a formality; it is a mirror.