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Copying trades between MT5: how it's really done
Copying trades between MetaTrader 5 terminals is a simple technical operation and a complicated risk decision. This guide is about the latter: what is actually replicated, what is lost along the way and what you need to check before letting orders from one account be executed in yours. For the general concept, see what copy trading is.
The three real routes
| Route | How it works | When it makes sense | Main risk |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. Local copier | A program installed on your computer reads the source account (for example, your mentor's terminal) and sends equivalent orders to your terminal. | Copying between your own accounts or from a reference account you control. | The computer and both terminals have to be switched on; if anything goes down, positions end up out of sync. |
| 2. Signal provider | An external service replicates in your account what another person does. You do not control the strategy and cannot inspect it from the inside. | Delegating the decision-making entirely, accepting the dependency. | You do not know the logic, the size of the risk or its full track record; and there is counterparty risk with the third party. |
| 3. Manual replication via alerts | The source publishes alerts (messaging, email, dashboard) and you execute manually. | Few trades, with context; learning with the operator present. | Human delay: between the alert and your order, the move may already have happened. |
What is copied and what is not
| Element | Is it copied? | Detail |
|---|---|---|
| Direction and asset | Yes, with caveats | The symbol must exist at your broker and have the same name (or be mapped). Names vary between brokers. |
| Entry price | No | Your execution arrives later, at a different price: slippage is inherent. |
| Size (lot) | No, it is recalculated | It is replicated by capital proportion or by a factor. Copying the literal lot means transferring another account's risk. |
| Stop and target | Only if the copier receives them | Many systems copy openings and closings, not intermediate orders. If the source moves the stop, you may not move yours. |
| Cost | No | Your spread, your commissions and your swaps are your own: the result of the same trade differs. |
| Currency and leverage | No | An account in another currency or with different leverage = a different result and different margin. |
How risk is really replicated
The key point: to copy the risk you need to know the size AND the stop of the source trade. If the stop does not reach the copier, you are not replicating its risk, you are replicating its direction. The three modes used:
- By capital proportion: your lot = their lot × (your capital ÷ their capital). It reproduces relative risk between similar accounts. It breaks down if leverage or contracts are different.
- By fixed factor: your lot = their lot × 0.5, for example. Simple, but risk varies depending on the source trade.
- By own risk: you set the risk per trade in your plan and calculate the lot with your stop. It is the most consistent with a risk plan, but it requires the copier to receive the stop information and you to define what to do when it does not receive it.
And a rule that avoids surprises: if you do not know what their stop was, do not copy that trade at full size; either reduce it or let it pass. That is what separates copying from betting.
Latency and sharp moves
The faster the instrument moves, the more the delay between their execution and yours matters. In instruments with sudden events (Crash and Boom, gold on data days or any market at the session open), the order of milliseconds to seconds changes the price notably:
- Worse entry: the jump occurs before your order reaches the server.
- Worse exit: the same when closing, just when you are most interested in executing.
- Lack of coordination: if the copier misses a message, you can be left holding a position that the source has already closed.
Checklist before copying
- Same account currency (or explicitly calculate the effect of the exchange rate).
- Known and comparable leverage, and sufficient free margin for the worst losing streak.
- Existing and mapped symbols, with the equivalence verified (it is not enough for them to have similar names).
- Replication mode chosen (proportion, factor or own risk) and written in your plan.
- Minimum lot and symbol step: the calculated size must be executable; if not, be aware of the rounding.
- Test on demo for a defined period, recording the differences between their trading and yours.
- Your own loss limits (daily and weekly) and how to stop copying immediately.
- Schedule and availability: know when no one is supervising the copy and what happens if the connection drops.
What copying does NOT solve
- The source's drawdown becomes yours. If their bad streak arrives, you live through it.
- A track record is not a promise. A good record does not guarantee the future; and a record without a verification date even less so.
- Dependence on third parties: program, service or person. If they disappear, your trading stops.
- Your emotional curve: seeing losses you did not decide on is harder to manage than taking responsibility for your own decisions.
- Learning: copying does not teach you to trade; it teaches you to delegate.
Common mistakes when copying trades
- Copying the lot size literally from an account with different capital.
- Not verifying the symbol mapping and ending up executing on an instrument that is not the same.
- Believing that stops are copied when the copier only replicates openings and closings.
- Leaving copying active without your own loss limits: the decision to stop is not the source's.
- Ignoring costs and swaps when comparing results with the source.
Frequently asked questions
Can you copy from one MT5 terminal to another?
Yes, with a local copier installed where both terminals run, or with the broker's copying tools. It is not a native terminal function.
Is the same lot copied to my account?
It shouldn't be. The correct size depends on your capital, your currency, your leverage and your risk. It is replicated by proportion or by factor, not literally.
Why does the same trade give me a different result?
Because of latency, entry and exit price, spread, your own commissions and swaps, and differences in contract or symbol name.
Does copying eliminate risk?
No: you inherit the risk of the source's decisions and add the risks of copying (mismatches, latency, execution).
Is it better to copy or use your own EA?
It depends on whether you want to delegate or control. Copying exposes you to someone else's streaks; an EA executes your rules, which can be measured (how an EA works).
Automating is executing a plan, not replacing it
At the academy, the tools are there for what risk requires: calculating the lot, placing the stops, respecting limits and trading hours. No miracle signals or promised results.
Keep reading
- Copy trading with MT5: what it is and what gets copiedThe concept, the types and why the mentor's lot is never your lot.
- EAs and bots for MetaTrader 5What is actually automated and what they sell you when they promise the impossible.
- Risk per trade: why 1%How to set your risk and why correlated positions double it.
- Crash and Boom: how they workThe instruments where latency costs the most.