The Complete cTrader Guide

Everything you need to master cTrader — from your first login to automated strategies. Built for MyFundedCapital traders.

Modules

45 min

Read Time

Difficulty

All Levels

Contents

Platform Overview & Install

Interface & Workspace

Charts & Analysis

Order Types & Execution

Advanced Features

Risk Management

cBots & Algo Trading

cTrader Copy

Mobile Trading

cTrader vs MT5

Prop Firm Tips

Resources

Why MyFundedCapital?

The ultimate choice for traders

Take the challenge

Choose your challenge

Ready to start

How to buy challenge

Next steps

How to request a payout

An essential guide for the seasoned trader

Things you should know

How to log in to our trading platform

Our trading platform

The dashboard

Easy navigation & features

Technical help

Dashboard, platforms and more

Module 01

Platform Overview & Installation

What cTrader is, how to get it, and your first login.

What Is cTrader?

cTrader is a multi-asset trading platform developed by Spotware Systems (Cyprus), currently at version 5.0. It serves 11 million+ traders across 250+ brokers and prop firms, supports forex, CFDs, indices, crypto, and commodities, and ships in 23 languages.

The platform differentiates itself through ECN-focused execution, advanced Depth of Market, server-side trailing stops, free cloud bot hosting, and a modern interface that feels genuinely different from MT5.

cTrader at a Glance

11M+

Active Traders

250+

Brokers

65+

Built-in Indicators

Chart Types

The cTrader Ecosystem

cTrader is not just a single app — it’s six integrated tools:

cTrader Trade

Manual trading, charting, and order execution with an advanced interface.

cTrader Algo

Build and run automated strategies (cBots) in C# or Python.

cTrader Copy

Social trading — follow and copy strategies from other traders.

cTrader Analyze

Performance analytics — Sharpe ratio, drawdown, equity curve.

cTrader Store

Marketplace with 1,000+ cBots, indicators, and plugins.

Open API & FIX API

Build custom apps and connect external tools.

The cTrader Ecosystem

Feature	Windows	Mac	Web	Mobile
Local cBots & indicators	✓	✓	—	—
Cloud cBot execution	✓	✓	✓	✓
Multi-monitor	✓	✓	—	—
Custom hotkeys	✓	✓	—	—
Market Replay	✓	✓	—	—
Depth of Market	✓	✓	✓	✓
Workspace sync	✓	✓	✓	—

Installation

Download

Go to your MFC dashboard or ctrader.com/download. Choose Windows (.exe), Mac (.dmg), or open the Web version directly.

Install

Windows: run the file — auto-installs everything. Mac: open .dmg, drag to Applications.

Create cTrader ID

One credential for all cTrader apps across all brokers. Sign up with email or Google/Apple ID. Confirm via email link.

Link your MFC account

Accounts linked to the same email appear automatically. Switch between them via the account selector (top-right).

Module 02

Interface & Workspace

Learn every panel, toolbar, and shortcut.

Main Interface Layout

The interface is organized into eight clearly defined areas:

Main Menu (left sidebar) — switch between Trade, Copy, Algo, Analyze. Settings, theme, language.
Chart Toolbar (top) — workspaces, chart modes, zoom, timeframes, indicators, drawing tools, templates.
cTID Bar (top-right) — account switching, workspace management, “New Order” button.
Market Watch (left) — symbol watchlists with live bid/ask, spread, sentiment, daily change.
Charts Area (center) — multi-chart grids, single-chart tabs, or free-floating layouts.
Active Symbol Panel (right) — order entry, DOM, market hours, stats, swap rates, calendar, news.
Trade Watch (bottom) — open positions, pending orders, history, alerts, journal.
Balance Bar (bottom strip) — real-time Balance, Equity, Margin, Free Margin, P&L.

Workspaces

Think of workspaces as saved desktops. Each stores chart layouts, indicators, Quick Trade settings, theme, and symbol lists — synced across devices via your cTID. Access the “My Workspace” dropdown in the Chart toolbar. Use F7/F8 to switch. All changes auto-save.

Create separate workspaces for different strategies — e.g., "Scalping" with 1m/5m charts and tight layouts, and "Swing" with H4/D1 charts and fundamental panels visible.

Themes & Multi-Monitor

Dark and light themes — toggle in Settings or the Main Menu. Theme is workspace-specific.

Multi-monitor (Desktop only): click “Detach chart” in any chart’s corner or press Ctrl+Shift+N. Drag to any monitor. For independent instances, use Settings → Startup → Multiple profiles.

Key Shortcuts

Space

Smart search

New order

Ctrl+N

New chart

Ctrl+Shift+N

Detach chart

Next workspace

Switch mode

Ctrl+E

Toggle ASP

F11

Full screen

Ctrl+I

Indicators

Ctrl+H

Hide drawings

Module 03

Charts & Technical Analysis

Eight chart types, 65+ indicators, and professional drawing tools.

Chart Types

cTrader natively supports 8 chart types — Candlestick, Bar (OHLC), Line, Dot, Heikin Ashi, HLC, Renko, and Range. In MT5, Heikin Ashi, Renko, and Range all require custom indicators.

Switch types via the Chart toolbar icon, right-click → Chart type, or shortcuts Alt+1 through Alt+4.

Timeframes

One of the widest selections of any retail platform:

Minute: 1m through 45m (14 options)
Hourly: 1h through 12h (7 options)
Daily+: 1D, 2D, 3D, 1W, 1M
Tick-based: 1–1,000 ticks per bar
Renko & Range: custom pip/range sizes

Access via the Period button. Up/Down arrows cycle through timeframes.

Indicators & Drawing Tools

65+ built-in indicators in five categories: Trend (SMA, EMA, Ichimoku, SAR…), Oscillators (RSI, MACD, Stochastic…), Volatility (Bollinger, ATR, Keltner…), Volume (OBV, MFI…), and Other (Alligator, Fractal, ZigZag…). Add via Ctrl+I. Need more? The cTrader Store has 1,100+ additional indicators.

Drawing tools include trend lines, channels, Fibonacci (retracement, fan, expansion, arcs, time zones), Gann (fan, box, square), shapes, and a built-in Risk-Reward tool for visual R:R planning.

Module 04

Order Types & Execution

Every order type, from market fills to server-side trailing stops.

Four Core Order Types

Market — immediate execution. Use Market Range to control slippage.
Limit — fills at your price or better. Buy Limit below ask, Sell Limit above bid.
Stop — triggers a market order at your level. Ideal for breakouts.
Stop-Limit — triggers a limit order at your level, with configurable Limit Range in pips.

Stop orders support 4 trigger types including Double trade/opposite side, which require 2 consecutive ticks — reducing false triggers from spread widening.

Server-Side Trailing Stop

This is one of cTrader’s biggest advantages. Trailing stops execute on the server — they keep working even when your computer is off. In MT5, trailing stops are client-side and stop functioning when the terminal closes.

Activate by checking “Trailing Stop Loss” when creating or modifying an order. Set distance in pips.

Set multiple partial TP levels — close 50% at +10 pips and the rest at +25 pips. ATP levels appear directly on the chart and can be drag-adjusted.

Smart Stop Out

When margin drops below the stop-out threshold, cTrader partially closes the position in minimum increments instead of liquidating everything. This keeps you in the market — MT5 closes the whole position.

Module 05

Advanced Trading Features

Depth of Market, chart trading, sentiment, and analytics.

Depth of Market — Three Views

cTrader's DOM is widely considered its single biggest advantage over MT5:

Standard DOM

View-only. Liquidity at each price as horizontal bars — quick visual read.

Price DOM

Full trading. Place orders at specific price levels. Ideal for precision scalping.

VWAP DOM

Volume-weighted average price for different sizes. Estimate slippage before entry.

Built-in Sentiment

A horizontal bar below each chart shows the percentage of accounts expecting price to rise vs. fall. Data aggregates across all cTrader servers worldwide — more comprehensive than broker-specific sentiment. MT5 has no equivalent.

cTrader Analyze

The dedicated Analyze app provides: net profit, profit factor, win rate, max drawdown, Sharpe Ratio, Sortino Ratio, and a visual equity curve. Volume and profitability breakdowns by symbol round out the suite.

Module 06

Risk Management

Protect your funded account with the right tools.

Margin & Position Sizing

Margin calculates automatically in the New Order dialog and updates in real time. The Balance Bar shows total margin, free margin, margin level, and equity at all times. For risk-based sizing, the Algo API provides VolumeForFixedRisk() and VolumeForProportionalRisk(). Free Store plugins add GUI calculators.

Drawdown Monitoring

Balance Bar — real-time equity, balance, unrealized P&L
History tab — filter by date for closed P&L for any period
Combined daily P&L = closed (History) + floating (Positions)
Risk Manager plugins — enforce daily/total drawdown limits with auto-close

Balance Bar — real-time equity, balance, unrealized P&L; History tab — filter by date for closed P&L for any period; Combined daily P&L = closed (History) + floating (Positions); Risk Manager plugins — enforce daily/total drawdown limits with auto-close.

Module 07

cBots & Algorithmic Trading

Build, test, and deploy automated strategies — with free cloud hosting.

Overview

cTrader Automate supports C# (.NET 6.0+) and Python (native since v5.0). Build cBots, custom indicators, and plugins. The built-in IDE offers IntelliSense, or use Visual Studio / VS Code / JetBrains Rider externally.

Workflow

Create

Algo tab → "New cBot" → write code using OnStart(), OnTick(), OnBar(), OnStop() lifecycle.

Build

Press Ctrl+B to compile. Fix errors from the log panel.

Backtest

Test with real tick data from broker servers — no synthetic ticks. Variable spread from historical data. Visual mode replays trades on chart.

Deploy

Local (runs while app is open) or Cloud (24/7, free, no VPS). Up to 10 cloud instances on live accounts.

What's Allowed at MFC

Allowed: Trend following, mean reversion, breakout, trade management bots, backtested strategies with normal frequency.
Forbidden: HFT, latency arbitrage, tick scalping, copy trading between accounts, martingale/grid (Instant Funding).

Module 08

cTrader Copy

Social trading — with important restrictions for funded accounts.

cTrader Copy lets you follow and replicate strategies from other traders across brokers. Uses an equity-to-equity model with configurable performance/management fees.

Copy trading is banned at MyFundedCapital. Using cTrader Copy on MFC accounts will result in disqualification. Use it only on separate, personal accounts for learning.

Module 09

Mobile Trading

Full trading on iOS & Android with cloud cBot control.

What You Can Do

All 4 order types, 70+ indicators, multiple chart types (incl. Heikin Ashi & Renko), 26+ timeframes, drag SL/TP on charts, one-click trading, start/stop cloud cBots, full history, and push notifications for fills, alerts, and stop-outs.

What's Desktop-Only

Creating/editing cBot code, running local instances, backtesting, plugins, multi-chart layouts, detached charts, and workspace/hotkey customization.

Module 10

cTrader vs MT5

Side-by-side for traders making the switch.

Aspect	cTrader	MT5
Automation	C# + Python (.NET 6)	MQL5 (proprietary)
Bot hosting	Free cloud, 10 instances	VPS $10–30/mo
Chart types	8 native	3 native
Timeframes	54+ incl. tick/Renko/Range	21 standard
Indicators	65+ built-in	~38 built-in
DOM	3 views (Standard/Price/VWAP)	Basic depth
Trailing stop	Server-side	Client-side
Stop-out	Smart partial close	Full liquidation
Sentiment	Built-in cross-broker	Not available
Analytics	Sharpe, Sortino, equity curve	Basic reports
Marketplace	~1,900 products	41,000+ products

Where cTrader Wins

3 specialized views

DOM depth

Free cloud, 24/7

Bot hosting

8 native types

Chart types

Server-side

Module 11

Tips for Prop Firm Traders

Practical advice for managing your MFC account on cTrader.

Daily Routine

Check MFC dashboard before trading — know your current drawdown
Set up margin call alerts at 200%, 150%, 100%
Track combined P&L: closed (History tab filtered by today) + floating (Positions tab)
Keep margin level above 500% during challenges
Approaching daily limit = stop trading

Best Practices

Risk 0.5–1% per trade maximum
Always set SL/TP immediately — never leave a position unprotected
Use partial closing to lock in profits
Aim for 1:2+ risk-reward — use the built-in R:R tool
Limit to 3–5 quality trades per day
Trade during London/NY overlap for tighter spreads

Common MT5 Migration Mistakes

Looking for Expert Advisors — cTrader calls them “cBots” and uses C#/Python. No MQL5 compatibility.
Expecting MetaEditor — the IDE is built into cTrader’s Algo tab, not separate.
Indicator shock — cTrader has fewer community indicators; some MT5 favorites don’t exist yet.
Terminology confusion — EA → cBot, Scripts → single-execution cBots.
Ignoring cloud execution — free 24/7 hosting is a major advantage. Use it.

Module 12