Heron Copier takes every trade from an MT4 master account and repeats it on your slave accounts: other MT4 accounts, MT5, cTrader, TradeLocker, MatchTrader, DXtrade, or futures accounts on Tradovate, Rithmic and TopstepX. Opens, stop loss and take profit changes, partial closes and closes all follow.
It runs in the Heron Copier cloud, with no MT4 terminal for you to keep open, or on your own Windows VPS with the local version. One license covers both.
Every MT4 trade is its own ticket
MT4 accounts are always hedging accounts. Each trade gets its own ticket, so a buy and a sell on the same symbol can be open at the same time. Heron Copier keeps that structure: each master ticket becomes its own position on the slave, and when you close or partially close one ticket, only its copy is closed.
This matters when the slave runs on a platform that can net positions. MT5, cTrader and DXtrade accounts can be set to netting, where trades on one symbol merge into a single position. If your MT4 strategy holds opposite trades on the same symbol, use hedging accounts for those slaves.
Copy trades from your MT4 Expert Advisors
Trades opened by EAs on the master are copied exactly like manual trades. If several EAs share one account and you only want some of them copied, use the magic number whitelist or blacklist on the slave, for example +111111;-333333. With no magic numbers whitelisted, every trade is copied.
Pending orders, such as buy limits and sell stops, are copied when they trigger on the master rather than when they are placed. That way a slave never ends up with a filled order the master never got.
Moving from MT4 to MT5
Your EA may only exist as an .ex4 file while the account you want to trade, a prop firm challenge or a new broker account, is on MT5. You don't have to rewrite anything: keep the EA running on MT4 and copy it with MT4 to MT5. Use a hedging MT5 account so every MT4 ticket stays a separate position. It works the other way too, with MT5 to MT4.
Other common routes are MT4 to MT4 between brokers, MT4 to cTrader, MT4 to TradeLocker and, for CFD traders moving into futures, MT4 to Tradovate.
Different brokers, different symbol names
MT4 brokers often add suffixes such as EURUSD.m or US30.cash. Remove the master's suffix with Remove Symbol Suffix and add the slave's with Add Symbol Suffix, or map names directly with symbol aliases such as DJ30=US30. An alias can carry its own lot multiplier, for example NAS100=US100|0.1 when the slave's contract is ten times larger. If a symbol is still not found, auto symbol mapping tries to find the match.
Host your .ex4 EA in the cloud
Heron Copier can also run your own MT4 Expert Advisor around the clock, with no VPS to rent. Upload the compiled .ex4 file, not the .mq4 source, together with a .set preset exported from the EA's Inputs tab. Add between 1 and 10 charts using the broker's exact symbol names, including any suffix, and launch.
DLL imports are off by default and need admin approval for your license. If the EA calls web addresses, list them as WebRequest URLs, including the https:// part. A hosted EA runs on its own and uses one cloud seat. To copy its trades to other accounts, add the same MT4 account as a master as well. EAs bought from the MQL5 Market are locked to the computer they were installed on, so check with the vendor first. See Host your EA or cBot.
Settings for prop firm slaves
Every slave has its own settings, so one MT4 master can feed accounts of very different sizes. Pick one of six volume sizing methods per slave, cap lot sizes globally or per symbol, and set balance or equity thresholds that close all positions and stop copying before a drawdown limit is reached. You can also skip any master trade that has no stop loss. On MT4 cloud slaves, Position Resync closes copied positions that are no longer open on the master after a reconnect.
The local MT4 copier
If you prefer your own Windows VPS, the Heron Copier Connector app installs the copier EA into your MT4 terminals from its Installer tab. Attach it to one chart per terminal: it copies trades on every symbol, and a second chart would copy them twice. The local version has no limit on accounts, sends trades from your own IP address and can copy between terminals on different VPSs. The docs walk through the setup.
MT4 at a glance
| Detail | MT4 |
|---|---|
| Made by | MetaQuotes |
| Markets | Forex, CFDs on indices, metals and commodities, and crypto CFDs, depending on the broker |
| How Heron Copier connects | MT4 account number, password and broker server |
| Position model | Hedging: every trade is a separate ticket |
| Trade size | Lots (usually 0.01 lot steps) |
| Symbol names | Broker-specific, often with suffixes such as EURUSD.m or US30.cash |
| API speed | 500+ requests per minute |
| Can be a master | Yes |
| Can be a slave | Yes |
| Partial closes sent to slaves (as master) | Yes |
| Partial closes received (as slave) | Yes |
| Position resync on its slaves | Yes |
| Local version | Yes, plus the cloud version |
| EA / cBot hosting | Yes, .ex4 Expert Advisors |
Copy from MT4 to
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MT4 to MT4 Trade Copier
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MT4 to MT5 Trade Copier
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MT4 to cTrader Trade Copier
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MT4 to TradeLocker Trade Copier
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MT4 to MatchTrader Trade Copier
Also supported: DXtrade, Tradovate, Rithmic and TopstepX.
Copy to MT4 from
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MT5 to MT4 Trade Copier
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TradeLocker to MT4 Trade Copier
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MatchTrader to MT4 Trade Copier
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Telegram to MT4 Signal Copier
Also supported: cTrader, DXtrade, Tradovate, Rithmic and TopstepX.
Pricing
Free trial
$0 / 7 days
2 cloud accounts. Slaves copy at a fixed 0.01 lot, or 1 contract on futures.
Monthly
$19 / month
2 cloud accounts included, extra cloud accounts $8/month each. Local version with unlimited accounts.
Yearly
$179 / year
2 cloud accounts included, extra cloud accounts $80/year each. Local version with unlimited accounts.
Every master, slave or hosted EA uses one cloud account. See full pricing.
Frequently asked questions
Do I need to keep my MT4 terminal open?
Not with the cloud version. Each MT4 account runs on our servers, so copying continues when your computer is off. With the local version the terminals run on your own VPS, so they need to stay open there.
Can I copy only some of my EAs?
Yes. Each EA uses its own magic number. Add the magic numbers you want to the slave's whitelist, or the ones you don't want to its blacklist.
Are pending orders copied?
Yes, at the moment they trigger on the master. Untriggered limit and stop orders stay on the master only, which avoids orphaned orders on the slaves.
Can I host an EA I bought on the MQL5 Market?
Usually not. MQL5 Market EAs are locked to the computer they were installed on, and EAs with their own license check may refuse to run on a new machine. Use an EA you have a working compiled .ex4 file for, and confirm with the vendor that it may run on a hosted server.
How many MT4 accounts can I copy to?
In the cloud, every master, slave and hosted EA uses one seat. A paid license includes 2, and extra seats are $8 a month or $80 a year each. The local version has no account limit.
