How much does a custom Expert Advisor cost?

The short answer

A custom Expert Advisor for MetaTrader 5 or MetaTrader 4 can cost anywhere from under a hundred dollars to several thousand. The price depends on how many rules the EA has to follow, how it manages open trades and risk, how many symbols and timeframes it handles, and how much testing and support comes with it. A fair comparison between two quotes is only possible once both are priced against the same written specification.

What actually drives the price

1. The number and clarity of the rules

An EA that opens a trade when two moving averages cross and closes at a fixed stop and target is a small job. Each extra condition, such as a trend filter, a volatility filter, a time window or a confirmation on a higher timeframe, adds code and, more importantly, adds cases that must be tested. Rules that are vague ("enter on a strong breakout") cost more, because the developer has to turn them into something exact, and that conversation takes time.

2. Trade management

Opening a trade is the easy part. Break-even moves, trailing stops, partial closes, scaling in, grid or recovery logic and basket closes are where most of the code, and most of the bugs, live. If your strategy manages a trade in stages, expect that to be a large share of the quote.

3. Risk limits

Position sizing from account equity, a daily loss stop, a maximum drawdown halt and a cap on open positions all have to be calculated the right way and checked on every tick. For prop firm accounts the rules must match how the firm measures them, which is a project in itself; see prop firm EA development.

4. Symbols, brokers and markets

An EA for one FX pair at one broker is simpler than one that trades several symbols across brokers with different contract sizes, digits and symbol names. Gold is its own case: spreads widen sharply around session opens and news, and stops-levels differ by broker. We cover this in gold (XAUUSD) EA development.

5. MT4, MT5 or both

MT5 uses a different order and position model from MT4, and supports both netting and hedging accounts. Building for both platforms is close to building two EAs. Converting an existing MT4 EA to MT5 is a separate kind of job, usually priced after reading the code.

6. Testing

This is the line item that separates cheap quotes from expensive ones. A developer can hand over code that compiles and runs once in the strategy tester, or code that has been tested on real tick data with variable spreads, checked against each rule in the specification, and forward-tested on a demo account. The second takes days, not minutes, and it is where most live problems are caught.

7. Integrations

Connecting the EA to anything outside MetaTrader, such as a C++ library, a Python model, a database or a messaging service, adds engineering on both sides and needs its own error handling.

What a proper quote should include

Before you compare prices, check that each quote states:

• The specification it is priced against, in writing.
• Whether you receive the full source code (.mq5 or .mq4), not only the compiled file.
• Which platforms and account types are covered (MT4, MT5, netting, hedging).
• What testing is included: real-tick tester runs, variable spreads, demo forward test.
• How bugs found after delivery are handled, and for how long.
• What counts as a change request and how changes are priced.
• The delivery timeline.

A low quote that leaves out the source code, the testing or bug fixes is often the most expensive option once you need the EA changed or it misbehaves live. Our checklist for hiring an MQL5 developer covers these points in more detail.

Ways to keep the cost down

• Write the rules down first. A one-page description with exact entry, exit and risk rules saves time on both sides and gives you comparable quotes.
• Start with the core logic. Build and test the entry, exit and risk rules first, then add filters and trade-management features in a second phase.
• Pick one platform. If you only trade on MT5, do not pay for an MT4 version.
• Keep the source code. With the source, later changes are small jobs. Without it, they can mean starting again.

Custom EA or ready-made EA?

A ready-made EA from a marketplace is cheaper up front, but you cannot see or change its logic, and the same EA is sold to many traders. A custom EA costs more and takes longer, but it does exactly what your rules say, you own the code, and it can be changed as your strategy develops. If you have a strategy you already trade by hand and trust, a custom EA is usually the better investment.

How QuantFX prices EA work

We read your rules, agree a written specification with you and then give a fixed price against it. Every EA we deliver includes the full source code, real-tick tester reports, a demo forward test and bug-fix support after delivery. See custom MT5 Expert Advisor development for how a project runs, or send us your rules for a quote.

Trading leveraged products carries a high risk of loss. This article is general information about software development costs, not investment advice.