Myfxbook, FX Blue, and MT4's built-in execution log give you real execution data before you deposit. Here's exactly how to use them — step by step.
Most traders focus on advertised spreads when choosing a broker. But there's a metric that often has a bigger impact on real trading results: order execution speed — the time between clicking "buy" or "sell" and your order being filled.
In a liquid market like EUR/USD, price can move 1–3 pips in under a second. A broker that takes 500ms to fill your order instead of 50ms means your fill price is likely to be meaningfully different from the price you saw when you clicked. That difference — called slippage — adds to your effective trading cost on every single trade.
Testing before you deposit takes about 30 minutes using a free demo account and one of the tools below. It's one of the highest-value checks any trader can do.
The most popular third-party trading analytics platform. Connects to MT4/MT5 via investor (read-only) password. Automatically tracks every order's execution time and shows averages, slippage, and fill distribution. Trusted by millions of traders worldwide.
myfxbook.com ↗Developed for MetaTrader users. Imports your MT4/MT5 trading history and generates detailed execution statistics — average order time, slippage per pair, fill rate, and broker-side delay breakdown. Particularly strong for comparing multiple brokers side-by-side.
fxblue.com/traders/analytics ↗MetaTrader 4 and 5 record the exact timestamp (to the millisecond) of every order in the platform's Journal tab. No third-party tools needed. Export your trading history as an HTML statement and calculate average execution time manually or with a simple spreadsheet.
metatrader4.com ↗Myfxbook is the easiest starting point for most traders. The platform reads your trading history via a read-only investor password — it cannot make trades, deposit, or withdraw. Safe to use.
Go to the broker's website and open a free demo MT4 or MT5 account. Note: your demo account login credentials (server name, account number, investor password). You do not need to deposit real money. Most brokers activate demo accounts instantly with just an email address.
Using your demo account, place 20 buy or sell market orders on EUR/USD. Spread them across at least 2–3 trading days and different times of day (London open, New York open, quiet mid-session). Include at least 2–3 during a scheduled news event (NFP, CPI, FOMC — check forexfactory.com). Do not use pending orders — market orders show real fill speed.
Go to myfxbook.com and register a free account. No payment required. Click "Add Account" in your dashboard → choose "Connect via Investor Password" (not via EA or statement — investor password is the cleanest method).
Enter your broker's MT4/MT5 server name (e.g., "Exness-MT5Real16"), your account number, and your investor (read-only) password. Myfxbook will sync your trading history within 2–5 minutes. If you cannot find your investor password, it is set inside MT4/MT5 under Tools → Options → Server → "Enable Investor Password".
In your connected account dashboard, click "Statistics". Look for: Average execution time (ms) — the headline figure you're comparing across brokers. Best and worst execution time — consistency is as important as average. Slippage chart — shows whether you're getting positive or negative slippage and how often. A fair broker shows roughly equal positive and negative slippage; consistently negative slippage is a red flag.
Open a demo account with 2–3 brokers and add each to Myfxbook. Run the same 20-order test on the same time schedule for each. Myfxbook's dashboard lets you compare accounts side-by-side. The broker with the lowest average execution time, lowest worst-case spike, and most balanced slippage wins.
FX Blue is particularly useful if you want to compare multiple brokers on the same chart and export detailed reports. The process is slightly different from Myfxbook but equally free.
Open MT4 or MT5. Go to the Account History tab (View → Terminal → Account History). Right-click on the history list → "Save as Report" → choose HTML format. This creates a complete record of every trade with timestamps to the millisecond. Name the file with the broker's name for easy comparison later.
Go to fxblue.com/traders/analytics. Click "Upload a Statement". Select the HTML file you just exported. FX Blue processes it immediately — no account registration required for the basic statement upload.
FX Blue shows average execution time, slippage in pips, spread at time of trade, and a comparison between quoted spread and actual fill spread. The "Order Lag" panel is the most relevant — it shows average and maximum lag from order placement to fill confirmation. Under 100ms average is good; under 50ms is excellent for a retail broker.
If you prefer not to register for a third-party service, MT4 and MT5 record every order's execution detail in the platform journal. This method requires a simple manual calculation — no tools beyond a spreadsheet.
Once you have execution data for 2–3 brokers, use this scoring approach to make a clear comparison:
| Metric | Weight | What to measure | Excellent | Good | Poor |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Average execution time | 40% | Mean ms across all 20+ orders | <50ms | 50–100ms | >150ms |
| Worst-case execution spike | 25% | Highest single order time recorded | <300ms | 300–800ms | >1,000ms |
| Average slippage (pips) | 25% | Mean fill price vs quoted price | <0.3 pips | 0.3–0.8 pips | >1.0 pips |
| Slippage balance | 10% | % of positive vs negative slippage fills | Roughly equal | Slightly negative | Always negative |
Add the weighted scores for each broker. The highest total score wins. A broker can have a fast average but be ranked lower if its worst-case spike is very high — because that spike will happen on the trades where it hurts most (news events, fast markets).
The following benchmarks are based on published RTS 27 data and independent community reports. Test results vary by your internet connection and server geography. Always run your own test before depositing significant capital.
| Broker | Avg execution (reported) | Regulator | Min. deposit | Demo test |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Exness | ~50ms | CySEC | €10 | Open demo → |
| Pepperstone | ~30ms | FCA / ASIC | No minimum | Open demo → |
| IC Markets | ~40ms | CySEC / ASIC | €200 | Open demo → |
| AvaTrade | ~80ms | CBI (IE) | €100 | Open demo → |
| XM | ~100ms | CySEC | €5 | Open demo → |
Execution figures are approximate community benchmarks and vary by market conditions, server location, and account type. Always run your own test as described above before depositing.
Myfxbook (myfxbook.com) is the most widely used free tool. Connect your MT4 or MT5 demo account via Myfxbook's investor password sync, then the platform automatically tracks every order's execution time. FX Blue Trade Analytics (fxblue.com) offers similar functionality and is also free. Both tools work with demo accounts — you pay nothing while testing.
Meaningful results require at least 20 orders spread over 3–5 trading days. Opening a demo account takes about 5 minutes. Running 20 orders takes another 30–40 minutes if you spread them out. Myfxbook or FX Blue compile the statistics automatically within minutes of syncing.
Not always. Some brokers operate faster or more favourable execution on demo accounts to attract deposits. To confirm, open a small live account (€50–€100) after your demo test and repeat the process. If live average execution time is more than 50ms slower than demo, or live slippage is materially higher, the broker may be using different execution environments.
For EU-regulated retail brokers, under 100ms per order is competitive. The best ECN/STP brokers average 30–60ms under normal market conditions. Consistency matters as much as average speed — a broker that averages 60ms but spikes to 2,000ms during news events will cause real slippage on your highest-stakes trades.
Yes. Some brokers offer a WebTrader (browser-based MT4/MT5). After placing 20+ orders via WebTrader, export the account statement and calculate average execution time from the timestamps manually. Myfxbook also supports connection via a read-only investor password — no desktop software install required.
Yes. Brokers route orders through servers, typically in London, New York, or LD4 (Equinix London). If your internet connection routes via a geographically distant path to the broker's server, your latency will be higher. Myfxbook's Execution Statistics panel helps isolate broker-side latency from network latency.