Charts & Charting at Alpari

The quality of a broker's charting tools matters as much as its spreads. Alpari gives you the full MetaTrader package on desktop and mobile. With 750+ instruments covering forex, metals, indices, and share CFDs, there's plenty of room to put those charts to work.

The old MetaTrader look might not be the prettiest, but it remains the fastest, most reliable charting engine out there. Alpari runs both MT4 and MT5 alongside its proprietary mobile app, so you get flexibility whether you're on a laptop or just your phone.

What Charting Looks Like on Mobile

The Alpari mobile experience is built around MetaTrader's core, not a watered-down web version. You'll find the familiar multi-timeframe charts, a full set of technical indicators, drawing tools, and one-tap trading straight from the chart.

You don't lose the key stuff on mobile. Candlestick charts load quickly, you can switch between 9 timeframes in a couple of taps, and price alerts push straight to your lock screen. The app handles zoom and crosshair movement smoothly.

That said, MT4 and MT5 look and feel nearly identical on mobile. Don't expect a modern UI overhaul. You're getting the same grey interface that's been around since the early 2000s, but it works without lag and doesn't drain your battery as fast as some newer platforms do.

The Real Numbers Behind the Charts

The charting experience is only as good as the data feeding it. Alpari's spreads start from 0.0 pips on the Pro ECN account, with a commission of around USD 2.50 per lot per side. That's the account to pick if you're a scalper who lives on 1-minute charts and needs raw market pricing.

For the rest of us, the Standard account from 0.3 pips is honest about execution costs. Here's how the account tiers break down:

The Micro account being MT4-only is worth remembering. If you want the newer MT5 build, which handles more instruments and has a better built-in economic calendar, you'll need to start with Standard or above.

On the charts themselves, MT5 gives you 21 timeframes rather than MT4's 9. If you're building strategies on lower timeframes or need the extra detail, that one upgrade is a good reason to skip the Micro account entirely and start at USD 100.

What You're Actually Looking At

With 750+ tradeable instruments, your charts can cover a lot of ground. Alpari offers forex pairs, spot metals, indices, commodities, share CFDs from major global exchanges, and crypto CFDs.

Leverage goes up to 1:3000 on forex and metals through the offshore entity. South Africa has no ESMA-style retail leverage cap, so that's on the table if you want it. Just remember that high leverage cuts both ways, and 1:3000 turns a 0.03% price move into a full margin wipeout. The chart will show you the opportunity, but the risk column is on you.

MT5 vs MT4 for Charting

This is the fork in the road that matters. If you've been trading for years, you'll have muscle memory on MT4. The interface is lean, the indicators are where you expect them, and you know how your setup looks on the screen.

MT5 adds the things that MT4 never got around to. Unlimited chart windows, more pending order types, and a depth-of-market view that's genuinely useful when you're trading during the London-New York overlap, which for South African traders lands around 15:00 to 18:00 SAST.

Here's a practical comparison:

Neither platform will win a beauty contest in 2026. But MetaTrader is still the default standard for charting because of one thing: stability. It doesn't crash in the middle of a news spike, it doesn't freeze when volatility picks up, and it does exactly what your muscle memory expects it to do every single time.

The Part Few Advertise

Alpari has been around since 1998, which makes it one of the oldest retail forex brands still operating. Right now, South African clients get onboarded through Parlance Trading Ltd, licensed under the Comoros MISA licence T2023236. The important detail is that the FSCA authorisation cited in some older reviews belonged to the previous operator, Exinity, and isn't verified as current for today's Alpari brand.

That means you're trading under an offshore Tier-3 licence with no confirmed local FSCA protection or ODP authorisation. South African clients aren't covered by a local dispute resolution mechanism through this entity, so the safety net works differently than with a broker holding an active FSCA FSP licence.

The FSCA register is the tool that matters here. Any broker serving South African retail clients should be an authorised Financial Services Provider under the FAIS Act, and CFD market-makers additionally need an OTC Derivative Provider authorisation. If the FSP number on the broker's site doesn't match the FSCA register, that's your signal to pause.

This is also where funding gets a little less convenient. Alpari has no verified local ZAR instant-EFT rail as of this review. You'll be using cards, wire transfers, or e-wallets in USD, and there's no ZAR base account. That means every deposit and withdrawal goes through a conversion, with banks typically charging around 2-3% on ZAR-to-USD. It's not a dealbreaker, but it's a real cost that eats into your edge.

Where This Leaves You on Charts

For charting specifically, Alpari gets the fundamentals right. You get the best charting software ever built in the form of MT4 and MT5, honest spreads that compare well with other international brokers, and the sort of depth across forex, metals, and CFDs that keeps you from needing a second broker.

Go for it if you're comfortable trading through an offshore entity, want full MetaTrader charting on your phone, and don't mind paying a conversion fee on your deposits. The broker is a genuine, long-running operation, and the Pro ECN account with raw spreads is a strong choice for active traders.

Steer clear if the regulatory layer matters more than the charting layer. If you want local FSCA oversight, an ODP licence, and ZAR base accounts with instant EFT funding, you'll do better with a broker that's fully authorised in South Africa. The same MT4 and MT5 charting exists there, just with a different set of protections and conveniences.

Either way, check the FSCA register before you fund anything. That takes two minutes and tells you exactly where you stand.

Funding Your Chart Time

The practical side of deposits starts at USD 30 for the Micro account, USD 100 for Standard, USD 300 for ECN, and USD 500 for Pro ECN. Crypto deposits in BTC and ETH are available alongside cards, wire transfer, FasaPay, and Volet. Withdrawals follow standard processing times, with crypto usually being the fastest route.

Before you make your first deposit, keep the tax angle in mind. SARS taxes South African residents on worldwide income, and frequent forex trading is generally treated as ordinary income at your marginal rate, between 18% and 45%. Active traders should register for provisional tax and file the annual ITR12. Trading-related expenses are deductible, so keep proper records from day one.