Hire MQL5 Developers & MT5 Experts in 2026 — The Complete Guide

Where to find qualified MQL5 programmers, what questions to ask before hiring, realistic pricing for every EA complexity level, and how to write a specification that gets you exactly what you need — not an EA that blows your account.

Where to Hire MQL5 Developers — Ranked by Quality

MQL5 Developer Pricing — What You Should Pay in 2026

Never accept EX5-only delivery. Always require .mq5 source code. If a developer refuses to provide source code, they're locking you into their services. Walk away.

5 Questions to Ask Before Hiring an MQL5 Developer

1. "Show me 3 complete .mq5 source files you wrote — not compiled EX5." A developer who only shows EX5 files or screenshots of backtests has something to hide. Source code reveals code quality, comment quality, and whether they use proper MQL5 patterns (CTrade, indicator handles, error checking).

2. "How do you handle dynamic position sizing with equity-based risk?" A competent developer answers: "I calculate lot size based on AccountInfoDouble(ACCOUNT_EQUITY), SL distance in points, SymbolInfoDouble tick value, and validate against lot step/min/max." A bad answer: "I use a fixed lot size input." Fixed lots mean the EA doesn't scale with account growth or drawdown.

3. "Do you use CTrade class or raw OrderSend?" The correct answer is CTrade. Raw OrderSend with manual parameter handling is deprecated, error-prone, and incompatible with modern MT5. If the developer doesn't know what CTrade is, they learned MQL5 from outdated tutorials.

4. "How do you release indicator handles in OnDeinit?" The answer: "I store all handles in an array or list, iterate through them in OnDeinit, and call IndicatorRelease() on each one." If they don't mention OnDeinit or indicator cleanup, the EA will leak memory over time — especially on long-running instances.

5. "Have you built EAs for prop firm challenges before? What drawdown protection do you implement?" A yes answer should include: daily drawdown tracking, total drawdown from peak equity, position close on limit breach, and configurable DD thresholds. If they haven't built prop-firm EAs, you'll need to specify every compliance rule explicitly.

How to Write an EA Specification That Gets You What You Want

The #1 reason MQL5 development projects fail: vague specifications. "I want an EA that trades trend following" is a spec that will produce literally anything. Here's the template:

Section 1: Strategy Definition. Entry conditions in bullet points with exact indicator values. "Buy when: H1 RSI(14) crosses above 30 AND H1 price closes above 200 EMA AND H1 ADX(14) is above 25 AND H4 trend is up (price above 50 EMA on H4)." No ambiguity.

Section 2: Risk Management. "SL = 1.5 × ATR(14). TP = SL × 2. Lot size = (Equity × 0.01) / (SL_points × PipValue). Daily DD limit = 4%. Max open positions = 1." Every number specified.

Section 3: Filters. "Only trade London session (07:00-16:00 GMT). Max spread = 15 points. No trades 30 min before/after red-folder news events. Stop trading after 3 consecutive losses."

Section 4: Deliverables. "Complete .mq5 source file (no EX5-only). Must compile with zero errors on MT5 build 4600+. Must include descriptive comments. All inputs as extern variables. Trade.mqh for order execution."

Red Flags — When to Walk Away from an MQL5 Developer

"I'll deliver the EX5 file." No source code = you don't own your EA. You can't modify it. You can't verify what it does. Walk away.

"Guaranteed 90% win rate." Genuine MQL5 developers report realistic metrics. Scammers report impossible ones.

No portfolio or only shows screenshots. Demand source files, not images.

Ultra-low price with "unlimited revisions." $50 for a "complete AI neural network EA" is not real. Quality MQL5 development is skilled work.

Can't explain their risk management approach. If they can't walk you through lot size calculation and drawdown protection, their EAs don't have proper risk management.

Frequently Asked Questions