How to Set a Trailing Stop on MT5

A trailing stop is a stop-loss that automatically follows the market price at a fixed distance once a position moves into profit, locking in gains as the trade develops. On MetaTrader 5, trailing stops can be processed server-side, which means the trail continues to update even when your terminal is closed. This is a key difference between MetaTrader 5 and MetaTrader 4 for traders who cannot keep a desktop terminal running continuously.

This guide covers what a trailing stop is in MT5, how to set one on an open position, how to choose a distance, how to modify or remove it, how server-side processing works at TIOmarkets, and the practical considerations that affect how a trailing stop behaves in live conditions.

What Is a Trailing Stop on MT5?

A trailing stop is an automated rule applied to an open position. When the position moves into profit by the trailing stop distance you specify, MT5 begins moving the stop-loss to maintain that distance from the current market price. The stop only moves in the favourable direction. If the market reverses, the stop stays put and is triggered when price reaches it.

A trailing stop is set in points, not pips. TIOmarkets uses 5-digit pricing on standard forex pairs and 3-digit pricing on JPY pairs. On both, one pip equals ten points. For example, a 200 point trailing stop on EURUSD equals 20 pips. A 300 point trailing stop on USDJPY also equals 30 pips. The trailing stop dialog in MT5 always asks for distance in points, so this conversion is worth remembering when translating a pip-based plan into the platform.

Trailing stops apply only to open positions. They cannot be attached to pending orders. If you want a pending order to convert into a position with a trailing stop, the trailing stop must be set after the pending order fills and the position is open.

How to Set a Trailing Stop on MT5

To set a trailing stop in MT5, open the Toolbox window using Ctrl+T and go to the Trade tab. The Trade tab lists all your open positions and pending orders.

Right-click on the open position you want to apply the trailing stop to. From the context menu, select "Trailing Stop." A submenu opens showing a list of preset distances along with options for None and Custom.

Select a preset value or choose Custom. If you choose Custom, a dialog opens asking you to enter the trailing stop distance in points. Enter the distance, click OK, and the trailing stop is active on that position.

You can confirm the trailing stop is set by looking at the position row in the Trade tab. The S/L column updates to reflect the current stop-loss level once the position moves into profit by the trailing stop distance. Until that point, the trailing stop is armed but the stop-loss field may remain empty if no fixed stop was placed when the position was opened.

Choosing a Trailing Stop Distance

MT5 shows a list of standard MetaQuotes preset distances when you open the Trailing Stop submenu: 15 points, 20 points, 25 points, 30 points, 45 points, 60 points, 90 points, and 180 points. The submenu also offers None (to remove the trailing stop) and Custom (to enter your own value).

For most forex pairs at TIOmarkets, the preset values correspond to between 1.5 and 18 pips. Many traders find these distances too tight for typical intraday volatility on major pairs and prefer to use the Custom option to set a distance that reflects the volatility of the instrument and their trading timeframe.

A trailing stop that is too tight will be triggered by normal price noise before the trade has time to develop. A trailing stop that is too wide gives back significant open profit before the stop activates. The right distance depends on the instrument, the timeframe of the trade, and how aggressively you want to protect profit versus give the trade room to breathe. Many traders use indicators such as Average True Range (ATR) to set trailing stop distances that are proportional to recent volatility.

How to Modify or Remove a Trailing Stop on MT5

To change the trailing stop distance on an open position, right-click the position in the Trade tab, select "Trailing Stop," and choose a different preset or enter a new Custom value. The previous trailing stop is replaced by the new one. You do not need to remove the old setting first.

To remove a trailing stop, right-click the position, select "Trailing Stop," and choose "None." The trailing stop is cancelled. Any stop-loss that was already placed at a fixed level by the trailing stop will remain at its last trailed level as a fixed stop-loss unless you also modify the stop-loss directly.

To remove trailing stops from all open positions at once, right-click any position, select "Trailing Stop," and choose "Delete All." This removes trailing stops across all open positions in one action.

Server-Side Trailing Stop Processing on MT5

A defining feature of MT5 trailing stops at TIOmarkets is that they can be processed server-side. Server-side processing means the trail continues to update on TIOmarkets infrastructure even when your MT5 terminal is closed. If you set a trailing stop, shut your laptop, and the market continues to move in your favour, the stop continues to ratchet upward (for a long position) or downward (for a short position) without you having to do anything.

This is the practical difference from MT4, where trailing stops are processed client-side only. On MT4, if you close the terminal, the trailing stop stops updating and the stop-loss sits at whatever level it had reached when the terminal was last connected. MT5 removes this limitation for traders who use the desktop terminal intermittently.

Server-side processing does not change how the trailing stop behaves when it is triggered. When price reaches the trailing stop level, the platform sends a market order to close the position. Orders are executed at the best available market price, which may result in positive or negative slippage. In fast or thinly traded markets, the fill price may differ from the trailing stop level. Demo accounts often execute instantly and may not fully replicate live slippage conditions.

Practical Considerations

A trailing stop only begins to move once the position has moved into profit by the trailing stop distance. Setting a 200 point trailing stop does not place a stop 200 points behind the entry price immediately. It activates when the position is 200 points in profit, at which point the stop-loss is set 200 points behind the current price and begins to trail from there.

MT5 trading instruments have a minimum stops level that defines how close to the current market price an order, stop-loss, take-profit, or trailing stop can be placed. You can view the stops level for any instrument by right-clicking the symbol in the Market Watch window (Ctrl+M) and selecting "Specification." If the trailing stop distance is too small relative to the stops level, the platform will reject the modification.

TIOmarkets MT5 accounts use hedging mode, which means you can hold multiple positions on the same symbol in opposite directions or at different entry prices. Each position has its own trailing stop, set independently of the others. If you have three open long EURUSD positions, you can apply a different trailing stop to each.

Trailing stops cannot be set on pending orders, only on open positions. If you want a pending order to be protected by a trailing stop after it fills, you need to apply the trailing stop manually once the pending order has converted into an open position.

A trailing stop is not a guaranteed stop. It is a market order triggered at a defined price level. In gaps or volatile periods, the actual fill price may differ from the trigger level. Spreads are variable and are typically higher than minimum figures shown, and a widening spread around news events can also trigger a trailing stop earlier than the visible bid or ask might suggest, since stops on long positions are triggered by the bid and stops on short positions by the ask.

Trading at TIOmarkets

TIOmarkets offers MetaTrader 5 and MetaTrader 4 on desktop, web, and mobile, across four account types. The Standard account is created automatically on registration with a minimum deposit of $20 or currency equivalent. The Raw and VIP Black accounts are opened separately through the client area. The Nano account is MT5 only with a $20 minimum deposit, USD only. Hedging is supported on all accounts. A swap-free Islamic account is available; contact TIOmarkets for eligibility and instrument requirements. Copy trading is available on both MT4 and MT5.

Orders are executed at the best available market price, which may result in positive or negative slippage. Demo accounts often execute instantly and may not fully replicate live slippage conditions. Spreads are variable and are typically higher than minimum figures shown. Leverage on each instrument is subject to change depending on market conditions and applicable regulatory requirements. You can review the full list of account types on the TIOmarkets accounts page.