Hedging vs netting accounts: what they mean for copy trading
Updated
MetaTrader 5 accounts come in two kinds. On a hedging account every trade is its own position, so you can hold two buys and a sell on the same symbol at once. On a netting account a symbol has at most one position, and every new trade on it is added to or subtracted from that one.
For a trade copier the difference matters more than for a manual trader, because a copier pairs every master trade with exactly one copy. This guide explains both kinds, which of your accounts can be a master or a follower in SnapCopier, and how to find out which kind an account is.
The difference in one table
| Hedging | Netting | |
|---|---|---|
| Positions per symbol | Any number, in both directions | One at most |
| Buy 1 lot, then buy 1 lot more | Two positions of 1 lot | One position of 2 lots |
| Buy 1 lot, then sell 1 lot | A buy and a sell, both open | The position is closed |
| Each position has its own ticket, stop loss and take profit | Yes | One set per symbol |
| Where you find it | Every MT4 account; most retail MT5 accounts | Some MT5 accounts, common for exchange-traded instruments |
The broker sets the mode for each account type when the account is opened. You cannot switch an existing account between the two; you would open another account of the other type.
Why a follower has to be a hedging account
A copier keeps one copy for every master trade, and later closes, reduces or changes exactly that copy when the master does. On a netting follower this cannot work: two separate master trades on EURUSD would merge into one position on the follower, and a sell copied from one master trade would close a buy that belongs to another.
That is why SnapCopier does not accept a netting account as a follower. The check happens when you add the account as a slave, when you link it to a master, and again before every copy, so a follower that turns out to be netting never receives a merged order.
If the account you want to copy to is a netting account, ask your broker for a hedging account type on MT5. Many brokers offer both.
A netting account as the master
A netting account can be a master. Its position on each symbol is copied to the hedging followers like any other trade:
- Opening a position on a symbol opens the copy.
- Reducing it, for example selling part of a buy, closes the same share of the copy.
- Closing it closes the copy.
- Stop loss and take profit changes reach the copy, if you copy them.
One limit to know: adding to an open position on a netting master, for example buying more while a buy is open, makes the existing position larger without opening a new one. The follower keeps the size it had. If your strategy scales into positions, a hedging master copies each addition as its own trade.
How to tell which kind an account is
- MT4: always hedging-style; there is nothing to check.
- MT5: the account type name at your broker usually says it (often “hedge” or “hedging”); if not, the broker’s support can tell you.
- In SnapCopier: once the account is added, its details show the margin mode as Hedging or Netting, and the account list marks netting accounts.
Copying between the two platforms works the same way: an MT4 master can copy to an MT5 hedging follower and the other way round. How to copy trades between MT4 and MT5 covers the rest of the differences.
Questions
Can I copy trades to a netting account?
Not as a follower. Copies of separate master trades would merge into one position on a netting account, so the copier could not close or change them one by one. Use a hedging account for the follower.
Can a netting account be the master?
Yes. Opening, reducing and closing its positions and changing their stop loss and take profit are copied. Adding to an open position on the netting master is not copied as an extra position.
Are MT4 accounts hedging or netting?
MT4 works like a hedging account: every order is its own position with its own ticket, so any MT4 account can be a follower.
Try it with your own accounts
Connect a master and a follower and watch the first copy appear in the log.
Join the free betaMore guides
- Copy trades between MT4 and MT5How to copy trades from MT4 to MT5 or from MT5 to MT4 between different brokers: what differs between the platforms, what is handled for you and what is not.
- Connecting with open tradesWhat happens to trades that are already open when you link a follower: skipped by default, taken over on request, never copied twice. How to choose.
- Different prices and slippageWhy a copied trade fills at a different price than the master: two brokers, two spreads, a moving market. How max slippage, late copies and SL/TP modes handle it.