If this is you
Choose Soft4FX
You trade in MetaTrader every day and want replay there. Or your entries depend on the spread, or you want news events in the simulator.
BacktestFlow vs Soft4FX
A Soft4FX alternative: manual forex backtesting in the browser
Soft4FX and BacktestFlow both replay forex history for traders who place every trade by hand. Soft4FX goes wide inside MetaTrader: tick data with real variable spreads, 60 forex pairs and an economic calendar. BacktestFlow goes deep on forex in the browser: every trade recorded before the replay moves on, and findings that must pass a significance check.
6rows BacktestFlow leads
3rows Soft4FX leads
0prices quoted: they change, check them at the source
Side by side
Feature by feature. Where one tool leads, its cell is marked: 6 rows for BacktestFlow, 3 for Soft4FX. Every claim about Soft4FX is sourced and dated below.
| Feature | Soft4FX | BacktestFlow |
|---|---|---|
| What you need installed | MetaTrader 4 or 5, plus the plugin | LeadsNothing to install: runs in the browser, the same on macOS, Windows and Linux |
| Rewind during replay | Yes: pause, resume, adjust speed, step candle by candle, and rewind | Yes, on the Max plan: a slider moves the replay back 1 to 50 candles, with a red line previewing the cut |
| Historical data | Leads10 to 20 years of tick data from Dukascopy, TrueFX and HistData, including real variable spreads | 1 minute OHLC candles from bid prices; no tick data and no spread modeling. Forex from 2010 to 2015 depending on pair: GBPUSD and AUDUSD from 2010, EURUSD from 2012. Gold from 2011 |
| Instruments | Leads60 forex pairs plus metals, crypto and 12 stock indexes | 41 instruments on paid plans, forex first: 28 pairs plus metals, energy, the dollar index, four stock indices, BTC and ETH. The free plan has 8 of them |
| Economic calendar | LeadsBuilt in, filterable by importance and currency, data from 2007 onward | Not offered |
| Trading sessions | Sessions window showing New York, London, Tokyo and Sydney times | LeadsWhich markets are open at the chart's moment, shown live during replay. Statistics in pips, candles on the DST aware 17:00 New York session grid, and on paid plans, performance by trading session |
| Statistics produced | “Statistics similar to ones offered by Metatrader”, with Excel export and an HTML report formatted like an MT4 or MT5 account statement | On paid plans, more than 40 metrics in five sections, in R, %, money or pips; on the free plan, the Verdict and Edge sections |
| Discipline and behavior metrics | Not documented | LeadsPlanned against captured R:R, target hit rate and position sizing consistency on every plan; the checklist discipline score on paid plans |
| Your rules as a checklist | Not documented | LeadsDescribe a strategy in plain words and it becomes a checklist you are measured against; on paid plans, from the strategy form too, or dictated |
| Recording every trade | Trades are recorded in the simulation and exportable | LeadsEvery close opens a write up with notes, tags, checklist and screenshots, and the replay waits until it is saved. Screenshots can be captured automatically on close |
| Analysis of your trades | Not documented beyond the statistics above | LeadsFlow Coach runs 28 analyses. A finding is kept only if it passes a significance check, and a report may only quote numbers the engine measured. On the Max plan every report, on the others the first per strategy and lens |
| Timeframe switch safety | Not documented either way | Switching timeframe rebuilds the current candle only from bars already replayed, so no future price shows |
Where BacktestFlow leads
Built deeper for forex traders who trade by hand. The reasons to pick BacktestFlow, each with the mechanism behind it.
“Statistics similar to ones offered by Metatrader”
Those are outcome statistics. BacktestFlow also measures your process: planned against captured R:R and position sizing consistency on every plan, checklist discipline on paid plans.
A record you cannot skip
Every close opens a write up with notes, tags, checklist and screenshots, and the replay waits until it is saved. A session cannot end with the ugly trades left out. A half recorded backtest is how traders reach a sample size that means nothing.
A coach that can't invent a number
Flow Coach runs 28 analyses across your backtests and your live journal. A finding is kept only if it passes a significance check: a 90% Wilson interval and a group of at least 8 trades. The written report may quote only numbers the engine measured. On the Max plan you get every report; on Free and Pro, the first per strategy and lens.
It measures how you executed, not only what you made
On every plan, BacktestFlow measures how much of the planned risk to reward you captured and tracks position sizing consistency. On paid plans it also scores checklist discipline. Those numbers tell you why a result happened. Describe your strategy in plain words and it becomes the checklist you are measured against. See the full metric list.
Forex depth, with no look ahead
Statistics come in pips as well as R, % and money. Multi hour candles sit on the DST aware 17:00 New York grid, and on paid plans you see performance by trading session. Switching timeframe rebuilds the current candle only from bars already replayed, so a higher timeframe never shows future price.
Nothing to install, on any system
Soft4FX is a plugin, so MetaTrader comes first. If you chart elsewhere or work on a Mac, that is a setup step before your first test trade. BacktestFlow opens in a browser tab on macOS, Windows or Linux.
Where Soft4FX leads
When Soft4FX fits better. Where the job decides it.
You already work in MetaTrader.
Soft4FX runs where your charts and your broker connection already are. If MT4 or MT5 is your daily platform, Soft4FX is the better fit.
You want results in MetaTrader's format.
Soft4FX exports to Excel and to an HTML report laid out like an MT4 or MT5 account statement. If you file your results that way, it is the better fit.
The short answer
Which should you use?
If this is you
Choose BacktestFlow
You trade forex by hand and want every trade recorded and findings that pass a significance check, in a browser with nothing to install. On paid plans, your discipline becomes a statistic too.
The two can sit side by side. Keep Soft4FX inside MetaTrader, and use BacktestFlow to record every trade and measure how you executed it.
FAQ
Frequently asked questions. About Soft4FX, and about the differences.
Soft4FX is a manual backtesting simulator that runs as a plugin inside MetaTrader 4 or MetaTrader 5. You replay historical markets from a chosen date, place trades by hand, and it reports statistics similar to MetaTrader's own. It uses 10 to 20 years of tick data from Dukascopy, TrueFX and HistData, including real variable spreads.
Soft4FX goes wide inside MetaTrader: tick data with real variable spreads, 60 forex pairs and an economic calendar. BacktestFlow goes deep on forex in the browser. Every trade is recorded before the replay moves on, and Flow Coach keeps a finding only if it passes a significance check. It also measures planned against captured R:R on every plan, and scores checklist discipline on paid plans.
Yes. Soft4FX is a plugin, so it requires MetaTrader 4 or 5 installed and running. BacktestFlow needs nothing installed: it runs in the browser on macOS, Windows or Linux.
Yes, in both. Soft4FX lists rewind among its simulation controls. On the Max plan, BacktestFlow's slider moves the replay back 1 to 50 candles, previewed by a red line. Rewind is blocked while a position is open.
Only if your strategy lives inside a single candle: scalping, very tight stops, or entries that depend on the spread. Then Soft4FX, with tick data and real variable spreads, is the better fit. For strategies on 15 minute charts and above, one minute candles are usually enough. BacktestFlow replays one minute candles, with forex from 2010 to 2015 depending on pair.
Sources
Check it yourself. Every claim about Soft4FX on this page was checked against its own published material in August 2026.
We quote no prices: they change often, so check them at the source. Software changes too, so if something here is out of date, it is an error rather than a position, and it gets corrected.
BacktestFlow is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or sponsored by Soft4FX or MetaQuotes. Soft4FX, MetaTrader, MT4 and MT5 are trademarks of their respective owners. Features change: verify current details at the source.