cTrader ID groups accounts
One login can span several trading accounts and sometimes several brokers. Convenient — and a broader credential than a single MetaTrader password, which matters if anyone ever asks you to share it.
R4CopiercTrader
A cTrader trade copier that doesn’t stop at cTrader.
cTrader already has a copy feature — and it is built for a strategy provider gathering investors, not for one trader mirroring their own accounts across several brokers and two other platforms. That gap is what this is for.
cTrader ↔ MT4 ↔ MT5No cBot to keep loadedCredentials stay local
The honest question
cTrader Copy exists. When is it the right answer?
Often it is. Worth being straight about that before explaining when it isn't.
cTrader Copy is a genuinely good feature. It is native, it requires no extra software, and if your situation is “I have cTrader accounts and I want them to follow one strategy” it may be all you need. We would rather say so than pretend otherwise.
It stops being the right answer in three specific situations:
- Your accounts are not all on cTrader. A platform-native feature cannot reach an MT4 or MT5 account. For traders running several prop firms this is the usual case rather than the exception.
- You are mirroring your own accounts, not offering a strategy. cTrader Copy is modelled around a provider-and-investor relationship. That model carries structure you do not need when both accounts are yours.
- You want per-slave rules that differ. Different lot logic per account, symbol mapping across brokers that name pairs differently, and the ability to toggle one slave off because its firm forbids a trade today.
If none of those apply, use the native feature. If one or more does, that is what R4Copier is for.
Side by side
cTrader Copy vs. an external bridge
| R4Copier | cTrader Copy | |
|---|---|---|
| Reaches MT4 and MT5 accounts | Yes | cTrader only |
| Designed for | Mirroring accounts you own | Strategy provider and investors |
| Per-slave lot rules | Equity %, lot %, or static | Investor-side allocation |
| Cross-broker symbol mapping | Per connection | Within the ecosystem |
| Extra software to run | Yes — on your machine or VPS | None |
| Where broker credentials sit | Your OS keystore | Inside the platform |
Note the last row. cTrader Copy keeps credentials inside the platform, which is fine — the credential problem is not a cTrader problem. It is a cloud copier problem, and it applies to the third-party services that ask you to paste a login into a web form. That comparison is on the credentials page.
cTrader specifics01 02 03
Three things that behave differently here.
cBots, not EAs
cTrader automates with C# cBots rather than MQL Expert Advisors. R4Copier does not use either: it connects to the terminal, so there is no strategy instance to keep loaded.
Check the position model
Position handling can differ between platforms and broker configurations. Confirm how your slave accounts treat same-symbol orders before you scale up — the same caution applies to MT5 netting accounts.
Setup
From licence key to mirrored cTrader accounts.
Install R4Copier on the Windows machine or VPS where your terminals run and sign in with your licence key. Your cTrader installations are detected automatically, alongside any MetaTrader 4 and MetaTrader 5 terminals on the same machine, and all of them appear in one connection list.
Nominate a master — it can be a cTrader account or a MetaTrader one — add your slaves, and set a sizing rule per slave. Map symbol prefixes and suffixes where brokers disagree on names. Per-slave status is live in the app and on the web dashboard.
The engine runs on your machine, so broker credentials go to your operating system’s keystore rather than to us. The architecture is set out on self-hosted trade copier.
Questions
cTrader copying, answered plainly.
How is this different from cTrader Copy?
cTrader Copy is built into the platform and designed around a strategy provider that investors follow, with the relationship and any fees handled inside the cTrader ecosystem.
R4Copier is built for the other case: one trader mirroring their own accounts, including accounts at brokers that are not on cTrader at all. If your slaves include MT4 or MT5 accounts, a cTrader-native feature cannot reach them.
Can I copy from cTrader to MT4 or MT5?
Yes, in either direction. R4Copier treats cTrader, MetaTrader 4 and MetaTrader 5 as connections of the same kind, so a cTrader master can drive MetaTrader slaves and vice versa.
This is the main reason traders reach for a third-party copier on cTrader — a mixed estate across prop firms is common, and platform-native features stop at the platform boundary.
What does cTrader ID change?
A cTrader ID groups multiple trading accounts, sometimes across several brokers, under one login. It makes managing accounts easier, but it does not copy trades between them — grouping and mirroring are different things.
It also means the credential you would hand a cloud copier can be broader in scope than a single MetaTrader account password, which is worth thinking about before you share one.
Do I need a cBot to copy trades?
No. R4Copier connects to the cTrader terminal itself rather than running as a cBot, so there is no automated-strategy instance to keep loaded or re-add after a restart.
The same applies on the MetaTrader side, where the equivalent approach would be an Expert Advisor attached to a chart.
Which cTrader brokers and prop firms are supported?
Any broker or firm that gives you a standard cTrader account. Because the connection is to the platform rather than to a broker-specific integration, there is no per-broker support list to wait on.
If your firm offers a choice of platform at signup, it is worth checking whether your slaves will end up on the same one — mixed estates are workable, but they need the account modes checked.
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