Both are paid, both do manual bar-by-bar backtesting, and both are Windows-only — but they are not the same kind of product. Forex Tester is standalone software with its own data business attached. Soft4FX is a one-time plugin that fixes a gap in MetaTrader. Over three years the cost difference is far larger than the headline prices suggest.
Headline prices mislead in this comparison because one product sells data separately and the other does not sell data at all. Prices read from each vendor on 17 August 2026.
| Configuration | Year 1 | 3-year total | What you get |
|---|---|---|---|
| Soft4FX | $109 + tax | $109 + tax | Manual testing in MT4 and MT5, broker data |
| Forex Tester + Basic data | ₹5,599 | ₹5,599 | 18 symbols, medium quality, monthly updates |
| Forex Tester + Super (lifetime) | ₹28,598 | ₹28,598 | 860 symbols, tick, floating spread |
| Forex Tester + Super (annual) | ₹18,248 | ₹43,546 | Same, rented |
| Forex Tester + Super (monthly) | ₹84,787 | ₹243,163 | Same, worst possible way to buy it |
The honest comparison is the top two rows against each other. Soft4FX at $109 once, versus Forex Tester at ₹5,599 once — both are modest, both are permanent, and at that level the decision is about capability rather than money. The moment Super Data enters, Forex Tester becomes a different category of purchase entirely.
MetaTrader has never supported manual backtesting. Its Strategy Tester runs Expert Advisors, so a discretionary trader cannot step through bars placing trades by hand. Soft4FX exists to close exactly that gap, inside the platform you already use.
You keep your MetaTrader indicators, templates and muscle memory. You use your broker's history, which means your practice data matches your live data — a genuine and underrated advantage. And it is $109 plus tax, one-time, for MT4 and MT5 both, so migrating platforms later costs nothing extra.
What it does not give you: its own data business. Depth and quality are whatever your broker supplies, which is often thinner than you would like and varies between brokers.
A complete application that does not need MetaTrader at all, with its own historical data spanning up to 25 years. It does both manual and automated testing — the only tool in our comparison table that does both properly.
The Super Data tier is the real product for serious users: 860 symbols with tick data and floating spread. That is genuinely better than anything Soft4FX can offer through a broker feed, and it is what the extra money buys.
| Forex Tester | Soft4FX | |
|---|---|---|
| Price | ₹5,599 + data tier | $109 + tax, all in |
| Recurring cost | Yes, if Super Data rented | None |
| Needs MetaTrader | No | Yes |
| Manual bar-by-bar testing | Yes | Yes |
| Automated strategy testing | Yes | Via MetaTrader only |
| History depth | Up to 25 years | Broker-dependent |
| Symbols | 18 basic / 860 super | Broker's list |
| Tick data + floating spread | Yes (Super) | Broker-dependent |
| Data matches your broker | No | Yes |
| MT4 and MT5 | n/a | Both included |
| Platform | Windows | Windows |
| You… | Buy | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Already trade through MetaTrader | Soft4FX | Keeps your setup; cheapest permanent option |
| Want practice data identical to your live feed | Soft4FX | Uses your broker's own history |
| Want to spend once and never again | Soft4FX | $109 covers three years and beyond |
| Need tick data with floating spread | Forex Tester | Soft4FX cannot supply it independently |
| Test coded strategies as well as manual | Forex Tester | Does both in one application |
| Trade exotics, equities or commodities | Forex Tester | 860 symbols on Super Data |
| Need 20+ years of history | Forex Tester | Broker feeds rarely go that far |
| Do not use MetaTrader at all | Forex Tester | Soft4FX has nothing to attach to |
| Are on a Mac or a phone | Neither | Both are Windows-only |
A point worth making, given both products cost real money and both are commonly bought before the habit that justifies them exists.
Backtesting software is one of the most frequently purchased and least frequently used tools in retail trading. The usual sequence is enthusiasm, purchase, an intense weekend, and then nothing — not because the software disappointed, but because the buyer had not yet established that they would actually do a hundred repetitions.
FXAbsolute lets you find that out first, free, with no account and no install: 28,412,683 one-minute bars across 15 instruments from 2021 to 2026, replayed bar by bar with drawing tools, limit orders and an automatic journal. It runs on macOS and phones, which neither product here does.
It is genuinely weaker in ways that matter: no spread modelling (mid-price OHLC), no automation, five years rather than twenty-five. Those are exactly the reasons to eventually buy Forex Tester or Soft4FX — but they become reasons only once you know which one you actually run into.
Soft4FX is better value if you already use MetaTrader and want manual backtesting — $109 plus tax one-time, covering MT4 and MT5, using your broker's own data. Forex Tester is better if you need tick data with floating spread, automated strategy testing, 25 years of history or 860 symbols, and it does not require MetaTrader at all.
As displayed on soft4fx.com on 17 August 2026, $109 plus tax as a one-time purchase covering one user and two MetaTrader accounts, with both MT4 and MT5 included. Many review sites still quote $97 and describe it as MT4-only; both are incorrect.
It depends entirely on the data tier. With the free Basic data included, about Rs 5,599 total. With Super Data bought as a lifetime licence, roughly Rs 28,598. Bought annually, around Rs 43,546 over three years. Bought monthly, over Rs 240,000 — monthly billing is roughly six times the annual rate per year and should be avoided.
Yes. The $109 plus tax licence covers both MetaTrader 4 and MetaTrader 5, verified on the vendor's pricing page on 17 August 2026. Reviews claiming it is MT4-only are out of date, and the distinction matters if you plan to move to MT5 later.
Not itself. Soft4FX adds manual trading to MetaTrader; automated Expert Advisor testing is handled by MetaTrader's own Strategy Tester, which is free. Forex Tester does both manual and automated testing within a single application, which is one of the main things its higher price buys.
Not natively. Both are Windows software, so a Mac requires Parallels, CrossOver or Wine, and on Apple Silicon that adds both cost and a performance penalty. Browser-based tools such as FXAbsolute run on macOS with no workaround.
FXAbsolute gives unlimited manual replay on five years of real one-minute data — no account, no install, and it works on Mac and mobile.
Open FXAbsolute →