What is Expert Advisor (EA)?
Updated October 17, 2026
An expert advisor is a program on MetaTrader that can analyze the market and place trades automatically.
An EA is basically a trading bot built for MetaTrader 4 or 5. You attach it to a chart and it follows its rules.
It can open, manage and close trades while you're away. Some just alert you, others trade fully on their own.
EAs don't get tired or emotional, which is nice. But a bad EA will lose money just as calmly, so test on demo first.
Example
You install an EA on the XAUUSD chart and it places trades whenever its signals line up.
Questions people ask
Do EAs need my computer on?
Yes, unless you run MetaTrader on a VPS that stays on 24/7.
Are paid EAs better than free ones?
Not always. Check live results, not marketing.
Related
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