MQL5 Market vs Selling MT5 Tools Directly: Costs, Restrictions and Trade-Offs

Last checked: 12 October 2026. This comparison draws on the MetaTrader 5 Help seller and buyer pages, reports of MQL5 Market rules from sellers and MetaQuotes announcements, and Paystack’s published pricing. Marketplace rules can change without notice. Always read the live rules before deciding.

Every MT5 developer who wants to sell faces the same choice: put the product in the MQL5 Market, or sell it directly. Neither is better for everyone. The Market offers an audience and built-in protection at a price. Direct sales offer control and margin at the cost of doing everything yourself. This article compares them on costs, restrictions and trade-offs so you can decide with numbers, not feelings.

The cost side

The MetaTrader 5 help states that the minimum price on the Market is 30 USD and that a 20 percent commission is charged on purchases, giving the example that a 100 USD product pays the seller 80 USD. Using that rule:

• A 50 USD product pays you 40 USD, a 20 USD cut.
• A 150 USD product pays you 120 USD, a 30 USD cut.

On your own site with a Nigerian gateway, Paystack’s pricing page lists 1.5 percent plus 100 naira on local transactions (capped at 2,000 naira) and 3.9 percent plus 100 naira on international cards. On a 50 USD sale paid by international card, the gateway costs roughly 4 percent, about 2 USD, plus any conversion costs. The percentage gap looks huge, about 20 percent against 4 percent, but it is only half the story. The Market’s 20 percent buys you things that cost money and time to replace.

What the Market’s commission buys

• Distribution. The MetaTrader 5 help says products are featured inside the trading platform and on the MQL5.com website. That is an audience you would otherwise pay to reach.
• Delivery and updates. Purchases go to the terminal’s Market folders, and updates appear with an Update button.
• Copy protection. Products are provided with at least five activations, and programs downloaded from the Market are encrypted.
• Demo versions and rental. The help pages describe demos and rentals that let buyers try before committing.
• Payments. MetaQuotes’ own payment system on MQL5.community handles settlement between buyers and sellers.
• Seller vetting. MQL5.com says sellers must pass registration with contact details and identity documents, which makes buyers more willing to trust the Market.

When you sell directly, you must build or buy each of these: traffic, licensing, delivery, payment handling, trial and trust.

The restriction side

The Market is a controlled environment. Known restrictions include:

• Validation checks. Uploaded files are checked automatically. MetaQuotes lists problems such as array out of range, zero divide, invalid trade volumes and violating the stop level or freeze level.
• No DLLs. Rules quoted by sellers say products must not contain DLL calls.
• Description rules. No profit promises, no links to third-party resources, no messenger-group support links and no broker affiliate links inside panels, per the MetaTrader 5 help and an FX News Group report on MetaQuotes’ rules.
• Similar products. Rules quoted by sellers treat near-duplicate products as spam.
• Visibility control. The administration says it may remove products from the showcase without specifying which rule was violated.
• Refunds. A seller quotation of the rules says Market purchases are non-refundable. Verify it, because it affects how much trust buyers need.

Direct sales have fewer platform-imposed restrictions, but other gatekeepers exist: the payment gateway’s due diligence, the policies of merchant-of-record platforms (Paddle lists trading signals and strategies among prohibited categories) and the advertising rules of the networks you use.

Control and ownership

Who should choose what

• New seller with no audience: the Market. The commission is the price of being found.
• Seller with an existing audience or content channel: consider direct sales, because the traffic is yours already.
• Seller with custom or high-value tools: direct sales, because custom work does not fit a catalogue.
• Seller who wants a subscription with flexible plans: direct, unless the Market’s rental options are enough.
• Seller who cannot handle support and tax: the Market, which takes more of the plumbing.

The hybrid path

Many developers use both. They publish a polished, rule-compliant tool on the Market to find customers and reputation, and they offer extended or custom versions directly. Check the Market rules before pointing buyers elsewhere, because third-party links in product descriptions are restricted, which means you cannot advertise your website there. You may mention your profile and build your reputation on MQL5.com in ways the rules allow.

Quick break-even thinking

Suppose you sell 100 copies at 60 USD. On the Market you keep 48 USD each, or 4,800 USD. Directly, with a 4 percent gateway cost, you keep roughly 57.60 USD each, or 5,760 USD, a difference of 960 USD. Now ask what it costs to get 100 buyers on your own site: advertising, content time, a store, licensing and support. If you can reach those buyers only through the Market’s audience, the lower fee means nothing. Often the right comparison is not 20 percent against 4 percent but the number of buyers each route delivers.

Questions to ask before choosing

1. Do I already have people who want my product?
2. Can I handle support, licensing, tax and refunds?
3. Does my product pass the Market’s validation and rules without changes I do not want?
4. Will a payment provider accept my product category?
5. What happens if the platform removes my listing or my payment account?

What we could not confirm

• How many sales a typical new Market product makes, which MetaQuotes does not publish in a way we could verify.
• The current text of the Market rules on refunds, DLLs and similar products. We relied on the MetaTrader 5 help and seller quotations.

Frequently asked questions

Can I sell the same product on both? Often yes, but read the Market rules about exclusivity and links, and keep versions consistent.

Is the 20 percent charged on rentals too? The help page states a commission on purchases. Check the current rules for rentals.

Key takeaways

The Market trades a 20 percent commission and a set of restrictions for audience, delivery and protection. Direct sales trade control and margin for the work of doing everything yourself. Choose by comparing audience, workload and risk, not by fee percentage alone.

Sources checked

• MetaTrader 5 Help, “How to Become a Seller” and “How to Purchase an App”, metatrader5.com
• MQL5.com, “How Secure Is It to Buy MQL5 Market Products?” and the article on checks products must pass before publication
• FX News Group, report on MetaQuotes Market description rules
• MQL5.com forum posts quoting the Market service rules (secondary sources)
• Paystack, pricing page, paystack.com
• Paddle, prohibited products page, paddle.com