Glossary
Every Tick Based on Real Ticks: MT5 Strategy Tester Modes Explained
At a glance
Real ticks are the price ticks a broker has stored for a symbol. In the mode “Every tick based on real ticks”, the MetaTrader 5 Strategy Tester replays them instead of generating ticks from minute bars. Where a minute has no tick data, the tester falls back to generated ticks. The mode describes the price data of a backtest; order execution is still simulated.
On this page
Real ticks are the ticks a broker has stored for a symbol. “Every tick based on real ticks” is the MT5 Strategy Tester mode that replays them. The mode says where the prices of a backtest come from. It is not a record of how orders would have been filled.
The MetaQuotes documentation was checked on 1 October 2026. AI assisted with research and drafting. RoboXpert develops its own trading software, so we have a commercial interest in this subject; see our editorial standards and commercial disclosure.
Real ticks and the other four modelling modes
You choose the mode in the Strategy Tester’s settings before a run. MetaQuotes describes the options in its testing help. The table quotes each description; the right column says which prices the EA receives in that mode.
Scroll horizontally if needed
| Mode | MetaQuotes’ description | What the EA gets |
|---|---|---|
| Every tick based on real ticks | “Testing is performed using real ticks of financial instruments, accumulated by brokers. No simulation is performed.” | The broker’s stored ticks |
| Every tick | “the most accurate but the slowest mode. All ticks are simulated in this mode.” | Ticks generated from minute bars |
| 1 minute OHLC | “only 4 prices (Open, High, Low and Close) of each minute bar are emulated.” | Four prices per minute |
| Open prices only | “only the open price is used for testing/optimization.” | One price per bar |
| Math calculations | The tester “does not download history data and information on symbols, as well as does not generate ticks.” | No prices at all |
“No simulation” in the first row refers to the ticks. An EA that reacts within a bar, for example a scalper or a trailing stop, can behave differently in each row. An EA that acts only on a bar’s open is far less affected.
What happens when real tick data is missing
Stored ticks have gaps. MetaQuotes documents two rules for them, the first in its help on real and generated ticks:
- If a minute bar has no tick data, “the tester generates ticks in the ‘Every tick’ mode.” The run continues, and that stretch is simulated.
- The tester compares the ticks with the minute bar. According to the MQL5 reference, “if a mismatch is detected, all ticks corresponding to this minute bar are discarded.”
A report labelled “real ticks” can therefore contain generated stretches. Check the tester’s journal for gaps before you rely on the label.
What the real-ticks mode does not tell you
- Whose ticks. The data is “accumulated by brokers”. Another broker’s history for the same symbol can differ, and so can the result.
- How orders were filled. The tester simulates execution. Spread comes from the history, and delays and requotes depend on a separate setting; see slippage.
- Whether the result will repeat. Better price data makes a backtest a more careful simulation. It stays a simulation, as our guide to backtest vs live trading explains.
What to ask when a seller mentions real ticks
Ask for the tester report with its settings: symbol, broker data source, dates, modelling mode, delay setting, commission and swap. A mode name without these is not enough to judge a result. MetaQuotes lists real-tick testing as a MetaTrader 5 capability, so a MetaTrader 4 backtest was made with a different tester; see MT4 vs MT5 for Expert Advisors.
Sources & further reading
Your next question
