# MetaTrader 5 API rate limits

Independent and unofficial. Not affiliated with or endorsed by any broker or platform named here. Educational only: nothing here is advice, and nothing here recommends a broker or a trade.

This is the markdown version of https://openbrokerapi.com/platforms/metatrader-5/rate-limits, written from the same records as that page.

Risk warning: CFDs and spread bets are complex instruments and come with a high risk of losing money rapidly due to leverage. You can lose money on these products, and each provider publishes its own loss figure under FCA rules. You should consider whether you understand how they work and whether you can afford to take the high risk of losing your money. Automated and API trading can amplify losses through bugs, connectivity failures and runaway orders.

What is recorded about how fast you may call the MetaTrader 5 API: no per limit record yet, the wording from the record and 1 related error code.

- Newest check: 2026-09-20

## Recorded limits

Not recorded: no separate limit record is held for MetaTrader 5 (Python package and MQL5) yet. That is a gap in this dataset, not a statement that there is no limit.

## Rate limits, as the record words them

- Rate limits, as worded: Not published. The Python page states none, carries no version and no date, and gives no consolidated error list beyond last_error() (read 22 Sep 2026).
  - Status: verified. Source: [MetaTrader for Python](https://www.mql5.com/en/docs/python_metatrader5), checked 2026-09-20.

## Error codes that concern limits

These are the decoded MetaTrader 5 (Python package and MQL5) errors whose record concerns a rate limit, an allowance or throttling. Each links to the full meaning and the fix.

- [10024 TRADE_RETCODE_TOO_MANY_REQUESTS](https://openbrokerapi.com/errors/mt5/10024) (HTTP status not recorded): Requests are being sent too often.
  - Status: verified. Source: [mql5.com](https://www.mql5.com/en/docs/constants/errorswarnings/enum_trade_return_codes), checked 2026-10-09.

## Pacing and backoff, in general

This part is general advice and says nothing about MetaTrader 5 (Python package and MQL5) in particular. The figures that apply are the recorded ones above, and the provider's own documentation is the authority.

Pace before you are refused. Work out the gap between requests that keeps you under the limit, then leave a margin, because a limit counted by a provider's clock will not line up exactly with yours. Spread calls evenly: a burst at the start of each window is the usual way to hit a limit while staying under it on average. The rate limit calculator at https://openbrokerapi.com/tools/rate-limit-calculator checks a polling plan against a limit and gives the shortest interval that fits.

When a request is refused for rate, stop sending and wait. Double the wait after each refusal in a row, add a small random amount so that several programs do not retry together, and cap the number of attempts. If the reply names how long to wait, use that figure in place of your own.

Take extra care with dealing requests. A refused or unanswered order may or may not have gone through, so check the state of the order before you send it again. Cache what does not change, such as instrument details and history you have already downloaded, and prefer a stream to polling where one is offered.

## Where to go next

- [The full MetaTrader 5 (Python package and MQL5) record](https://openbrokerapi.com/platforms/metatrader-5)
- [All MetaTrader 5 (Python package and MQL5) error codes](https://openbrokerapi.com/errors/mt5)
- [Rate limits for every broker and platform](https://openbrokerapi.com/rate-limits)
- [The fact register](https://openbrokerapi.com/facts)

## Licence and how to cite

The limit records on this page come from the limits register, which is CC BY 4.0 (https://openbrokerapi.com/data/limits.json). Everything else on it comes from records that are all rights reserved. This file is the page itself, at its own address, in another format, and it is not part of the CC BY 4.0 downloads listed at https://openbrokerapi.com/data.

Cite as: MetaTrader 5 API rate limits. Broker API Hub, https://openbrokerapi.com/platforms/metatrader-5/rate-limits, newest check 2026-09-20.

Where you rely on a single figure, cite the source and the checked date printed beside it as well. Where this page and a broker's own documentation differ, the documentation wins.