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How to Check an EA’s Live Track Record: Myfxbook, MQL5 Signals and 12 Red Flags

Updated October 26, 2026 · By the Pips & Gold team

Backtests show what an EA would have done. A live track record shows what it actually did, with real spreads, real slippage and real nerves. But live results can be dressed up too: by topping up the account, hiding losing trades, showing a demo account as if it were real, or running twenty accounts and only showing the best one. This guide shows how to check a track record properly, in about fifteen minutes, before you buy an EA, copy a trader or pay for signals.

By Pips & Gold teamLast updated October 22, 20268 min readLevel: All levels

Key takeaways

Screenshots and statement files prove almost nothing. Ask for a live, read-only link.
On Myfxbook, 'Track Record Verified' means the data matches the broker. It doesn't prove the account is real money or that it's the seller's.
'Trading Privileges Verified' means the person who added the account controls it. You want both badges.
Check real or demo, account age, deposits and withdrawals, and equity drawdown.
Use time-weighted gain, not balance growth: deposits can turn a 45% loss into a '450% gain'.
A track record that is short, perfect or only demo isn't enough to judge an EA.

Why a live track record matters

A backtest is a simulation. It uses past prices, a chosen spread and no human in the loop. A live track record adds everything the simulation leaves out: spread spikes, slippage on fast moves, requotes, server outages, and the real temptation to switch the EA off at the worst moment. If an EA's live results are much worse than its backtest, the backtest was probably too optimistic.

Climb as high as you can before you trust a result.

Our rule on this site is simple: we show backtests clearly labelled as backtests, and live results only once they exist and can be checked by you. No screenshots of profits, ever.

Myfxbook: what the badges really mean

Myfxbook is a free website that connects to a trading account and publishes its results. It has two separate checks, and they prove different things:

Badge	What it proves	What it doesn't prove
Track Record Verified	The trading history on Myfxbook matches the history the broker reports. Myfxbook connects with the read-only investor password.	That it is a real-money account, that it belongs to the person showing it, or that it will keep making money.
Trading Privileges Verified	The person who added the account holds the master (trading) password, so it is their account or they can trade it.	That the results are good, or that the account is real money.

So you want both badges. Then check the details on the account page:

Real or demo. Shown on the page. A demo account can carry both badges. Treat demo results as a test, not proof.
Started date and age. A few weeks proves little. Look for six months or more, and ideally over a year.
Gain vs absolute gain. Myfxbook's main 'Gain' is time-weighted, so deposits and withdrawals don't distort it. Check it matches the story you're being told.
Drawdown. Check the maximum drawdown figure and open the chart to look at equity, not just balance.
Deposits and withdrawals. Many top-ups during a losing period is a warning sign.
Open trades. If they're hidden, ask why. Big open losses change everything.

Old accounts can lose the badgeBrokers delete very old history, so a long-running account may lose 'Track Record Verified' for its early months. That alone isn't a red flag. Ask the owner, and look at the verified part.

MQL5 Signals: the numbers to read

MQL5 Signals (built into MetaTrader) publishes every signal account's statistics. They're read straight from the account, so they're hard to fake. The most useful lines:

Statistic	What it means	What to look for
Trading mode	Demo or real	Real. Providers can take far bigger risks on demo.
Weeks	Weeks since the account's first trade	26 or more; the longer the better
Maximal drawdown	The biggest balance or equity drop from a high, whichever is worse	A level you could live with, doubled
Max deposit load	The most margin used, as % of equity (margin ÷ equity × 100)	Low. High load means big positions
Algo trading	Share of deals placed by robots or scripts	Near 100% if it's sold as an EA
Equity chart	Equity and balance together	Equity falling far below balance means losers are held open
Leverage	The account's leverage	Compare with yours: lower leverage means a higher deposit load for you

MetaTrader's own help page for choosing a signal explains each statistic in more detail.

The deposit trick: how top-ups hide losses

This is the most common way a bad record is made to look good. Here is how it works with simple numbers:

Worked example

A '450% gain' that is really a 45% loss

An account starts with $1,000. The EA loses half of it. The owner tops up $4,500, and the EA then makes 10%.

Start $1,000 After the loss (−50%) $500 Top-up +$4,500 → $5,000 After the gain (+10%) $5,500 Balance growth = $5,500 ÷ $1,000 − 1 = +450% (wrong) Profit in $ = −$500 + $500 = $0 Time-weighted = 0.50 × 1.10 − 1 = −45% (right)

The time-weighted figure is the honest one: if you had copied this EA from the start, you would be down 45% on the money you put in at the start.

Always check the deposit and withdrawal list next to the gain.

Watch for top-ups during drawdownsDeposits just after a deep drop are the classic sign of an EA that needed rescuing. Myfxbook and MQL5 both list every deposit and withdrawal; read the list.

The floating-loss trap

Equity is what the account is really worth right now.

Some EAs, especially grid, basket and martingale EAs, close winning trades quickly and leave losing trades open. The balance (closed trades) rises in a smooth line. The equity (including open trades) quietly sinks. Everything looks fine until the losing trades are finally closed, or the broker closes them in a margin call.

On any track record, compare equity with balance, look at the open trades, and check the largest floating loss. Our guide to grid and basket EAs shows the maths behind this.

A 15-minute check, step by step

Ask for the live link. If the seller only has screenshots, a PDF or a video, stop here. Any honest EA seller with live results can share a read-only page.
Check the badges and account type. On Myfxbook, both badges should be green. Note whether it says Real or Demo. On MQL5, the trading mode is on the signal page.
Check the age and the gain. Note the start date. Read the main gain figure and the monthly table. Count the losing months; an honest record has some.
Read the deposits and withdrawals. Look for top-ups right after big drops, and for withdrawals that leave only a small balance trading.
Look at equity, not balance. Open the chart that shows both. Find the deepest equity dip and write it down. That's roughly what you should expect to sit through, and live it can be worse.
Compare with the backtest. If the seller also shows a backtest, check that the live account uses the same settings and that the results are in the same range. If live is much worse, trust live.

Write down three numbers as you go: the account age, the time-weighted gain and the deepest equity drawdown. Those three tell you more than any sales page.

Worked example

Turning a drawdown into your own money

A verified real account shows a deepest equity drawdown of 18%. You plan to run the same EA with $3,000.

Drawdown seen live = 18% Safety margin ×1.5 = 27% Your money at risk = $3,000 × 27% = $810

If losing $810 on the way to any profit would make you panic and switch the EA off at the bottom, use a smaller lot or a smaller account.

12 red flags

Number 10 is worth explaining. Some sellers run many accounts at once and only show the ones that survived. If a seller has a history of 'new' accounts or has removed old signals, ask what happened to them.

Score a track record

Answer the questions about any track record you're looking at. The scorecard counts the checks it passes and lists the ones it fails.

Track record scorecard

For learning only. A high score lowers the odds of being misled; it does not mean an EA or trader will make money.

What we'll show for our own EAs

When we publish results for our own EAs, backtests will be clearly labelled, with losing months and worst baskets included. We don't show live results yet, because we don't have enough of them. When we do, they'll be on a verified, read-only tracker you can open yourself, losing months included.

Hold us to the same standardEverything on this page applies to us too. If any result we show fails these checks, tell us through the contact page.

For backtests, see how to read an MT5 Strategy Tester report.

Common mistakes

Trusting a screenshot or PDF statement. Both can be edited or cut to the best months. Ask for a live, read-only link.
Reading balance growth instead of gain. Deposits inflate balance growth. Use the time-weighted gain.
Ignoring demo vs real. Demo results show the strategy, not how it handles real fills and slippage.
Looking only at the last month. Check the whole history, worst months included.
Copying at much lower leverage than the provider. Your deposit load will be higher and you can be stopped out where the provider survives.
Skipping the open trades. Big floating losses change the true picture.

Printable checklist

I've opened a live, read-only link myself (not a screenshot).
Both Myfxbook badges are green, or it's an MQL5 signal.
The account is real money, not demo.
It has run for at least 6 months, ideally over a year.
I've read the deposit and withdrawal list.
I've used time-weighted gain, not balance growth.
I've checked equity drawdown and the open trades.
Live results roughly match the backtest.
The seller isn't pushing me to buy right now.

Frequently asked questions

Can Myfxbook results be faked?

The trade data is read from the broker, so it's hard to edit. But a verified account can still be a demo, can belong to someone else if Trading Privileges aren't verified, or can be one of many accounts where only the best is shown.

Is a demo track record worthless?

No, it shows how the strategy behaves. It just isn't proof of real-money results: demo fills, spreads and the trader's behaviour can differ.

How long should a track record be?

At least six months to see a few different market moods, and a year or more to see a real range of conditions. Short records can be pure luck.

What is time-weighted gain?

A return that removes the effect of deposits and withdrawals by chaining the return of each period. It shows how the strategy did, not how much money was added.

Why does an EA's live record differ from its backtest?

Live trading has variable spreads, slippage, commissions, swaps and outages. A small gap is normal; a big one means the backtest was too optimistic.

Does Pips & Gold have a live verified record?

Not yet. When we have live results, they'll be on a read-only verified tracker you can open yourself.

Risk warning: most EAs lose money in the long runTrading forex and gold with leverage is high risk and you can lose all of your deposit. Most Expert Advisors do not make money over the long term. Every result shown here is a backtest on past prices, not live trading, and past results do not promise future results. Live results will be different because of spreads, commission, slippage and changing markets. This is not financial advice. Test on a demo account first and only trade money you can afford to lose. Full risk disclaimer.

Sources and further reading

This guide is general education, not financial advice. Broker terms differ; always check your own broker's contract specifications.