Easy Forex Builder (EFB) is a no-code, online tool for building automated Forex trading strategies.
Once a strategy is built in this software, it can be exported to MetaTrader or Forex Tester for backtesting or even live trading.
I reviewed EFB when it first came out and I was not impressed.
It was not able to create complex trading strategies and it was clunky to have to export a strategy from EFB, import it into MetaTrader, then backtest it.
So if you've come to the same conclusion as me about EFB, then here are some alternatives that can make the strategy building process much easier.
I will provide both free and paid options.
But I'll tell you now…when it comes to this type of software, you're better of paying because the free options are extremely limited.
The Bottom Line
If you just want a summary of the details below, here are my picks for the best free and paid alternatives to Easy Forex Builder.
I only reviewed no-code solutions so you can compare apples to apples.
Best Free Alternative
Forex MQL4 Expert Advisor Generator
There aren't too many free options in this category and this is the best one…mostly because it's the only completely free option.
Here's how it compares to Easy Forex Builder:
- Totally free software
- You don't even have to create an account or give your email address
- Super simple interface, which is both good and bad
- Not as many options as Easy Forex Builder
Best Paid Alternative
NakedMarkets
NakedMarkets is the best backtesting software solution on this list.
This is how it stacks up to Easy Forex Builder:
- Can create much more complex trading strategies
- Test strategies in the software, no exporting necessary
- One-time cost, no monthly subscription fee
- Superior analytics tools
- Much easier strategy creation and backtesting workflow
- They are working on exporting strategies to MetaTrader EA format, but you can also hire a programmer to code your strategy
The key point here is that even though this software cannot export EAs yet, it's significantly better at building automated trading strategies than any other software on this list.
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Paid Easy Forex Builder Alternatives
If you want more details, here are all of the alternatives worth mentioning and the pros and cons of each.
I'll start with the paid alternatives.
NakedMarkets (Best Easy Forex Builder Alternative)
This is the best alternative, by far.
I've been using NakedMarkets since it launched and it really is a revolutionary product when it comes to creating automated trading strategies without coding.
The primary benefits of NakedMarkets is that it can create more complex trading strategies than any of the other options on this list and it has superior analytics.
As an example, here's how I created a fully automated Bollinger Bands trading strategy with NakedMarkets.
Here's the breakdown of how it compares to Easy Forex Builder.
Benefits Comparison
- Can create much more complex trading strategies
- Backtest and optimize strategies in the software, no exporting/importing necessary
- One-time cost, no monthly subscription fee
- Superior analytics tools
- Much easier strategy creation and backtesting workflow
- Monte Carlo simulations
Downsides Comparison
- Cannot export strategies to MetaTrader EA format yet, but they are working on it
- Requires Windows, not browser based
EA Builder
I purchased a license for EA Builder awhile back, but I never ended up doing much with it.
Here's a simple EA that I built with this software.
The primary issue that I had with this product was the same issue that I had with Easy Forex Builder.
This website was easy enough to use, but I couldn't create complex trading strategies with this software.
When I compare this product to Easy Forex Builder, they are pretty similar…except for the fact that EA Builder has a one-time fee.
So this is a better solution than Easy Forex Builder, but it's not as good as NakedMarkets.
Benefits Comparison
- One-time fee
- Create custom indicators and EAs for MT4/MT5
- Create alerts in indicators and EAs for MT4/MT5
- Easy to use interface
- Can create technical analysis tools for TradeStation
- Browser based
Downsides Comparison
- Workflow is a little clunky because everything has to be exported/imported to be tested
- Cannot create complex strategies
EA Builder Pro
I'm not sure if this product is related to the one above, but the name is very similar.
But that's where the similarity ends.
EA Builder Pro is a browser-based platform that enables users to build expert advisors (EAs) for MetaTrader 4 and MetaTrader 5, without coding knowledge.
It offers a user-friendly interface with drag-and-drop functionalities, allowing the creation of custom indicators, trade signals, and strategy modules.
Users can also manage risk through various money management tools and perform cloud-based backtesting to assess their strategies.
I found the platform easier to use than Easy Forex Builder and it's great that I could backtest in the platform.
However, since I don't know where the backtesting data came from, it's impossible to trust the results.
But it's a good “quick and dirty” check.
EAs would still have to be exported and fully backtested in MetaTrader.
One thing that I found really surprising about this platform is that it provides Martingale as a money management option.
Literally nobody should be using Martingale trade management.
So this might be a case of a trading product being created by people who are great developers, but are not traders.
But that's a relatively minor point.
The biggest benefit of this platform is that it provides many more indicator options than Easy Forex Builder.
Benefits Comparison
- Can run backtests directly on the website
- Browser based
- Easier to use than EFB
- Better logic and more indicators than EFB
- Create EAs and indicators for MT4 and MT5
Downsides Comparison
- Monthly subscription fee
- Cannot download source code with free plan
fxDreema
fxDreema is an interesting offering because it solves no-code EA building in a much different way than the other solutions on this list.
For starters, it allows the user to build each Event in a MetaTrader program with a separate visual interface.
If you don't understand what each Event does, then you'll have to do some reading on it.
Once you understand what each Event does however, the logic you can add to each Event is extensive.
Benefits Comparison
- Limited free version to try it out
- Allows the creation of complex strategy logic
- Workflow is more in line with how MetaTrader programs work
- Can pay in crypto
- Export to MT4/MT5
- Browser based
Downsides Comparison
- Instructions are not clear, it takes time to learn the platform
- The website design is very 1999
- Monthly subscription fee
Forex Robot Factory
Here's an interesting product, but I'm not sure how beneficial this would be for most traders.
Forex Robot Factory automatically generates random trading strategies and backtests them.
Once you find a few strategies that work well, you can drill down into them and optimize each one.
The goal is to build a portfolio of automated trading strategies quickly, so you diversify your risk.
On one hand, I can see where it would be beneficial to have the system give me some ideas on strategies that I might not have thought of on my own.
It also has good analytics, which is actually pretty rare among trading products and is great to see.
However, as a trader, I don't like giving up that much control over the strategy creation process.
There is also the possibility that the system only has a limited number of strategies that it can create and that might lead to everyone on the platform getting very similar strategies.
As I looked at the optimizations, they are very basic and while this is probably a better solution than Easy Forex Builder, it is not ideal.
This platform could be useful, if you want to sign up for a month or two and have the system give you some ideas for trading strategies that you could put into something like NakedMarkets and refine further.
Otherwise, I don't feel that this is a useful EA creation platform because it prioritizes quantity over quality.
Benefits Comparison
- Solid analytics
- Backtesting done on the website
- Ability to compare results of different strategies simultaneously
- Monte Carlo simulations
- Correlation analysis
- Walk forward testing
- Export to MT4/MT5
- Browser based
Downsides Comparison
- Optimization is rudimentary
- Generates random strategies for you, not much user input
- Very basic optimization options
- Monthly subscription fee
- Pricey
Free Easy Forex Builder Alternatives
Now here's a truly free alternative to EFB.
In reality, you should really pay for this type of software because the free solutions are very basic.
But if you just want to get a feel for creating the EA, installing it in MetaTrader, then backtesting it, then this is a great place to start.
Forex MQL4 Expert Advisor Generator
Forex Advisor is an interesting solution because you don't have to setup a profile or even log in.
You simply access the site, build your EA, then export it.
Upload the EA into MetaTrader and backtest it.
Here's how it stacks up to Easy Forex Builder.
Benefits Comparison
- Totally free, you don't even have to create an account
- Easy to use
- Can make some simple trading strategies
Downsides Comparison
- Cannot create more complex trading strategies
- Very limited number of indicators available
Easy Forex Builder Review
I did a full review of the platform here, but here's a quick review of the benefits and downsides of the software.
Benefits of Easy Forex Builder
- Easy to create basic EAs for MT4 and FT4
- You can download the source code for your EA and edit it manually in MetaTrader Editor
- Create templates, EAs and indicators
- The workflow is easy to understand and use
- This tool can be used to build EAs and indicators that you can sell
Downsides of Easy Forex Builder
- I would love to see support for candlestick patterns in the EA and indicator builders
- The EA I created executed two trades per signal, when it should have only executed one, so there's a bug there
- Indicators are hard to build, I couldn't create an indicator that I found remotely useful
- The download process doesn't work reliably. Sometimes I have to download the EA twice.
- It's difficult to create complex trading strategies
- The free plan is extremely limited, you really do have to sign up for the paid plan
So all in all, this isn't the best platform for creating automated trading strategies.
But if you want to create some simple EAs and learn how the process works, this can be a great starter platform.
Final Thoughts
So those are the best options if you're looking for backtesting software that's an alternative to Easy Forex Builder.
Based on my use of the product, it doesn't have the same benefits of the alternatives on this list.
However, I'm sure that they will be adding new features in the future, so I look forward to seeing what they come up with.
Keep in mind that technology can change quickly, so my analysis is based on the information available at the time this was written.