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9 TradingView alternatives for UK and UAE forex and gold traders, grouped by the job you need done

SystemlySystemly Team
·18 October 2026
9 TradingView alternatives for UK and UAE forex and gold traders, grouped by the job you need done

Type "tradingview alternative" into Google from London and the suggestions that follow are "free", "app", "reddit" and "for backtesting free". People are not looking for a better TradingView. They are looking for a cheaper one, a phone-friendly one or one that does a specific job TradingView does not.

That is the right instinct. TradingView's Plus and Premium plans rose by roughly 17% to 20% in 2026, and VAT is added on top: Plus billed annually is $431.28 a year in the UK and $377.37 in the UAE. Before you switch, it helps to know which job you are hiring a chart to do.

Quick answer: There is no single best TradingView alternative, because charting tools do different jobs. For placing trades at your broker, MT5 or cTrader is the usual choice. For deep backtesting and screening at IG in the UK, ProRealTime is the strongest option. For a free look at prices and news, Investing.com is enough. For automated US-stock analysis, TrendSpider fits. If what you lack is a trade plan rather than a chart, Systemly is a plan layer with its own live chart, which you can use alongside whichever chart you keep.

Systemly publishes this comparison. We have tried to be fair, and every competitor fact below is sourced and dated 13 October 2026.

How this list is ordered

This list is grouped by job, not ranked by quality. A charting tool can do one of five jobs:

  1. Execution charting: the chart inside the platform where you place the trade.
  2. Analysis charting: a deeper chart for backtesting, screening and automation.
  3. A quick free look: prices, news and a simple chart.
  4. Investment research: dashboards and fundamentals for long-term investors.
  5. Planning: turning a chart into a trade you can act on.

TradingView covers the first three jobs reasonably well and some of the fourth. Most alternatives do one job better. For a list ranked differently, by the charting job alone, see our best charting platforms for UK traders in 2026.

The nine at a glance

  • MetaTrader 5: Job: Execution; Price to the trader: Free via broker; UK: Yes, via brokers; UAE: Yes, via brokers; Main limit: About 30 indicators and no custom indicators on iOS
  • cTrader: Job: Execution; Price to the trader: Free via broker; UK: Yes (Pepperstone, FxPro, IC Markets); UAE: Brokers not confirmed; Main limit: Smaller library than MetaTrader
  • Broker web platforms: Job: Execution; Price to the trader: Free with account; UK: Yes; UAE: Varies by broker; Main limit: Fewer tools than TradingView
  • ProRealTime via IG: Job: Analysis; Price to the trader: £30 a month, waived above £15 IG spread or commission; UK: Yes; UAE: Not confirmed; Main limit: No AI; full features on desktop
  • TrendSpider: Job: Analysis; Price to the trader: $59 to $349 a month by tier (as shown during a sale); UK: No restriction found; UAE: No restriction found; Main limit: US-stock focus; steep learning curve
  • GoCharting: Job: Analysis; Price to the trader: Free and Premium (prices not shown); UK: Not stated; UAE: Not stated; Main limit: Free tier has no alerts
  • Investing.com: Job: Quick look; Price to the trader: Free; Pro £15.49 a month (UK App Store); UK: Yes; UAE: Arabic edition; store not confirmed; Main limit: Data "not necessarily real-time nor accurate"
  • Koyfin: Job: Research; Price to the trader: Free; Plus $39, Premium $79 a month; UK: Not stated; UAE: Not stated; Main limit: Forex not on pricing page
  • Systemly: Job: Planning; Price to the trader: Free plan; paid plans with 3-day trial; UK: UK-built; UAE: Sessions in Dubai time; Main limit: Majors and gold on Free and Starter; not a full charting platform

Execution charting: where you place the trade

1. MetaTrader 5

MetaTrader 5 is a trading terminal licensed by MetaQuotes to brokers, who give it free to their clients. It is the default at most retail forex brokers and is available through most FCA and UAE-regulated forex and CFD brokers, broker by broker. MetaQuotes exhibited at Forex Expo Dubai on 22 and 23 September 2026.

  • Best for: traders who want the chart and the order ticket in one place, and anyone using Expert Advisors.
  • Price: free; costs sit in the broker's spreads and commissions.
  • Limits: on iOS, "EAs run only on the desktop terminal or via a VPS", custom MQL5 indicators do not run, and there are "about 30 indicators", according to a Volity review of MT5 for iOS updated 21 July 2026.
  • AI: build 6180 (3 September 2026) added an assistant that can fetch Strategy Tester reports, start optimisations, read logs and add indicators to the chart. Finance Magnates notes that "trading decisions on a live account" remain unavailable.

One clock warning matters for both countries. Many MT5 brokers run server time at GMT+2 in winter and GMT+3 in summer, so the daily candle closes at 17:00 New York. That is 22:00 UK and 01:00 Dubai in summer, and 22:00 UK and 02:00 Dubai in winter. Your chart clock will not match your phone. Our TradingView vs MT5 comparison covers the differences in full.

2. cTrader

cTrader is a trading platform from Spotware, licensed to brokers, with C# automation and Level II depth. FxPro lists "28 timeframes from one second through to monthly", 55+ indicators and 65 drawing tools. It has a Trustpilot score of 4.8 from 3,449 reviews (snapshot), and one reviewer wrote on 5 October 2026 that its "charting is excellent".

  • Best for: forex traders who want a more modern interface than MetaTrader and depth of market.
  • Price: free; UK examples include Pepperstone Razor at £2.25 per lot per side, according to The Investors Centre.
  • UK: Pepperstone (the only UK option for cTrader spread betting), FxPro (CFD only) and IC Markets (Temporary Permissions Regime, no FSCS cover).
  • UAE: Spotware exhibited at Forex Expo Dubai 2026, but we could not confirm which UAE-licensed brokers offer cTrader.
  • Limits: a smaller community library than MetaTrader and fewer brokers.

3. Broker web platforms and apps

Most brokers have their own charts. IG's charts offer 32 indicators and 19 drawing tools, with candlestick, Heikin-Ashi and line views, according to IG's charting page. Plus500 advertises "over 100 technical indicators and flexible alerts". ThinkMarkets' ThinkTrader lists "100+ technical indicators", and ThinkMarkets received DFSA approval in March 2024 to onboard UAE clients.

  • Best for: traders who want one regulated account and do not want a second login.
  • Price: free with the account; costs are spreads and commissions.
  • Limits: fewer tools than TradingView, and quality varies. A Plus500 Trustpilot reviewer wrote on 10 October 2026: "charting tools feel awkard to use, please match TW ease of use for charting."

These are CFD providers, and they must publish losing-account figures. IG shows "70% of retail investor accounts lose money when trading spread bets and CFDs with this provider", and Plus500 shows 76%. In the UAE, check whether a broker is licensed by the DFSA (DIFC), the FSRA (ADGM) or the CMA (formerly the SCA). This list does not recommend any broker.

Analysis charting: backtesting, screening and automation

4. ProRealTime through IG

ProRealTime is a French-built charting, screening and backtesting platform with its own ProBuilder language. Through IG UK it is free for the first month, then £30 a month, waived in any month where IG's spread or commission on your trading exceeds £15, according to IG's ProRealTime page.

  • Best for: UK spread bettors and CFD traders at IG who want serious backtesting (30 years of history), ProScreener and automated strategies.
  • Price direct: free (web and mobile), Complete $32 a month, Premium $91 a month, excluding VAT.
  • UAE: IG's UAE licence type and direct ProRealTime availability in the UAE could not be confirmed.
  • Limits: ChartingLens says it has "zero AI features at any tier" and that the full experience needs the desktop app.

A tax note for UK readers: for most UK individuals, spread betting profits are generally free of Capital Gains Tax and Stamp Duty, because HMRC treats most spread bets as gambling. CFD profits are generally subject to CGT. Tax treatment depends on your circumstances and can change.

5. TrendSpider

TrendSpider is a US web-based platform built around automated technical analysis: automated trendlines, chart pattern recognition, backtesting and an AI assistant called Sidekick. Ongoing monthly prices run from $59 to $89 (Standard) up to $233 to $349 (Advanced), with Sidekick AI add-on tiers at $49, $129 and $349 a month, according to TrendSpider's pricing page. Those prices were displayed during a "Weekend Flash Sale", so the regular price may differ. We set it against a checked plan in TrendSpider vs Systemly.

  • Best for: active US-stock and options traders who want automation.
  • UK and UAE: web-based, with no geographic restriction found.
  • Limits: DayTradingToolkit describes a "Real learning curve" of two to four weeks and says automated trendlines "break regularly". International single stocks are not supported.

6. GoCharting

GoCharting is a browser charting platform with order-flow tools (footprint, cumulative volume delta and Market Profile), CFD, forex and crypto data, and prop-firm feeds. Its free tier allows four concurrent charts and no alerts. Premium allows 25 charts and 100 price alerts, according to GoCharting's pricing page. Prices were not shown when we checked.

  • Best for: traders who want order-flow views without paying for a desktop package.
  • Limits: no alerts on the free tier; UK and UAE availability not stated.

A quick free look

7. Investing.com

Investing.com is a global financial news and data portal with free charts, an economic calendar and a paid tier, InvestingPro. It has an Arabic edition. On the UK App Store, Pro costs £15.49 a month or £185.99 a year, and Pro+ £36.49 a month.

  • Best for: beginners who want prices, news and the calendar in one free app.
  • AI: on 18 November 2025 it launched AI Chart Analysis, which reads its own charts and returns "a trading plan with entry, stop-loss, and profit targets". It is the closest product we found to a chart-to-plan tool, and we compare the two in Investing.com AI Chart Analysis vs Systemly. Current free and paid limits could not be confirmed.
  • Limits: its XAU/USD chart page says "the data contained in this website is not necessarily real-time nor accurate", and that prices are "indicative and not appropriate for trading purposes". A Trustpilot reviewer complained of "so many annoying ads all the time" (11 August 2026).

Investment research

8. Koyfin

Koyfin is a web-based market data, dashboard and charting platform for investors. It is free, with Plus at $39 and Premium at $79 a month, and annual billing saves up to 30%, according to Koyfin's pricing page. The free tier includes two watchlists, two screens, two dashboards and "Advanced charting".

  • Best for: long-term investors who want fundamentals and dashboards.
  • Limits: forex is not mentioned on the pricing page, so it is a weak fit for intraday forex or gold.

Planning: the job charting platforms leave to you

9. Systemly

Systemly (systemly.ai) is a UK-built forex and gold trade-planning app that turns live price data into a complete trade plan, with entry, stop, targets, position size and plain-English reasoning, and teaches the terms in a built-in academy of 32 courses. It is not a charting platform replacement. It is narrower and more opinionated than everything above, and that is the point.

  • What it does: you pick a market, press Generate and, in under a minute, the plan opens on a full-screen live chart. A numbered moves card tells you when to wait, when to get in and what to do at each target. A countdown ring times the next step. One money figure includes trading cost at the stop, which saves the sum a forex lot size calculator makes you do by hand.
  • No trade: when its checks fail, it says "no trade" in plain words and lists which checks failed.
  • Practice: every plan, including free, can place a plan as a paper trade (up to 3 open on free) on real prices with spreads and costs, at a balance you set.
  • Time: sessions show in your own time zone, each following its own daylight saving, so London and Dubai traders see them in the right place all year (our forex trading sessions guide has the hours).
  • Price: there is a free plan; paid plans (Starter, Plus and Pro) each have a 3-day free trial.
  • Limits: Free and Starter cover the major forex pairs and gold; Plus and Pro add silver, oil, indices, major stocks and Bitcoin. Chart layers start at Starter. It has no screener, no scripting language and no drawing toolkit to compare with TradingView's.

It works alongside any chart on this list. On Starter and above, a plan exports to TradingView as a Pine Script that draws it with the same stop and money figure. The hub piece, TradingView vs Systemly, explains the use-both workflow.

A worked example: what switching actually saves

Take a UK gold trader on TradingView Plus billed annually: $431.28 a year with VAT, about £322 at an assumed, illustrative $1.34 to the pound.

  • Move to MT5 or cTrader at a broker: the platform is free, so the saving is the full $431.28. The cost is fewer drawing tools and, on iOS MT5, about 30 indicators.
  • Move to ProRealTime through IG: £30 a month is £360 a year if you never meet the £15 trading-cost threshold, which is more than Plus. If your IG spread or commission exceeds £15 every month, it is free.
  • Drop to TradingView Essential instead: $186.48 a year with UK VAT, saving $431.28 − $186.48 = $244.80, about £183.

For a Dubai trader on Plus annual ($377.37 with 5% VAT, about AED 1,386 at the official peg of AED 3.6725 to the dollar), dropping to Essential ($163.17, about AED 599) saves $214.20, about AED 787.

The cheapest fix is often to stay put and need less chart. Our breakdown of TradingView free vs paid shows where each limit bites.

Where TradingView is the better choice

TradingView remains the better all-rounder. It claims "400+ built-in indicators and strategies", "110+ smart drawing tools" and more than 3.5 million instruments. Forex and broker CFD feeds are free and real-time on every plan, paper trading is free for all users across markets and order types, and many UK and UAE brokers connect to it directly. Its app is rated 4.8 on the UK App Store. If you draw your own analysis, write Pine Script or screen many markets, none of the alternatives above matches it on breadth.

How we compared

We grouped nine alternatives by the job they do and checked each one's price, UK and UAE availability and main limit on 13 October 2026, using vendor pricing pages, broker pages, app-store listings, Trustpilot snapshots and named reviews, each linked below. Where availability or a price could not be confirmed, we say so. TradingView figures come from its own pricing page with 20% UK and 5% UAE VAT added. Prices change, and vendor pages may show different currencies to UK and UAE visitors.

FAQ

What is the best free alternative to TradingView?

It depends on the job. For charting where you trade, MT5 and cTrader are free through brokers. For a quick look at prices and news, Investing.com is free, though its data is "not necessarily real-time nor accurate". GoCharting and Koyfin have free tiers. TradingView's own Basic plan is also free and is often enough for a casual chart reader.

Is MT5 better than TradingView for forex?

MT5 is better for placing trades and running Expert Advisors, because it sits inside your broker. TradingView is better for analysis, drawing tools, scripts and community features. Many traders analyse on TradingView and execute on MT5. On iOS, MT5 offers about 30 indicators and cannot run custom indicators or EAs.

Which TradingView alternative is best in the UAE?

From the sources we read, UAE forex and gold traders mostly use broker platforms such as MT5, cTrader or TradingView-connected brokers, although no survey measures this. Check that the broker is licensed by the DFSA (DIFC), the FSRA (ADGM) or the CMA (formerly the SCA). UAE investing apps such as Sarwa and baraka are built for shares and ETFs, not forex or gold charting.

Is ProRealTime free with IG?

ProRealTime through IG UK is free for the first month, then £30 a month. IG waives the fee in any month where your spread or commission exceeds £15. If you trade rarely, you pay £360 a year, which is more than TradingView Plus with UK VAT at about £322 (at an assumed $1.34 to the pound).

Does any TradingView alternative give a trade plan?

Investing.com's AI Chart Analysis, launched in November 2025, returns an entry, stop-loss and targets for its own charts. Systemly produces a full plan for your account, with lot size, costs, a numbered moves card and a "no trade" answer when its checks fail. Neither is personal advice, and both should be checked against your own broker's prices.

Can I use Systemly with TradingView?

Yes. On Starter and above, a Systemly plan exports to TradingView as a Pine Script that draws the plan on your chart, with a trade table quoting the same stop and money figure. You can keep TradingView for drawing and screening and use Systemly for the plan itself.

Keep your chart, add the plan

If you are leaving TradingView because the chart never tells you what to do, a different chart will not fix that. See real Systemly plans in the community feed, or start on the free plan at systemly.ai. If gold is your market, our XAU/USD signals and analysis guide is a good next read.

Sources

Trading forex and CFDs carries a high risk of losing money, and most retail accounts do. Systemly is an educational and trade-planning tool. It does not provide financial advice or personal recommendations, and it is not authorised by the FCA or licensed in the UAE to do so. Past outcomes do not predict future results.