Each backtest has its own result page: its settings, its figures, the balance and equity chart and every trade. Open it to judge a test, run it again or reuse its setup.

Plan: every plan.

Open a result

1. Click Results in the menu on the left.
2. Click the backtest's name. The page opens on the Overview tab.

Read the Overview

Settings on the left lists what was tested: symbol, period, dates, deposit, Quality (how complete MT5's price history was), Model (the tick model, for example Every tick (real)), leverage and the broker it ran on.

The figures sit in five groups: Account, Returns, Drawdown, Ratings and Activity. Point at the i next to a figure for a short explanation. A dash means the test has too little data for that figure.

Further down are Balance and equity, Where the P/L falls (profit by hour, weekday or month), Monthly Performance, Drawdown & Risk (the figures as MT5's own report prints them), Trade Statistics and Spread stress.

Read the balance and equity chart

1. Balance moves when a trade closes. Equity also counts trades that are still open, so it shows the dips in between. Drawdown (the shaded area, right-hand scale) is how far equity sits below its last peak.
2. Click 1M, 3M, 6M, 1Y or All to change the time range.
3. Click a name under the chart to show or hide that line, for example Floating PL (the open trades' profit or loss).

Use the other tabs

• Compare: this test's curve and figures beside other backtests.
• Deals: every deal, as in the MT5 report. Trade History: each trade from open to close.
• Trade Analysis: profit by symbol, hour and weekday, how far trades went against you, and long against short trades.
• Risk: annual return, the worst days, how smooth the curve is and how long profit targets took to reach.
• Sensitivity: how the result changes with the EA's input values.

Run it again or reuse the setup

1. Re-test opens the New test page filled in with this test's settings.
2. View Set File shows the input values the test ran with. Change a value and click Test with these values to queue a new test straight away; your set file itself is not changed.
3. Save as template keeps the setup, without dates or results, under Library › Templates.

Good to know

• The pencil next to the test's name renames it.
• The equity line is rebuilt from your test terminals' price history. When part of it is missing, the page says Equity chart is approximate or shows the balance only.
• Spread stress estimates the net profit with a wider spread (+1 to +5 pips). It is a model, not a measurement, and does not apply to symbols that are not currency pairs, such as gold.

Related guides

• Download a PDF, the MT5 report or the set file
• Compare backtests
• See how sensitive a result is (Sensitivity tab)
• Save a test as a template and reuse it