# Choosing a Telegram signal copier for MT5: what to look for

A practical checklist for choosing a program that copies Telegram signals into MetaTrader 5: reading any format and language, follow-up messages, daily and per-group risk limits, signals without a stop-loss, running around the clock, where your passwords are typed, a dry run before going live, a reason for every skipped signal, and price and trial, each with how Relay2Trade handles it.

## The checklist

A signal copier places real orders on your account while you are away from the screen, so how it handles the unusual message matters as much as the usual one. Check that it:

- reads signals the way your groups write them, in any format and language;
- follows the group's later messages ("move SL to breakeven", "close half"), and lets you choose which;
- limits risk per signal, per day and per group;
- does something you chose with a signal that has no stop-loss;
- runs whenever your groups post;
- asks only for the logins it needs, and says where you type them;
- lets you test a group on its past messages before any money is at stake;
- tells you why a signal was not traded;
- states its full price, with a trial and cancelling at any time.

## It reads the way your groups write

Groups write entries as zones, levels in pips or percent, three or four take-profits, "GOLD" for XAUUSD, in many languages. A copier that needs a fixed template misses those calls. It should also leave results and recaps such as "TP1 hit" alone.

**In Relay2Trade** AI reads each message in any format and language: an entry or an entry zone, any number of take-profits, stops and targets as a price, in pips or in percent, and runners ("TP4: hold"). Instrument names are normalised and matched to your broker's own spelling, suffix included. Results, recaps, analysis and ads are read as not a signal, and when a message's direction or instrument cannot be told, the app does not guess. The AI reading comes with every plan: there is no AI account to open and no API key to paste. Your Telegram account only has to be a member of the group, and the app never posts. See https://relay2trade.com/help/how-a-signal-is-read.md.

## It follows the group's later messages

After a signal, groups write "SL to entry", "close half" or "cancel the pending". Check two things: that the copier finds the right trade, and that you decide which kinds of instruction it follows.

**In Relay2Trade** you choose under Settings → "The group's messages after a signal", for every group or for one listener: "Exits and stop moves" (close, cancel, stop to the entry, trail the stop) and "Partial closes and target moves". Each is "Follow them" or "Ignore them", and both start on "Ignore them". The trade is found through the group's reply to its own signal first, then by symbol when exactly one trade of that group matches. When it would have to guess, it changes nothing and says so. A stop is only ever moved closer to the price. See https://relay2trade.com/help/stops-and-follow-ups.md.

## It limits risk per signal, per day and per group

A copier follows a group on a bad day as faithfully as on a good one, so the limits have to work with nobody at the screen.

**In Relay2Trade:**

- **Per signal:** "Risk % of equity", "Fixed cash" or fixed lots. A risk size is shared across the signal's take-profits, so 1% with four targets is 1% in all. "Max lots per signal" caps it.
- **Per day:** "Max daily loss", "Daily profit target" and "Max traded signals per day", counted on your broker's day. New trades stop at the line, and four switches can also delete pending orders and close open trades there. See https://relay2trade.com/help/daily-limits.md.
- **Per group:** each listener can have limits of its own under "Settings of its own", only tighter than the profile's. Whichever limit is reached first stops.
- **Open trades:** "Max open positions", "Max open positions per symbol" and "Max total lots".

See https://relay2trade.com/help/sizing-and-risk.md.

## It handles a signal without a stop-loss your way

Some groups post the stop later, or never. Check what the copier does then: trades without a stop, adds one, or refuses.

**In Relay2Trade** you choose. With "Require stop-loss" on, such a signal is skipped and its story says why. Off, the default, it gets the default stop for its kind of instrument: 30 pips on forex, 50 pips on gold and metals, 60 points on indices (60 cents on oil) and 1.5% of the price on crypto. Each default can be changed, or set to "No stop". "Own stop-loss" puts your own stop on every trade, whatever the signal says. See https://relay2trade.com/help/stops-and-follow-ups.md.

## It runs when your groups post

A copier trades only while it runs. Check where it can run, and what happens to messages posted while it was away.

**In Relay2Trade** the app runs on your Windows PC or Linux machine while it is on and awake, or on a VPS set up from the Desk, around the clock. A message posted while the app was away is read when it is back only if it is younger than "Max signal age (min)", and then waits for your approval, because the price may have moved. Older ones are never traded. See https://relay2trade.com/help/run-a-signal-copier-24-7.md.

## It asks only for the logins it needs

A copier needs your MetaTrader 5 login to place orders and your Telegram sign-in to read your groups. Check what it asks for and where you type it.

**In Relay2Trade:**

- **MetaTrader 5:** the account number, its trading password and the server, typed under Connections, in the Desk or in the app's window. The app hands them to MetaTrader 5, which logs in where the app runs. The trading bridge only touches positions it opened itself.
- **Telegram:** "Log in with a QR code", scanned with Telegram on your phone, or your phone number and the code Telegram sends. Telegram then lists a device called Relay2Trade, which you can remove at any time under Settings → Devices in Telegram.
- **On your own computer,** your broker login and your Telegram session stay on that computer.
- **Your money stays at your broker.** Relay2Trade cannot deposit, move or withdraw anything.

Two-factor for your Relay2Trade account is optional, under Desk → Account → Security. See https://relay2trade.com/help/connecting-metatrader.md and https://relay2trade.com/help/security.md.

## It lets you test a group before trusting it

What counts is how a group's messages would have traded on your account, with your sizing and your limits.

**In Relay2Trade** a listener on "Watch — record only" reads every message, shows what it would have done and places nothing. A dry run puts the group's latest messages (25 on the 7-day plan, 25 on Basic, 50 on Advanced, 100 on Pro) through the same reading and the same rules, and replays each would-be trade on MetaTrader's price history: "Messages read", "Signals found", "Would trade", "Would skip" and "Replayed result". The replay leaves out commission and swap, so the result is a guide. Dry runs have their own monthly allowance (10, 15, 25 or 35, by plan), apart from your daily signals. See https://relay2trade.com/help/listeners-and-modes.md.

## It tells you why a signal was not traded

Sooner or later a signal is not traded. A written reason tells a protective rule from a fault.

**In Relay2Trade** every signal keeps its story: the message, what was read, each rule it passed or failed, and every order with its result. A skipped signal names the rule as the Settings page spells it, for example "The signal has no stop-loss and Require stop-loss is on. To trade such signals, turn it off: they get the default stop for their kind of instrument, or none." Under the reason, "Go to “…”" opens that setting, "Force placement" places that one signal past your rule where that is offered, and "Try again" judges it again after you change a setting. "Read wrong?" sends a misreading to a person who reviews it. See https://relay2trade.com/help/why-a-signal-was-skipped.md.

## It states its price, with a trial

Check the full price (the plan, any VPS, any AI fees), whether there is a trial without a card, and how to cancel.

**In Relay2Trade** the app is free to download and a plan makes it trade: "7 days" (9.99 € per 7 days), "Basic" (19.99 € a month), "Advanced" (34.99 € a month) and "Pro" (49.99 € a month), in EUR with VAT included. Yearly plans cost ten months for twelve. Every plan has every trading feature; they differ in how much runs at once. A new account gets a demo day: a full day of the Basic plan with no bank card, including "VPS: Quick install". After it, that VPS is an optional extra beside your plan (5.00 € a month with a monthly plan). You cancel at any time under Desk → Account → "Plan & billing" and keep access to the end of the paid period. See https://relay2trade.com/help/plans-licence-billing.md.

## What stays your decision

A copier carries out your configuration on your own account. Choosing the groups, the broker and the risk is yours, and the results follow from the groups you choose. Leveraged trading carries high risk and signals are not investment advice: start on a demo account. Your broker decides whether automated trading is allowed on the account.

## Related

- https://relay2trade.com/help/telegram-signal-copiers-compared.md
- https://relay2trade.com/help/what-is-relay2trade.md
- https://relay2trade.com/help/copy-telegram-signals-to-mt5.md
- https://relay2trade.com/help/run-a-signal-copier-24-7.md
- https://relay2trade.com/help/getting-started.md
- https://relay2trade.com/features/settings