Break-even and partial close in MT5: how to automate them

Both moves answer the same question. The trade is going your way, now what? Doing it by hand means watching the chart. It also means deciding in the moment, which is exactly when the plan tends to bend. Close too early because you're nervous. Move the stop too late because you looked away.

Doing it by hand in MetaTrader 5

Moving the stop to break-even

1. Open the Toolbox (Ctrl+T) and go to the Trade tab.
2. Right-click the position and choose Modify or delete. You can also drag the stop line on the chart.
3. Set the Stop Loss to your break-even price and press Modify.

Closing part of a position

1. Double-click the position in the Trade tab.
2. Lower the volume to the part you want to close.
3. Press the Close button.

That's all there is to it. The hard part isn't the clicks. It's being at the screen when the price gets there, then doing what you planned instead of what you feel.

Break-even isn't your entry price

Put the stop exactly on the entry and a stopped-out trade still costs you money. Commission is paid whether the trade wins or not. A real break-even stop sits a little past the entry, far enough to cover that.

Break-even distance in pips = commission for your lot / value of 1 pip for your lot

Swap is the same story if you hold overnight. It's booked to the position, so a trade held for days needs a bit more room to come out at zero.

Example: break-even with commission

EURUSD, account in USD.

• Buy 0.50 lot at 1.08500, stop at 1.08300. That's 20 pips and 100 at risk, so 1R is 100.
• Commission is 7 per lot round turn. On 0.50 lot that's 3.50.
• 1 pip on 0.50 lot is worth 5.
• 3.50 / 5 = 0.7 pip.
• Break-even stop: 1.08507, not 1.08500.

Example: one partial at 1R, the rest at break-even

Same trade. 1R is at 1.08700 and 2R at 1.08900.

• At 1.08700 you close half, 0.25 lot. That's +50, minus 1.75 commission: 48.25.
• You move the stop on the other 0.25 to 1.08507.
• If the rest comes back to the stop, it covers its own commission and adds nothing. The trade ends at 48.25.
• If the rest reaches 2R, it adds 100 minus 1.75: 98.25.
• Result: 48.25 if the rest stops out at break-even, 146.50 if it reaches 2R.

Without the partial the same two endings are about 0 and 196.50. So the partial gives up some of the upside to make the bad ending less bad. It doesn't make the trade better. It changes the shape of the result. Whether that shape suits you is your call.

Lot steps break neat percentages

Plans like "close 25% at 1R" look clean on paper. 25% of 0.50 is 0.125. With a volume step of 0.01, MetaTrader 5 can't close 0.125. It has to be 0.12 or 0.13. On small positions this gets worse. 25% of 0.03 is less than the minimum lot on most symbols.

Check the Volume step and Minimal volume in the symbol's Specification window (Market Watch, right-click, Specification). Then size your partials so they actually exist.

R or pips?

You can set the levels in pips or in R, meaning multiples of your stop distance.

• Pips are fixed. "Break-even at 15 pips" is the same on a tight stop and a wide one.
• R follows the stop. "Break-even at 1R" means one stop distance in your favour, whatever that distance is.

If your stops change a lot from trade to trade, R keeps the rule the same. If you trade one setup with one stop size, pips are fine.

One warning about break-even in general. Too early and normal noise takes you out at zero, on trades that would have worked. There's no right level for everyone. Look at your own trades and see where the price usually goes before it either runs or fails.

Automating it

The terminal's own trailing stop. Right-click a position in the Trade tab and choose Trailing Stop. Pick a distance in points. The stop then follows the price. It runs in your terminal, not on the server, so it only works while MetaTrader 5 is open and connected. It's a trailing stop and nothing else: no break-even step, no partials.

An Expert Advisor. This is the usual way to get break-even and partials without watching. You set the levels once and it acts on every trade. Before you rely on one, check:

1. Are the levels in R, pips or both?
2. Are partials a share of the volume you opened with or of what's still open? It makes a big difference on the second and third partial.
3. What happens when you move the stop by hand? Does it overwrite you, follow you or ask?
4. Does it keep working after a restart?

Any EA needs the terminal running. If you need it overnight, that means a computer or a VPS that stays on.

Common questions

Tomky, Dojiwave · Updated 14 November 2026