A take profit closes your trade automatically when price hits your target — so you bank the gain without watching the screen. This guide shows every way to set one on MetaTrader 5, plus how trailing stops can do the same job dynamically.
Setting Take Profit on a New Order (Desktop)
- Press F9 or click New Order to open the order window.
- Choose your symbol and volume.
- Enter your target price in the Take Profit field.
- Click Buy or Sell.
The take profit must be on the profitable side of your entry: above the price for a buy, below it for a sell. If you put it on the wrong side, MT5 returns an "Invalid stops" error.
Adding Take Profit to an Open Trade
- Right-click the position in the Trade tab and choose Modify or Delete Order.
- Type your target in the Take Profit field, then click Modify.
- Alternatively, double-click the position to open the same window.
Setting Take Profit on MT5 Mobile
- For a new order: tap the symbol in Quotes, tap Trade, and fill the Take Profit field before executing.
- For an open trade: tap the position in Trade, tap the pencil icon, enter the target, and confirm.
Take Profit vs. Trailing Stop: Which Should You Use?
A fixed take profit closes at one exact price. A trailing stop doesn't have a fixed target — instead it follows the price as it moves in your favor, locking in gains while leaving room for the trend to run. Here's when to choose each:
- Use a fixed take profit when you're targeting a specific level (resistance, a measured move, a fixed risk:reward like 1:2).
- Use a trailing stop when you want to ride a trend without capping the upside.
You can also combine them: set a take profit for your first target, and a trailing stop on the remainder if you scale out.
How to Set a Trailing Stop on MT5
- Right-click an open position in the Trade tab.
- Hover over Trailing Stop.
- Choose a distance (in points) — e.g. "50 points" means the stop trails 50 points behind the current best price.
Important caveat: on standard MT5, the trailing stop only works while the terminal is running and connected. If you close the app, the trailing function stops updating. On a prop firm evaluation, confirm the firm's rules before using trailing stops, since some platforms track them differently.
How to Pick a Realistic Take Profit Level
The classic beginner mistake is setting a take profit so far away it never gets hit, or so close it chokes the trade. A practical approach:
- Base it on structure — the next resistance (longs) or support (shorts).
- Aim for at least a 1:1.5 or 1:2 risk:reward so you can be right less than half the time and still profit.
- Leave room for normal market noise between your entry and the target.
A Worked Example: Take Profit With 1:2 Risk/Reward
You buy EUR/USD at 1.1000 with a stop loss at 1.0960 (40 pips of risk). A 1:2 reward means your target is 80 pips above entry — 1.1080. Type 1.1080 in the Take Profit field, submit, and walk away. If the trade works, you bank $800 on one lot instead of staring at the screen.
The key insight: you decided the exit before you entered. That's what makes a take profit a plan instead of a hope.
Common Take Profit Mistakes
- Target too far — a level the market never reaches, so winners turn into breakeven or losers.
- Target too close — normal noise stops you out before the real move, so you never capture the trend.
- No target at all — "I'll know when to exit" usually means greed takes over.
- Ignoring structure — a random percentage instead of the next resistance/support level.
FAQ: Take Profit on MT5
Can I partially close and take profit on the rest? Yes — close part of the position manually, then set a take profit (or trailing stop) on the remainder.
Does a take profit work if MT5 is closed? Yes — like a stop loss, it lives on the broker's server.
Can I set both a stop loss and take profit on one order? Absolutely, and you should — both fields sit side by side in the order window.
Bottom Line
Setting a take profit on MT5 is a 10-second task that turns "hoping" into a plan. Set your target where the structure says, use a trailing stop when you want to ride a trend, and you'll bank gains automatically instead of watching every tick.