If you are getting into algorithmic trading development, two languages come up again and again: Python and MQL5. They are not rivals so much as specialists — each dominates a different part of the workflow. Knowing which does what makes the choice of where to start much easier.
Python: the research language
Python is where strategies are born and tested. Its ecosystem — pandas for data, NumPy for maths, backtrader and vectorbt for backtesting, matplotlib for charts — is unmatched for exploring ideas, crunching historical data and validating an edge before real money is involved. It also talks to most modern broker and crypto exchange APIs for automated execution.
MQL5: the live-execution language
MQL5 is the native language of MetaTrader 4 and 5, the platform a huge share of retail forex and CFD brokers provide. If your goal is an Expert Advisor (EA) that runs live on a broker account — placing and managing orders around the clock — MQL5 is the most direct path, with a built-in Strategy Tester for validation.
So which first?
Start with Python if you care most about research, data and understanding why a strategy works — it is also a more transferable general-purpose skill. Start with MQL5 if your priority is getting an automated strategy running live on a MetaTrader broker as directly as possible. Many developers eventually use both: research in Python, deploy in MQL5.
You do not have to choose forever
AlgoPro University membership includes both tracks, so you can begin with one and add the other. Pick the track that matches your immediate goal, get momentum, and expand later. This is educational guidance, not financial advice.