MT5 Grey Label Customization: What You Actually Get for the Price
Two grey label listings can carry the same monthly price and give you very different amounts of say over the product. Customization is where buyers most often assume too much. This guide helps you read a listing like a shopper: what is normally included, what is a paid extra and what you should never assume.
Read the listing as a menu, not a promise
A listing names a platform and a price. It rarely lists every branding and control option, so absence of detail is not the same as inclusion.
Ask for a written list of what your money covers. Our setup comparison guide shows how to line the five listings up before you contact anyone.
Usually included: the client-facing layer
Most buyers can expect control over what clients meet first:
- Your company name and logo on your own website and portal.
- Names for your account types and trading groups.
- Your own welcome and support messages.
Whether your name also appears inside the terminal is the question to put in writing, because it varies.
Often a paid extra
These items are commonly quoted on top of the monthly price:
- A broker website or branded portal.
- CRM integration and Manager API access.
- Payment provider integration.
- Extra trading groups or manager logins beyond the listed limit.
If a seller bundles them, ask for the bundle price to be broken down.
Rarely available on a grey label
Do not budget for control that belongs to the platform owner: server infrastructure, core platform configuration and update timing. If you need these, you are shopping for a white label, and the comparison in grey versus white label is the better starting point.
Five questions that expose a thin offer
- Does my brand name appear inside the terminal, or only on my own pages?
- How many groups, logins and symbols are included?
- Who can change group settings, and how fast?
- What does a change request cost?
- What happens to my branding if I leave?
A seller who answers all five clearly is a safer purchase.
Common buying mistakes
Buyers often assume that a branded environment means a branded terminal, that a listed price includes a website, or that group settings can change instantly. Each assumption can cost weeks.
A better habit: turn every assumption into a question, send the questions in one email and file the written reply with your contract. If an answer changes your plan, you want to know before payment, not after launch.
A customization menu with price flags
Build a menu of customizations and mark each as included, extra or unavailable, with the price for extras.
| Customization | Included | Extra (price) | Unavailable |
|---|---|---|---|
| Your logo on the website and portal | |||
| Company name in the terminal | |||
| Custom account type names | |||
| Custom welcome emails | |||
| Extra trading groups | |||
| Extra symbols | |||
| API access | |||
| Custom reports |
A menu with every price visible prevents arguments after signing.
A worked example of a surprise invoice
A buyer signs for a grey label with "full branding". After launch, the vendor invoices the buyer for changing the server name shown in the terminal, saying it was outside the standard package. The buyer had assumed it was part of "full branding".
The menu above would have shown the item and its price before the contract. The buyer would have either negotiated it in or planned for it. Surprise invoices are almost always the result of an unclear menu.
Which customizations are worth paying for
Pay for what clients see and what saves your team time. A consistent brand across website, portal and emails is worth the cost. A custom report that your finance team uses every week may be worth it. A decorative change that no client will notice is usually not.
Rank your wishes by value and cost, and buy in that order. Leave nice-to-haves for later when you have revenue.
Questions that expose a thin offer
- Where exactly does my branding appear?
- What does a change request cost and how long does it take?
- Which settings can I change myself?
- What is not available at any price?
- What happens to my customizations if I leave?
If the answers are vague, the offer is thin.
Why customization shows up on invoices
Every customization is work for the provider, and work costs money. Some of it is a one-off, such as applying your logo. Some is recurring, such as maintaining a custom report. Some creates risk, such as a configuration that must be re-applied after each platform update.
A buyer who understands this reads a listing differently. "Custom branding" is not a feature; it is a list of items with different costs and conditions. The more detail you demand before signing, the fewer surprises appear on invoices afterwards.
A short story about a buyer who asked early
A buyer wants the company name to appear in the terminal, a custom welcome email and a branded portal. Before signing, the buyer sends a three-line list and asks the vendor to mark each as included, extra or unavailable. The vendor replies that the first and third are included, the second is an extra with a fixed fee and a fourth item the buyer had not thought of, a custom login screen, is not available.
The buyer pays the fixed fee, drops the login screen and launches on time without an argument. The cost of asking was ten minutes. The cost of not asking would have been a dispute and a delay.
Ownership and portability of your brand assets
Your logo, texts, templates and domain names should belong to you. Ask whether the provider holds any of them, whether they are stored in your accounts or theirs and what happens to them when you leave. If your portal runs on the provider’s infrastructure, ask how the design can be exported.
Portability matters because a brand is built over time. If leaving the provider means rebuilding your brand from scratch, that cost belongs in the comparison with other offers.
Test it on every device
Branding that looks right on the provider’s demo may look wrong on a phone or in a web terminal. Before launch, check the company name, logo, colours and wording on desktop, web and mobile. Take screenshots and keep them with your records. If something looks wrong, ask whether it can be fixed and at what cost.
This is a cheap test that prevents an embarrassing launch.
Frequently asked questions
Is branding included in a grey label?
Usually some is, but the scope varies. Ask for the list of items and where each appears.
Who owns the brand assets?
You should. Confirm that in the contract.
How much do changes cost?
It depends on the vendor. Ask for a price list for common changes.
Can I get custom reports?
Often yes, as an extra. Ask about price and delivery time.