Login fails or cannot find broker in cTrader

What is causing it

Wrong cTrader ID credentials, or the broker uses a separate login.

Why this happens

cTrader uses a two-layer identity model that catches people out. You sign in to the platform with a cTrader ID, which is an email and password belonging to the cTrader ecosystem, and your broker trading accounts are then linked to that ID. Your broker's client area login is a third, separate credential. Trying to sign in to cTrader with your broker portal details fails not because they are wrong, but because they are for a different system entirely.

The broker list has the same structure as MetaTrader's server list: it is populated by the build you installed. A copy of cTrader downloaded from your broker knows about their servers, while a generic copy may not, so a broker that is genuinely supported can be missing from the list purely because of where you got the installer.

The fix, step by step

1. Log in with your cTrader ID (email and password), which can differ from your broker client login.
2. If prompted, pick your broker from the list, then the correct account.
3. If your broker is missing, download cTrader from your broker directly so their servers load.
4. Reset your cTrader ID password from the login screen if needed.

How to confirm it is fixed

After signing in, your trading accounts should be listed under the cTrader ID with the correct broker name, and selecting one should show its balance. If the ID signs in but no accounts appear, the ID is correct and the accounts are simply not linked to it yet, which is a different problem to a failed login.

Stopping it happening again

Keep the cTrader ID and your broker client area credentials recorded separately and labelled, because they are easy to confuse and the platform gives no hint about which it wants. Install cTrader from your own broker so their servers are present. Your broker is the only source of truth for how their accounts link to a cTrader ID, as this varies between brokers.