What do modelling quality 99% and Every tick based on real ticks mean?
The modelling mode and data source affect how MT5 reconstructs price movement inside a bar. Real ticks can be more detailed than M1 OHLC, but a high quality label does not guarantee the report is fully accurate.
The phrase 'modelling quality 99%' often comes up together with the question of what Every tick based on real ticks means. Both describe how the Strategy Tester builds price movement during a simulation. They help you understand how detailed the input is and how ticks are generated, but they do not confirm that an EA will reproduce the same results when run with a different broker, spread and execution conditions.
Ticks, M1 OHLC and simulated data
An M1 OHLC bar stores the open, high, low and close prices for one minute. It does not fully record the order of every price change within that minute. If a strategy makes decisions at the tick level, or uses a stop loss and take profit placed close together, the order of movement inside the bar can affect which one is triggered first. When historical ticks are missing, the software may have to reconstruct the intrabar movement algorithmically from the available data.
Real ticks are bid/ask price changes stored from a data provider's historical feed for each time interval. The Every tick based on real ticks mode uses those historical ticks as simulation input instead of only interpolating movement from bars. Availability and completeness depend on the data source, the symbol and the time period. Real ticks do not remove source errors or differences between historical prices and future fill prices.
| Source or mode | What to understand | Limits to check |
|---|---|---|
| M1 OHLC | Summarizes four price levels for each minute. | Does not fully show the tick order inside the bar. |
| Simulated ticks | Generates intrabar movement from data/a model. | Results depend on how the price path is generated. |
| Every tick based on real ticks | Simulates from available historical ticks. | Depends on coverage, source quality and cost assumptions. |
| High modelling quality | The report states a quality level on the platform's own scale. | Does not verify the EA, the broker or future profit. |
What does 100% real ticks mean?
A 100% real ticks label tells you that the report records the tick data mode or quality at that level, according to the report's own field. It does not mean every element of live trading has been perfectly reproduced. Historical ticks can still have gaps, come from one specific source, or be paired with spread, commission and execution rules that differ from a live account. Do not read 100% as an independent certification.
You also need to distinguish modelling quality from history coverage. A high percentage over the available data range does not prove that every day in the selected period is complete. Look at the test log, data errors, the broker's symbol, the time zone, the tick count and the date range that actually has data. Where possible, check whether the report shows any gaps or warnings.
Example of a data source stated in an EA profile
M1 REGIME backtest report, period 1 Jan – 2 Oct 2026, initial deposit 300 USD: 268 trades, net profit 324 USD, profit factor 1.68 and maximum balance drawdown 14.53%. These are published Strategy Tester figures, not live account results. The sample is still short and does not guarantee future results. See the report and test conditions on the EA page.
Why can data differences change results?
If an EA places trades very close to price or depends on the path price takes within a minute, an aggregated bar model may handle the high-low order differently from the ticks actually recorded. A trade can be stopped out before reaching its target, or the other way around. With variable spread, bid and ask also differ; data with only one side of the price can change trigger levels. Results are therefore sensitive to the strategy, not only to the modelling quality figure.
Check the test mode, tick source, spread, commission, swap, latency or execution assumptions. Comparing the same EA on different data or cost settings can help reveal its sensitivity. Record the source data and configuration separately so readers can repeat the test. A repeated test is still only a simulation, but it is more transparent when the conditions are published.
Checklist for reading data quality
- Confirm the Strategy Tester mode, especially if the EA uses intrabar signals.
- Read the modelling quality label together with the history source and date range.
- Check warnings, gaps and tick counts if they are provided.
- Verify the spread, commission, swap and bid/ask prices used.
- Place data quality next to drawdown, number of trades and the result metrics.
If an EA seller only provides a screenshot with a percentage but no mode name, dates or original report, ask for the full file before drawing conclusions. Input quality is one of many conditions; it does not confirm the algorithm is coded correctly, does not prevent curve fitting and does not replace monitoring on new data.
Detailed tick data helps simulate past prices more closely in some respects, but a backtest is still not a live result and does not guarantee that live trading will match the simulation.
Connect the data topic with how to read metrics, and browse the published EA profiles.
Frequently asked questions
It is an indicator of simulation quality as reported by the Strategy Tester. On its own, it does not verify that the data is perfect or predict future results.
It is a test mode that uses available historical ticks as price movement data, instead of only building ticks from bars.
No. Quality also depends on data coverage and source, costs, spread, execution and broker conditions.
M1 OHLC stores four aggregated price levels per minute; real ticks carry a more detailed sequence of movements over the period that has data.
No. They only improve part of the simulation input; a backtest does not guarantee future trading results.
DinexSpace labels the source of every number in its research profiles: backtest, forward, demo or live. You can check them against the points covered in this article.