Volume profile settings: profile type, value area, row size and timeframe
The settings that change what you see, what each one does, and a sensible value to start from. The reasons are here too, so you can adjust them to your own market.
Download SabrTrader free See pricingThe SabrTrader Volume Profile is part of the paid plans.
The volume profile settings that matter
Three volume profile settings decide what you see: the profile type, the value area percentage and the row size. A sound starting point is one profile per session, a value area of 68 or 70 percent, and a row size coarse enough that single rows aren't noise. No settings are best for everyone. The right ones follow from how long you hold a trade.
Which profile type should you use?
Use the one that covers the period you trade in. The profile type sets which bars the volume comes from, and that decides where the point of control and the value area end up.
| Profile type | What it covers | Use it for | Watch out for |
|---|---|---|---|
| Session | One profile per trading day or session | Day trading: today against yesterday | The first hour of a session has too little volume for stable levels |
| Fixed range | A start and end you choose | One swing, one balance area, one event | The levels depend on where you put the anchors |
| Visible range | Whatever is on screen | A quick look at where volume sits in the current view | The levels move when you scroll or zoom |
| Composite | Several sessions merged into one | Swing levels over days or weeks | Old volume can outweigh what's happening now |
How do you apply a fixed range volume profile?
Pick a start and an end that belong to one piece of market structure, and build the profile over that stretch only.
- Choose what you want to measure. A trend leg from swing low to swing high, a sideways range, or the bars since a news release.
- Anchor the start at the first bar of that structure. Somewhere in the middle of it is the wrong place.
- Anchor the end at the last bar, or at the current bar if the structure is still forming.
- Read the result. The point of control is the price that traded most inside that move. Thin areas are prices the market went through quickly.
Move an anchor a few bars and the point of control can move with it. If a small change in the anchors changes the level a lot, it isn't a strong level.
What are the best visible range volume profile settings?
Use the same value area and row size as for any other profile, and fix the amount of history on screen before you read it. On a visible range profile, the setting that matters most is the zoom.
A visible range profile recalculates every time the chart moves. Scroll back a day and the point of control can jump. So it's good for orientation and poor for levels you want to trade tomorrow. For those, use a session, fixed range or composite profile. They stay where they are.
What value area percentage should you use?
Use 68 or 70 percent. Both are standard, and the difference between them is small.
The value area is the price range around the point of control that holds a chosen share of the volume. 70 percent is the convention from Market Profile. 68 percent is the share that falls within one standard deviation of a normal distribution. Raise the percentage and the value area gets wider, with the value area high and low further apart.
Keeping it the same matters more than which one you pick. Value area levels from different days only compare if they were calculated with the same percentage. Many traders also prefer the common value because other traders are watching the same levels.
What row size or tick size should a volume profile have?
Small enough to show the shape of the profile, large enough that a handful of trades doesn't decide a row.
Row size is the height of one bar of the profile, in ticks or in price. Some platforms ask for a number of rows instead. It comes to the same thing.
- Rows too small: the profile gets jagged, and the point of control jumps between neighbouring prices that are really the same level.
- Rows too large: high and low volume areas merge and the thin spots disappear.
The right size depends on the instrument's price and tick. A row of four ticks suits an index future with a 0.25 tick. Put the same four ticks on an instrument priced in the tens of thousands with a one cent tick and you get thousands of rows too thin to read. A longer profile also needs larger rows than a single session does.
What is the best time frame for volume profile?
Match the profile period to how long you hold a trade. The period the profile covers matters more than the chart timeframe.
- Scalping and day trading: session profiles on a 1 to 15 minute chart, with the previous days kept on the chart for reference.
- Swing trading: weekly, monthly or composite profiles on an hourly to daily chart.
Where are these settings in the SabrTrader Volume Profile?
They're in the indicator's settings and in its toolbar menu on the chart. The defaults below are what you get when you add the indicator.
| Setting | What it does | Default | A sensible start |
|---|---|---|---|
| Profile mode | Which bars each profile covers: All bars, Every X bars, Custom session, Daily, Weekly, Monthly, Visible range, Fixed interval, Date range or Rolling days | Daily | Daily for intraday. Weekly or Rolling days for swing levels |
| Value area percentage | The share of volume inside the value area | 68 | Leave it, or set 70 if that's what you're used to |
| Ticks per level | How many ticks go into one row. 0 means Auto, which sizes the row from the instrument's price | 0 (Auto) | Auto. Set a number only if you want a fixed row |
| Rolling N days | How many recent days the Rolling days mode merges into one profile | 5 | 5 for a week of trading |
| Date range start and end | The two dates one profile is built between in Date range mode | The last 30 days | The dates of the move or range you're studying |
The names map like this: Daily is the session profile, Rolling days is the composite, Visible range is the visible range profile and Date range is the fixed range profile. The Volume Profile page covers the rest of the indicator. It's built from tick-level volume and is part of the paid order flow suite.
Where do volume profile levels mislead?
They mislead when the volume behind them is thin, when the data isn't real traded volume, or when the settings made the level.
- A profile describes the past. It shows where trading took place. It doesn't say price will return there or stop there.
- Not every market reports real volume. Spot forex has no central tape, so the volume you see is one venue's, or a tick count.
- The value area is a cut-off. Its edges are levels by convention. Nothing happens in the market at exactly 68 or 70 percent.
- Tuned settings fit history. Adjust the settings until past turns line up and they'll look perfect on old bars and ordinary on new ones.
Try the settings on your own market
Every paid feature is open for the first 14 days, Volume Profile included. Add it to a chart and change one setting at a time.
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Questions about volume profile settings
What are the best volume profile settings for day trading?
The usual choice is a session profile with a 68 or 70 percent value area. Keep one or more previous sessions on the chart too, because the prior point of control and value area are the levels day traders refer to most.
Should the value area be 68 or 70 percent?
Either works. 70 percent is the Market Profile convention and 68 percent matches one standard deviation. Pick one and stick with it, so your levels compare from day to day.
What is the difference between fixed range and visible range volume profile?
A fixed range profile covers a start and end that you set, and it stays there. A visible range profile covers whatever is on screen, so it changes when you scroll or zoom.
How many rows should a volume profile have?
Enough to show the shape without making it jagged. There's no fixed number: it depends on the price range the profile covers and on the tick size of the instrument.
Does the chart timeframe change the volume profile?
It can. On platforms that build the profile from chart bars, a lower timeframe gives a more precise profile. A profile built from tick data comes out the same on every chart timeframe for the same period.