What is Volume Profile?
Volume Profile draws a horizontal histogram of how much volume traded at each price, split into up and down volume by the colour of the bars. The busiest price row is the Point of Control (POC), and the rows around it that hold 70% of the volume by default form the value area.
It has two anchor modes. Visible Range, the default, profiles all the bars loaded on the chart. Swing profiles from the lowest low, or the highest high, within a lookback of 200 bars by default, which is the anchored volume profile many traders use from a major turn.
This is a closed-source premium script. It runs on Altrady's servers, so only its output reaches your chart and its code is not published.
Components
Volume Profile combines 2 tools in one script. Each one has its own switch in the settings.
- Volume Profile Visible Range. Volume by price over every available bar on the chart, with POC and value area. The default mode.
- Anchored Volume Profile. Volume by price from a swing anchor, the lowest low or highest high within a lookback window, with POC and value area.
How to use Volume Profile
- Point of Control. The price with the most traded volume. It acts as a magnet and as support or resistance when price comes back to it.
- Value area. Where most of the volume traded. Price above the value area is read as bullish acceptance, below it bearish.
- Low-volume gaps. Rows with little volume are prices the market passed through quickly. Price often moves fast through them again.
- Anchored from a swing. Anchoring at the lowest low shows where volume has built since the turn, a read of where buyers have committed in the move up.
Settings
Anchor
| Setting | Default | Range | What it changes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Anchor | Visible Range | Visible Range, Swing | Visible Range profiles all available bars. Swing profiles from the lowest low or highest high within a lookback window. |
Swing
| Setting | Default | Range | What it changes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Swing Anchor | Lowest Low | Lowest Low, Highest High | Which swing to anchor the profile at (Swing mode). |
| Swing Anchor Lookback | 200 | 2 or more | How many bars to search for the swing (Swing mode). |
Profile
| Setting | Default | Range | What it changes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rows | 24 | 2 to 200 | The number of price levels the range is divided into. |
| Value Area (%) | 70 | 1 to 100 | Percentage of total volume that defines the value area around the POC. |
Display
| Setting | Default | Range | What it changes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Width (% of range) | 30 | 1 to 100 | How wide the row boxes are, as a fraction of the profiled time span. |
Colours
| Setting | Default | Range | What it changes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Up (Value Area) | #26a69a | Bullish volume inside the value area. | |
| Down (Value Area) | #ef5350 | Bearish volume inside the value area. | |
| Visible Range Up (Outside) | #26a69a | Bullish volume outside the value area (Visible Range mode). | |
| Visible Range Down (Outside) | #ef5350 | Bearish volume outside the value area (Visible Range mode). | |
| POC | #ff6d00 | The row with the most volume: the Point of Control. |
Alerts: poc_cross.
How it works
The script takes the window of bars, splits its high to low range into Rows rows, 24 by default, and spreads each bar's volume across the rows it touched. Up bars and down bars are counted separately. The busiest row becomes the POC and the value area grows outward from it until it holds the Value Area percentage.
The profile is rebuilt on every bar, because the window grows with each new bar and the swing anchor moves when a new extreme enters the lookback. Visible Range uses all available bars, which in practice is close to what you see, since a script cannot read the chart's visible area.
The poc_cross alert fires when a bar closes across the POC, with the mode named in its message.
Limitations
- Not the exact visible range. Visible Range profiles every loaded bar, which is the visible area plus a small buffer, not exactly what is on screen.
- The profile updates. The POC and value area can shift as new bars arrive or the swing anchor moves.
- Bars are spread evenly. Each bar's volume is spread evenly over its range, since the chart does not know where inside the bar it traded.
- Volume is per exchange. The profile uses the volume of the market on your chart, which only covers trading on that exchange.
- Swing anchor is automatic. The anchor is the extreme within the lookback, not a point you pick on the chart. Change Swing Anchor Lookback to reach further back.
Get Volume Profile
Premium scripts are a one-time purchase in the Altrady marketplace and need a paid Altrady plan to run.
- Volume Profile $12 This script on its own.
- Volume Profile & Zones bundle $19 4 premium scripts, Volume Profile included.
- Altrady Complete Suite $109 All 36 premium scripts.
Frequently asked questions
A histogram of traded volume by price instead of by time. It shows where the market did the most business, with the Point of Control and value area marked.
Visible Range profiles all loaded bars. Swing starts the profile at the lowest low or highest high within a lookback window.
No. The anchor is the lowest low or highest high within Swing Anchor Lookback bars, set with Swing Anchor.
One, poc_cross. It fires when a bar closes across the Point of Control.
Yes. Volume Profile is a closed-source premium script. It runs on Altrady's servers, so only its output reaches your chart and the code is never shared. You buy it once in the Altrady marketplace, on its own, in the Volume Profile & Zones bundle or in the Altrady Complete Suite, and it needs a paid Altrady plan to run. It is also included with your first annual Premium subscription.
Use the Get it in Altrady button on this page to open its listing in the Altrady marketplace. Once it is in your account, open the indicator picker on any chart in Altrady Charts and add Volume Profile like any other indicator. Choose the anchor mode in its settings panel.