What is Vortex?
The Vortex Indicator draws two lines in their own pane. VI+ measures upward movement as the distance from the previous bar's low to the current bar's high. VI- measures downward movement as the distance from the previous bar's high to the current bar's low. Both are summed over 14 bars and divided by the same summed true range, so they share one scale and can be compared directly.
VI+ above VI- is read as upward movement dominating, and the reverse as downward movement dominating. The indicator compares the two directions; it does not measure how strong the trend is in absolute terms, and it does not predict where price goes next.
How to use Vortex
- Which line is on top. VI+ above VI- means upward reach across bars has outweighed downward reach over the window. VI- on top means the opposite.
- Crosses. VI+ crossing above VI- is the usual sign of a turn towards an uptrend, and the reverse for a downtrend. The cross confirms a change that has already taken place over the window.
- Gap between the lines. A wide gap means one direction has clearly dominated. Lines that stay close and keep crossing mean neither side has control.
- Period length. A shorter window reacts sooner and crosses more often; a longer one is smoother and later.
These are ways to read the lines, not entry signals on their own.
Settings
| Setting | Default | What it changes |
|---|---|---|
| Length | 14 | Bars in each sum. Lower reacts sooner and crosses more often; higher is smoother and later. Minimum 1. |
Adjust the length in the indicator settings.
Calculation
Each bar measures movement across the boundary with the previous bar, then both directions are summed and divided by the summed true range:
VM+ = |high - previous low|
VM- = |low - previous high|
TR = max(high - low, |high - previous close|, |low - previous close|)
VI+ = sum(VM+, 14) / sum(TR, 14)
VI- = sum(VM-, 14) / sum(TR, 14)The cross-references are the defining part. Upward movement compares today's high with yesterday's low, and downward movement compares today's low with yesterday's high. Pairing high with high and low with low would give a similar-looking but different indicator.
The sums are plain totals over the window, not smoothed averages. On the first bar the true range is taken as high minus low, but VM+ and VM- need a previous bar, so the 14-bar sums are first complete on the fifteenth bar of loaded history. No reference levels are drawn.
Limitations
- Crosses whipsaw in ranges. When price moves sideways, the two lines sit close together and cross repeatedly.
- It lags. Both lines are 14-bar totals, so a turn in price shows up only as new bars replace old ones in the window.
- It shows direction, not strength. A clean cross can happen in a weak, low-volatility drift as easily as in a strong move.
- Gaps and spikes stay in the window. One unusually large bar lifts one line for the whole window and then drops out abruptly 14 bars later.
- The live candle moves. The current bar's high, low and close change until it closes, so the latest values and any cross can change.
Frequently asked questions
The Vortex Indicator is a pair of lines, VI+ and VI-, that measure upward and downward movement between consecutive bars, each summed over a window and divided by the summed true range. The line that is on top shows which direction has dominated recently.
Look at which line is above the other and where they cross. VI+ crossing above VI- is read as a shift towards an uptrend, VI- crossing above VI+ as a shift towards a downtrend. When the two lines keep crossing close together, there is no clear direction and crosses are unreliable.
Yes. The indicator declares one input, Length, default 14 with a minimum of 1, which sets the number of bars in each sum. Open the indicator's settings on the chart to change it.
Both compare upward and downward movement on a scale set by true range. [Directional Movement](/library/indicator/directional-movement) compares high with previous high and low with previous low, keeps only the larger of the two each bar and smooths with Wilder's method. Vortex crosses the references, counts both directions every bar and uses plain sums.
No. Closed bars are not revised. The current bar's values move while that bar is live, so a cross that appears mid-bar can disappear before the bar closes.
Use the Add to chart button at the top of this page. It opens BTC/USDT on Binance in the Altrady Charts terminal with the built-in Vortex Indicator already applied. On any other market, open the indicator picker on the chart and choose Vortex Indicator from the Trend group.