Support vs Resistance
Look-alike pair
Full entries: .
Support and resistance are both price levels where a market tends to pause or reverse, but the single difference that matters is which side of the current price they sit on: support is below, resistance is above. That positional difference is what makes one a potential floor and the other a potential ceiling.
Side by side
| Support | Resistance | |
|---|---|---|
| Position relative to price | Below the current market price | Above the current market price |
| Typical role | Acts as a floor where buying interest may emerge | Acts as a ceiling where selling interest may emerge |
| What a break suggests | A decisive break below can signal further weakness | A decisive break above can signal further strength |
| Role reversal | Once broken, support can later act as resistance | Once broken, resistance can later act as support |
| Field mark | Drawn as a horizontal or rising line beneath the price bars | Drawn as a horizontal or falling line above the price bars |
| How levels are set | From prior lows, round numbers, or moving averages; exact rules vary by trader and market | From prior highs, round numbers, or moving averages; exact rules vary by trader and market |
Which word to use
Use support when you mean a level below the market that may hold prices up, and resistance when you mean a level above the market that may hold prices down.
Family: XI · Look-alikes · Index A–Z