Field Guide to Trading Terms

Timeframe

Family VI · Charts & indicators

Not to be confused with trading session, candlestick chart, price action.

Timeframe is the interval of time that each bar, candle, or point on a price chart represents. It sets the granularity of the chart and the number of periods shown, from seconds to months. Timeframes are a property of the chart's data series, not of the underlying market.

How timeframes work

Each timeframe aggregates raw trade data into a single value for that interval. For example, a one-hour candle contains the open, high, low, and close prices of all trades executed during that hour. The same market data can be displayed on any timeframe, but the resulting chart looks different because the aggregation interval changes.

Timeframes are usually selected from a menu on a charting platform. Common intraday timeframes include 1, 5, 15, and 30 minutes, and 1 and 4 hours. Daily, weekly, and monthly timeframes are also standard. Some platforms offer tick, volume, or range bars, which are not time-based.

Worked example

Suppose a stock trades at these prices during a 15-minute period:

Aggregating trades into a 15-minute candle
Open at 09:30—100.00
High at 09:37—101.20
Low at 09:42—99.80
Close at 09:45—100.90
15-minute candleO 100.00 H 101.20 L 99.80 C 100.90One data point

On a 5-minute timeframe, the same 15 minutes would produce three separate candles, each with its own open, high, low, and close.

Choosing a timeframe

Timeframe selection depends on the intended holding period and analysis style. Shorter timeframes show more detail and noise; longer timeframes smooth out intraday fluctuations. Traders often view multiple timeframes to compare short-term price action with longer-term context. The timeframe does not change the market's actual price history, only how it is grouped and displayed.

Often confused with

trading session
A trading session is a designated period during which a financial market operates and orders can be executed, defined by the exchange or venue's official hours.
candlestick chart
A candlestick chart is a price chart that plots four values per period—open, high, low and close—as a body with wicks, so each bar shows both the range and the direction of movement.
price action
Price action is the study of a security's price movements as shown by its chart, without relying on indicators or derived statistics, to identify patterns and levels that reflect buying and selling pressure.

See also

Family: VI · Charts & indicators · Index A–Z