Most trend indicators give you one line to interpret. The Vortex Indicator gives you two, set against each other — one measuring how hard price is being pulled up, the other how hard it is being pulled down. The trend is simply whichever line is on top, and a change of trend is the moment they swap places.
Reading the two lines
When VI+ crosses above VI-, upward force has taken the lead — a long signal in a trend-following framework. When VI- crosses above VI+, the opposite. The distance between the lines matters as much as which is on top: a wide, sustained separation is a strong, healthy trend, while lines that keep converging and tangling say the trend is fading or absent. Because the calculation reaches back to the previous bar’s extremes, it responds to the give-and-take between consecutive bars rather than to a single moving average of price.
What does a crossover of VI+ above VI- on the Vortex Indicator signal?
Vortex Indicator (Botes-Siepman, 2010) trend ko do line ke muqable mein todta hai: VI+ (upar ka zor) aur VI- (neeche ka zor), har ek previous bar ke high/low se distance aur true range se banti, ~14 pe smooth. VI+ upar = uptrend jeet raha (buy signal); VI- upar = downtrend. Do line ka gap = trend ki strength — wide = strong, uljhi hui = kamzor/badal raha. ADX se farak: ADX strength batata (direction nahi), Vortex sirf direction — dono aksar saath use hote hain. Har crossover tool ki tarah flat/range market mein whipsaw deta — signals sirf tab lo jab ADX ya bade timeframe se trend confirm ho. Naked chop mein bleed karega.
- The Vortex Indicator plots VI+ (upward) and VI- (downward) force from the previous bar’s extremes and true range.
- VI+ above VI- signals an uptrend; VI- above VI+ signals a downtrend; the crossover is the entry signal.
- The gap between the lines gauges trend strength — wide is strong, tangled is weak or turning.
- It is directional only; ADX by contrast measures strength, and the two are often paired.
- Like all crossover tools it whipsaws in a range — filter its signals with a trend check.
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Common questions
Short, direct answers to what people ask about this topic.
- what is the vortex indicator
- The Vortex Indicator, published by Etienne Botes and Douglas Siepman in 2010, is a trend indicator made of two oscillating lines: VI+ measuring upward price movement and VI- measuring downward movement. Each is built from the distance between the current bar and the previous bar’s low or high, divided by the true range, and smoothed over a lookback — usually 14 periods. When VI+ sits above VI-, upward force dominates; when VI- is on top, downward force dominates. It is designed to identify the start of a trend and confirm its direction.
- how to use the vortex indicator
- The core signal is the crossover: VI+ crossing above VI- suggests an uptrend is taking hold and is read as a buy, while VI- crossing above VI+ suggests a downtrend and is read as a sell. The wider the gap between the two lines, the stronger the prevailing trend; when they converge and tangle, the trend is weak or turning. Traders typically take crossovers only in the direction of the higher-timeframe trend, or filter them with a trend-strength tool, because the raw crossovers fire too often in a sideways market.
- vortex indicator vs adx
- They answer different questions. ADX with its DI+ and DI- lines separates trend direction from trend strength — ADX itself is a non-directional strength gauge. The Vortex Indicator is purely directional: VI+ and VI- both move and their crossover marks a change of direction, but neither line alone tells you how strong the trend is, only which side is winning. Many traders pair them: the Vortex crossover for the direction and entry timing, ADX to confirm there is enough trend strength to act on.
- does the vortex indicator work
- It works as a trend-direction and entry-timing tool in genuinely trending conditions, where the crossovers line up with real moves. Its weakness is the same as every crossover indicator: in a range-bound or choppy market VI+ and VI- cross back and forth repeatedly, generating whipsaw signals that lose money in fees and small losses. It is descriptive, not predictive — it reports the current balance of upward and downward force, so treat it as confirmation within a trend-following system rather than a standalone crystal ball.