Moving average lab
See exactly what changing the period of a moving average costs you, so you stop treating 50 and 200 as though they were laws of nature.
Runs entirely in your browser — nothing you type is sent anywhere. Educational only, and not investment advice.
How to use this calculator
Each step names a control you will find on screen above.
- Period (sessions)
Drag it from short to long. Watch the line go from hugging price and whipsawing, to smooth and late.
- Compare both
Turn on the comparison to see simple against exponential at the same period. The exponential weights recent sessions more, so it turns sooner and whipsaws more.
- Count the false crossovers
At a short period, count how many times price crosses the line without a real move following. That count is the cost of responsiveness.
- Find your own trade-off
There is no correct period. There is only the trade-off between being early and being wrong, and you have to choose where to sit on it.
Worked example: Twenty sessions against two hundred
Set the period to 20, note the behaviour, then set it to 200 and compare.
What to enter
- Period (sessions)
- 20, then 200
- Compare both
- On
What it shows you
- 20-period
- Turns within days
- 200-period
- Turns after weeks
- EMA vs SMA at 20
- EMA turns 2–3 sessions sooner
- The trade-off
- Early and often wrong, or late and usually right
many crossovers, most meaningless
few crossovers, each significant
Where this is taught
A calculator gives you a number. These explain what the number means and when it misleads you.
- Technical Analysis12 minMoving averagesThe most useful indicator ever invented, and the one most often misused. Periods, types, crossovers, and dynamic support.
- Technical Analysis13 minThe indicator did not start this morningAt 9.20 the first five-minute candle closes and price crosses the 20-period moving average sitting right there on the chart. It looks like the day making a decision. Nine-tenths of the number that was crossed was computed from yesterday afternoon, and the overnight gap is sitting inside your volatility reading like a brick.
- Technical Analysis11 minAnchored VWAP: the price everyone actually paidDrop an anchor at an event and VWAP tells you the average price paid since — turning "is this level important?" into a question with an actual answer.
- Technical Analysis10 minHeikin-Ashi, Renko and point & figureCharts that trade information for clarity — what each one discards, and the specific mistake each one invites.
- Market Basics10 minReading a stock quote screenLTP, OHLC, market depth, delivery percentage, circuit limits and the 52-week range — every number on the screen and which ones actually matter.