Supertrend indicator lab
See Supertrend for what it is — an ATR-based trailing stop — and feel the trade-off its two settings control: how much noise you filter against how much lag you buy.
Runs entirely in your browserRuns entirely on your device — 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.
- ATR period
How many bars the volatility is averaged over. Ten is the common default. Longer smooths the line and delays every signal; shorter makes it jumpier.
- Multiplier
How many ATRs the band sits away from price. Three is standard. Raise it and the line sits further away — fewer flips, but you give back more before it exits.
- Count the flips
Watch how often the line changes colour. In a clean trend it flips rarely; drag the multiplier down and the flips multiply into a stream of whipsaws.
- Find a sideways stretch
Look at where price went nowhere. Every flip there is a small loss — that part of the chart, not the trending part, is where Supertrend costs you money.
Worked example: What the multiplier really buys
Leave the ATR period at 10 and compare a multiplier of 3 with a multiplier of 1.5 on the same series.
What to enter
- ATR period
- 10
- Multiplier
- 3, then 1.5
What it shows you
- Multiplier 3 — flips
- Few
- Multiplier 3 — exit
- Late, giving back some profit
- Multiplier 1.5 — flips
- Many more
- Multiplier 1.5 — in a range
- A string of small losses
- Net lesson
- Fewer whipsaws buys later exits
Where this is taught
A calculator gives you a number. These explain what the number means and when it misleads you.
- Technical Analysis11 minSupertrend: the trailing stop that looks like magicThe green-and-red line on every Indian retail chart. What it computes, what its two settings do, and why it is brilliant in a trend and brutal in a range.
- Technical Analysis8 minParabolic SAR: the stop-and-reverse dotsThe dots that trail above or below price, tightening as a trend runs. Parabolic SAR is a ready-made trailing stop — excellent in a trend, and a whipsaw machine in a range.
- Technical Analysis10 minBollinger Bands and measuring volatilityBands that adapt to volatility, the squeeze that precedes big moves, and why ATR should decide your stop distance.
- Technical Analysis12 minCutting false signals without cutting the good onesEvery filter that removes bad trades removes some good ones too. How to measure that trade-off instead of guessing at it.
- Technical Analysis12 minEntries, exits and managing a live tradeEveryone plans the entry. Almost nobody plans the exit — which is why most people hold losers and sell winners.