When we talk about volume in trading charts, we refer to the number of shares/contracts traded during a period (for stocks, shares; for futures/options, contracts). On a chart, volume is usually displayed as vertical bars under price candles.
Volume helps traders and investors understand how strong or weak a price move is:
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If price goes up with high volume, it shows strong buying interest. (TradingView)
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If price rises (or falls) on low volume, the move may be weak or suspect — lacking strong participation. (TradingView)
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Volume helps to confirm breakouts, trend strength, reversals, or false breakouts. (TradingView)
Because of this, most charts (including those on TradingView) support a “volume indicator” to make volume visible. In simple terms: price tells you “where market moved”; volume tells you “how many traded — how strong that move was.”
How to Add Volume in TradingView — Step by Step
Adding volume in TradingView is easy. Below are the steps:
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Open a chart for the asset you want (stock, crypto, forex, etc.).
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At the top of the chart, click on “Indicators”. This opens the indicator search panel. (TradingView)
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In the search box, type “Volume”. Among the results you will see “Volume” — the built‑in simple volume indicator. (TradingView)
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Click on it. The volume bars will be added to your chart — usually as a panel below the price candles. (TradingView)
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(Optional) Customize how volume bars look: color for up/down bars, bar width/height, whether to show moving average of volume, etc. Click the gear/settings icon next to the indicator name in the chart legend to open styling options. (Bitget)
Once added, you will see vertical bars under the chart. Higher bars mean more trading activity during that period.
What Volume Shows — Basic Interpretation
Once volume is visible, here’s what you can do with it, and what to look for — especially when combined with price action:
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Confirming price moves: If price breaks support/resistance or trends up/down — high volume adds credibility. If volume is low, move might be weak. (TradingView)
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Spotting breakouts vs false breakouts: A breakout on low volume might be a “false breakout.” If volume spikes but price doesn’t follow convincingly — caution. (TradingView)
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Trend strength or weakness: For uptrend: rising price + rising volume = strong bullish trend. If price rises but volume declines — trend might be weakening. (TradingView)
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Reversals / Exhaustion moves: Sharp drop or rise with big volume, especially after a long move, could signal exhaustion — potential reversal or consolidation. (TradingView)
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Support/resistance & retests: When price returns to a support/resistance zone — look at volume. Strong volume indicates conviction; low volume might indicate weak retest. (TradingView)
In short — volume adds the “weight” dimension alongside price’s “direction.”
Beyond Basic Volume — Advanced Volume Tools & Indicators
The built‑in “Volume” indicator gives you total volume per bar. But on TradingView and through community scripts you can go much deeper: analyze spikes, compare to moving averages, detect unusual volume, or even split buy vs sell pressure. Here are some advanced ideas:
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There are scripts like Volume Bars Color, which color volume bars depending on how much they deviate from average — highlighting “large volume” vs “low volume” bars. (TradingView)
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Another script Dobrusky Pressure Core — for example — splits each volume bar into estimated buy vs sell pressure (i.e. how much volume likely came from buyers vs sellers), letting you see which side was dominant. (TradingView)
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For professional-level analysis (especially in futures/crypto) one can use volume footprint / volume‑profile charts: these show how much volume occurred at different price levels during a session, helping spot concentration zones, liquidity clusters, or where large orders were executed. (TradingView)
These advanced tools help beyond just “volume bar height” — they give insight into who (buyers or sellers) and where (which price levels) the volume happened, which is very useful for smart trading decisions.
Common Issues Beginners Face & How to Fix
While adding volume is simple, beginners sometimes face a few common problems on TradingView. Here’s what they are — and how to fix them:
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Volume bars are too small or not visible: Sometimes volume bars may appear tiny compared to price candles — especially if the chart scale is crowded. Solution: move the volume indicator to a separate pane below the price chart (not on the same pane as candles). Many users suggest this for better visibility. (reddit.com)
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Indicator missing / not found: If you don’t see “Volume” in the indicators list, check if you have filters turned on, or try searching “volume” manually. On rare occasions, some subscription tiers might have limits on indicators. (reddit.com)
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Volume seems weird or inconsistent (especially on intraday vs daily): Sometimes, adding up small‑timeframe volume bars doesn’t match the daily volume total. This may be due to data from different sources or aggregation differences. (reddit.com)
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Confusion between volume and other volume‑based tools: Remember — basic volume bars just show aggregate traded volume. If you want more nuanced data (buy vs sell pressure, volume by price level, institutional activity), you must use specialized indicators/scripts.
Why Use Volume — Smart Traders’ Checklist
Before making any trade — looking at volume can act as a filter. Use this quick checklist:
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Is volume above average when price is breaking out or trending? → Good sign.
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Is volume declining while price continues to move? → Be cautious — trend might be weak.
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On retests or bounce from support/resistance — is volume strong? → More likely a valid move.
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On breakout — is there volume spike? → Higher probability of breakout being real.
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On consolidation or range — watch for sudden volume spikes — may signal coming breakout or reversal.
Using volume this way helps avoid false signals and improves probability-based trading (rather than guessing).
Conclusion — Add Volume Always, Use It Wisely
If you are using TradingView — adding volume to charts should be one of your first steps. It’s very easy: open chart → click Indicators → search “Volume” → add.
More importantly, try to learn to read volume: understand when a move is backed by real participation, when a breakout might be fake, and when trends are losing strength. Over time, pairing price action + volume analysis gives you a stronger view of the market than price alone.
Once comfortable with basic volume, explore advanced tools — colored volume bars, buy/sell pressure indicators, volume‑profile charts — for deeper insight.
Volume analysis doesn’t guarantee profit — nothing does in trading — but it greatly improves your chances by helping you gauge market conviction and participation.