The rules
- Swings: a swing low is the lowest low of the 5 days on each side, a swing high the highest high. A swing is confirmed 5 days after it happens.
- The last two swing lows (or highs) are compared with the 14-day RSI at the same days. They have to be 5 to 60 days apart, and the second one in the last 20 days.
- Bullish: a lower low in price with a higher low in RSI. Bearish: a higher high in price with a lower high in RSI.
- Hidden bullish: a higher low in price with a lower low in RSI. Hidden bearish: a lower high in price with a higher high in RSI. Hidden divergences are usually read as the trend carrying on.
The rules match the Divergences indicator on FreeCharting, so the chart link shows the same swings.
About this setup
- What it is
- A divergence is when price and the 14-day RSI disagree between two swings: for example, a lower low in price with a higher low in RSI.
- How traders use it
- Regular divergences are read as fading momentum and a possible reversal; hidden divergences as the trend carrying on. Traders usually wait for price to confirm, such as a break of the last swing.
- Caveats
- Divergences can repeat several times before price turns, and many never lead to a reversal. A swing is only confirmed 5 days after it happens.
Calculated in your browser from daily candles. Not investment advice.
Frequently asked questions
Is a divergence a buy or sell signal?
No. It shows momentum fading while price makes a new low or high. Prices can keep going for a long time with divergences, so most traders wait for a trigger, such as a break of the swing high or low, before acting.
Which markets can it scan?
Four, picked with the Market buttons above the table. Crypto (the default) scans the 250 busiest USDT pairs on Binance. Crypto perps scans the 200 busiest USDT perpetual futures on OKX. Both are free public data and need no key. US stocks scans about 600 US stocks and ETFs with your own free Alpaca key, and CME futures scans about 25 front-month CME Group contracts (stock indexes, Treasuries, oil, gas, metals, grains, livestock, currencies and CME bitcoin) with your own free Massive key.
Why do stocks and futures need a key?
Stock and futures prices are licensed data, so a website can’t hand them out for free. Alpaca (for stocks) and Massive (for futures) give anyone a free data key. Your key is saved only in your browser and sent only to that provider. See how to get a free Alpaca key and how to get a free Massive key for futures.
Is the data real-time?
Crypto and crypto perps are live from Binance and OKX, on daily candles that start at 00:00 UTC (today’s candle is still forming). Alpaca’s free stock data is 15 minutes behind the market, and Massive’s free futures plan is 8 hours delayed. Turn on auto-refresh next to the results to update the table in place every 30 seconds, minute or 5 minutes.