Pivot Point Calculator
A pivot point calculator turns the prior period's high, low and close into a central pivot and the support and resistance levels around it. With the standard (floor) formula the pivot is (high + low + close) / 3, so a bar with a high of 184.60, a low of 179.40 and a close of 183.20 gives P = 182.40, R1 = 185.40 and S1 = 180.20.
Type the high, low and close of the bar you want levels from (yesterday's daily bar for daily pivots, last week's for weekly) and pick one of the five methods. You get that method's ladder, highest resistance at the top, with each level's distance from the pivot. DeMark also needs the open. It is arithmetic on the prices you type, so it never fetches the prior session, never reads your chart, and never says where price will turn.
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Pivot Point Calculator
Support and resistance levels from the prior bar's high, low and close
P = (H + L + C) / 3. R1 and S1 reflect P across the prior low and high, R2 and S2 add and take off the range, and R3 and S3 go one step further out.
Enter the prior period's high, low and close to see its pivot and its support and resistance levels.
How it works
How pivot points are calculated
H, L, C, O = the prior period's high, low, close and open. R = H - L
Standard (floor): P = (H + L + C) / 3, R1 = 2P - L, S1 = 2P - H, R2 = P + R, S2 = P - R, R3 = H + 2(P - L), S3 = L - 2(H - P)
Woodie: P = (H + L + 2C) / 4, then R1 = 2P - L, S1 = 2P - H, R2 = P + R, S2 = P - R
Camarilla: R1 to R4 = C + 1.1 × R / 12, / 6, / 4, / 2, and S1 to S4 = C - the same. No P in the set
Fibonacci: P = (H + L + C) / 3, R1 to R3 = P + 0.382R, 0.618R, 1.000R, and S1 to S3 = P - the same
DeMark: X = H + 2L + C if C < O, 2H + L + C if C > O, H + L + 2C if C = O. P = X / 4, R1 = X / 2 - L, S1 = X / 2 - H
These are the formulas the pivot points guide works by hand. Where its sources cover a method they agree on it, with one exception, TradingView's Woodie, covered below. StockCharts' ChartSchool reference on pivot points gives the Standard P, R1, R2, S1 and S2, the Fibonacci set ("R1 and S1 are based on 38.2%, R2 and S2 are based on 61.8%, and R3 and S3 are based on 100%") and DeMark's three branches on the close against the open, which leave "only one resistance (R1) and one support (S1)." TradingView's pivot points documentation lists the same floor set under the name Traditional, and carries it on past R3 and S3 to R4, S4, R5 and S5. Its R3 = P × 2 + (prevHigh - 2 × prevLow) is the same thing as H + 2(P - L) here, and it gives Camarilla R1 as prevClose + 1.1 × (prevHigh - prevLow) / 12, with divisors of 6, 4 and 2 for the higher levels.
Platforms don't all draw the same lines, so check which version yours uses before you compare. TradingView defines Woodie as (prevHigh + prevLow + 2 × currOpen) / 4. It swaps the prior close for the current session's open, so its Woodie levels can differ from these, which use the prior close as the guide does. Its Camarilla type also draws the standard P and an R5 and S5, which the guide's Camarilla set leaves out. And it carries a second floor set, Classic, whose R3 is P + 2 × R: 192.80 on the guide's bar, where the Traditional R3 here is 190.60.
One warning carried over from the guide. Many sites print Camarilla as the close plus the range times 1.0833, 1.1666, 1.25 and 1.5. Those are 1 + 1/12, 1 + 1/6, 1 + 1/4 and 1 + 1/2, and they appear to be a mis-transcription of the 1.1 / 12, 6, 4 and 2 divisors. This calculator uses the divisors. On the guide's bar the 1.0833 version would put R1 at 188.83, above even the Standard R2 of 187.60, instead of 183.68.
Fibonacci pivots are not Fibonacci retracements. The pivots apply 0.382, 0.618 and 1.000 to the whole prior range around P, with nothing picked by hand. A retracement measures a pullback inside a swing you choose, which is what the Fibonacci retracement calculator does.
Prices show at the decimals you typed, never fewer than two, with no thousands separators, so they read like the price axis. Each level is rounded half up for display only, since dividing by 3, 4 or 12 rarely lands on a tick: 184.6 and 184.60 give the same P of 182.40, and a EUR/USD bar of 1.0950, 1.0850 and 1.0920 gives a Standard P of 1.0907 at four decimals, or 1.09067 typed to five. Each distance is the shown level minus the shown pivot, so the rows add up, and the percent is the exact distance over the exact pivot (or the close, for Camarilla).
Worked example: one bar, five methods
| Level | Standard (floor) | Woodie | Camarilla | Fibonacci | DeMark |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| R4 | None | None | 186.06 | None | None |
| R3 | 190.60 | None | 184.63 | 187.60 | None |
| R2 | 187.60 | 187.80 | 184.15 | 185.61 | None |
| R1 | 185.40 | 185.80 | 183.68 | 184.39 | 186.50 |
| P (Camarilla: the prior close) | 182.40 | 182.60 | 183.20 | 182.40 | 182.95 |
| S1 | 180.20 | 180.60 | 182.72 | 180.41 | 181.30 |
| S2 | 177.20 | 177.40 | 182.25 | 179.19 | None |
| S3 | 175.00 | None | 181.77 | 177.20 | None |
| S4 | None | None | 180.34 | None | None |
This is the bar from the pivot points guide, which made the numbers up so the arithmetic comes out clean: a high of 184.60, a low of 179.40, a close of 183.20 and an open of 180.10. The five R1 values run from 183.68 (Camarilla) to 186.50 (DeMark), a spread of 2.82 on a prior range of 5.20. The Fibonacci R3 of 187.60 is the same price as the Standard R2, because both are P plus one full range. Standard R1 sits 3.00 above P and S1 sits 2.20 below it: the close finished 73.08% of the way up the bar, so the ladder leans up.
DeMark's three branches
How the prior open moves the DeMark levels
DeMark is the only one of the five methods that reads the open. Same high, low and close as above, three different opens.
| Prior open | Branch | X | P | R1 | S1 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 180.10 | Close above open: 2H + L + C | 731.80 | 182.95 | 186.50 | 181.30 |
| 184.00 | Close below open: H + 2L + C | 726.60 | 181.65 | 183.90 | 178.70 |
| 183.20 | Close equals open: H + L + 2C | 730.40 | 182.60 | 185.80 | 180.60 |
A close above the open counts the high twice and lifts the set. A close below it counts the low twice and drops it. When the two are equal, X is H + L + 2C, four times the Woodie pivot, so DeMark's P, R1 and S1 land exactly on the Woodie 182.60, 185.80 and 180.60. The open's value never enters the sum, only which side of the close it sits on, so a tiny change can flip the branch: an open of 183.19 gives an R1 of 186.50, and an open of 183.21 gives 183.90.
If one of these levels is your stop or your target, the risk reward calculator turns the entry, stop and target into a ratio before you size the trade.
Before you rely on it
What pivot levels do not tell you
A pivot is a level traders watch, worked out from the prior bar and nothing else. It says nothing about whether a trade exists or where price turns. ChartSchool's own takeaway is that "confirming Pivot Point signals with other aspects of technical analysis is important," and it notes that "sometimes the second or third support/resistance levels are not seen on the chart" because they sit off the price scale. On the guide's bar the Standard ladder runs from 175.00 to 190.60, three prior ranges wide, and a normal day never gets near R3 or S3.
The levels are only as good as the bar you type, and the calculator can't tell you which bar that is: when your broker's day ends for a currency pair, whether pre-market prints belong in a stock's high and low, or which week a weekly pivot should use. Change the bar and every level moves. It also can't tell you whether a level lines up with support and resistance you can see on your chart, which is where a pivot gets interesting. That is a read of the chart itself.
Common pivot point mistakes
- Switching methods after a loss. On the guide's bar the five R1 values sit 2.82 apart, more than half the 5.20 prior range, so one of them will always fit the move you wish you had caught. Pick one before the session and keep it.
- Comparing this Woodie with TradingView's. TradingView builds Woodie from today's open, this one from the prior close, as the guide does. The two can sit well apart on the same morning.
- Copying the 1.0833 Camarilla multipliers. They put R1 more than a full range above the close. The 1.1 / 12 divisor puts it 0.48 above.
- Typing the wrong bar. Daily pivots need the last completed daily bar. A currency pair's day depends on your broker's rollover time, and a stock's high and low depend on whether pre-market and after-hours prints count.
- Counting Standard and Fibonacci lines as two signals. Both come from the same high, low and close, and the Fibonacci R3 of 187.60 is the Standard R2 to the cent. That is one input drawn twice. Confluence needs a level from something the formula never saw.
- Treating a level as a forecast. Every level is arithmetic on a bar that already closed.
Grade the setup at the level before you take it
The calculator puts prices on the levels. It can't tell you whether the trade at one is worth taking. When price reaches the level you are watching, upload a screenshot of the chart and SnapPChart grades the setup A+ to F in seconds. The grade is a read of the chart as a whole. It does not calculate, find or check pivot points, so work those out here first. A paid grade also returns an entry, a stop, and targets when the chart supports a trade plan.
Upload a Chart ScreenshotYour first grade is free and shows the setup's grade and the general read. Entry, stop, targets and the trade plan come with a paid plan.
Keep going
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FAQ
Pivot point questions
How do you calculate pivot points?
Take the prior period's high, low and close. The standard pivot is P = (H + L + C) / 3, then R1 = 2P - L, S1 = 2P - H, R2 = P + (H - L) and S2 = P - (H - L). On a bar with a high of 184.60, a low of 179.40 and a close of 183.20, P = 547.20 / 3 = 182.40, R1 = 364.80 - 179.40 = 185.40 and S1 = 364.80 - 184.60 = 180.20. One step further out, R3 = H + 2(P - L) = 190.60 and S3 = L - 2(H - P) = 175.00.
What is the difference between Standard, Woodie, Camarilla, Fibonacci and DeMark pivots?
Each changes a different part of the formula. Woodie counts the close twice, P = (H + L + 2C) / 4. Camarilla drops P and hangs four levels each way off the close at 1.1 × range / 12, / 6, / 4 and / 2. Fibonacci keeps the standard P and spaces the levels at 0.382, 0.618 and 1.000 of the range. DeMark picks one of three sums from where the close finished against the open. On the same bar the five R1 values run from 183.68 to 186.50.
Why doesn't my platform's Woodie or Camarilla line match?
Usually it is a different version of the formula. TradingView's Woodie uses the current session's open in place of the prior close, so it has no value until the session opens. Many sites print Camarilla with 1.0833, 1.1666, 1.25 and 1.5 multipliers, which put R1 at 188.83 on the guide's bar instead of 183.68. And a platform's prior bar can differ from yours: a broker's rollover time or extended-hours prints change the high, low and close.
Which bar do I enter for daily, weekly or monthly pivots?
The completed bar before the one you trade: yesterday's for daily pivots, last week's for weekly, last month's for monthly. StockCharts' ChartSchool maps them to chart timeframes: 1, 5, 10 and 15-minute charts use the prior day's high, low and close, 30, 60 and 120-minute charts the prior week's, and daily charts the prior month's. The calculator doesn't fetch any of them. It works on whatever bar you type.
Does it work for forex and crypto?
Yes. Prices keep the decimals you type, with no thousands separators, so a EUR/USD bar of 1.0950, 1.0850 and 1.0920 gives a standard P of 1.0907 at four decimals, or 1.09067 if you type five. Prices up to 1,000,000,000 work, with up to 12 decimals for small coins. A market that trades around the clock has no closing bell, so its prior bar is whatever your platform's daily rollover says it is.
Why does a support level say zero or less?
Supports can land at or below zero when the prior range is wide next to the price. Standard S1 is 2P - H, so a bar from 2.00 to 10.00 that closed at 3.00 has P = 5.00 and S1 = 0, with S2 and S3 below zero. No price can go there, so those rows say so instead of printing a negative number.
Does SnapPChart's chart grade use pivot points?
No. The grade is a read of the setup in your screenshot, A+ to F, and it does not calculate, find or check pivot levels of any method. Work the levels out here, then grade the setup separately.
Does this calculator fetch yesterday's prices?
No. It does arithmetic on the prices you type and nothing else. It doesn't fetch the prior session, read your chart, or pick the timeframe.
Benjamin Loh
Founder & Developer at SnapPChart
I build AI-powered tools for traders. I created SnapPChart to help day traders analyze chart patterns faster using computer vision and machine learning. Learn more · Follow on X
This calculator is for planning purposes only and is not financial advice. It computes Standard, Woodie, Camarilla, Fibonacci and DeMark pivot levels from the high, low, close and open you enter. It does not fetch prices, read your chart, or pick the timeframe, and a level is not a prediction that price will stop or turn there. Trading involves risk of loss.