Footprint Chart

A footprint chart (also called a bid-ask chart or order flow chart) is a candlestick variant that displays the actual bid and ask volume traded at each individual price level within the candle. Instead of showing only open, high, low, and close, each footprint candle is a vertical table of traded volume.

Footprint candle structure

Price     Bid Vol × Ask Vol
5,250.25    18  ×  247   ← Large ask imbalance
5,250.00    42  ×  198
5,249.75   156  ×   31   ← Large bid imbalance
5,249.50    89  ×   76
5,249.25   203  ×   18   ← Large bid imbalance

Left column = sell-initiated (bid) volume. Right column = buy-initiated (ask) volume. The delta for each row is ask − bid.

What footprints reveal that candles cannot

A standard green candle tells you price went up. A footprint green candle tells you:

• Where exactly buyers were aggressive vs where sellers defended
• Whether the move had genuine buying support or was thin and likely to reverse
• Which price levels saw absorption or delta divergence
• Where imbalances formed that may act as future support/resistance

Key footprint signals

Delta divergence: candle closes up but cumulative delta is negative. Sellers were more aggressive despite the green close. Bearish.

Imbalance stacking: consecutive rows all show the same side dominant. Strong directional conviction at those levels.

Absorption: high ask volume (buyers aggressive) at a level, but price does not advance past it. Large passive sellers absorbing.

Unfinished business: a candle that ends with the high or low showing only single-sided prints (e.g. large ask volume at the top with no bid) suggests the move ended abruptly: price may return to finish the auction.

Footprint chart types

Type	Shows
Bid × Ask	Raw volume on each side per row
Delta	Net delta (ask − bid) per row
Volume	Total volume per row (no side split)
Imbalance	Highlights cells where one side overwhelms the other

Most traders use Bid × Ask with imbalance highlighting as the primary view.