Pivot point calculator

What a pivot point is for

A pivot point is a single price, computed from the high, the low and the close of the previous session. Bands sit above it (resistances, labelled R1, R2 and so on) and below it (supports, labelled S1, S2 and so on). The idea is to have a small grid of reference prices ready at the open, so the session that follows has something to be measured against.

Four methods are in common use. Classic is the simple average of high, low and close. Woodie weights the close twice. Camarilla sits around the close itself with a tighter spacing. Fibonacci spaces the bands at 0.382, 0.618 and 1.0 of the session range. This page prints all four at once in the methods table, and lets you pick one to put on the price ladder.

The four formulas

Classic. Let H, L and C be the previous high, low and close, and R be H minus L. Then P = (H + L + C) / 3, R1 = 2P - L, S1 = 2P - H, R2 = P + R, S2 = P - R, R3 = H + 2(P - L) and S3 = L - 2(H - P). Seven levels in all: three above the pivot, the pivot itself, three below.

Woodie. P = (H + L + 2C) / 4. The close is doubled, so Woodie's pivot sits closer to the close than Classic's. R1 = 2P - L, S1 = 2P - H, R2 = P + R, S2 = P - R. Five levels.

Camarilla. There is no pivot in the Classic sense; the anchor is the previous close. Then Rk = C + R x 1.1 / d and Sk = C - R x 1.1 / d, with d = 12, 6, 4 and 2 for k = 1 to 4. R1 and S1 sit very close to the close; R4 and S4 are wider out. Nine levels in all with the close as the anchor.

Fibonacci. P = (H + L + C) / 3 like Classic. Then R1 = P + 0.382R, R2 = P + 0.618R, R3 = P + R, S1 = P - 0.382R, S2 = P - 0.618R, S3 = P - R. Seven levels, spaced by the common Fibonacci ratios.

Worked example you can check

Take a session that made a high of 25,200, a low of 24,800 and closed at 25,100. Range is 400. Here is what each method gives, rounded to two decimals.

Two things are worth seeing in the numbers. First, Woodie's pivot (25,050) sits above Classic's (25,033.33) because the close is doubled. Second, Camarilla's four bands sit very tight around the close: R1 is only 36.67 above the close and R4 is 220 above. For a short intraday bias that tight spacing is the point.

What each input does

High and low set the range. Larger range widens Classic R2 and S2, every Fibonacci level, and every Camarilla level in proportion to the distance. Classic R3 and S3 are especially sensitive, because they add two more times the H to P or L to P gap.

Close changes the pivot in every method except raw Camarilla, where it is the anchor. In Classic it is one of three equal weights. In Woodie it carries double weight, which is why Woodie's pivot is often described as tilted toward the close. In Fibonacci it enters through the Classic pivot.

Method is only used to pick which ladder is drawn in the panel chart. The methods table always shows all four side by side, and the headline reports the pivot of the method you picked.

Your price is a label on the ladder. It does not move any level, and nothing else depends on it. If you leave it alone, it reports as the last-entered value.

Which method people reach for

There is no measured ranking between the four methods, and this page does not claim one. In practice, Classic is the default on most charting platforms because it is the simplest and oldest. Woodie's double close weight is used when the session closed a long way from its midpoint, because the Classic pivot there is often read as too far from the action. Camarilla is a tight intraday grid, often picked for shorter holding times. Fibonacci bands are picked by traders who already use Fibonacci lines on swings.

Whichever method you pick, the pivot and its bands are prices computed on yesterday's numbers. They are a reference grid. Nothing in the arithmetic says the price must stop at any one of them, and this page makes no such claim.

Edge cases this page handles

• If the high you entered is below the low, the two are swapped and a note is shown under the tiles.
• If the close sits outside the high-low range, it is clamped into the range so every method stays within the session's prices.
• If the high equals the low, every level sits at the same price. The page prints the note and keeps running.
• At the smallest input (one paisa for H, L and C) every level prints as a small finite number. At the largest (10 lakh) the numbers stay in two-decimal rupees.

What this calculator leaves out

• Live market data. The page never fetches the previous session's prices.
• Any claim that a price will respect a level. These are reference lines, not forecasts.
• Weekly or monthly pivots. The formulas are the same if you feed in a weekly or monthly H, L and C; this page is sized for a daily session.
• DeMark or Floor-Trader variants. Only the four methods above are listed.
• Order placement. The risk management calculator is where position size is sized against the stop you pick.

Frequently asked questions

Courses that teach the subject behind the pivot point calculator