{"id":21021,"date":"2021-08-20T10:21:53","date_gmt":"2021-08-20T10:21:53","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.highcharts.com\/blog\/?p=21021"},"modified":"2026-01-13T11:20:52","modified_gmt":"2026-01-13T11:20:52","slug":"candlestick-or-heikin-ashi","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.highcharts.com\/blog\/tutorials\/candlestick-or-heikin-ashi\/","title":{"rendered":"Candlestick or Heikin Ashi"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>In this tutorial, I will explore the main differences between the standard candlestick chart and the Japanese trading indicator Heikin-Ashi. I will then demonstrate  how to create both of these charts with Highchart Stock.<br \/>\nThe demo below displays the same AAPL stocks using a candlestick chart (graph on top) and a Heikin-Ashi indicator (graph on bottom):<br \/>\n&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p class=\"demo-container\"><iframe style=\"width: 100%; height: 650px; border: none;\" src=\"https:\/\/www.highcharts.com\/samples\/embed\/stock\/demo\/heikinashi\" allow=\"fullscreen\" title=\"A chart displays the same AAPL stocks using a candlestick chart (graph on top) and a Heikin-Ashi indicator (graph on bottom)\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<br \/>\nEven though the graphs look similar, there are some fundamental differences. Let\u2019s start with the candlestick charts:<\/p>\n<ol>\n<li>The candlestick chart shows raw information, where each candle is detached from the previous candle, and has its own price information; such as open, high, low, and close.<\/li>\n<li>The candlestick chart exhibits more volatility than Heikin-Ashi as all the data is displayed.<\/li>\n<li>No time gap is required as all the candles are independent of each other.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<p>Heikin-Ashi is a Japanese word that translates to the \u201caverage pace\u201d in English. The  Heikin-Ashi chart is based on candlesticks; however, it has the following differences to the standard candlestick chart:<\/p>\n<ol>\n<li>Each candle is built upon the previous candle as it is <a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Heikin-Ashi_(chart)#:~:text=the%20open%20of%20a%20Heikin,by%20wicks%20similarly%20to%20candlesticks.\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">processed (averaged<\/a> depending on the previous candle data.<\/li>\n<li>Candles in Heikin-Ashi are much smoother than those in the candlestick chart and also have less noise that helps to detect clearer patterns, as the data represents the average price.<\/li>\n<li>Heikin-Ashi charts are easy to read and highlight market trends.<\/li>\n<li>For the long-term investor, Heikin-Ashi is an excellent tool to spot trends.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<p>To summarize, the standard candlestick chart offers real-time, unprocessed, and noisy information, whereas Heikin-Ashi performs data filtering and processing with a time gap. The next logical question is which one to choose? Well, it depends; if you are looking for raw and granular information with all the patterns, go for the normal candlestick chart. However, if you are looking specifically to spot trends and prefer a smooth price and low noise, then Heikin-Ashi is the right chart for you.  <\/p>\n<p>Now, you know the main differences between the candlestick chart and the Heikin-Ashi chart; let\u2019s see how you can create them with Highcharts Stock.<\/p>\n<h2>How to create a candlestick with Highcharts Stock?<\/h2>\n<p>It is easy to create a candlestick with Highcharts stock; all you have to do is:<\/p>\n<ol>\n<li>Add the <code>highstock.js<\/code> module\n<pre>&lt;script src=\"https:\/\/code.highcharts.com\/stock\/highstock.js\"&gt;&lt;\/script&gt;<\/pre>\n<\/li>\n<li>Select the candlestick chart type <code>type: 'candlestick'<\/code><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<h2>How to create a Heikin-Ashi with Highcharts stock?<\/h2>\n<p>It is also simple and straightforward to create a Heikin-Ashi charts:<\/p>\n<ol>\n<li>Add the <code>highstock.js<\/code> module\n<pre>&lt;script src=\"https:\/\/code.highcharts.com\/stock\/highstock.js\"&gt;&lt;\/script&gt;<\/pre>\n<\/li>\n<li>Add the <code>heikinashi.js<\/code> module\n<pre>&lt;script src=\"https:\/\/code.highcharts.com\/stock\/modules\/heikinashi.js\"&gt;&lt;\/script&gt;<\/pre>\n<\/li>\n<li>Select the candlestick chart type <code>type: 'candlestick'<\/code><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<p>In this article, I share my list of the main differences. Let me know your list, and feel free to share your thoughts in the comment section below.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Learn the main differences between the traditional Candlestick charts and the Heikin Ashi charts, and how to create them with Highcharts Stocks.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":32,"featured_media":21025,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"meta_title":"","meta_description":"","hc_selected_options":[],"footnotes":""},"categories":[210],"tags":[788,883],"coauthors":[699],"class_list":["post-21021","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-tutorials","tag-finance","tag-highcharts-stock"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.highcharts.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/21021","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.highcharts.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.highcharts.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.highcharts.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/32"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.highcharts.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=21021"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.highcharts.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/21021\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":29351,"href":"https:\/\/www.highcharts.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/21021\/revisions\/29351"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.highcharts.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/21025"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.highcharts.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=21021"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.highcharts.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=21021"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.highcharts.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=21021"},{"taxonomy":"author","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.highcharts.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/coauthors?post=21021"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}