TradingView for beginners: what to use first

TradingView is the most widely used charting tool today. For a beginner the practical questions are
what to use first, and whether the paid tier is necessary.

1. Why so many people use it instead of the broker’s charts

• Better, faster drawing tools.
• Runs in the browser and syncs between computer and phone.
• Many markets on one platform — equities, indices, bond yields, commodities.
• Reliable price alerts that keep working after you close the browser.

2. Four things to do straight away

Build a short watchlist

Five instruments at most. A long list leads to
overtrading — there will always be one chart that looks
tempting.

Learn three drawing tools

Horizontal lines for support and resistance, trendlines, and
rectangles for price zones. Those three cover most methods. The rest usually just clutter the
chart.

Set alerts instead of watching

This is the platform’s most valuable feature for anyone with a job. Mark the levels that matter, set
alerts, and go back to work. You get told when price reaches somewhere worth attention.

Keep context charts open

Alongside the instrument you trade, keep the dollar index and
the US Treasury yield. Those two give context a single chart cannot.

3. Is the free tier enough?

For a beginner, yes. The main limits are:

• Indicators per chart.
• Simultaneous alerts.
• Charts per layout.
• Advertising.

If you follow the advice to use few indicators and few instruments, those limits rarely get in the
way. Pay only once you know exactly which limit is constraining you.

4. About the community indicator library

There are thousands of user-published indicators. Most are variations on the basic ones with a more
attractive presentation.

The advice: do not start here. Learning one or two basic indicators thoroughly is worth far more
than trying thirty exotic ones. A flashy indicator creates the feeling of an edge without creating
one.

5. One thing to watch about the data

TradingView’s prices come from its own feed and can differ slightly from your broker’s. That is fine
for analysis, but do not place a stop loss at an
exact level read from here — check it against the broker’s platform first.

6. A tidy way to combine the two

The common and effective arrangement: analyse and set alerts on TradingView, place orders on the
broker’s platform. Each tool doing what it does best.

This article is for information only and is not investment advice. Conditions and fee levels are published by the brokers and can change at any time — check with the broker you actually use. Leveraged forex and CFD trading carries a high level of risk and can cost you your entire deposit.