How to Use TradingView: A Beginner's Guide

Open a chart of any coin or pair, set it up, draw levels and get notified when price gets there. All of it works on the free plan.

5 min read · Updated: 2026-10-20

Contents

In short
Step 1. Open a chart of a coin or pair
Step 2. Timeframe and chart type
Step 3. Indicators from the library
Step 4. Levels and trendlines
Step 5. Set a price alert
Step 6. Save your layout
Free plan or paid
Paper trading: practise without money
Questions and answers

In short

TradingView is a website and app with charts for almost every market: crypto, stocks, forex, indices. You do not buy coins here. You analyse price and test ideas.

A chart shows what happened. It does not promise what comes next. Every indicator and every line is a hint, not a "buy now" guarantee.

Step 1. Open a chart of a coin or pair

Click the symbol name in the top-left corner, or just start typing on the chart. A search box appears.
Type a ticker such as BTCUSDT. The same pair shows up from different venues.
Pick the venue you actually trade on. Prices differ a little between exchanges, and volume can differ a lot.
Not in the suggestions? Type EXCHANGE:TICKER and press Enter, and check that no exchange or type filter is on in the search window.

Step 2. Timeframe and chart type

A timeframe is how much time one candle covers: 1 minute, 1 hour, 1 day. The interval menu is on the top toolbar. Use "Add custom interval" for your own, or type a number and TradingView reads it as minutes.

Start with higher timeframes like 4 hours and 1 day. Minute charts are mostly noise.
Work top-down: the daily chart tells you the trend, then 4 hours or 1 hour helps you find an entry.

Next to it is the chart type menu. The default is Japanese candlesticks; there are also bars, a line and the smoother Heikin Ashi.

If candles still look like noise to you, start with how to read a candlestick chart.

Step 3. Indicators from the library

Click "Indicators" on the top toolbar or press "/". The library has TradingView built-ins plus thousands of community scripts. Built-ins are enough to start:

Indicator	What it shows	How to start
[[ema	EMA]]	A smoothed average price and trend direction	Add EMA 50 and EMA 200 to the daily chart
[[rsi	RSI]]	Momentum on a 0 to 100 scale	Watch the [[overbought-oversold	overbought and oversold]] zones and [[divergence	divergences]]
[[volume	Volume]]	How much traded in each candle	Confirms the strength of a [[breakout	breakout]]
[[macd	MACD]]	The gap between two averages, shifts in momentum	Use it as confirmation, not as a signal on its own

The gear icon next to an indicator name opens its settings: period, colours, levels.

Do not pile ten indicators on one chart. Most are calculated from the same price and repeat each other. Two or three tools plus price action are worth more, and the free plan limits indicators per chart anyway.

Step 4. Levels and trendlines

Drawing tools are on the left toolbar. The key ones:

Horizontal line (Alt+H, Option+H on a Mac): for support and resistance, where price has turned several times.
Trend line (Alt+T): connect the lows of an uptrend or the highs of a downtrend. A third touch makes it meaningful.
Parallel channel: for a channel between two parallel lines.
Long Position / Short Position: shows your entry, stop-loss, take-profit and risk/reward right on the chart.

Start on the daily chart and mark the 2 or 3 most obvious levels.
Watch for fakeouts: price often pokes through a level and comes back. Many traders wait for a retest, see breakout and retest.

A level is a zone, not an exact price. Do not expect price to turn on your line to the cent.

Step 5. Set a price alert

An alert notifies you when a condition is met, so you can stop watching the chart all day.

Click the alarm-clock "Alert" button on the top toolbar or press Alt+A (Option+A on a Mac). Faster still: right-click the price you want and choose "Add alert".
Condition: Price, with the operator Crossing (either direction), Crossing up or Crossing down.
Choose how you get notified: pop-up, sound, email or a push in the mobile app.

You can also right-click a trendline or channel and choose "Add alert" to hear about a break of a sloped line.

Your plan caps how many alerts can be active, and standard alerts expire. Check the alert manager on the right.

Step 6. Save your layout

A layout is your whole screen: symbol, timeframe, indicators and drawings. Autosave is on by default; to save manually, use the layout menu at the top right or Ctrl+S (Cmd+S on a Mac).

Give the layout a clear name, such as "Crypto, daily analysis".
The same layout open in two tabs or devices can overwrite itself through autosave. Work in one tab.
The free plan has few saved layouts, so reuse one layout and just switch symbols in it.

Free plan or paid

The free Basic plan is enough to learn: any symbol, all built-in indicators, drawing tools, alerts and paper trading. The limits are about quantity:

fewer indicators per chart;
one chart per tab, no multi-chart grid;
few active alerts and saved layouts;
ads and less history for analysis.

Paid plans (Essential, Plus, Premium, Ultimate) raise the limits, remove ads and add more charts per tab and extra chart types. Limits and prices change, so check the pricing page.

Do not subscribe on day one. Use the free plan for a month, and upgrade only if you hit the limits every day.

Paper trading: practise without money

Paper Trading is a built-in simulator, free for every user. The money is virtual, the quotes are real.

On the chart, click "Trade" or open the trading panel at the bottom.
Pick Paper Trading from the broker list and click "Connect".
Use the order ticket for a market, limit or stop order with a stop-loss and take-profit attached. Orders can be dragged on the chart.

Treat it like a demo account: test your trading plan, keep a trade journal and size each position as if the money were real.

A simulator cannot reproduce the emotions or slippage of a live market, and paper profits guarantee nothing. Go live small, with a fixed risk per trade.

Questions and answers

Can I use TradingView for free?

Yes. The free Basic plan includes charts, built-in indicators, drawing tools, alerts and paper trading, with limits on indicators per chart, active alerts and saved layouts.

Can I buy crypto directly on TradingView?

TradingView is first of all a charting service. You buy coins on an exchange and analyse them here. Paper trading inside TradingView uses virtual money.

Which indicators should a beginner use?

Two or three: EMA for trend, RSI for momentum, volume for confirmation. Support and resistance levels you draw yourself matter most.

How do I set a price alert on TradingView?

Right-click the price on the chart and choose "Add alert", or press Alt+A. Pick the Crossing condition and how you want to be notified: pop-up, email or a push in the app.