What you will learn in this lesson
- Understand how a line chart simplifies price down to closing values only
- Understand how an OHLC bar chart shows the same four prices as a candle, in a different visual style
- Learn to switch between chart types using TradingView's chart type selector
- Know when a trader might genuinely prefer a line chart or a bar chart over a candlestick chart
Candlesticks aren’t the only way to look at price on TradingView. This lesson covers two other chart types built from the exact same underlying data - the line chart and the OHLC bar chart - and why a trader might genuinely reach for one over a candle.
The Line Chart: Just the Closing Price
A line chart strips price down to its simplest possible form: it plots only the closing price for each period, and connects those points into one continuous line. No open, no high, no low - just where price ended up, period after period.
That simplicity is the whole point. With dozens or hundreds of candles removed from view, a line chart makes the overall shape of a move - a steady climb, a long decline, a flat stretch - much easier to see at a glance, particularly over longer stretches of time.
The OHLC Bar Chart: Same Data, Different Shape
A bar chart shows the same four prices as a candlestick - open, high, low, close - just drawn differently. Instead of a body and wicks, each period is a single vertical line, with two small tick marks:
│ ← high
│
├─ ← open (tick on the left)
│
│
├─ ← close (tick on the right)
│
│ ← lowThe vertical line spans from the low to the high, exactly like a candle’s full wick-to-wick range. The tick on the left marks the open; the tick on the right marks the close. Nothing about the underlying price data changes - only the way it’s drawn.
Switching Between Chart Types
Changing chart type takes just a couple of clicks: open the chart type selector near the top of the chart (the same toolbar area covered in Lesson 8), and choose “Line,” “Bars,” or back to “Candles” at any time. TradingView remembers the underlying price data throughout - only the visual style changes.
When Each One Is Genuinely Useful
- Line charts shine when comparing two or more instruments on the same chart - for example, overlaying the Nifty 50 against Bank Nifty - since a simplified single line for each is far easier to compare than two full candlestick charts stacked on top of each other. They’re also popular for a quick, uncluttered look at a long-term trend.
- Bar charts show identical information to a candle, so the choice mostly comes down to visual preference - some traders, especially those who learned charting before candlesticks became the dominant style, simply find the tick-mark format more familiar to read.
Neither is “better” than a candlestick chart - they’re different visual tools built from the same underlying numbers, useful in different moments.
Real-Life Example: Comparing Two Indices
Suppose a trader wants to see whether Bank Nifty has been outperforming the broader Nifty 50 over the past six months. Stacking two full candlestick charts on top of each other would be visually overwhelming - dozens of overlapping bodies and wicks. Switching both to a simple line chart and overlaying them instead makes the comparison immediate: two clean lines, showing clearly which index has climbed faster, without any of the extra visual detail getting in the way.
Analogy: A Full Report vs a One-Line Summary
Think of a candlestick or bar chart like a detailed daily report - covering the opening state, the peak, the low point, and the closing state of the day, in full. A line chart is like reading just the final line of that report each day: how things ended, nothing more. For a quick sense of the overall trend across many days, the one-line summary is often faster to skim - but if you need the full picture of any single day, you’d still want the detailed report.
Common Beginner Mistakes
- Assuming a bar chart contains extra information a candle doesn’t. It’s the identical open, high, low, close data, only drawn differently.
- Using a line chart when the detail of individual periods actually matters. For close analysis of a single day or candle, switching back to candles or bars is usually more useful.
- Overlooking line charts for comparisons. Many traders default straight to candles even when comparing two instruments, where a line chart is often the clearer choice.
- Treating the choice of chart type as a permanent decision. Switching back and forth costs nothing and is a completely normal part of a trader’s routine.
Practical Tips
- Try overlaying two familiar instruments (like Nifty 50 and Bank Nifty) as line charts just to see how much easier a direct comparison becomes.
- If you personally find bar charts easier to read than candles, there’s no downside to using them as your default - the data is the same either way.
- Keep candlesticks as your go-to for detailed, single-period analysis, and reach for line charts specifically when a broader, decluttered view is what you actually need.
Practical Exercise
- Open a Nifty 50 chart on TradingView, switch the chart type from "Candles" to "Line," and notice how much of the visual detail disappears - only the closing price path remains.
- Switch the same chart to "Bars," and compare it side by side (mentally, or using two chart tabs) with the candlestick view - confirm that the open and close tick marks line up with what the candle body was showing.
Mini Quiz
1. What does a line chart plot, and nothing else?
A line chart deliberately simplifies price down to just the closing value for each period, connecting those points into one continuous line - it discards the open, high, and low entirely.
2. Does an OHLC bar chart show different underlying data than a candlestick chart?
A bar chart and a candlestick chart are built from the exact same underlying data - open, high, low, close. They simply draw it differently - a candle uses a body and wicks, while a bar uses a vertical line with tick marks.
3. On an OHLC bar, which side does the open tick mark appear on, and which side does the close tick mark appear on?
By convention, an OHLC bar's open is marked with a small tick on the left side of the vertical line, and the close is marked with a tick on the right side - the vertical line itself spans the high to the low.
4. Why might a trader genuinely prefer a line chart over a candlestick chart?
By showing only the closing price, a line chart strips away the minute-to-minute noise of highs, lows, and wick lengths, which some traders find clearer for spotting a broad trend or comparing two instruments overlaid on one chart.
5. Where on TradingView do you switch between candlestick, line, and bar chart types?
TradingView's chart type selector, part of the toolbar covered earlier in this course, lets you switch between candles, line, bar, and other chart types with just a couple of clicks, at any time.
6. Is one of these three chart types (candle, line, bar) objectively "correct," with the others being wrong?
None of these chart types is inherently "more correct" - they're different visual representations of price, and experienced traders often switch between them depending on what they're trying to see clearly at that moment.
Frequently Asked Questions
Why would anyone use a line chart if it shows less information than a candle?
Because sometimes less information is exactly what's useful. A line chart's simplicity makes long-term trends, or comparisons between two or more instruments plotted together, easier to read without the visual clutter of dozens of individual candle shapes.
Do professional traders actually use bar charts, or is it an outdated style?
Some traders, particularly those who learned charting before candlesticks became dominant, still prefer the bar chart's visual style. It's a matter of personal preference rather than one being more advanced or accurate than the other - the underlying data is identical.
Can I overlay two instruments on the same line chart to compare them?
Yes - this is one of the most common uses for line charts specifically, such as comparing the Nifty 50 against Bank Nifty over the same period, since the simplified single-line view makes the comparison much easier to read than two full candlestick charts stacked together.
Does switching chart type change the actual price data being shown?
No - switching between candle, line, and bar only changes how the same underlying open, high, low, and close data is drawn on screen. The prices themselves stay exactly the same regardless of which chart type is selected.
Is a bar chart harder to read than a candlestick chart?
Many beginners find candles slightly easier to scan quickly, since the colored body draws the eye immediately, while a bar chart's thinner tick marks can take a little more practice to read at a glance - but both display identical information once you're familiar with the format.
Which chart type does this course use for the rest of its examples?
Candlesticks, since they're the most widely used format among Indian F&O traders and the default on most platforms - but everything about reading a price move applies the same way if you personally prefer a line or bar view instead.
Do line charts and bar charts work on all timeframes, like intraday charts?
Yes - just like candlesticks, both line and bar chart types can be applied to any timeframe, from a 1-minute intraday chart up to a weekly or monthly view, using the same timeframe selector covered in Lesson 7.
Is there a chart type that shows even less detail than a line chart?
Area charts, covered in the next lesson, are visually similar to a line chart but with the space beneath the line filled in - useful for a quick, minimal overview rather than detailed analysis.
Can I set a line or bar chart as my default chart type for every new chart I open?
Yes - TradingView remembers your most recently used chart type for new charts, and default preferences can also be adjusted in chart settings if you want a specific type to load every time.
Does my broker's own charting tool usually offer line and bar chart options too?
Most broker platforms offer at least a basic line chart alongside candlesticks, though bar charts are somewhat less commonly built into simpler broker apps - another reason some traders turn to a dedicated platform like TradingView for the fuller set of options.
Key Takeaways
- A line chart plots only the closing price for each period, connected into one continuous line - open, high, and low are discarded entirely.
- A bar chart shows the exact same open, high, low, and close data as a candlestick, just drawn as a vertical line with left (open) and right (close) tick marks instead of a body.
- Switching chart type on TradingView never changes the underlying price data - only how it's visually drawn.
- Line charts are often preferred for spotting long-term trends or comparing multiple instruments on one overlaid chart.
- Bar charts remain a matter of personal visual preference for some traders, rather than showing anything candles don't.
- None of the three chart types covered so far is objectively "correct" - the right choice depends on what you're trying to see clearly at that moment.
Conclusion
Line and bar charts prove that the same underlying price data can be shown in more than one visual style, each suited to a slightly different purpose - simplicity for line charts, a different visual habit for bar charts. The next lesson introduces a chart type that goes a step further, actually transforming the data itself rather than just redrawing it: Heikin Ashi.