What Do All Those Numbers on the Binance Candlestick Chart Mean? Open, Close, High, Low Explained
The open price, close price, high price, low price, volume, and range shown above a Binance candlestick chart all have specific meanings. This article goes through every number on the top of the chart, left to right, explaining what each one means, how it's calculated, and how it's actually useful when trading.
Anyone opening a Binance candlestick chart for the first time gets startled by a long string of numbers at the top: "O 95134 H 95620 L 94830 C 95200, change +66 +0.07%" — what do all these letters and numbers actually mean? This time we went through every field on the candlestick chart on the Binance Official Site against real market data, and also covered a few relatively hidden but useful indicators. The short answer up front: O is Open, H is High, L is Low, and C is Close — these four make up the core OHLC data of a single candlestick; everything else, like volume, range, and percentage change, is derived from them.
The Basic Structure of a Candlestick
Each candlestick represents the price movement over one time period (1 minute, 15 minutes, 1 hour, 1 day, and so on). A single candlestick contains 4 core numbers:
| Letter | Full English Term | Chinese | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| O | Open | 开盘价 | The price of the first trade at the start of the period |
| H | High | 最高价 | The highest trade price during the period |
| L | Low | 最低价 | The lowest trade price during the period |
| C | Close | 收盘价 | The price of the last trade at the end of the period |
These 4 numbers combined make up OHLC, which is the internationally standard format for financial charts. Binance, TradingView, Bloomberg, Xueqiu — every place you look at candlesticks uses this same system.
Visually, a candlestick is drawn as:
- Body (the thick rectangle): the range between the open price and the close price
- Wicks (the thin lines): the portions where the high/low break past the body
- Color: green for a gain (though the Chinese convention flips red/green so red means a gain and green means a loss), red for a loss
Hands-On: Reading One Hour of BTC Candlestick Data
We captured one 1-hour BTC/USDT candlestick from a given day (10:00-11:00):
| Field | Value | Interpretation |
|---|---|---|
| O Open | 95134 | The first trade price right at 10:00 |
| H High | 95620 | The highest price touched during this hour was 95620 |
| L Low | 94830 | The lowest price touched was 94830 |
| C Close | 95200 | The last trade price right at 11:00 |
| Change | +66 | Close - Open = 95200 - 95134 |
| Change % | +0.07% | 66 / 95134 ≈ 0.07% |
| Range | 0.83% | (95620-94830) / 95134 ≈ 0.83% |
| Volume | 1,247 BTC | 1,247 BTC traded during this hour |
| Turnover | 118.85M USDT | 1,247 × average price ≈ 118.85 million USDT |
Looking at each field individually:
Change
Close price minus open price. If it's positive (C > O), this candlestick closed up, and it's colored green (Binance's default). A negative number means it closed down, colored red.
Change %
The change expressed as a percentage of the open price. This number is more intuitive than the raw change — for example, BTC moving up 1,000 USDT sounds like a lot, but relative to a 95,000 baseline it's only 1%.
Range
The relative percentage between the high price and the low price, reflecting how volatile this candlestick was. A large range means bulls and bears were fighting hard during that period; a small range means the price moved calmly.
Volume
The amount of coin traded during this period (the amount of BTC). Volume is a key indicator for judging the strength of a trend — a rally with high volume is a healthy trend, while a rally with low volume might just be a bounce with no real backing.
Turnover
Volume multiplied by the weighted average price, giving the total traded amount denominated in USDT. This number gives a more intuitive picture of how much capital is moving in the market.
Other Numbers at the Top of the Chart
Besides the core OHLC data above, the top of the Binance candlestick chart shows a few other numbers, grouped by topic:
Price-Related
| Label | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Mark Price | Only appears on futures, based on the index price across multiple spot exchanges |
| Index Price | The weighted average spot price across multiple exchanges |
| Funding Rate | Only appears on perpetual futures, settled every 8 hours |
| Time to Next Settlement | Countdown to the next funding rate settlement |
For a detailed breakdown of how the funding rate mechanism works, see what the funding rate is.
24-Hour Stats
| Label | Meaning |
|---|---|
| 24h High | The highest trade price in the past 24 hours |
| 24h Low | The lowest trade price in the past 24 hours |
| 24h Volume | The cumulative coin volume traded in the past 24 hours |
| 24h Turnover | The cumulative USDT turnover in the past 24 hours |
| 24h Change | The cumulative percentage change over the past 24 hours |
These numbers give you a "past-day overview" that carries more information than a single candlestick.
Hands-On Comparison
A screenshot of the BTC/USDT spot page taken at the same time:
| Field | Value at That Moment |
|---|---|
| Current Price | 95237 |
| 24h High | 95620 |
| 24h Low | 93840 |
| 24h Change | +1.24% |
| 24h Volume | 14,258 BTC |
| 24h Turnover | 1.36B USDT |
You can see the current price is below the 24-hour high (95620) and above the 24-hour low (93840), with an overall gain of 1.24% over the past day. This kind of "where are we right now" judgment helps with decision-making — for example, if you see the current price is already close to the 24h high, you might want to be cautious about chasing it upward.
Switching Chart Timeframes
The top of the candlestick chart has timeframe selectors. Common timeframes:
| Timeframe | Label | Best Used For |
|---|---|---|
| 1 minute | 1m | Ultra-short-term, catching bounces |
| 5 minutes | 5m | Short-term monitoring |
| 15 minutes | 15m | Primary timeframe for day trading |
| 1 hour | 1h | Medium-short-term decisions |
| 4 hours | 4h | Medium-term judgment |
| 1 day | 1D | Trend analysis |
| 1 week | 1W | Long-term trends |
| 1 month | 1M | Macro cycles |
The "candlesticks" you see on different timeframes actually cover different data periods. One 1-hour candlestick is the combination of 60 one-minute candlesticks. At the same moment in time, different timeframes will show different OHLC numbers.
Practical experience: for beginner trading, watching 1h + 4h is enough. For short-term trading, watch 5m + 15m + 1h. For long-term investing, watch 1D + 1W.
Two Modes for the Price Scale
The vertical price axis on the right side of the candlestick chart has two modes:
- Linear: Equal-distance scale. The distance from 100 to 200 equals the distance from 200 to 300
- Log: Equal-ratio scale. The distance from 100 to 200 equals the distance from 200 to 400
For a short-term view (a few days to a few weeks), Linear is recommended, since it shows absolute price changes. For a long-term view (several years), Log is recommended, since the visual effect of percentage changes makes more sense.
How to switch: there's a small button in the bottom-right corner of the chart that toggles L/Log.
Sub-Chart Indicators
Below the candlestick chart there's usually a sub-chart area showing the volume bar chart.
The color logic of the volume bars:
- Green bar: this candlestick closed up (Close > Open)
- Red bar: this candlestick closed down (Close < Open)
The height of the volume bar reflects the trading scale, which is key for judging trends.
You can also add various technical indicators to the sub-chart: MACD, RSI, KDJ, Bollinger Bands, and more. There's an "Indicators" button in the bottom-right corner of the Binance candlestick chart where you can select overlays. Beginners don't need to stack a pile of indicators right away — get comfortable reading OHLC first.
Finding These Numbers on the App
Open the Official Binance App:
Step 1: Go to the Trade Page
Tap "Trade" among the 5 bottom tabs, then choose "Spot," and search for BTCUSDT.
Step 2: Open the Full-Screen Chart
There's a "fullscreen" icon (usually a two-way arrow) at the top right of the chart. Tapping it makes the candlestick chart fill the whole screen so you can see more number fields.
Step 3: Scroll Through the Candlesticks
Drag your finger left and right across the chart, and each candlestick gets highlighted as you pass it, updating the OHLC numbers at the top to that candlestick's data. This is the easiest way to review historical data.
Step 4: Adjust the Timeframe
There are timeframe tabs above the chart (1m/5m/15m/1h/4h/1D, etc.) — just tap to switch.
Common Mistakes When Reading Charts
Mistake 1: Looking at Price Without Looking at Volume
A 5% price gain looks great, but if volume is extremely low, it might just be the result of a few large orders — an "unbacked rally" with no real buying support behind it. A rally backed by volume is a healthy trend.
Mistake 2: Fixating on the High/Low Price
The high and low are extreme values for that period, and can be caused by a single abnormally large order creating a momentary spike. The close price is a more reliable indicator for judging trend.
Mistake 3: Making Big Decisions Based on Small Timeframes
Jumping in the moment you see one big green candlestick on the 1m chart, only to find the 4h chart is still in a downtrend. Multi-timeframe confirmation is a classic trading principle — the larger timeframe determines direction, the smaller timeframe determines entry timing.
Mistake 4: Treating the Binance Price as "the Market Price"
The Binance price reflects trades executed on the Binance exchange. For a small coin listed exclusively on Binance, the price only reflects that one venue. But for global coins like BTC/ETH, the difference between Binance's price and other major exchanges is usually under 0.1%.
A Few Hidden but Useful Features
1. Price Alerts
There's a bell icon next to the candlestick chart that lets you set "notify me when BTC hits X" or "notify me when it drops below Y." It's free and pushes instantly to the app.
2. Drawing Tools
The candlestick chart toolbar has drawing tools that let you draw support levels, resistance levels, and trend lines directly on the chart. Drawings are saved and will still be there the next time you open the chart.
3. Multi-Chart Comparison
You can display the candlesticks of two coins at once (like BTC and ETH) to observe correlation. Enable "Compare" mode in the chart settings.
4. Screenshot Sharing
At any time, tap the screenshot button in the top-right corner of the chart to save the current chart (including any toolbar annotations) to your photo album or share it directly.
FAQ
Q: Which is more accurate, real-time candlesticks or the trade history? A: Both are accurate, but they update at different frequencies. The trade history scrolls in real time trade by trade, while a candlestick only completes once per period. A 1-minute candlestick keeps updating throughout that minute (the high and low change in real time) and only "closes" once the next minute starts.
Q: Why is the high price I see different from someone else's? A: It's probably because of a different timeframe. At the same moment, the high on a 1m candlestick might be 95220, while the high on the 1h candlestick is 95620, because the 1h candlestick contains 60 one-minute periods.
Q: Do candlesticks look the same in UTC and Beijing time? A: Short timeframes like 1-minute and 1-hour candlesticks are the same, just with different time labels. But the "day" boundary for the 1-day candlestick differs by timezone — a day that resets at UTC 0:00 vs. one that resets at Beijing midnight results in different open and close prices for the 1D candlestick. Binance defaults to UTC, so if you're used to Beijing time, you'll need to adjust it in settings.
Q: Why is there a gap missing in the candlesticks? A: It could be that Binance was under maintenance during that period, so there were no trades recorded. In rare cases, it's because the coin was just listed or the trading pair was suspended.
Q: Can I see all the candlestick indicators on mobile? A: Yes. The Binance app supports slightly fewer indicators than the PC web version, but mainstream indicators like MACD, RSI, KDJ, Bollinger Bands, and moving averages are all there. Some professional indicators may require switching to the PC client.
Q: What does it mean when the volume bars are "more green than red"? A: It usually means buying pressure was generally stronger than selling pressure over that period, with the market leaning bullish. But you need to combine this with the price trend — volume alone doesn't give you a conclusion.
Q: Can candlestick data be exported? A: The Binance app doesn't directly support this, but you can pull historical candlestick data as a CSV through the Binance API. Regular users can also sync Binance data into TradingView and export it from there.
Q: Are futures candlesticks the same as spot candlesticks? A: Basically the same, but with differences. Spot candlesticks reflect spot trade prices, while futures candlesticks reflect futures trade prices, and there's a "basis" between the two (usually very small). During major market moves, the basis can widen to over 0.5%. For details, see what's the difference between USDⓈ-margined and coin-margined futures.