How to Mark Fair Value Gaps in TradingView (FVG Indicator or by Hand)

To mark fair value gaps in TradingView, either add a community FVG indicator from the Indicators menu or draw each gap yourself with the Rectangle tool. Both follow the same three-candle rule: the high of candle 1 and the low of candle 3 do not overlap, and the span between them is the gap. This guide covers the FVG indicator TradingView users search for, what to check before you trust one, how to draw a gap by hand, and a real BTCUSDT hourly chart where an indicator would mark four gaps and only one of them matters.

What TradingView gives you for FVGs

TradingView's help page on drawing tools lists no tool named for fair value gaps. It does list a Rectangle under geometric shapes, and measuring tools such as Price range and Date range. So a hand-marked gap is a Rectangle that you place yourself.

For automatic marking you need a script. The Indicators dialog has three tabs: Technicals, Fundamentals and Community Scripts. TradingView's help pages that I read do not mention a built-in FVG indicator, so a search for "fair value gap" will mostly bring up Community Scripts from third-party authors. TradingView's Pine Script article says an extensive number of Community Scripts are open source. Open source matters here, because you can read how a script defines a gap.

One limit to plan around: TradingView's pricing page lists the Basic plan at $0 and shows 2 indicators per chart for it (5 for Essential, 10 for Plus), as of 18 Oct 2026. An FVG script uses one of those slots. Plan limits change, so check the page.

The rule you are marking

An indicator does nothing magical. It scans closed candles for the same pattern you can spot by eye. A bullish FVG exists when the third candle's low sits above the first candle's high; a bearish one when the third candle's high sits below the first candle's low. LuxAlgo's FVG reference states the rule this way. The gap is the span between those two prices.

Steps 1 to 3 in the figure are the three candles. The rectangle starts at candle 1 and runs to the right edge. A bearish gap is the mirror image. For the pattern itself, see the fair value gap guide; for how it differs from imbalance and liquidity void, see FVG vs imbalance vs liquidity void.

Option 1: use a community FVG indicator

1. Open a chart and click the Indicators button on the upper toolbar.
2. Open the Community Scripts tab and search for "fair value gap".
3. Pick a script whose description says what it draws and, if possible, whose source is open. Add it to the chart.
4. Open its settings and go through the checklist below. Every script names these options differently, so read the labels instead of assuming.

This card is a checklist, not a set of values. Each script has its own defaults, and we do not recommend any one script here. The reasons for each line:

• Timeframe. Check whether the script reads the chart's timeframe or lets you choose another. A 4h gap on a 15m chart is a different object from a 15m gap.
• Minimum gap size. LuxAlgo notes that raw three-candle gaps print constantly, so tools often apply a minimum size, based on ATR or a percentage. Without a filter you get clutter.
• When a gap counts as filled. LuxAlgo describes the midpoint of a gap as the consequent encroachment and says many models treat a midpoint touch as "filled enough". Find out whether the script removes a box on a midpoint touch, on a full fill, or never.
• How far boxes extend. Extended boxes keep old gaps on screen long after they stopped mattering.
• How many boxes show. A cap keeps the chart readable.
• Colours. Pick two that do not match your candle colours.

Option 2: draw each gap with the Rectangle tool

The manual method needs no indicator slot and forces you to look at every gap. TradingView's Rectangle help article describes the tool as usually used to highlight an area of high interest.

1. Find the three candles. Note the high of candle 1 and the low of candle 3 for a bullish gap, or the low of candle 1 and the high of candle 3 for a bearish one.
2. Select the Rectangle from the geometric shapes group and drag from candle 1 to candle 3.
3. Open the rectangle's settings. The Coordinates tab sets the corners by price and by bar, so you can type the two prices exactly.
4. In the Style tab, set the background colour and opacity, and turn on Extend right so the box continues to the right edge.
5. In the Text tab, add a note such as the time or the size of the gap.
6. In the Visibility tab, choose the timeframes where the box should show. This keeps a 15m gap off your daily chart.

Two more facts from TradingView's help pages. The Style tab also has a middle line, and the midpoint of a gap is one of the places traders watch, so a middle line is a cheap way to see it. You can also create an alert on a drawing: click the clock icon on the floating toolbar or use the right-click menu.

Drawings behave differently from indicators across layouts. With sync off, a drawing is saved only on that chart of that layout. With layout sync, drawings on the current symbol appear across all charts in the layout. Indicators are not synchronised between layouts.

An FVG indicator vs structure on a real chart

An indicator marks every gap. You decide which ones matter, and one common filter is structure: did the candles that made the gap also break a swing?

The chart shows BTCUSDT on the 1h timeframe, 16 October 2026, UTC (add 3 hours for MSK). Gaps are found by the three-candle rule from Binance candles fetched on 18 Oct 2026. Structure comes from the BiasNex engine.

Over these 15 candles the rule finds four gaps. Sizes are given as a share of the third candle's close:

• a (11:00 to 13:00 UTC, bearish): 82,182.62 to 82,202.75, about 0.025%.
• 1, 2, 3 (14:00 to 16:00 UTC, bearish): 81,662.11 to 81,868.00, about 0.25%, or 205.89 USDT.
• b (18:00 to 20:00 UTC, bullish): 81,475.96 to 81,524.00, about 0.06%.
• c (22:00 to 00:00 UTC, bearish): 81,677.88 to 81,684.00, about 0.008%.

A script with no size filter marks all four. Gaps a, b and c are between 6 and 48 USDT wide on a coin near 81,000, and none is larger than 0.06%.

The gap with steps 1 to 3 is different:

• Candle 2, the 15:00 UTC candle (18:00 MSK), opened at 81,974.45, ranged 81,978.01 to 81,319.84 and closed at 81,353.14. That is a range of about 0.8%.
• The BiasNex engine marks a bearish CHoCH, internal, on that same candle at the 81,688 level. See change of character for what that means. The gap sits on the candle that broke structure, which is the combination traders mean when they say the gap has context.
• Candles 1 and 2 sit inside the London close kill zone (14:00 to 16:00 UTC in summer time) in the convention of our TradingView kill zones guide, and you can see the sessions in your own time zone in the trading sessions tool.

What price did next:

• The 17:00 UTC candle reached 81,815.55, inside the gap, above its midpoint of 81,765.06, and fell as low as 80,809.25.
• Later candles that evening returned to 81,742.72 (19:00), 81,784.01 (20:00), 81,796.01 (21:00), 81,820.93 (22:00) and 81,814.68 (23:00). None of them reached the top of the gap.
• The first candle to trade through the full gap was the 01:00 UTC candle on 18 October, with a high of 81,897.89.

So price tested the gap several times, did not trade through its top for about 32 hours after it formed, and then filled it. This is one example. It does not show how often gaps hold or fill, and it is not a signal. For structure basics, see market structure.

Mistakes to avoid

• Marking every gap. Raw gaps print constantly. Use a size filter or mark only gaps on a candle that broke structure.
• Trusting a script you have not read. Check the description, the author, and the open source where you can.
• Mixing timeframes. Say which timeframe each box comes from.
• Never clearing old boxes. A filled or stale gap on the screen is noise.
• Treating a gap as a signal. LuxAlgo says gaps are rarely traded alone, and that some fill quickly, some partly, some never. Plan the stop and the size first with the risk reward calculator.
• Using all your indicator slots on gap scripts. On Basic you have two per chart.

More chart setup guides are in the Handbook hub.

FAQ

Does TradingView have a built-in FVG indicator?

TradingView's help pages that we read do not document one. Search "fair value gap" in the Indicators dialog and check who wrote the script. For a manual option, use the Rectangle tool.

How do I draw a fair value gap on TradingView by hand?

Find three candles where the high of candle 1 and the low of candle 3 do not overlap, then draw a Rectangle between those two prices and use Extend right in its Style tab.

Can I use an FVG indicator on the free plan?

Yes, if you have a slot. TradingView's pricing page lists 2 indicators per chart on Basic as of 18 Oct 2026. Drawing by hand does not use an indicator slot.

What is the best FVG indicator for TradingView?

We do not rank scripts. Pick one whose description and settings you understand, filter small gaps, and compare its boxes with the three-candle rule on a few charts before you rely on it.