Arnaud Legoux Moving Average, or ALMA, is a Gaussian-weighted moving average available as a built-in TradingView indicator. It smooths historical price data while shifting the weight distribution toward a chosen point in the lookback window. Traders generally use ALMA as a trend filter, pullback reference, or comparison line against SMA and EMA—but because it is calculated from historical prices, it is a lagging indicator and should not be used as a standalone buy or sell signal.
Key Takeaways
- ALMA is a Gaussian-weighted moving average developed by Arnaud Legoux and Dimitrios Douzis-Loukas.
- TradingView's built-in ALMA uses three key inputs: window, offset, and sigma. According to TradingView's Help Center, the defaults are window 9, offset 0.85, and sigma 6.
- Offset controls where the Gaussian weighting peak sits; sigma controls how concentrated or spread out the weighting curve is.
- ALMA is designed to balance smoothness and responsiveness—many traders use it when they want a smoother trend line that still reflects recent price action.
- The most reliable use case is trend filtering and context, not isolated signal generation.
What Is the Arnaud Legoux Moving Average?
The Arnaud Legoux Moving Average is a technical indicator that smooths price data using a Gaussian weighting method. Instead of giving every price in the lookback period equal importance, ALMA assigns weights according to a bell-shaped curve. The position and width of that curve are controlled by the indicator's offset and sigma settings.
TradingView's Help Center describes ALMA as a moving average that uses a shifted Gaussian distribution, allowing the average to be biased toward more recent bars rather than being evenly centered across the window. TradingView also notes that the indicator was developed by Arnaud Legoux and Dimitrios Douzis-Loukas to combine smoothness with responsiveness.
Because ALMA is computed from historical price data, it cannot confirm a trend change before price has already moved. It provides a visual reference for trend-following decisions, not a predictive signal.
ALMA Formula in Plain English
ALMA calculates a weighted average over a chosen number of bars. The key difference from SMA or EMA is how it chooses the weights.
A Simple Moving Average gives each price in the window the same weight. An Exponential Moving Average gives more weight to recent prices. ALMA uses a Gaussian curve, which means the most important prices are concentrated around a chosen point inside the window—determined by the offset and sigma settings.
The calculation has three broad steps:
- Choose the lookback window, such as 9 bars.
- Generate Gaussian weights across that window using the offset and sigma values.
- Multiply each price by its weight, add the results, and divide by the total weight.
The simplified representation is:
ALMA = weighted sum of prices / sum of weights
As described in TradingView's Help Center, ALMA computes a weighted sum of the input series using weights from a Gaussian function, then divides that weighted sum by the total sum of weights.
TradingView ALMA Settings Explained
When you add TradingView's built-in Arnaud Legoux Moving Average indicator, the most important inputs are window, offset, and sigma. The defaults listed in TradingView's Help Center are window 9, offset 0.85, and sigma 6.
| Setting | What It Controls | Default (TradingView) | Practical Effect |
|---|---|---|---|
| Window | Number of bars used in the calculation | 9 | Higher values make ALMA smoother but slower to react; lower values make it faster but noisier. This is usually the first setting to adjust. |
| Offset | Where the Gaussian weighting peak sits inside the window | 0.85 | Higher values bias the average more toward recent prices; lower values make it more centered. TradingView's Help Center notes 0.85 as the recommended offset. |
| Sigma | Width of the Gaussian curve | 6 | Controls how concentrated or spread out the weighting curve is. A higher sigma spreads the weights more evenly; a lower sigma concentrates them. Most users should adjust window before changing sigma. |
| Source | Price input used for calculation | Close | Can be close, open, high, low, hl2, or hlc3 depending on your charting setup. |
Parameter priority: Adjust window length first. Offset and sigma can be tested after you have established a baseline with the default values.
How to Add ALMA in TradingView
Use TradingView's built-in indicator to get the standard, officially documented version without writing Pine Script.
Step-by-Step Setup
- Open a chart in TradingView.
- Select Indicators from the top toolbar.
- Search for Arnaud Legoux Moving Average or ALMA.
- Choose the built-in TradingView indicator—look for the entry without a username or community script label, which ensures you are using the official version rather than a third-party Pine Script replication.
- Open the indicator settings.
- Start with the default values: window 9, offset 0.85, sigma 6.
- Adjust the window length based on your trading timeframe and style.
If you are new to ALMA, avoid changing all settings at once. Test different window lengths first, then decide whether the default offset and sigma still fit the market you are studying.
How to Read ALMA on a Chart
ALMA is easiest to understand as a trend-filtering and smoothing tool, not as a source of actionable buy or sell signals.
When price is above a rising ALMA, the market is often in an upward-trending phase. When price is below a falling ALMA, the market is often in a downward-trending phase. When ALMA is flat and price repeatedly crosses it, the market may be ranging or choppy—and ALMA signals in those conditions are less reliable.
Useful ways to read ALMA include:
- Trend direction: A rising ALMA suggests upward momentum context; a falling ALMA suggests downward momentum context.
- Pullback reference: In established trends, traders may watch whether price pulls back toward ALMA and then resumes direction—but ALMA alone does not confirm the pullback is over.
- Crossover context: Price crossing ALMA may indicate a short-term change, but false crosses are common in sideways markets.
- Visual reference area: ALMA can serve as a visual reference zone when combined with prior structure, volume, or other context—but it does not guarantee that price will react at those levels.
- Trend filter: Traders may use ALMA to decide whether to favor long setups, short setups, or no trade in a given session.
ALMA is calculated from historical prices, so it cannot confirm a reversal before price moves. Any signal it produces is a reflection of what has already happened.
ALMA vs SMA, EMA, and HMA
ALMA is not automatically better than other moving averages. It is designed for a specific trade-off: smoothness alongside responsiveness. Whether it outperforms other averages depends on the asset, timeframe, and market conditions—always test before relying on any moving average.
| Moving Average | Main Idea | Strength | Weakness | Often Used For |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| SMA | Equal weight to all prices | Simple and stable | Often lags at turning points | Long-term trend reference |
| EMA | More weight to recent prices | More responsive than SMA | Can be noisy in choppy markets | Momentum and trend following |
| WMA | Linear weighting toward recent prices | Faster than SMA | Can still whipsaw | Short-term smoothing |
| HMA | Uses weighted averages to reduce lag | Often used when traders want faster visual changes | Can be more sensitive depending on settings | Fast trend visualization |
| ALMA | Gaussian weighting with offset and sigma | Often used when traders want a smoother line that still reflects recent prices | Still produces false signals in ranges | Trend filtering and pullback context |
Choosing between ALMA and EMA: Choose EMA when you want a widely followed, simple average with strong recency bias. Choose ALMA when you want to experiment with smoothing behavior and offset control. Both require testing across trending and choppy conditions before use in live trading.
Example ALMA Workflows
ALMA works best as part of a broader trading process rather than as the entire strategy.
Trend-Following Workflow
Use ALMA to identify directional bias, not to generate trade entries by itself.
- Add ALMA to the chart.
- Check whether ALMA is rising, falling, or flat.
- Look for long setups only when price is above a rising ALMA.
- Look for short setups only when price is below a falling ALMA.
- Avoid trend trades when ALMA is flat and price is crossing it repeatedly.
This approach does not guarantee profitable trades, but it helps reduce the risk of trading against the immediate directional context.
Pullback Workflow
Use ALMA as a visual reference during established trends.
- Identify a clear trend using price structure and other tools.
- Wait for price to pull back toward ALMA.
- Look for confirmation from price action, volume, support/resistance, or another indicator.
- Define invalidation before entry.
- Avoid entering just because price touches ALMA—that alone is not confirmation.
Multi-Timeframe Workflow
Use a higher timeframe ALMA for context and a lower timeframe chart for execution.
| Higher Timeframe ALMA | Lower Timeframe Action |
|---|---|
| Rising and price above ALMA | Prefer long setups or pullbacks. |
| Falling and price below ALMA | Prefer short setups or failed rallies. |
| Flat with repeated crosses | Reduce position size, wait, or use range-trading logic. |
| Price far extended from ALMA | Avoid chasing; wait for consolidation or pullback. |
ALMA Settings to Test by Use Case
The starting points below are suggested for testing purposes only. They are not official TradingView recommendations and should not be treated as trading or investment advice. Always test across multiple market conditions and assets before drawing conclusions.
| Use Case | Window to Test | Offset | Sigma | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Short-term chart reading | 9–14 | 0.85 | 6 | Close to common defaults; responsive but may whipsaw. |
| Swing trading | 20–34 | 0.85 | 6 | Smoother trend filter for multi-day or multi-week moves. |
| Long-term trend context | 50–100 | 0.85 | 6 | Better for direction than timing. |
| Faster response testing | 9–20 | 0.90–1.00 | 6 | More recent-price bias, but more false signals possible. |
| Smoother filtering | 20–50 | 0.75–0.85 | 6 | Less reactive; may reduce noise but increase lag. |
Start with the defaults, then change only one variable at a time. Keep notes on what improved and what got worse.
Common ALMA Mistakes
Treating Every Cross as a Trade Signal
This is among the most common mistakes and one of the most likely to cause real losses. A price cross above ALMA is not automatically bullish, and a cross below ALMA is not automatically bearish. In sideways markets, price can cross a moving average many times without creating a meaningful trend. A single ALMA cross should be treated as context, not as a trade entry trigger.
Using ALMA Without Risk Rules
This is the second most impactful mistake. No moving average removes the need for stop placement, position sizing, and a clear invalidation point. ALMA can help define trend context, but risk management determines whether a strategy is survivable over time. Define your invalidation point before entering any trade based on ALMA context.
Optimizing Settings Too Much
It is easy to overfit ALMA settings to past data. A window length that looks perfect on one asset and timeframe may fail on another. Test across multiple market conditions before trusting a setup.
Ignoring Market Structure
ALMA smooths price, but it does not account for whether price is near major support, resistance, earnings announcements, macro news, or liquidity zones. Always combine it with broader market context.
When ALMA Works Best—and When It Does Not
| Market Condition | ALMA Usefulness | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Trending market | Higher | Can help define directional bias and pullback reference areas. |
| Choppy or ranging market | Lower | Frequent false crosses; flat ALMA signals weak trend-following conditions. |
| News-driven spike | Lower | ALMA reacts after price has moved; not useful for fast event-driven moves. |
| Low-liquidity session | Lower | Price noise can create misleading ALMA behavior. |
A good practical rule: if ALMA is flat and price is chopping around it, the indicator is signaling that trend-following conditions are weak.
ALMA Testing Checklist
Use this checklist before applying ALMA to live trading decisions:
- Add TradingView's built-in ALMA with default settings (window 9, offset 0.85, sigma 6).
- Compare ALMA with your usual SMA or EMA on the same chart.
- Test at least three window lengths: 9, 20, and 50.
- Avoid applying ALMA signals in choppy or sideways conditions during testing.
- Write a risk rule (stop placement and position size) before entering any test trade.
When comparing ALMA with SMA or EMA across different timeframes, keeping your chart notes simple and repeatable helps. ChartMini at https://chartmini.com can serve as part of a broader chart-learning workflow alongside your charting platform and trading journal.
FAQ
What does ALMA stand for?
ALMA stands for Arnaud Legoux Moving Average. It is named after Arnaud Legoux, one of the two developers of the indicator. The other developer is Dimitrios Douzis-Loukas.
Is ALMA available as a built-in TradingView indicator?
Yes. TradingView includes Arnaud Legoux Moving Average as a built-in indicator. You can find it by searching for "Arnaud Legoux Moving Average" or "ALMA" in the Indicators menu. Look for the version without a community script author name to ensure you are using the official built-in version.
What are the default ALMA settings on TradingView?
According to TradingView's Help Center, the default settings are window 9, offset 0.85, and sigma 6. The Help Center also notes that 0.85 is the recommended offset.
What do offset and sigma mean in ALMA?
Offset controls where the peak of the Gaussian weighting curve sits within the lookback window. A higher offset (closer to 1.0) places the peak toward more recent bars, increasing responsiveness. A lower offset places the peak more toward the center, producing a more balanced weighting. Sigma controls how wide or narrow the Gaussian curve is. A higher sigma spreads weights more evenly across the window; a lower sigma concentrates them more tightly around the peak. Most users should adjust window length before experimenting with offset or sigma.
What is the ALMA formula?
ALMA calculates a weighted sum of prices over a chosen window, where the weights are derived from a Gaussian function. The peak of the Gaussian curve is positioned according to the offset setting, and its width is controlled by sigma. The weighted sum is then divided by the total sum of weights. TradingView's Help Center describes this calculation in its indicator documentation. For the full Pine Script implementation, the ta.alma() function is documented in the Pine Script Language Reference Manual.
Is ALMA better than EMA?
ALMA is not universally better than EMA. ALMA is designed to balance smoothness and responsiveness using Gaussian weights, while EMA is simpler, more widely followed, and strongly biased toward the most recent prices. Many traders use EMA for its simplicity and familiarity. Whether ALMA is more useful depends on your trading style, timeframe, and market—neither has a guaranteed advantage.
Can ALMA predict reversals?
No. ALMA does not predict reversals. It smooths historical price data and reacts after price has already moved. It can help visualize when a trend may be changing, but any such signal is confirmed only after the fact. ALMA should not be used to anticipate price direction.
Does ALMA repaint?
ALMA, like most moving averages calculated on confirmed closing prices, does not repaint historical values once bars have closed. The current bar's ALMA value will update as price moves within that bar, which is normal behavior for any real-time indicator. Once a bar closes, its ALMA value is fixed. If you are using a custom Pine Script version of ALMA that references future bars or uses lookahead settings, repainting behavior may differ—always check the script settings if using a community version.
What is the best ALMA setting?
There is no single best ALMA setting. Shorter windows are more responsive but noisier. Longer windows are smoother but slower to react. Many traders start with the defaults (window 9, offset 0.85, sigma 6), then test longer windows such as 20, 34, or 50. Always treat any setting as a starting point to test, not as a proven configuration.
Should beginners use ALMA?
Beginners can use ALMA as a trend filter, but they should first understand basic moving averages, trend structure, and risk management. ALMA should not be used as a standalone trading system, and no settings should be applied to live trading without testing across different market conditions.
Sources
- TradingView Help Center: Arnaud Legoux Moving Average
- TradingView Pine Script Reference: Pine Script Language Reference Manual
- TradingCode: Pine Script's Arnaud Legoux average (third-party Pine Script explanation; not an official TradingView source)
- Sierra Chart Technical Studies Reference: Moving Average - Arnaud Legoux