The volume footprint is the simplest of the three footprint displays. It drops the aggressor split entirely and shows one thing per price row: total volume traded there. No bid, no ask, no delta, just how much changed hands at each price, usually color-graded so the heavy rows jump out. It is the closest thing to a pure volume-at-price view inside each bar.
This is the display type in depth. For the overview of all three footprint layouts, see the footprint chart guide; here we stay on the volume footprint and what it is good for.
What the volume footprint shows
Each row sits at one price and prints the total contracts that traded there during the bar, bid plus ask combined. A row reading 800 means 800 contracts changed hands at that price, and the display does not tell you which side was aggressive. Most platforms shade each row by size, so the biggest number is the darkest or brightest cell and your eye finds it instantly.
That is the whole idea: strip out direction, keep only concentration. The volume footprint answers one question cleanly, where inside this bar did the trade actually happen?
Finding the intrabar POC
The heaviest row in a bar is its point of control, the price where the most volume traded inside that candle. On a volume footprint it is the cell that lights up. Finding it is the display’s main job.
Take a small ES bar:
| Price | Volume |
|---|---|
| 5,404 | 210 |
| 5,403 | 340 |
| 5,402 | 980 |
| 5,401 | 520 |
| 5,400 | 260 |
The intrabar POC is 5,402, where 980 contracts traded, far more than any other row. That is where this bar’s auction spent its energy. Everything above and below traded thinner. When you track how that heavy row migrates from bar to bar, you get a feel for whether the auction is accepting higher or lower prices, a POC that climbs steadily with real volume behind it shows acceptance, one that stalls warns the move is thinning.
Note the difference from the session-wide point of control: that one is the heaviest price across the whole day’s volume profile. The volume footprint’s POC is the heaviest price inside one bar. Same idea, different scope. The footprint is the microscope; the session profile is the map.
Volume footprint vs the session volume profile
This is the distinction worth getting right, because the two look related and do different jobs.
- The volume footprint breaks each individual bar into price rows. It is intrabar, resolution-heavy, and resets every candle. You use it to read the internal structure of a single move.
- The volume profile aggregates volume across a whole session, day, or composite range into one histogram off to the side. It gives you the structural levels, POC, value area, high and low volume nodes, that matter for the day.
They complement each other. The session profile tells you which prices matter; the volume footprint tells you what happened at them bar by bar. A heavy footprint row that lines up with a session HVN is far more meaningful than one floating in open space. Run both.
What the volume footprint is good for
A few jobs it does better than the other displays:
- Spotting where trade concentrated, fast. Color grading makes the heavy row obvious without you reading any numbers. Good for a quick structural glance across many bars.
- Confirming a level. When price pauses at a session VAL or a prior POC, a fat volume-footprint row there confirms real participation defended the level, not just a thin touch.
- Reading acceptance vs rejection. Fat rows where price lingered mean acceptance; thin rows it raced through mean rejection. A bar that is thin at the top and fat at the bottom left in a hurry from the highs.
What it can’t tell you
The trade-off is direction. The volume footprint shows how much traded, never who was aggressive. A fat 980-contract row might be aggressive buyers driving up, aggressive sellers driving down, or a two-sided fight where a passive player absorbed everything. All three print the same fat cell.
That blind spot is exactly what the other two displays cover. The bid x ask footprint splits every row into aggressive selling and buying so you can see who owned that heavy row. The delta footprint nets it into one signed number. If a fat volume row sits at a key level and you need to know whether it was absorption or a genuine drive, you have to look at the split, the volume footprint alone will not tell you.
For that reason most order flow traders keep the volume footprint as a secondary display, a fast way to find concentration, backed by bid x ask when they need the aggressor story. How to toggle between the three and grade the colors is covered in footprint chart settings.
A practical way to use it
I treat the volume footprint as a spotlight. Scanning a chart, the graded cells show me instantly where each bar’s trade concentrated and how those heavy rows migrate. When a fat row parks itself at a level from my volume profile, that is my cue to drop to bid x ask and read who did the trading there, absorption, a drive, or churn.
Used that way, the volume footprint is a fast filter, not a decision tool. It finds the prices worth a closer look; the aggressor displays make the call. The way concentration, aggression and delta combine into a full read is in the order flow trading guide.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is a volume footprint?
It is a footprint display that shows total volume traded at each price row inside a bar, with no split between aggressive buying and selling. Rows are usually color-graded by size so the heaviest price stands out. It is the closest footprint view to a pure volume-at-price picture of a single candle.
What is the difference between a volume footprint and a volume profile?
The volume footprint breaks each individual bar into price rows and resets every candle, so it reads intrabar structure. The volume profile aggregates volume across a whole session or range into one histogram to give you structural levels like the POC and value area. The footprint is the microscope; the profile is the map.
Why doesn’t the volume footprint show direction?
By design it only shows how much traded at each price, not who was aggressive. A fat row could be aggressive buying, aggressive selling, or a two-sided fight with a passive absorber, all of which look identical. To see direction you need the bid x ask or delta footprint.
Should I use a volume footprint or bid x ask?
Use the volume footprint to quickly find where trade concentrated across many bars, and bid x ask when you need to know who was aggressive at a given level. Most traders run the volume footprint as a secondary display and switch to bid x ask at decision points.