Best Indicator for Intraday Trading? We Backtested 6 on NSE After Charges
The short answer
The best indicator for intraday trading, tested on 15 NSE stocks for a year after every charge: On 5m candles, 0 of 6 indicators ended above zero after charges; the least bad was Supertrend (10, 3) (-41.6%) and the worst was VWAP (-87.0%). On 15m candles, 0 of 6 indicators ended above zero after charges; the least bad was Supertrend (10, 3) (-19.3%) and the worst was VWAP (-68.4%). For comparison, buying every day at 10:00 with no indicator ended -35.1% on 15-minute candles.
5m candles
View data
| Item | Value |
|---|---|
| No indicator: buy at 10:00 | -35.0% |
| Supertrend + RSI 50 | -39.9% |
| Supertrend (10, 3) | -41.6% |
| RSI (14) | -43.1% |
| EMA 9/21 + VWAP side | -54.2% |
| EMA 9/21 crossover | -63.9% |
| Bollinger Bands (20, 2) | -64.1% |
| MACD (12, 26, 9) | -79.7% |
| VWAP | -87.0% |
15m candles
View data
| Item | Value |
|---|---|
| Supertrend (10, 3) | -19.3% |
| Supertrend + RSI 50 | -20.9% |
| RSI (14) | -26.8% |
| EMA 9/21 + VWAP side | -33.0% |
| EMA 9/21 crossover | -34.0% |
| Bollinger Bands (20, 2) | -34.1% |
| No indicator: buy at 10:00 | -35.1% |
| MACD (12, 26, 9) | -42.6% |
| VWAP | -68.4% |
Which indicator is best for intraday trading?
Each indicator was run on the same 15 NIFTY 50 stocks for the same year, on 5-minute and on 15-minute candles. Click a column heading to sort.
5m candles
| Indicator | Candles | Trades | Won % | Price moves | Slippage | Charges | After all costs | Return |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| VWAP | 5m | 9,624 | 15.8% | +₹2,099 | -₹14,120 | -₹75,033 | -₹87,053 | -87.0% |
| Supertrend (10, 3) | 5m | 2,901 | 35.7% | +₹12,287 | -₹8,532 | -₹45,332 | -₹41,576 | -41.6% |
| RSI (14) | 5m | 2,107 | 41.0% | -₹5,442 | -₹5,971 | -₹31,725 | -₹43,138 | -43.1% |
| MACD (12, 26, 9) | 5m | 7,441 | 26.4% | +₹7,870 | -₹13,874 | -₹73,725 | -₹79,729 | -79.7% |
| EMA 9/21 crossover | 5m | 4,793 | 26.5% | +₹7,425 | -₹11,295 | -₹60,016 | -₹63,887 | -63.9% |
| Bollinger Bands (20, 2) | 5m | 3,522 | 41.8% | -₹12,213 | -₹8,221 | -₹43,682 | -₹64,117 | -64.1% |
| EMA 9/21 + VWAP side | 5m | 3,489 | 28.1% | +₹3,801 | -₹9,181 | -₹48,781 | -₹54,161 | -54.2% |
| Supertrend + RSI 50 | 5m | 2,862 | 35.8% | +₹13,717 | -₹8,495 | -₹45,139 | -₹39,918 | -39.9% |
| No indicator: buy at 10:00 | 5m | 1,235 | 39.5% | -₹10,075 | -₹3,943 | -₹20,946 | -₹34,964 | -35.0% |
15m candles
| Indicator | Candles | Trades | Won % | Price moves | Slippage | Charges | After all costs | Return |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| VWAP | 15m | 5,502 | 21.9% | +₹5,409 | -₹11,693 | -₹62,139 | -₹68,423 | -68.4% |
| Supertrend (10, 3) | 15m | 1,573 | 42.7% | +₹14,047 | -₹5,279 | -₹28,048 | -₹19,281 | -19.3% |
| RSI (14) | 15m | 1,534 | 41.0% | +₹4,902 | -₹5,019 | -₹26,669 | -₹26,786 | -26.8% |
| MACD (12, 26, 9) | 15m | 3,043 | 34.4% | +₹12,422 | -₹8,717 | -₹46,321 | -₹42,616 | -42.6% |
| EMA 9/21 crossover | 15m | 2,136 | 36.6% | +₹7,119 | -₹6,505 | -₹34,561 | -₹33,947 | -34.0% |
| Bollinger Bands (20, 2) | 15m | 1,933 | 42.3% | +₹3,574 | -₹5,961 | -₹31,670 | -₹34,056 | -34.1% |
| EMA 9/21 + VWAP side | 15m | 2,029 | 36.9% | +₹6,127 | -₹6,204 | -₹32,960 | -₹33,036 | -33.0% |
| Supertrend + RSI 50 | 15m | 1,567 | 42.3% | +₹12,172 | -₹5,230 | -₹27,787 | -₹20,845 | -20.9% |
| No indicator: buy at 10:00 | 15m | 1,235 | 38.1% | -₹10,349 | -₹3,926 | -₹20,857 | -₹35,132 | -35.1% |
View data
| Name | Start | End |
|---|---|---|
| VWAP | 98,999 | 31,577 |
| Supertrend (10, 3) | 100,059 | 80,719 |
| RSI (14) | 100,077 | 73,214 |
| MACD (12, 26, 9) | 99,810 | 57,384 |
| EMA 9/21 crossover | 99,680 | 66,053 |
| Bollinger Bands (20, 2) | 100,072 | 65,944 |
What settings did we use for each indicator?
Settings we used. Only these were tested; we did not search for better numbers.
| Indicator | Entry rule |
|---|---|
| VWAP | Price closes above the day's VWAP after closing below it: buy. The mirror: sell short. |
| Supertrend (10, 3) | Price closes above the Supertrend line: buy. Closes below it: sell short. |
| RSI (14) | RSI climbs back above 30: buy. RSI falls back below 70: sell short. |
| MACD (12, 26, 9) | MACD line crosses above its signal line: buy. Crosses below: sell short. |
| EMA 9/21 crossover | EMA 9 crosses above EMA 21: buy. Crosses below: sell short. |
| Bollinger Bands (20, 2) | Price closes back above the lower band: buy. Closes back below the upper band: sell short. |
| EMA 9/21 + VWAP side | EMA 9/21 crossover, only when price is on the same side of VWAP |
| Supertrend + RSI 50 | Supertrend signal, only when RSI(14) is above 50 for a buy and below 50 for a sell |
| No indicator | Buy once a day on the candle that starts at 10:00, long only. The control. |
Exits were the same for every indicator: a 1% stop, a 2% target, intraday square-off, and the opposite signal closes an open trade. Both long and short trades were allowed. How often the opposite signal, not the stop or target, ended a trade (5-minute candles) ranged from 18% for RSI (14) to 86% for VWAP.
Does VWAP work for intraday trading?
Rule: Price closes above the day's VWAP after closing below it: buy. The mirror: sell short.
On 5m candles: 9,624 trades, 15.8% won, price moves +₹2,099, charges -₹75,033, result after all costs -₹87,053 (-87.0%).
On 15m candles: 5,502 trades, 21.9% won, price moves +₹5,409, charges -₹62,139, result after all costs -₹68,423 (-68.4%).
View data
| Part | Count |
|---|---|
| Opposite signal | 8,249 |
| Square-off time | 1,223 |
| Target hit | 137 |
| Stop hit | 15 |
More on this indicator: VWAP.
Does Supertrend (10, 3) work for intraday trading?
Rule: Price closes above the Supertrend line: buy. Closes below it: sell short.
On 5m candles: 2,901 trades, 35.7% won, price moves +₹12,287, charges -₹45,332, result after all costs -₹41,576 (-41.6%).
On 15m candles: 1,573 trades, 42.7% won, price moves +₹14,047, charges -₹28,048, result after all costs -₹19,281 (-19.3%).
View data
| Part | Count |
|---|---|
| Opposite signal | 1,426 |
| Square-off time | 1,223 |
| Stop hit | 144 |
| Target hit | 108 |
More on this indicator: Supertrend (10, 3).
Does RSI (14) work for intraday trading?
Rule: RSI climbs back above 30: buy. RSI falls back below 70: sell short.
On 5m candles: 2,107 trades, 41.0% won, price moves -₹5,442, charges -₹31,725, result after all costs -₹43,138 (-43.1%).
On 15m candles: 1,534 trades, 41.0% won, price moves +₹4,902, charges -₹26,669, result after all costs -₹26,786 (-26.8%).
View data
| Part | Count |
|---|---|
| Square-off time | 1,214 |
| Stop hit | 462 |
| Opposite signal | 377 |
| Target hit | 54 |
More on this indicator: RSI (14).
Does MACD (12, 26, 9) work for intraday trading?
Rule: MACD line crosses above its signal line: buy. Crosses below: sell short.
On 5m candles: 7,441 trades, 26.4% won, price moves +₹7,870, charges -₹73,725, result after all costs -₹79,729 (-79.7%).
On 15m candles: 3,043 trades, 34.4% won, price moves +₹12,422, charges -₹46,321, result after all costs -₹42,616 (-42.6%).
View data
| Part | Count |
|---|---|
| Opposite signal | 6,047 |
| Square-off time | 1,238 |
| Stop hit | 86 |
| Target hit | 70 |
More on this indicator: MACD (12, 26, 9).
Does EMA 9/21 crossover work for intraday trading?
Rule: EMA 9 crosses above EMA 21: buy. Crosses below: sell short.
On 5m candles: 4,793 trades, 26.5% won, price moves +₹7,425, charges -₹60,016, result after all costs -₹63,887 (-63.9%).
On 15m candles: 2,136 trades, 36.6% won, price moves +₹7,119, charges -₹34,561, result after all costs -₹33,947 (-34.0%).
View data
| Part | Count |
|---|---|
| Opposite signal | 3,375 |
| Square-off time | 1,228 |
| Target hit | 107 |
| Stop hit | 83 |
More on this indicator: EMA 9/21 crossover.
Does Bollinger Bands (20, 2) work for intraday trading?
Rule: Price closes back above the lower band: buy. Closes back below the upper band: sell short.
On 5m candles: 3,522 trades, 41.8% won, price moves -₹12,213, charges -₹43,682, result after all costs -₹64,117 (-64.1%).
On 15m candles: 1,933 trades, 42.3% won, price moves +₹3,574, charges -₹31,670, result after all costs -₹34,056 (-34.1%).
View data
| Part | Count |
|---|---|
| Opposite signal | 1,734 |
| Square-off time | 1,230 |
| Stop hit | 535 |
| Target hit | 23 |
More on this indicator: Bollinger Bands (20, 2).
Do two indicators work better than one?
Does adding a second condition help? We ran two combinations, each against its own single indicator.
EMA 9/21 + VWAP side on 5m: 3,489 trades, -54.2% after charges, against EMA 9/21 alone: 4,793 trades, -63.9%.
EMA 9/21 + VWAP side on 15m: 2,029 trades, -33.0% after charges, against EMA 9/21 alone: 2,136 trades, -34.0%.
Supertrend + RSI 50 on 5m: 2,862 trades, -39.9% after charges, against Supertrend alone: 2,901 trades, -41.6%.
Supertrend + RSI 50 on 15m: 1,567 trades, -20.9% after charges, against Supertrend alone: 1,573 trades, -19.3%.
View data
| Item | Value |
|---|---|
| EMA 9/21 + VWAP side (5m) | -54.2% |
| EMA 9/21 alone (5m) | -63.9% |
| Supertrend + RSI 50 (5m) | -39.9% |
| Supertrend alone (5m) | -41.6% |
| EMA 9/21 + VWAP side (15m) | -33.0% |
| EMA 9/21 alone (15m) | -34.0% |
| Supertrend + RSI 50 (15m) | -20.9% |
| Supertrend alone (15m) | -19.3% |
Did any indicator beat a simple 10 AM entry?
As a control we took no indicator at all: buy every day on the candle that starts at 10:00, long only, with the same stop and target, and also with only the square-off to end the day.
| Control | Trades | After all costs | Return |
|---|---|---|---|
| 5m, stop 1%, target 2% | 1,235 | -₹34,964 | -35.0% |
| 5m, square-off only | 1,235 | -₹37,275 | -37.3% |
| 15m, stop 1%, target 2% | 1,235 | -₹35,132 | -35.1% |
| 15m, square-off only | 1,235 | -₹37,887 | -37.9% |
Indicators that beat the no-indicator control after charges: 5m: 0 of 6, 15m: 4 of 6.
Note: with house sizing (up to 5 open trades), at most five of the 15 stocks can be bought at 10:00 on the same day, so the control takes fewer trades than there are stocks.
Where do the rupees go?
The least bad indicator on 15-minute candles was Supertrend (10, 3). This is what its price moves, slippage and charges added up to.
View data
| Step | ₹ |
|---|---|
| Price moves | ₹14,047 |
| Slippage | -₹5,279 |
| Charges | -₹28,048 |
| Net | -₹19,281 |
How we tested
- Period
- 2025-10-07 to 2026-10-07
- Stocks
- 15 stocks: RELIANCE, HDFCBANK, ICICIBANK, INFY, TCS, SBIN, BHARTIARTL, ITC, LT, AXISBANK, KOTAKBANK, HINDUNILVR, MARUTI, SUNPHARMA, BAJFINANCE
- Account
- ₹1,00,000 in one account, 20.0% per trade, up to 5 open trades
- Product
- intraday
- Exits
- stop 1%, target 2%, intraday square-off, and the opposite signal closes an open trade; long and short
- Slippage
- 0.01% per fill
- Charges counted
- brokerage, STT, exchange transaction fee, SEBI fee, stamp duty and GST
- Engine
- LeadFinn backtest engine (files backtest_engine 68ab8514c88d, account 26450af3ec14, india_charges 272d6186e093; repo commit 8451eec3)
- Run date
- 2026-10-08 (IST)
- Candle sizes
- 5-minute and 15-minute, run separately
More on how we test: How we test.
Frequently asked questions
Is VWAP the best indicator for intraday?
Not in our test. VWAP ended -87.0% on 5-minute and -68.4% on 15-minute candles after charges, from 9,624 and 5,502 trades.
How many indicators should I use for intraday trading?
Two conditions did not fix a losing indicator in our test. EMA 9/21 with a VWAP filter ended -33.0% against -34.0% for EMA 9/21 alone (15-minute candles); Supertrend with RSI 50 ended -20.9% against -19.3% for Supertrend alone.
What are the best indicator settings for a 5-minute chart?
We only tested the common settings listed in the settings table (for example RSI 14, MACD 12-26-9, Bollinger 20 and 2, Supertrend 10 and 3) and did not search for better ones, so we cannot name 'best' settings.
Do indicators still work after brokerage and STT?
0 of 12 indicator runs ended above zero after all charges. Before charges, price moves alone were positive in 10 of 12 runs, so the charges decide the result.
Intraday ke liye best indicator kaun sa hai?
Hamare test mein koi indicator charges ke baad pakka faayda nahi de paya. 15 minute chart par sabse kam nuksaan Supertrend (10, 3) mein hua.
Keep going
हिंदी में सार
इंट्राडे के लिए बेस्ट इंडिकेटर कौन सा है? हमने VWAP, Supertrend, RSI, MACD, EMA और Bollinger Bands को NSE के 15 शेयरों पर एक साल टेस्ट किया, सारे चार्ज काटकर। 12 में से एक भी टेस्ट फायदे में नहीं रहा। 15 मिनट के चार्ट पर सबसे कम नुकसान Supertrend (10, 3) में हुआ। कोई भी इंडिकेटर अकेले पक्का फायदा नहीं देता।
Roman mein: intraday ke liye best indicator ka koi pakka jawab nahi nikla; charges ke baad zyadatar indicator ghate mein rahe.
This is education, not investment advice. These are tested results on past data; they do not promise future returns. Trading can lose money. See our disclaimer.