VWAP vs anchored VWAP: what is the difference?

Updated 11 October 2026

VWAP calculator and indicator →

VWAP and anchored VWAP use exactly the same formula. The only difference is where the count starts. Standard VWAP starts at the first candle of the session and starts again the next morning. Anchored VWAP (often written AVWAP) starts at a candle you choose and keeps going, across days if you like, until you move it.

That one change makes them answer different questions. VWAP tells you the average price everyone has paid today. Anchored VWAP tells you the average price everyone has paid since a particular moment, such as a results announcement or the low of the day.

The difference at a glance

Same formula, different starting point

For each candle, take the typical price, (high + low + close) ÷ 3, and multiply it by the candle's volume. Then:

• VWAP = total of (typical price × volume) ÷ total volume, counted from the session's first candle.
• Anchored VWAP = the same totals, counted from the anchor candle.

Both are running totals, so each new candle only adds to the sums. Earlier values never change unless you move the anchor; then the whole line is drawn again from the new starting candle.

Worked example

Here are the first six 15-minute candles of a made-up session of Stock ABC. The fourth candle, at 10:00, made the low of the morning, so a second VWAP is anchored there.

After the 10:30 candle, the session VWAP counts all six candles: ₹2,93,15,000 of typical price × volume over 1,50,000 shares, which is ₹195.43.

The anchored VWAP counts only the last three: (₹76,00,000 + ₹38,80,000 + ₹29,70,000) ÷ (40,000 + 20,000 + 15,000) = ₹1,44,50,000 ÷ 75,000 = ₹192.67.

So the price of ₹198 is above both lines, for different reasons. Everyone who traded today paid ₹195.43 on average, and that includes the costlier trades of the first half hour. Everyone who traded since the 10:00 low paid ₹192.67 on average. Neither number says where the price goes next. They describe two different groups of traders.

Where people put the anchor

There is no correct anchor. People pick a moment that changed something, so that the line shows the average price of everyone who has traded since. Common choices:

• An event: a quarterly results day, a big announcement, or a day the stock opened with a gap up or down.
• A turning point: the highest or lowest candle of a recent move.
• A calendar date: the first trading day of a week, month, quarter or year. Charting platforms such as TradingView offer these as "anchor period" settings on their VWAP indicator, next to the usual session.
• A listing day: for a recent IPO, an anchor on the listing day gives the average price of everyone who has bought since it started trading.

Two people who anchor at different candles see different lines, and both are "right". That is the main thing to remember: an anchored VWAP means only as much as the moment you chose.

Bands work on both

Some charts add bands one or two standard deviations above and below the line, to show how far price has stretched from the average. The standard deviation is of the typical prices, weighted by volume and counted from the same starting candle. In the session above it is ₹4.48 after the 10:30 candle, so the one-standard-deviation band runs from ₹190.95 to ₹199.92.

Common mistakes

• Using session VWAP on a daily chart. It starts again every day, so on daily candles it means little. For longer charts, anchored VWAP is the version that makes sense.
• Looking for VWAP on an index. VWAP needs traded volume. An index such as NIFTY 50 is not traded itself, so it has no volume of its own. People who want a VWAP for the index look at its futures contract, which does have volume.
• Forgetting that old anchors move slowly. An anchor months back has so much volume behind it that a new day barely shifts the line, just as session VWAP barely moves late in the afternoon.
• Treating a line as a signal. Price can stay above or below either line for a long time. Both are built from trades that already happened and cannot forecast the next one.

Try it yourself

The VWAP calculator draws both lines on a chart. Type or paste your candles, pick the candle to anchor from, and switch on the bands. For the basics, start with what VWAP is.

The risk side

VWAP and anchored VWAP are popular with short-term traders, and short-term trading is hard. SEBI's studies (SEBI study, 2023 and 2025) found that about 9 in 10 individual F&O traders lost money in FY22 and FY25. No line on a chart changes those odds. If you trade, set your stop-loss and position size before you enter, and count the charges.

Questions people ask

Is anchored VWAP better than VWAP?

Neither is better. VWAP describes today’s trading; anchored VWAP describes trading since a moment you choose. They answer different questions, so many charts show both.

Does anchored VWAP repaint?

No. Once the anchor is set, each new candle only adds to the totals, so earlier values stay the same. Moving the anchor draws the whole line again from the new starting candle.

Is weekly or monthly VWAP the same as anchored VWAP?

It is a kind of anchored VWAP whose anchor is fixed to the first candle of each week or month. It starts again when the next week or month begins, while an anchor you place yourself stays until you move it.

Can I use VWAP on NIFTY or BANKNIFTY?

The indices themselves are not traded, so they have no volume and no VWAP of their own. Traders who want one use the index futures contract, which has traded volume.

Sources

• TradingView: the VWAP indicator and its anchor periods
• Alphatrends (Brian Shannon): Anchored VWAP explained

Related

• What is VWAP?
• Moving averages: SMA vs EMA
• Bollinger Bands explained
• Candlestick patterns explained

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