# Bid/ask Imbalance Bid/ask Imbalance is an indicator on [Vela](https://vela.luxalgo.com/chart), our next-generation charting platform, written in Pine Script®. Bid/ask Imbalance rebuilds every chart bar as an intrabar footprint, classifies volume with the tick rule, and flags levels where one side outweighs the diagonal opposite by a 3:1 ratio with a minimum-volume filter. Stacks of 3+ same-side levels are drawn as bands and tracked through retest and break. For order-flow traders working inside the bar. - Indicator in the LuxAlgo Library, by LuxAlgo, published Jun 14, 2026. - Access: free. - Concepts: [Bid/ask Imbalance](https://www.luxalgo.com/library/concept/bid-ask-imbalance/) (primary) - Open on Vela: https://vela.luxalgo.com/chart?pineScriptCodeId=pgzvoy85ptrixm4l65kf5h0e - Page: https://www.luxalgo.com/library/indicator/bid-ask-imbalance/ **Bid/ask Imbalance** is the definitive chart build of the footprint [bid/ask imbalance](https://www.luxalgo.com/library/concept/bid-ask-imbalance/) read: each bar is reconstructed from a lower timeframe into price levels of ask- versus bid-executed volume, and the diagonal comparison (ask volume at each level against bid volume one level below) flags where aggression cleared the ratio. Buy flags highlight the ask half of the bar, sell flags the bid half, and consecutive same-side flags outline stacked bands extended right as prospective support or resistance. ## How to Trade the Bid/ask Imbalance? - **Stacked bands over single flags**: an isolated flag is noise-prone; three or more consecutive levels mark a band where aggression ran through passive liquidity. - **Watch the first return**: once price trades clear of a band, its first trip back finds defense, confirming it, or cuts through; both have alerts. - **A close through the far side retires the band**: the aggressive side was soaked up or moved on; the band is removed, or kept faded if configured. ## Bid/ask Imbalance Settings - **Auto Intrabar Timeframe** (default on) with **Custom Intrabar Timeframe** (default 1): the lower timeframe the footprint is built from. - **Price Levels per Bar** (default 10): rows each bar's range is divided into. - **Imbalance Ratio** (default 3): diagonal multiple to flag a level, the common 300% setting. - **Minimum Volume %** (default 2): floor on the flagged side as a share of bar volume; near-empty levels cannot trigger. - **Stacked Levels** (default 3): consecutive same-side flags required for a band. - **Stacked Imbalance Bands** (default on) and **Keep Broken Bands** (default off): band drawing and their afterlife. - **Imbalance Marks** (default on) with **Mark History (Bars)** (default 50): per-level highlights and their persistence. ## Frequently Asked Questions ### Is this true bid/ask data? No. Quotes are not available on a chart, so each intrabar's volume is classified by the tick rule: rising prints lean ask-executed, falling prints bid-executed, unchanged ones take the direction of the move from the previous intrabar close, and split evenly between both sides when there was none. The flags are approximations by design, hence the volume floor and ratio. ### How is an imbalance different from absorption? An imbalance is aggression winning: one side lifting through the other's passive orders. [Absorption](https://www.luxalgo.com/library/indicator/absorption/) is the mirror: heavy aggressive flow met by passive size without price giving way. A band failing on retest is often one turning into the other. ### Why compare diagonally instead of level by level? Aggression executes at the ask of one level and at the bid one step lower, so the diagonal pairs the participants who were genuinely in contention. A same-level comparison mixes market states and mutes real one-sidedness. ## Related indicators - [Volume Footprint](https://www.luxalgo.com/library/indicator/volume-footprint/) (Volume Delta): markdown at https://www.luxalgo.com/library/indicator/volume-footprint.md - [Liquidity Structure & Order Flow](https://www.luxalgo.com/library/indicator/liquidity-structure-order-flow/) (Volume Delta): markdown at https://www.luxalgo.com/library/indicator/liquidity-structure-order-flow.md - [Volume Delta Candles](https://www.luxalgo.com/library/indicator/volume-delta-candles/) (Volume Delta): markdown at https://www.luxalgo.com/library/indicator/volume-delta-candles.md - [Order Flow VWAP Deviation](https://www.luxalgo.com/library/indicator/order-flow-vwap-deviation/) (Volume Delta): markdown at https://www.luxalgo.com/library/indicator/order-flow-vwap-deviation.md - [Volumetric Order Flow Structure](https://www.luxalgo.com/library/indicator/volumetric-order-flow-structure/) (Volume Delta): markdown at https://www.luxalgo.com/library/indicator/volumetric-order-flow-structure.md - [Volume Bubbles & Liquidity Heatmap](https://www.luxalgo.com/library/indicator/volume-bubbles-liquidity-heatmap/) (Resting Liquidity / Liquidity Heatmap): markdown at https://www.luxalgo.com/library/indicator/volume-bubbles-liquidity-heatmap.md - [Fair Value Gap Absorption Indicator](https://www.luxalgo.com/library/indicator/fair-value-gap-absorption-indicator/) (Absorption & Exhaustion): markdown at https://www.luxalgo.com/library/indicator/fair-value-gap-absorption-indicator.md - [Delta Flow Profile](https://www.luxalgo.com/library/indicator/delta-flow-profile/) (Volume Delta): markdown at https://www.luxalgo.com/library/indicator/delta-flow-profile.md --- Source: https://www.luxalgo.com/library/indicator/bid-ask-imbalance/ (LuxAlgo Library). Free to use with attribution: https://www.luxalgo.com/library/license/