Key Points

  • Price charts are the foundation of technical analysis because they show how price changes over time.
  • Line charts are simplest, but they hide important detail inside each time period.
  • Bar charts and candlesticks show open, high, low, close data for each period.
  • Candlesticks are popular because they make market behaviour easier to interpret quickly.
  • Always check the timeframe first… the same market can look bullish on one view and bearish on another.

Quick Answer

Price charts show an asset’s price over time, which helps traders spot trends, ranges, and repeated behaviours. Beginners mainly use three chart types: line charts for simple trend context, bar charts for open high low close detail, and candlestick charts for the same detail in a more visual format.

Where This Lesson Fits

Lesson 2 explained where technical analysis fits compared with other research approaches. Lesson 3 moves into the practical foundation: how price charts display information, what you are actually looking at, and how to avoid basic chart-reading mistakes.

This lesson is part of the Technical Analysis for Beginners series. For the full lesson map and all supporting guides, visit the Technical Analysis for Beginners Hub.

What A Price Chart Shows

A price chart is a visual history of where price has been, and how it moved between levels. Each point or bar represents price information over a chosen period, such as one hour, four hours, or one day.

Charts help you answer basic questions:

  • Is price rising, falling, or moving sideways.
  • Where has price reacted before.
  • Is price accelerating, slowing, or stalling.

Once you can answer those, the rest of technical analysis becomes easier.

Line Charts

A line chart usually plots only the closing price of each time period. This makes it clean and easy to read.

Line charts are useful when you want:

  • a quick sense of the overall trend
  • a simplified view that removes noise
pen om paper
Photo by Isaac Smith / Unsplash

The trade-off is that you lose important information, such as how far price moved inside the time period, and whether price closed near the highs or lows.

Bar Charts

Bar charts show more detail than line charts because they include four key prices for each period:

  • open
  • high
  • low
  • close

This gives a fuller picture of what happened inside the candle window. Many traders like bar charts, but beginners often find them less intuitive than candlesticks.

Candlestick Charts

Candlestick charts display the same open, high, low, close information as bar charts, but in a format that is easier to scan.

A candlestick shows:

  • the body, which reflects the open and close
  • the shadows, which show the highs and lows

Candlesticks are widely used in crypto because they make it easier to see:

  • momentum, when price is moving strongly
  • indecision, when price is stalling
  • shifts in control, when buyers or sellers start winning the close

A common convention is green for a candle that closes higher than it opens, and red for a candle that closes lower than it opens.

How To Use Charts As A Beginner

A simple routine keeps you focused on the basics rather than getting lost in indicators.

  1. Confirm the timeframe you are viewing.
  2. Identify whether price is trending or ranging.
  3. Mark the most obvious zones where price reacted more than once.
  4. Watch how price behaves when it returns to those zones.

If you do only that consistently, you will build real chart-reading skill quickly.

red lit candle
Photo by David Monje / Unsplash

Mini FAQs

Which chart type is best for beginners
Candlestick charts are usually the best starting point because they show full price information in a visual format. Line charts are useful for quick context.

What does OHLC mean
OHLC stands for open, high, low, close. These are the four prices used to build bar charts and candlestick charts.

Why do traders prefer candlesticks over line charts
Candlesticks show the full range and the relationship between open and close, which helps traders interpret momentum and indecision more clearly.

Can different chart types change your analysis
They can change what you notice. A line chart can hide volatility that is visible on candlesticks, so beginners should learn candlesticks early.

What is the first thing to check before analysing a chart
The timeframe. A one hour view can look bullish while the daily view is weak, so timeframe provides context.

Next Lesson

In this lesson you learned how price charts represent market data, the key elements to read on a chart, and how to interpret price movement without overcomplicating it.

Next, Lesson 4 goes deeper into the most common chart type in crypto, candlestick charts, and how to read them properly.

For the full lesson map and all supporting guides, visit the Technical Analysis for Beginners Hub.

If this helped you and you want a calmer, more repeatable way to navigate cycles, consider becoming a member.

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This isn’t noise… it’s the full playbook.

This content is for educational purposes only and does not constitute financial advice. Crypto assets are volatile and you can lose some or all of your capital. Always do your own research, consider your financial circumstances, and use appropriate risk controls.