What is Relative volume?
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In short
Current volume divided by typical (average) volume. 2× means twice the usual trading activity.
Also known as: RVOL, volume ratio
Relative volume (RVOL) compares current volume with the stock's typical volume. It answers, in a single number, the question "is there more interest in this stock than usual today?"
Formula
RVOL = Current volume ÷ Average volume
- 1× — normal activity;
- 2× — twice the usual trading;
- 0.5× — half the usual.
The average is usually taken over the last 10–50 days.
Time-adjusted RVOL
To compare properly during the day, current volume should be compared with the average volume up to the same time of day. At 10:00 ET, comparing today's volume with the full-day average will always give a low RVOL — the day has only just started. Volume is also unevenly spread through the day: the heaviest trading clusters around the open and the close.
How it is used
- Spotting genuine interest around news, earnings or a breakout.
- Finding "in play" stocks during the day with a screener: for example, RVOL > 2.
- Checking a breakout's reliability: a move on high RVOL is taken more seriously than one on low RVOL.
RVOL measures activity only, not direction. A high RVOL can mean strong buying or panic selling.
Average volume over the previous 10 candles was 40; the breakout candle traded 120 — relative volume 3×. Price closed at $61.80, well above resistance. In the last two candles, though, the new high ($64.80) came on light volume (40 and 32) — the move is slowing.
Example
A fictional stock:
- Average daily volume: 3,000,000 shares.
- Typical volume traded by 10:00 ET: 450,000 shares.
- Traded today by 10:00: 1,500,000 shares.
The wrong calculation: 1,500,000 ÷ 3,000,000 = 0.5× — as if activity were low.
The right, time-adjusted calculation: 1,500,000 ÷ 450,000 ≈ 3.3× — there is more than three times the usual interest in the stock today.
The same numbers, the opposite conclusion.
Mistakes and tips
Use time-adjusted RVOL during the session; dividing straight by the full-day average misleads you in the morning.
Do not treat high RVOL as a signal on its own — look at which level the price is at and which way it is moving.
RVOL swings wildly in the first minutes after the open; wait 15–30 minutes for a more reliable reading.
Frequently asked questions
- What does an RVOL above 2 mean?
- The stock is trading more than twice its usual volume — typically because of news, earnings or a key level breaking. It suggests a move is possible, but not its direction.
- Over what period is RVOL calculated?
- Usually against the average of the last 10, 20 or 50 days. A shorter period adapts faster to recent changes.
Learn it in the Academy
This term is covered with hands-on examples and a quiz in these lessons of the interactive course.
- Volume and core indicatorsVolume and relative volume, RSI in trends and ranges, MACD, VWAP and moving averages — when each one helps and when it misleads.Open lesson · 11 min
- Double tops and bottomsA level tested twice or three times: confirmation via the neckline, measured-move targets, Adam and Eve, volume and failed patterns.Open lesson · 11 min
- Cup and handleThe bases that come before big moves: cup and handle, rounding bottom, flat base and VCP — handle rules, pivot entries, volume, stop and target.Open lesson · 12 min
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