reference · Technical analysis
Tick Volume vs Traded Volume: What Each Number Counts
Tick volume counts updates or price changes according to a feed's rules. Traded volume counts executed quantity. They measure different things and cannot be converted into each other with a universal multiplier.
Key points
- Check whether the field counts updates, contracts, shares, units or money.
- Use comparable feeds and session boundaries before comparing bars.
- A missing real-volume field is not evidence that the market had no trading.
Scope and assumptions
- The example counts are invented to show measurement differences; they are not market observations or a relationship fitted to real data.
Start with the unit being counted
The word volume can conceal two different measurements. A tick-based field describes incoming activity in a data stream. A traded-volume field describes completed transactions in a specified unit. MetaTrader's Volumes help distinguishes Forex price-change counts from actual traded volume for stock symbols. The exact feed and indicator setting still need checking.
MetaQuotes' MqlRates structure stores tick volume and trade volume in separate fields. Treating them as interchangeable because they appear alongside the same open, high, low and close values loses the meaning of the measurement.
Two feeds, one five-minute interval
Consider this hypothetical data-quality worksheet. All rows cover the same five-minute clock interval, but their values answer different questions:
| Source | Field | Value | Interpretation |
|---|---|---|---|
| FX feed A | Tick count | 400 | 400 counted updates under that feed's rules |
| FX feed B | Tick count | 650 | 650 counted updates under a different feed's rules |
| Separate exchange contract | Traded contracts | 120 | 120 contracts executed in that contract and interval |
Feed B has 62.5% more counted updates than feed A: (650 − 400) ÷ 400 × 100. That does not establish 62.5% more money changing hands. The exchange row cannot supply a conversion factor because it describes another instrument and another kind of observation.
Even within one source, a feed change can alter the count without a matching change in underlying participation. Before comparing periods, check whether filtering, aggregation, trading sessions or the provider changed. Store the data-source identity with the series instead of keeping only its symbol.
Compare like with like
A practical research record names the venue or broker, instrument, field, quantity unit, interval, timezone and session. Confirm that a daily bar is a complete day under that definition. A partly formed bar should not be compared with yesterday's full bar without accounting for elapsed time.
If an indicator is supposed to weight by executed quantity, substituting tick counts changes the method. It may still produce a line, but the line has another interpretation. Test and label it accordingly. A zero or blank real-volume value also needs an availability check; replacing every unavailable value with zero can make missing data look like inactivity.
Keep nearby concepts separate
Order-book depth describes resting or available interest at an instant. Open interest describes outstanding contracts. Neither is the same as transactions completed during a bar. For exchange datasets, CME's volume and open-interest field descriptions help establish which series was downloaded.
For copied-order diagnostics, account execution records answer whether that account traded and at what quantity. A busy volume bar cannot establish that an individual order was accepted, filled or copied successfully. Keep market observations separate from the operational evidence needed to reconcile a trade.
Questions and answers
Can I convert tick volume to contracts traded?
There is no universal conversion. A single update can represent different activity, and feed aggregation can change the count. Use an actual traded-volume field with documented units when that quantity is required.
Is tick volume useless?
It can describe activity within a consistent feed and may be an input to a tested method. Its usefulness for a particular task must be evaluated; it should not be relabeled as total market turnover.
Why does real volume show zero on some instruments?
The feed may not supply that information. Check the provider's data definitions and availability before interpreting zero as an observed absence of trades.
Sources and further checks
Use the current source for your exact instrument, account and platform. Referencing a general specification does not establish support for every TradeCopier workflow.
- MetaQuotes: Volumes Indicator · Checked September 19, 2026
- MetaQuotes: MqlRates Data Structure · Checked September 19, 2026
- CME: About Volume and Open Interest · Checked September 19, 2026
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