# What is Footprint chart?

> Also called: Order flow chart, Bid × ask chart, Cluster chart, Footprint candle

**In short.** A footprint chart is a candlestick opened up to show, at every price inside the candle, how many contracts traded at the bid and how many at the ask. Each cell is one price level: left number sold at the bid, right number bought at the ask. The chart adds the delta per candle and highlights imbalances between a bid and the ask one tick above.

**On today's board.** 4 of the 14 firms on the board list [DeepCharts](https://my.deepcharts.com/redirect/deepchart?affId=OFF&utm_source=fillprint&utm_medium=affiliate) among their platforms (code OFF through the partner link). Data checked October 15, 2026.

Reading a footprint: a candle that closes up with a strongly positive delta is aggressive buying; a candle that closes up on negative delta is buying absorbed into selling (a warning). Stacked imbalances at the top of a move without follow-through are exhaustion.

Variants: bid × ask (the default), delta only, volume only, and profile view (volume per price across several candles). Cell colours scale with volume so the eye finds the heavy prices first. [DeepCharts](https://my.deepcharts.com/redirect/deepchart?affId=OFF&utm_source=fillprint&utm_medium=affiliate) draws the footprint from the raw trades of its data feed.

The article 'Reading a footprint chart' on this site goes cell by cell with screenshots; the glossary entries for delta, imbalance and absorption cover each component.

- Guides on this term: [Reading a footprint chart, from the first cell](https://fillprint.io/en/journal/reading-a-footprint-chart)
- Guides on this term: [Absorption vs exhaustion in order flow, explained](https://fillprint.io/en/journal/absorption-vs-exhaustion)
- Shortlists: [Prop firms that accept DeepCharts](https://fillprint.io/en/prop-firms/best/deepcharts)
- Read next: [Delta](https://fillprint.io/en/glossary/delta)
- Read next: [Imbalance](https://fillprint.io/en/glossary/imbalance)
- Read next: [Absorption](https://fillprint.io/en/glossary/absorption)
- Read next: [Order flow](https://fillprint.io/en/glossary/order-flow)

---

Futures trading involves substantial risk of loss and is not suitable for every investor. fillprint is an independent publication, not a broker or a prop firm.

Some links are affiliate links: if you sign up through them, the firm or DeepCharts pays us a commission, at no extra cost to you, and often with a discount for you. Affiliate links are marked and carry rel="sponsored". Being an affiliate never moves a firm up the board. Firms without a program stay listed, marked “no affiliation”.

HTML: https://fillprint.io/en/glossary/footprint-chart · Prop firm data: fundedyield.com · © fillprint