Fibonacci Retracement Calculator
Calculate Fibonacci retracement levels (23.6%, 38.2%, 50% and 61.8%) from a price high and low. Enter the highest and lowest price of the move to find potential support and resistance levels for stocks, forex and crypto.
Calculate Fibonacci Retracement Levels for Price Analysis
Fibonacci Retracement Levels Formula
Where:
- \( \text{High} \) — the highest price reached in the analyzed period
- \( \text{Low} \) — the lowest price reached in the analyzed period
- \( R \) — the Fibonacci ratio: 0.236, 0.382, 0.50 or 0.618
The formula measures each level upward from the low price, using the Fibonacci ratio applied to the full price range. In a declining move from high to low, these levels mark the points where a corrective bounce is likely to lose momentum; the same arithmetic also locates pullback zones within any price range.
Fibonacci Retracement – Calculation Example
Example: a stock falls from a high of $200 to a low of $100. A trader wants to know where the rebound may stall.
\[ \text{Range} = 200 - 100 = 100 \]
\[ 23.6\%: \; 100 + 100 \times 0.236 = 123.60 \]
\[ 38.2\%: \; 100 + 100 \times 0.382 = 138.20 \]
\[ 50\%: \; 100 + 100 \times 0.50 = 150.00 \]
\[ 61.8\%: \; 100 + 100 \times 0.618 = 161.80 \]
Result: the retracement levels are $123.60 (23.6%), $138.20 (38.2%), $150.00 (50%) and $161.80 (61.8%). If the bounce carries beyond the 61.8% level at $161.80, the original downtrend is often considered invalidated.
How to Use the Calculator
- Enter the High Price — the highest price reached during the move you are analyzing, in dollars.
- Enter the Low Price — the lowest price reached during that same move.
- Read the results: the calculator instantly displays the 23.6% Retracement, 38.2% Retracement, 50% Retracement and 61.8% Retracement levels in dollars.
The high must be greater than the low and both must be non-negative; otherwise the calculator shows an error. You can enter any currency pair, stock or crypto price — the levels work the same way regardless of the instrument.
What Is Fibonacci Retracement?
Fibonacci retracement is a technical analysis tool based on the Fibonacci sequence, a number series in which each term is the sum of the two before it (1, 1, 2, 3, 5, 8, 13, …). The ratios between consecutive terms converge on approximately 0.618 (the “golden ratio”), while related ratios such as 0.382, 0.236 and 0.50 emerge from the same mathematics. Traders apply these ratios to a price range to estimate where a counter-trend move — a retracement — is likely to pause or reverse.
The underlying idea is that markets rarely move in straight lines. After a strong decline, prices often bounce part of the way back before resuming the downtrend; after a strong rally, they often pull back before continuing higher. The 23.6%, 38.2%, 50% and 61.8% levels divide the total range into zones where such corrections frequently lose steam, generating potential support or resistance.
Interpreting the result depends on the direction of the move. When price has fallen from your high to your low, the calculated levels sit above the low and act as potential resistance for the bounce — the 61.8% level is watched especially closely, and a move beyond it suggests the correction is turning into a full reversal. When price has risen from your low to your high, you can read the same numbers as potential support zones on a pullback, since each level equals the high minus the complementary ratio of the range.
Fibonacci levels are best treated as zones rather than exact prices, and they are most useful when they align with other evidence: trendlines, moving averages, volume spikes or previous chart pivots. Many traders wait for a candlestick reversal pattern or a momentum signal at a level before acting on it.
Assumptions and Limitations
- The high and low matter. The output is only as meaningful as the swing points you choose. Different traders may pick different highs and lows on the same chart, producing different levels.
- Levels are zones, not guarantees. Price frequently overshoots or undershoots a level by a small margin. Treat each value as the center of an area of interest, not a precise reversal point.
- No probability by itself. Fibonacci retracement is a descriptive tool, not a predictive model. It does not tell you whether a level will hold — only where a reaction is statistically more likely if one occurs.
- The 50% level is not a true Fibonacci ratio. It comes from Dow theory (a half-retracement of a move) but is included because so many traders watch it.
- Not all retracements are equal. In strong trends, shallow 23.6% pullbacks are common; in weak or choppy markets, price may retrace 78.6% or more of the range before reversing.
If you are evaluating longer-term investments rather than trading swings, tools such as our Compound Annual Growth Rate calculator or the Rule of 72 calculator may suit your analysis better, while the Bond Present Value calculator helps with fixed-income valuation.
Frequently Asked Questions
How do I calculate Fibonacci retracement levels for an uptrend (pullback support)?
For a rising move, measure levels downward from the high instead of upward from the low. Use \( \text{Level} = \text{High} - (\text{High} - \text{Low}) \times R \). Example: a stock rallies from $100 to $200. The 38.2% pullback support is \( 200 - 100 \times 0.382 = 161.80 \), and the 61.8% support is \( 200 - 100 \times 0.618 = 138.20 \). The same four ratios apply — only the direction of measurement changes.
What is the 78.6% Fibonacci level and how do I calculate it?
The 78.6% level is the square root of 0.618 (approximately 0.786) and marks a deep retracement. To compute it, use \( \text{Low} + (\text{High} - \text{Low}) \times 0.786 \). Many traders treat a break beyond 78.6% as a full trend reversal, since almost the entire move has been given back. The calculator shows the four most-watched levels, but you can derive 78.6% by hand with this formula.
Which high and low should I use for the calculation?
Use the most recent significant swing high and swing low of the move you want to analyze — points where price clearly reversed, not minor wicks on low-volume bars. The timeframe should match your trading horizon: daily swings for position trades, hourly swings for day trades. Two traders marking the same chart can legitimately choose different pivots, which is why Fibonacci levels work best as zones confirmed by other signals rather than exact prices.
What are Fibonacci extension levels and how do they differ from retracements?
Extensions project where a trend may go after a retracement, using ratios above 100% — most commonly 127.2%, 161.8% and 261.8% of the range. The formula is the same: \( \text{Low} + (\text{High} - \text{Low}) \times 1.272 \), for example. Retracement levels sit inside the price range and mark possible reversal zones; extension levels sit outside it and mark possible profit targets. Traders often use retracements for entries and extensions for exits.
Do the levels change if I use euros, pounds or crypto prices instead of dollars?
No. Fibonacci retracement is a pure ratio calculation, so the currency unit is irrelevant — the math works identically for EUR/USD quotes, pound-denominated stocks or Bitcoin prices. The dollar sign in the calculator is just a display default; enter any price in your instrument's own currency and read the results in that same currency. For very small forex quotes, the ratios still hold since they scale proportionally with the range.
What are the most common mistakes when using Fibonacci retracements?
The biggest mistakes are: drawing levels from minor, ill-defined swing points instead of clear pivots; treating a level as an exact reversal price rather than a zone; using levels alone without confirmation from candlesticks, volume or trendlines; and forcing them onto a sideways, trendless market where retracement logic does not apply. Also avoid mixing timeframes — levels drawn from a weekly chart should not be traded against a 15-minute setup without checking both.
Can Fibonacci retracement predict where price will actually reverse?
No — it is a descriptive tool, not a predictive model. The levels highlight areas where a reaction is more likely because many traders watch the same numbers, which can create self-fulfilling behavior, but there is no guarantee any level will hold. Price routinely slices through 23.6% or 38.2% without pausing. Use retracements as one input alongside other evidence, and always apply risk management such as stop-losses, since trading based on any single indicator carries a real risk of loss.