Session volume profile vs fixed range profile: how the boundaries change your POC and value area

Session volume profile vs fixed range profile: the short answer

A session volume profile builds a new histogram for every trading session, using boundaries set by your session times. A fixed range profile builds one histogram over a span of bars you select by hand. Both use the same volume at price math, so when their POC, value area or high volume nodes disagree, the cause is almost always the profile boundaries, meaning which trades each one includes.

This article compares the two in Sierra Chart and shows where their levels diverge. For a refresher on what the POC itself represents, see what point of control means in volume profile.

How each profile decides what to include

Session volume profile

A session profile starts and ends where your chart's session starts and ends. In Sierra Chart those boundaries come from the chart's session times, set under Chart >> Chart Settings in the Session Times area. The Sierra Chart Chart Settings documentation describes these fields, including the option to use an evening session. Whatever you set there controls where each session volume profile resets.

This makes the session profile repeatable. Every day gets the same rule, so you can compare Monday's value area with Tuesday's without wondering whether you dragged the range differently.

Fixed range profile

A fixed range profile ignores the calendar. You choose a start bar and an end bar, and the histogram covers only the volume traded between them. In Sierra Chart you can do this with the Volume by Price study set to a custom or fixed time period, or with a volume profile drawing tool if your version includes one. Check the study's period settings in the Studies Reference rather than assuming option names, because labels can change between versions.

Fixed range selection gives you control, but it also introduces your own judgment into the levels. Two traders looking at the same ES move can draw two different ranges and get two different POCs.

Side-by-side comparison

Both types share the same row size logic. If you want a deeper walkthrough of choosing the period, row size and display style, the Sierra Chart volume by price study setup guide covers those settings in detail.

When the levels differ, and why

Overnight volume included or excluded

This is the most common source of disagreement on index futures. ES and NQ trade nearly around the clock on CME Globex, with a daily break, as listed on the CME Group E-mini S&P 500 contract page. If your session volume profile uses a full electronic session, it includes overnight trade. If you draw a fixed range from the 9:30 ET open to the 16:00 ET close, it does not.

On a quiet overnight, the difference may be small. On a night with a large overseas move, the overnight volume can create its own high volume node, and the full-session POC may sit at a price the day session barely visited. Neither profile is wrong. They describe different populations of trades.

A trend leg inside a session

Suppose NQ balances for the first hour, then trends 150 points into the afternoon. The session profile mixes the balance and the trend, and its POC will usually sit inside the balance area, because that is where most volume traded. A fixed range drawn only over the trend leg shows where volume concentrated during the move itself, which can be a completely different price. If you want to study the auction during the trend, the session POC is the wrong tool.

Multi-day balance

CL often rotates inside a range for several sessions. Each session volume profile shows a separate value area, and they can shift from day to day. A fixed range spanning the whole balance merges them into one histogram, which often produces a single dominant POC and a wider composite value area. With CL's 0.01 tick size, row size matters here: a composite over several days at one tick per row can look noisy, so traders often group rows into larger increments to see structure.

Partial sessions and developing profiles

A session profile is developing until the session closes. Its POC can migrate during the day. A fixed range whose end bar is already in the past is frozen. When you compare a developing session profile with a completed fixed range, expect differences that come purely from time.

Edge bars and anchor placement

With fixed range selection, moving the start by one bar can change the result, especially if that bar was a high volume open or a news spike. Check whether your tool includes the full volume of the first and last bar you click. If you are not sure, test it: draw the range starting on a large volume bar, then move the anchor one bar later and compare the totals.

EURUSD and other forex symbols

Spot EURUSD has no central exchange, so the volume shown depends on your data feed and often reflects tick counts or a single venue rather than total market volume. The session boundary is also a convention, often 17:00 New York time, rather than an exchange rule. If you want exchange-reported volume for the euro, the 6E futures contract on CME is the more consistent source for both profile types.

A practical workflow in Sierra Chart

1. Confirm your session times first. Open Chart >> Chart Settings, review the session start and end, and decide whether the evening session should be included. Write down the choice so your session profiles stay consistent.
2. Add a session volume profile with the Volume by Price study set to a per-session period. Use it as your baseline for daily value and prior session levels.
3. Keep row size identical when comparing. Comparing an ES session profile at 1 tick (0.25) with a fixed range at 4 ticks (1.00) will move the POC for reasons that have nothing to do with the market.
4. Draw fixed ranges only around a clear structure: a balance area, a trend leg, a news reaction or a multi-day range. Define the anchor rule before you look at the result, for example "from the first bar that breaks the overnight high to the last bar before the reversal."
5. Verify the data. Volume profiles built from tick by tick data are more precise at each price. The tick by tick data configuration documentation explains the storage setting, and Global Settings >> Data/Trade Service Settings >> Intraday Data Storage Time Unit set to 1 tick is what you should check.

If you would rather start from a workspace where the session profile, value area and POC are already configured, the Sierra Chart market profile chartbook puts TPO, value area, Point of Control and volume profile in one layout, so you only need to add your fixed ranges.

Conclusion

Session and fixed range profiles answer different questions. The session profile tells you where volume concentrated under a consistent, repeatable rule. The fixed range profile tells you where volume concentrated inside a structure you chose. When their levels disagree, look at the boundaries first: overnight inclusion, the anchors you picked, whether a profile is still developing, and whether the row size matches. Once you know which trades each profile contains, the difference stops being confusing and becomes information.

FAQ

Should I use a session profile or a fixed range profile for the prior day POC?

Use a session profile. The prior day POC is only meaningful if every day is measured with the same boundaries, and a session profile enforces that automatically.

Why does my session POC differ from someone else's on the same ES chart?

The most likely cause is different session times, typically one chart including the evening session and the other using only the day session. Different row sizes or data sources can also shift it.

Can I build a weekly or monthly profile instead of drawing a fixed range?

Yes. The Volume by Price study can use longer periods, which gives you a repeatable multi-day profile. A fixed range is still useful when the structure you care about does not line up with a calendar week or month.

Does a fixed range profile repaint?

Once both anchors are on completed bars, the histogram should not change unless your historical data changes, for example after a data download fills gaps. If the end anchor is on the live bar, it will keep updating.

For ready-made workspaces with the profiles already configured, explore the Sierra Chart chartbooks at SierraOnShop.