[Canonical article](https://algoway.trade/blog/trix-versus-tema-smoothing.html)

Published: 2026-11-10

# **TRIX vs TEMA: Why Triple Smoothing Gives Two Signals**

![Price-following TEMA line and a separate TRIX oscillator panel](https://algoway.trade/static/img/blog-img/trix-versus-tema-smoothing.jpg)

TRIX and TEMA both involve three EMA calculations. That family resemblance does not make them interchangeable. **TRIX measures the percentage change of a triple-smoothed series; TEMA combines three EMA stages into a line expressed in price units.** One can sit below zero while the other sits beside the candles without anything being wrong.

For TradingView automation, this distinction determines the event you send for execution. A TRIX zero crossing, a TRIX signal-line crossing and a close crossing TEMA are three separate rules. When preparing an [AlgoWay alert workflow](https://algoway.trade/blog/automate-tradingview-alerts-to-any-broker-with-algoway.html), write down the intended event before connecting it to an entry or exit action. An indicator name is not an order specification.

## The shared ingredients, and where the recipes separate

Let E1 be an EMA of closing prices, E2 an EMA of E1, and E3 an EMA of E2, all using the same length. TradingView documents TRIX as the one-period percentage change of E3. Its moving-average reference defines TEMA as a weighted combination of those three stages:

```
TRIX = 100 * (E3 current - E3 previous) / E3 previous
TEMA = 3 * E1 - 3 * E2 + E3
```

These formulas assume the percentage form of TRIX and a nonzero previous E3. See the official [TRIX calculation](https://www.tradingview.com/support/solutions/43000502331-trix/) and [moving-average formulas](https://www.tradingview.com/support/solutions/43000502589-moving-averages/). Check a particular script's formula rather than relying on its display name.

TRIX therefore discards the price level and keeps a relative change. TEMA retains price units. E3 alone is the triple-smoothed EMA, but E3 alone is not TEMA. The subtraction in TEMA is the detail that a hurried reading of “triple EMA” can miss.

## A small price sequence that separates the readings

Here is a deliberately short arithmetic example, not a backtest. Use length 3, so the EMA update weight is 0.5. Initialize all three EMA stages at 100, then feed closing prices of 104 and 102. Each stage uses the newly calculated value of the stage before it.

| Step | Close | E1 | E2 | E3 | TEMA | TRIX |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Initial state | 100 | 100 | 100 | 100 | 100 | Not calculated |
| First update | 104 | 102 | 101 | 100.5 | 103.5 | 0.5000% |
| Second update | 102 | 102 | 101.5 | 101 | 102.5 | 0.4975% |

At the second update, TEMA is 3 × 102 − 3 × 101.5 + 101 = 102.5. TRIX is 100 × (101 − 100.5) / 100.5, approximately 0.4975%. Price fell from 104 to 102, and TEMA fell from 103.5 to 102.5, yet TRIX stayed positive because E3 still rose.

The close also moved from above TEMA to below it. A rule based on that crossing would see a downward event at the second update. A rule waiting for TRIX to cross below zero would not. The disagreement follows directly from the arithmetic, not from a delayed webhook.

## Zero, signal line, or price crossing?

A positive TRIX value says E3 increased from its previous value under the formula above. A zero crossing changes the sign of that change. A signal line, commonly an EMA of TRIX, creates a different comparison. TRIX can cross above that line while remaining negative. TradingView describes both crossing types in its TRIX reference.

For TEMA, comparing the closing price with the average asks where price sits relative to a price-based line. Comparing today's TEMA with yesterday's asks whether that line rose. These too are different conditions. The related [MACD line versus histogram explanation](https://algoway.trade/blog/macd-histogram-zero-vs-macd-line.html) shows another case where two events with similar names carry different meanings.

A rule specification could read: “At a completed chart bar, enter only if the previous close was at or below its TEMA and the current close is above its TEMA.” Another could require previous TRIX at or below zero and current TRIX above zero. These are examples of precise definitions, not recommendations or evidence of profitability.

## Make the comparison reproducible before automating it

* Record the instrument, chart timeframe, input price series and EMA length. A length without a timeframe is an incomplete setting.
* Record initialization and available history. The example above explicitly seeds every stage at 100; a chart script may initialize differently.
* If using a TRIX signal line, record its length and smoothing method separately from the TRIX calculation.
* Choose whether the rule evaluates a finished bar or a changing live bar. Then check that the running alert uses that choice.
* Specify the action and position policy. A fresh crossing can request an entry, close an existing position or be ignored; the indicator cannot decide that for you.

If two implementations disagree, compare E1, E2 and E3 on the first differing bar before comparing their order records. A mismatch in the calculated series belongs to the signal calculation. A matching signal followed by a different execution belongs to a later stage of the workflow. Keeping those questions separate is more useful than searching for the universally “best” triple-smoothed indicator.