STC Periods and Entry Levels: 72 Settings Tested
72 Schaff Trend Cycle settings tested on USD/JPY in 2025 and 2024, comparing profitable counts, annual net pips, trade frequency, and the default.
STC settings profitable in both 2024 and 2025 numbered 49 of 72 on hourly bars, 36 on four-hour and 10 on 15-minute. Four-hour 10/30/5 at level 25 made +3,399.7 pips in 2025 and +3,014.6 in 2024, the largest in both years, while the four-hour default lost 593.4 pips in 2024. These are USD/JPY results for combinations of the fast, slow and stochastic periods and the entry level.
The Schaff Trend Cycle runs a double stochastic over MACD and bounds the result between 0 and 100: built to turn faster than MACD while cutting the whipsaws a range produces.
Which timeframe does STC work on?
The hourly chart kept the most settings profitable in both years, 49 of 72. These are USD/JPY trades in 2024 and 2025, buying when STC crosses above the level and selling when it crosses below 100 minus the level, held until the opposite crossing, at a 0.3-pip spread.
| Timeframe | Profitable 2025 | 2025 median | Profitable 2024 | 2024 median | Both years | Trades a year |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 15-minute | 33 / 72 | −54 pips | 19 / 72 | −1,244 pips | 10 / 72 | ~1,400 |
| 1-hour | 62 / 72 | +1,198 pips | 59 / 72 | +1,234 pips | 49 / 72 | ~340 |
| 4-hour | 54 / 72 | +925 pips | 52 / 72 | +642 pips | 36 / 72 | ~90 |
At 1,400 trades a year the cost bites, leaving 10 of 72 on 15-minute bars.
Four-hour falls to about 90 trades and 36 of 72, below hourly's 49.
How did the default 23/50/10 do?
Its annual net moved just 3.4 pips between the two years.
| Setting | 2025 annual net | 2024 annual net |
|---|---|---|
| Default 23/50/10, level 25 | +1,718.3 pips | +1,721.7 pips |
| 23/80/10, level 40 | +3,024.7 pips | +2,730.4 pips |
| 23/80/20, level 10 | −1,670.8 pips | +713.3 pips |
The default's two years differ by 3.4 pips: +1,718.3 and +1,721.7. The 23/80/10, level-40 setting made +3,024.7 pips in 2025, which was 1,306.4 pips more than the default. A default that was profitable in both years was not the setting with the largest annual net.
Which setting performed best?
On four-hour bars, 10/30/5 at level 25 made +3,399.7 pips in 2025 and +3,014.6 pips in 2024, the largest annual net among the 72 settings in each year.
The sample covers two years of one currency pair. This one setting having the largest annual net twice does not establish that it will do so on another pair or period.
For what it is worth, here is the setting itself:
| Metric | 2025 | 2024 |
|---|---|---|
| Trades | 164 | 165 |
| Win rate | 50.00% | 40.61% |
| Profit factor | 1.657 | 1.575 |
| Net | +3,399.7 pips | +3,014.6 pips |
About 165 trades a year is high for a four-hour setting. Unlike four-hour settings that trade a dozen or so times a year, this is not a number that thin sampling explains away.
Does the default work on four-hour?
It made money in 2025 and lost in 2024.
| Setting | 2025 annual net | 2024 annual net |
|---|---|---|
| Default 23/50/10, level 25 | +1,722.8 pips | −593.4 pips |
| 10/30/5, level 25 | +3,399.7 pips | +3,014.6 pips |
| 40/80/20, level 40 | −875.6 pips | +1,367.1 pips |
On hourly bars the default's two annual results differ by only 3.4 pips. On four-hour bars it made +1,722.8 pips in 2025 and lost 593.4 pips in 2024.
Four-hour win rates span 37.50% to 64.29%, which is what 90 trades a year looks like.
How wide do win rates spread?
Across the 72 settings in 2025, hourly win rates ran from 32.98% to 52.40%, with a 42.9% median. Four-hour win rates spanned 37.50% to 64.29%. Four-hour settings averaged about 90 trades a year, so any high win rate needs to be read with its trade count and annual net pips.
Adding STC to a chart
| Platform | How to add it |
|---|---|
| MT4 / MT5 | Not included. Download an .ex4 or .mq4 into MQL4/Indicators (MQL5/Indicators on MT5), restart |
| TradingView | In the indicator list as "Schaff Trend Cycle" |
| Browser (Formiq) | In the indicator list, with fast, slow and stoch period adjustable |
How this was measured
| Item | Value |
|---|---|
| Pair | USD/JPY |
| Period | 2025-01-01 to 2025-12-31 (2024 run identically for comparison) |
| Timeframes | 15-minute / 1-hour / 4-hour |
| Bars tested | 6,226 hourly bars in 2025; 24,903 on 15-minute, 1,610 on 4-hour |
| Buy | STC crosses above the level (10, 25 or 40), filled at that bar's close |
| Sell | STC crosses below "100 − level" |
| Exit | The opposite level crossing only — no stop, no target, no time exit |
| Costs | 0.3 pip spread, zero slippage, 0.1 lot |
| Combinations | 3 fast (10, 23, 40) × 3 slow (30, 50, 80) × 3 stoch periods (5, 10, 20) × 3 levels, keeping fast < slow: 72 |
| Method | Executed in Formiq's backtester; pips recomputed from each trade's fill prices |
Notes
- One pair, two years
- STC implementations differ (the smoothing constants inside the double stochastic). These figures come from Formiq's
- Entries and exits both fill at bar closes
- The spread is modeled as a flat 0.3 pips
- Four-hour settings trade 57 to 172 times a year: wide numbers at that count
Questions people ask
- What are the best STC settings?
- On four-hour bars, 10/30/5 with a level of 25 made +3,399.7 pips in 2025 and +3,014.6 pips in 2024, the largest annual net among the 72 settings in both years. The sample covers only two years of USD/JPY, so it does not show that the same setting will lead on another pair or period.
- How did the default 23/50/10 do?
- On hourly bars, it made +1,718.3 pips in 2025 and +1,721.7 pips in 2024, a difference of 3.4 pips. The largest 2025 annual net was +3,024.7 pips, so a default that was profitable in both years was not the setting with the largest annual net.
- Which timeframe suits STC?
- Hourly and four-hour: 49 of 72 settings profitable in both years on hourly and 36 of 72 on four-hour, against 10 of 72 on 15-minute. The 15-minute version trades about 1,400 times a year.
- Which STC level should I use?
- The test covered buy levels of 10, 25 and 40. On hourly bars, 23/80/10 with level 40 made +3,024.7 pips in 2025, while a level-25 setting had the largest annual net in 2024. On four-hour bars, 10/30/5 with level 25 had the largest annual net in both years. The level cannot be selected in isolation.
- Is STC built into MetaTrader?
- No, neither MT4 nor MT5 includes it. You download an .ex4 or .mq4 into MQL4/Indicators (MQL5/Indicators on MT5) and restart. TradingView lists it as "Schaff Trend Cycle". Formiq's charts include it with all four parameters adjustable.
Formiq is a free browser-based FX terminal with replay practice and no-code backtesting. Open the chart or see what the free plan includes.