Stoch RSI Crossovers by Timeframe: 36 Settings Tested
36 Stoch RSI settings backtested on USD/JPY across 2025 and 2024. Only 3 of 36 came through both years on hourly bars and none on 15-minute; on four-hour bars, 30 did.
Stoch RSI crossover settings profitable in both 2024 and 2025 numbered 30 of 36 on four-hour bars, 3 on hourly and none on 15-minute. The same indicator with the same parameters reversed its result between timeframes. These are USD/JPY results for combinations of the RSI period, the stochastic period and the two smoothings.
Stoch RSI runs a stochastic over RSI. Rather than reading RSI's level, it reads where RSI sits inside its own range over the last N bars: a second layer of processing that makes it quicker to turn.
How does the timeframe change it?
The result reversed between timeframes. These are USD/JPY trades in 2024 and 2025, buying when %K crosses above %D and selling when it crosses below, held until the opposite crossover, at a 0.3-pip spread.
| Timeframe | Year | Profitable settings | Median annual net | Median annual trades |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 15-minute | 2025 | 0 / 36 | −1,139 pips | ~4,850 |
| 15-minute | 2024 | 3 / 36 | −1,205 pips | — |
| 1-hour | 2025 | 20 / 36 | +162 pips | ~1,230 |
| 1-hour | 2024 | 7 / 36 | −1,008 pips | — |
| 4-hour | 2025 | 30 / 36 | +1,261 pips | ~300 |
| 4-hour | 2024 | 36 / 36 | +2,534 pips | — |
The trade count explains it.
Two layers of smoothing produce a great many signals: about 4,850 a year on 15-minute bars.
Spread cost scales exactly with the count. At 4,850 trades a 0.3 pip spread is about 1,455 pips a year; at 1,230 it is 369. Only at the four-hour chart's 300 trades does the frequency start to fit the cost.
Is it worth tuning on hourly bars?
Changing the settings did not pay.
| Setting | Year | Annual net |
|---|---|---|
| Default 14/14/3/3 | 2025 | +764.5 pips |
| Default 14/14/3/3 | 2024 | −1,811.3 pips |
| 2025 maximum, 14/21/3/5 | 2025 | +1,560.4 pips |
| 2025 maximum, 14/21/3/5 | 2024 | −2,011.2 pips |
| 2024 maximum, 14/7/5/3 | 2025 | −2,200.9 pips |
| 2024 maximum, 14/7/5/3 | 2024 | +858.4 pips |
| 2025 minimum, 7/7/5/5 | 2025 | −3,221.7 pips |
| 2025 minimum, 7/7/5/5 | 2024 | −1,009.9 pips |
The 14/7/5/3 setting moved from +858.4 pips in 2024 to −2,200.9 pips in 2025. The 14/21/3/5 setting moved from +1,560.4 pips in 2025 to −2,011.2 pips in 2024. The setting selected in either year lost money in the other.
Can four-hour settings be selected?
Four-hour bars profited, but one year still did not select the next.
| Setting | Year | Annual net |
|---|---|---|
| Default 14/14/3/3 | 2025 | +1,437.3 pips |
| Default 14/14/3/3 | 2024 | +2,430.4 pips |
| 2025 maximum, 21/21/3/3 | 2025 | +2,333.0 pips |
| 2025 maximum, 21/21/3/3 | 2024 | +2,205.8 pips |
| 2024 maximum, 7/21/5/5 | 2025 | −863.4 pips |
| 2024 maximum, 7/21/5/5 | 2024 | +3,799.1 pips |
| 2025 minimum, 7/14/5/5 | 2025 | −1,389.5 pips |
| 2025 minimum, 7/14/5/5 | 2024 | +1,918.2 pips |
The 7/21/5/5 setting moved from +3,799.1 pips in 2024 to −863.4 pips in 2025. The 21/21/3/3 setting remained above +2,200 pips in both years.
All 36 settings were positive in 2024. The default 14/14/3/3 remained above +1,400 pips in both years.
Does win rate track the result?
It did not. Across the 36 hourly settings in 2025, win rates ran from 38.17% to 41.84%, while annual net ranged from −3,221.7 to +1,560.4 pips.
On four-hour bars the win-rate range widened to 36.72%–45.85%. Win rate alone still does not identify the annual result.
Adding Stoch RSI 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 "Stochastic RSI" |
| Browser (Formiq) | In the indicator list, with RSI period, stoch period, %K and %D 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 | %K crosses above %D, filled at that bar's close |
| Sell | %K crosses below %D |
| Exit | The opposite crossover only — no stop, no target, no time exit |
| Costs | 0.3 pip spread, zero slippage, 0.1 lot |
| Combinations | 3 RSI periods (7, 14, 21) × 3 stoch periods (7, 14, 21) × 2 %K (3, 5) × 2 %D (3, 5) = 36 |
| Method | Executed in Formiq's backtester; pips recomputed from each trade's fill prices |
Using this indicator means raising the timeframe until the trade count is bearable.
Notes
- One pair, two years
- Stoch RSI implementations differ (how RSI is smoothed, how %K is taken). These figures come from Formiq's
- Only the %K/%D crossover is tested; level readings such as 20/80 are not, and would reduce the trade count
- Entries and exits both fill at bar closes
- The spread is modeled as a flat 0.3 pips, which matters more here than for any low-frequency indicator
- Four-hour settings trade 230 to 397 times a year
Questions people ask
- What are the best Stoch RSI settings?
- Only 3 of the 36 hourly settings were profitable in both years. On four-hour bars 30 of 36 were profitable in both, with the default 14/14/3/3 returning +1,437.3 pips in 2025 and +2,430.4 pips in 2024.
- Which timeframe suits Stoch RSI?
- Four-hour, and only four-hour, in this test: 30 of 36 settings profitable in both years, against 3 on hourly and zero on 15-minute. The hourly version trades about 1,230 times a year and the 15-minute one about 4,850.
- How is Stoch RSI different from RSI?
- It applies a stochastic to RSI: instead of reading RSI's value, it reads where RSI sits inside its own high-low range over the last N bars. The double processing makes it faster to react and produces far more signals.
- What win rate does Stoch RSI produce?
- Across the 36 hourly settings in 2025, win rates ran from 38.17% to 41.84%, with a median of 39.8%. Positions are held from one %K/%D cross to the opposite one, so the win rate sits below 50%. Only 3 of 36 settings were profitable in both years.
- Is Stoch RSI 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 "Stochastic RSI". 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.