The Best Hull Moving Average Setting Is 16 — Straight From the Source
Alan Hull built the indicator. He set the default at 16. Start there.
Alan Hull chose 16 for a reason. Traders who ignore the default and start tweaking on day one wonder why their signals are a mess and blame the indicator.
Trade the 16 first. Get real data. Then adjust based on what your charts actually show you.
Shorter Periods (9 or 13) for Scalpers
Trading the 1-minute or 5-minute chart? You need faster reactions. A 9 or 13-period HMA gives you that — but there's a tradeoff.
Faster setting = more signals = more noise. You'll catch moves earlier. You'll also get chopped up in sideways action. Know which one you're getting before you commit.
Longer Periods (21 or 55) for Swing Traders
Holding trades for days or weeks? A 21 or 55-period HMA filters out the noise that scalpers live on. Signals come slower. They're also cleaner.
You'll miss the first move of a trend. You'll catch the meat of it. Use the tool that matches how you actually trade.
Backtest Before You Risk a Dollar
Test every setting on your specific instrument every time.
What works on NQ won't work on EUR/USD. What works in trending markets falls apart in chop. The default is a starting point — your data tells you the rest.
⚠️ Warning: Don't optimize on three months of cherry-picked data and call it your "edge." Test across different market conditions — trending, choppy, high-vol, low-vol. If a setting only works in one regime, it'll blow up your account in another.
🔥 Pro Tip: Tag every trade you take with the HMA setting you used. After 30-50 trades, pull the report and look at win rate and average R by setting. The data will tell you which period fits your style.