Average Holding Time Calculator
Measure the mean, median, shortest and longest holding time from entered open and complete-close timestamps. The result describes only the supplied completed trades and does not imply that shorter or longer trades are better.
Enter completed trade timestamps
Put one open and complete-close pair on each line, separated by a vertical bar.
Use ISO 8601 timestamps with Z or an explicit UTC offset. Each close must be after its open.
Completed-trade duration summary
Observed Trade Activity 1.0.0.
How observed holding time is calculated
Mean duration = Sum of entered trade durations ÷ Number of entered trades
Every timestamp must include Z or an explicit UTC offset, so browser locale and daylight-saving assumptions are not silently introduced.
The median is the middle sorted duration, or the mean of the two middle durations for an even-sized sample.
Worked example from the audited fixture
How to interpret the result
The matching 5-hour mean and median describe only these four completed positions. The shortest observation is 2 hours and the longest is 8 hours. These durations do not show whether any trade was profitable or well managed, and missing, partial or differently defined position records can change the summary.
Assumptions and limits
- The page cannot identify partial closes, reversals, netting or hedging-account position boundaries.
- Broker statement timestamps can use server time, UTC or another zone; convert or retain the explicit offset consistently.
- Only fully entered rows are analyzed, so missing trades create selection bias.
- A small sample can produce an unstable mean and median.
- Holding time alone does not measure risk, execution quality, robustness or future performance.
Frequently asked questions
- Here it is the arithmetic mean of each entered complete-close timestamp minus its corresponding open timestamp.
- An explicit Z or numeric offset prevents the browser from silently interpreting the timestamp in an unspecified local or broker time zone.
- It means the timestamp when the entered position was fully eliminated. The page does not reconstruct partial closes or reversals.
- A few unusually long trades can pull the arithmetic mean. The median provides a separate middle-of-sample description.
- No. Every close timestamp must be strictly later than its open timestamp for this completed-trade model.
- No. Every line remains an independent entered position-duration record.
- No. Duration alone does not establish profitability, risk, costs, robustness or suitability.
- No. It analyzes only the timestamps you enter and cannot verify their completeness, time zone or position boundaries.
Sources and methodology
- MetaTrader 5 Help — Testing Report — Official complete-close holding-time convention and time-distribution context.
- NIST/SEMATECH — Measures of Location — Primary statistical reference for arithmetic mean and median.
- CFTC — Trading system claims advisory — Official caution on hypothetical and past-performance presentations.
Continue the performance review
Verify trade-history records and charges
Confirm the statement time zone, position boundaries, monetary basis and trading charges before creating the sample.
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