RSI and MACD both use exponential-style smoothing, but they are not the same average. RSI uses Wilder's smoothing (also called modified moving average), where the new average equals the prior average plus 1/n times the difference between the current value and the prior average. This is mathematically equivalent to an EMA with alpha = 1/n, not the common 2/(n+1).

That distinction matters because a 14-period RSI is smoother than a 14-period standard EMA of gains and losses. MACD, by contrast, uses true EMAs with alpha = 2/(n+1), so its responsiveness differs from RSI even at similar lookback lengths.

RSI: alpha = 1/14 ≈ 0.0714 for the 14-period default.
MACD: alpha = 2/13 ≈ 0.1538 for the 12-period fast EMA.
Implication: MACD reacts faster to new prices than RSI at comparable periods.

Average	Formula	Alpha (n=14)
Wilder (RSI)	Prev + (Current − Prev)/n	0.0714
Standard EMA (MACD)	Price×α + Prev×(1−α)	0.1333
SMA	Sum of n prices / n	Equal weights