Order types: market and limit

A market order trades right away at the best available price; a limit order waits for the price you set. Here's when to use each.

A market order buys or sells straight away at the best price available. A limit order trades only at the price you set or better, so it may wait, or never fill. Here's how each generally works on most exchanges, and when to use it.

Market orders

A market order says "fill this now." It matches with the best prices other traders are offering at that moment.

  • Good for: getting in or out quickly, when speed matters more than the exact price.
  • You set the amount, not the price. The price is whatever the market offers when the order fills.
  • Watch for slippage: the price you get can differ from the last price you saw, especially in fast markets, on less-traded pairs, or for large orders that work through several price levels.

Limit orders

A limit order says "trade only at this price or better." A buy limit fills at your price or lower; a sell limit fills at your price or higher.

  • Good for: controlling the price you pay or receive, and setting up a trade in advance at a level you've chosen.
  • It might not fill: if the market never reaches your price, the order stays open. It can also fill only partly if there isn't enough on the other side at your price.
  • Open orders hold funds: on most exchanges, the funds for an open limit order are set aside until it fills or you cancel it.

An example

Made-up prices, for illustration only. Say a coin is trading at around 100 USDT.

  • A market buy fills right away at about 100, maybe a little more if the price is moving.
  • A limit buy at 95 waits. It fills only if the price drops to 95 or lower. If the price rises instead, you don't buy.

Fees

On many exchanges, an order that fills immediately and a limit order that waits in the order book can be charged differently. On Trade Llama, the order form shows each order's estimated fee before you place it, and the fee schedule has the details.

Which should you choose?

  • Need to trade now? Use a market order and accept some uncertainty about the price.
  • Have a price in mind, or trading a quiet pair? Use a limit order and accept that it may not fill.
This article covers market and limit orders only. The order form shows which order types you can choose for each product.

Next steps

Put this into practice in How to trade spot, or see how orders work with leverage in Get started with futures.