Market vs limit orders

The core trade-off

Every time you place an order you are choosing between two things you cannot fully have at once: certainty of execution and certainty of price. Market orders favour the first. Limit orders favour the second. Neither is better in general; each suits different situations.

Market orders

A market order tells the exchange to buy or sell a set amount straight away at the best prices currently available in the order book. You do not set a price.

• Strength: it almost always fills immediately, as long as there are orders on the other side.
• Weakness: the final price is not known in advance. In a thin or fast-moving market, the average price can be noticeably worse than the last price you saw.
• Fees: market orders take liquidity, so they are charged the taker rate.

Example: a market buy

Suppose, as an illustration, the best asks on BTC-USDT are 0.10 BTC at 60,000 and 0.20 BTC at 60,050. You place a market buy for 0.25 BTC.

• 0.10 × 60,000 = 6,000.00 USDT
• 0.15 × 60,050 = 9,007.50 USDT
• Total 15,007.50 USDT, an average of 60,030 per BTC

The extra 30 USDT per BTC above the best ask is slippage caused by the order being larger than the first price level.

Limit orders

A limit order sets the worst price you are willing to accept. A buy limit will only fill at your price or lower; a sell limit only at your price or higher.

• Strength: you control the price. There is no slippage beyond your limit.
• Weakness: there is no promise of a fill. If the market never reaches your price, the order simply waits.
• Fees: if the order rests in the book before filling, it is usually charged the maker rate. See the fees page for current figures.

Example: a limit buy

BTC is trading around 60,000 USDT. You place a buy limit for 0.10 BTC at 59,500. Nothing happens at first, because nobody is selling that low. Your order sits in the book as a bid, reserving 5,950 USDT from your balance.

Later, the price dips and sellers start accepting 59,500. Your order fills, and you pay 5,950 USDT plus the fee for 0.10 BTC. If the price had never dropped to 59,500, you would still hold your USDT and the order would remain open until you cancel it.

Example: a marketable limit

If you place a buy limit above the current best ask, for example 60,100 when the best ask is 60,000, it fills immediately against the cheapest available sellers, but never above 60,100. This is a common way to get quick execution while capping slippage.

Side-by-side

	Market order	Limit order
You set a price?	No	Yes
Fills immediately?	Usually	Only if the price is available
Slippage possible?	Yes	Not beyond your limit
Typical fee role	Taker	Maker if it rests, taker if it fills at once

Common mistakes

1. Large market orders in quiet markets. A big order in a thin book can walk through many price levels.
2. Forgotten open orders. A limit order placed days ago can still fill after conditions have changed. Review your open orders regularly.
3. Typing errors. An extra zero in price or amount can produce a very different trade. Check the order summary before confirming.

Try both safely

The quickest way to feel the difference is to place both kinds side by side. The practice account on the trading terminal at /trade/ uses virtual funds against live prices, so you can watch how each order behaves as the book moves without risking real money.

Crypto assets are highly volatile and you may lose all the capital you invest.