Order types explained

The Exchange supports five order types, on both the buy and the sell side.

Limit

You set the price. The order only fills at that price or better, and waits in the order book until it does. You control the price but not whether it fills.

Use it when you have a price in mind and are willing to wait.

You can attach a take-profit and a stop-loss to a limit order in one go — see Take Profit and Stop Loss (TP/SL).

Market

Fills immediately at whatever prices are currently available. You control the speed but not the price — in a thin or fast-moving market the average fill can differ noticeably from the last traded price.

Use it when executing now matters more than the exact price.

To cap how far from the current price it may fill, use Slippage Tolerance.

Stop Limit

Dormant until the market touches your stop price; at that point it places a limit order at the limit price you set. Two prices, both yours.

Use it when you want a protective exit but will not accept just any price. It may not fill if the market moves straight past your limit.

Stop Market

Dormant until the market touches your stop price; at that point it places a market order.

Use it when getting out matters more than the price you get.

Stops above or below the price

Your stop price can sit above or below the current price. A stop above it triggers when the price rises to it; a stop below it triggers when the price falls to it. So the same form covers a stop-loss (sell if the price drops) and a take-profit (sell once the price reaches your target) — and the buy-side equivalents. Open Orders shows which one you placed as Stop Loss or Take Profit. A stop exactly at the current price is rejected, because it would trigger immediately.

Trailing Stop

A stop that follows the price. Instead of a fixed stop price you set a trailing delta, a percentage: a sell triggers once the price falls that far from its highest point, a buy once it rises that far from its lowest. When it triggers it places a limit or a market order. See trailing stop orders.

Use it when you want to lock in gains while still letting a move run.